After attending 6-7 interviews, I just want to share some tips to interviewers that could be useful in the near future.
Respond to our thank-you emails.
I can’t express how irritated I am by being ignored. I really do appreciate the effort that you (interviewers) made to conduct an interview. The least you could do is to reply back saying, “No problem. It was a pleasure to meet you.” or “Good luck with college admissions.” Of the 6-7 emails that I sent out, I only received 2 replies. To be honest, the colleges that the two interviewers represented shot up to the top of my college list. I know that interviewers have a busy life, but a simple email will definitely alleviate the stress that we are feeling with our college admissions.
Please do not schedule an interview during office hours.
This happened to me once. The interviewer, who was a doctor, tried to interviewed me in a 30-minute period, because he had a patient waiting. Fortunately, I got him so hooked that the interview lasted way for a hour, but I still felt some awkwardness in asking some questions in the end, knowing that a patient was waiting for him. Try to schedule an interview after office hours or on the weekend. It really does make a difference.
Don’t undermine.
Believe it or not, seniors view interviews as a matter of life or death. If an interviewee accidentally says something stupid or mumbles, don’t mark it down, or delve further into the topic. Even if the interview went great, us students will always feel doubt. I personally haven’t encountered this situation, but I know several people that have. Don’t take something that we are proud of and make it trivial. I don’t know if you understand what I’m trying to, but I hope that you do.
For clarification, this is NOT a rant. This is merely some observations that I would like to share.
If other seniors would like to share their thoughts, feel free to post them below.
I would not expect interviewers to write thank you notes in response to to thank you notes. They have already taken time out of their schedule to do an interview. Once you thank them, the process is generally viewed as complete. You need to remember that these are volunteers, not professionally trained interviewers. They are likely to do things, react to comments etc. in ways that are not idea. Just get past in. In the end, the alumni interviews are more important as a show of interest in the school than anything else.
@happy1
I understand that the alumni interviews are just a show of interest in the school, but do you know how many students get stressed over interviews? Students don’t know much about this process, so they view interviews as a vital part of the admissions process.
I don’t expect interviewers to write thank you notes in response to to thank you notes. I just expect them to have the courtesy to respond. Ignoring the email doesn’t mean much to the interviewers, but to the interviewees, it is viewed as something bad. I don’t know why, but it’s something psychological.
Having been on both sides of the fence (I do alumni interviews and my kids have interviewed for colleges) I would say that I1) while I try to do everything possible to represent my alma mater in the best possible light I never considered responding to an interviewer’s thank you note. I generally just read the note and move on with the rest of my day. Once the interview is done and the report is written, the chapter is consider closed. Interviewers are volunteers with busy lives. For me, responding to a thank you note leaves the door open for additional communication which IMO is not especially appropriate. My experience as a parent is that my D got responses to thank you notes only when she interviewed with admissions officers (where it is their job to stay in touch, answer additional questions etc.) but never from alumni. If you want a response, you should consider emailing admissions to thank them for setting up the interview and letting them know how much you enjoyed meeting the alumni and you will likely get a note back from them. 2) It is critical that you understand the purpose of the interview – don’t stress out so much about it (it could come through on the interview) and not read so much into every little thing… Take it as a chance to learn more about the college, talk about yourself, and see if the school is a good fit. As long as you are polite, interested, etc. my experience is that the interview won’t make much of a difference in your admission decision. I’ve written a number of outstanding recommendations only to find out that the student was ultimately not admitted and I’ve written some perfectly fine but not stellar recommendations and found out the student was ultimately admitted.
As indicated by @happy1, the generally accepted process concludes with your note of appreciation (and, thank you for sending one). Interviewers have fully-engaged adult lives with signifiant responsibilities, they have already devoted several hours (two way transportation, probably an hour -- frequently more -- for the interview, and at least an hour to write an articulate, detailed, and insightful report) to ASSIST YOU. It's entirely unreasonable for you to expect more and it's also arrogant to presume that you should instruct these alumni -- of the very universities you hope to attend -- how they should operate. You're a kid, and it's quite likely you don't have a single clue how full and demanding the lives of these interviewers are.
Did you ever consider that this physician just might have had ONLY ONE calendar availability -- patients' office visits, hospital rounds, perhaps surgeries, patient care planning conferences, and MUCH more -- and could not accommodate the time to meet with you during the evening or on a weekend (most docs are extremely busy)? Yet, s/he devoted that schedule opening to YOU. Let's get one FACT straight, the interviewers are doing YOU both a favor and a service, you are not assisting them in ANY manner. After all s/he has already completed undergraduate and medical schools, has a daunting professional career, and could have spent the time he s/he devoted to you simply relaxing during a hectic and difficult day.
We interviewers actually understand how important and stressful the entire college application/admission/selection process is to seniors; we went through it and so did our children -- you and your classmates are FAR from the first to have these experiences. What you, Hawkace, clearly do not appreciate is the effort alumni volunteers devote to YOU, from which they receive NOTHING. Obviously, most interviewers attempt to conduct CONVERSATIONS not inquisitions, to be tactful, and to be sensitive to the senior's needs and emotions. However, they are all volunteers and they necessarily bring their own personalities and values to the process. As your post demonstrates, you vehemently expect perfection -- as defined by you, a youngster with VERY limited experience and education -- from interviewers; how about interviewers receiving a little understanding and thanks from YOU?
That is a wrong expectation. The process has ended and, despite the thank you note being a nice (but necessary) gesture, that is where it should end! There is no need to continue in an endless loop of messages. Interviewers might cut the cord, knowing that if they don’t, the student will continue to communicate about every stressful situation in the process.
Questions about the admission process should be sent to the adcoms – the job of the interviewers has been completed.
If that’s the case, s/he shouldn’t be interviewing. I, like @Hawkace, would feel extremely awkward if I knew that my time was being used instead of a patient’s. The interviewer volunteered to do this, and s/he should stop volunteering if s/he cannot accommodate students.
@jamesjunkers (repost #6): I guess you’re unaware that accomplished professionals’ schedules – probably medical doctors, above all others – can and do explode without expectation. Further, it is quite interesting to note that we see many posts on CC from seniors who ardently complain that admissions interviews are not always available. Therefore, if this physician did not volunteer, due to competitive professional demands, even more of your contemporaries would not receive a wanted interview.
Universities do not have lengthy lines forming at the doors to the Admissions or Alumni offices with volunteers craving to conduct these interviews. Accordingly, would you prefer a slight amount less inconvenience in your ultra-demanding and -busy life, or no interview at all? I know you’d really like both, however, this is the “real world” and life simply does not operate that way. It’s past time that some seniors understand reality.
I don’t want this to turn this into a debate, but I guess that it can’t be helped.
@TopTier
I never said that I didn't appreciate the effort that interviewers put into assisting students. Second of all, I'm not instructing anybody to anything. All I'm recommending is a simple reply in the words of "I wish you the best of luck." That's usually where the connection ends, but I guess that it can open to more additional connections, if the student is unaware of social norms. I do recognize the demanding schedule of interviewers, but a simple reply with 5 words shouldn't take more than a minute. Again, this is just a suggestion, and it certainly doesn't have to be implemented.
I understand the favors that the interviewer is doing for me, but if the roles were reversed, how awkward would you feel knowing that you were taking time away from a patient that is in need of a doctor? I understand that doctors deserve some relaxing time and some time to themselves. I'm not trying to take that away. All I'm trying to say is that the interviewer should try to schedule the interview towards the end of their shift, so patients aren't affected as well. To reiterate myself, this is just a proposition and does not have be executed.
Didn't I say that I thanked the interviewer profusely? I don't expect perfection. To be honest, I don't expect anything. Like I said before, this didn't happen to me, so I'm not sure how to proceed from here. Students view interviews as Judgement Day, when seniors are determined to be accepted or denied. I'm not entirely sure of the interviewers' view, but some interviewers take it to the extreme, as shown in this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1740037-bad-interview-experience.html#latest
You don’t know how much I thanked my interviewers for their time and effort. I’m in debt to the interviewers that live in my area. If you think that I’m not respecting interviewers, then you are wrong. All I’m doing is making suggestions. These suggestions are not for everyone, because I know that there are interviewers out there that are already effectuating these ideas.
Internet discussion boards are a funny place. This is a prime example of someone who thinks that six interviews makes them an expert on the process. Many of us have had hundreds, (maybe even thousands) of interviews in our lifetime. I would count mine in the hundreds anyway. Therefore, I add this:
@ Hawkace, You have only just begun. In four years, you will be looking for a job and that interview process will make this look like playtime. Perhaps your post received the reaction that it did because you presumed to know better than the interviewers. In you r last response you state, " I’m not entirely sure of the interviewers’ view,…" but that is not how your OP came across. If you feel the need to say that your post is “NOT” a rant, then it probably is a rant.
I think that what you are feeling is the stress of a process that you are not in control of. I am guessing that if you have had that many interviews, you are a very good student applying to many top schools. This means that you have done well being in control, getting good grades, running clubs, etc If that is the case then consider it life lesson. There willl be many times in your future that you will not be in control. Learn to live with that and you will go far.
I don’t consider myself an expert at all. I just want to share my observations. I’m sorry if I came off as brash. I learned to let go. All I did within this thread was to offer a place for students to express their feelings about interviews. It’s almost like the “Get it off your chest” thread.
Again, I’m sorry if I came off as arrogant. All I wanted to do was to share some concerns that my friends and I had.
@Hawkface (re post #10): Did it ever cross your teenage mind that the complaints (observations, if you prefer) you want to “get off your chest” could understandably be quite offensive to the individuals who devote many hours (and some capital, as well) in each admissions’ cycle to interview seniors, who do so as a service to the community and to their alma mater, and who expect – and receive – nothing for this sacrifice?
@TopTier What can you be doing – as an adult – that is so time consuming and prominent that you are unable to reply “You’re welcome. Best luck in your future endeavors”? It’s not as if the interviewee asked you a serious question regarding your alma mater or even another sit-down interview.
While I concede the point that alumni interviews are the vital part of the process, it is the least important of the application process. Yesterday I had an interview with one of the top 10 schools and my interviewer told me that since I am being interviewed close to the deadline of 2/15, her interview report may be ignored by the school.
To all the alumni interviews - yes, you are important and the applicants appreciate your service. But please stop trying to hold an authoritative position with the very little influence you have on the entire application.
I agree with your first point. I did a scholarship interview at a time when thousands of other kids were being interviewed, and I got a response when I said thank you. It was just personable and it is manners. I appreciated it.
And let’s not pretend like we don’t live in a society where people are glued to their phones. We’re all hooked on our smart phones.
I get that there may be interviewers on this thread but is your life really that busy? Busy to the point where you can’t type “Wish you the best. Good luck.” Like, really? It’s not like you’re the president or something. We all have time. No offense, but if you can talk to strangers on College Confidential, you can surely respond to a thank you letter in one sentence. It’s just common decency. Especially when an interviewer is expecting a thank you from the applicant and can look at you as having poor etiquette if you don’t write a thank you. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. It’s just rude to not reply. And I don’t think it’s fair to refer to @Hawkace as arrogant when s/he is on the other side of said rudeness. It bothers me too.
I have always sent a thank you for every job interview I’ve had. Going back to days long before there was email. I have never expected to hear back from the person who interviewed me, and I never have. You get the interview, you say “thanks,”, and then it is the responsibility of the institution to get back to you as to whether you got the job or not (or got accepted or not). I certainly would never expect a volunteer interviewer to do something that I don’t expect of a paid manager.
So the process starts with “Thanks for the interview,” and then the interviewer respond with “You are welcome. Good luck.” Then doesn’t the student want to wish the interviewer good luck as well? Student: “Good luck to you, too!” Interviewer: “Well, thanks again! Everyone could use some luck!” Student: “No, thank YOU!”
Related to this: when you send out a thank-you note for a high school graduation gift, the gift giver then is not expected to contact you to thank you for your thank-you note. The process ends with the first note. As with the emails discussed above.
Well, I guess the phrase “You’re welcome” should just be banished. Because God forbid someone reply after that… This is what society has turned into. It’s sad. Would it really be that hard to have this template saved: “You’re welcome! I wish you the very best. For any future questions or concerns, please visit our website at www.blahblahblah.edu/undergraduate”.
As an adult, I think OP is being very reasonable and not arrogant at all. A simple, “thanks and good luck with your application” response from the interviewer will close the loop nicely. It lets the student know that the thank you email didn’t end up in someone’s junk folder or worse.
As an adult, I think that if your life is full and demanding, then don’t get involved. You have enough to do.
What favor are they doing for the applicant? You’re doing the university a favor. OP is just a victim of the process.
OP thanked the interviewer and provided some good feedback on how to improve the process. Out of the mouths of babes (oft times come gems).
This is not “what society has turned into”. This is how society has always been, and if you ask the advice/manners consultants, they will tell you the same thing - there is no need to respond to a thank-you note. If a thank-you is delivered in person, you say you’re welcome. If it is written, then a response is not required. The posters complaining about not having their thank-you notes acknowledged are the ones asking for a paradigm shift, and will realize when out interviewing for jobs, you’re often lucky to even hear back from the company unless you did get the job!
I’d guess many of these interviewers don’t want to leave the door open to students wanting to develop relationships with them, thinking it might increase their odds of acceptance. The interviewers have a(n unpaid) job, they do their job, they move on. This is not a personal relationship, it is a professional one.