@viphan (re post #13): Actually, the written recommendations I annually receive (I don’t know if this is true for other universities) specifically request that alumni interviewers have no further communication with an applicant upon competing the interview, until admissions decisions are made (and then only to congratulate those who are accepted). I am sure this is due to the institution’s desire to have admissions/FA questions answered by the paid professionals. I actually believe a brief “it was good to meet with you” responding e-mail would be entirely appropriate and, contrary to what you’ve implied, I only said (in post #4) that not doing so was the “generally accepted process.”
Further, to the degree that alumni interviewers feel any “authoritativeness,” it’s certainly not due to the importance – or, really, the lack thereof – of the interview report in the aggregate applicant assessment. Rather, it is because high school seniors and adults in the thirties, forties, fifties and sixties simply are not equals. Yes, I understand that this “bold” assertion goes against the prevalent egalitarian grain. However, most seniors have essentially no experience and very little education, while most interviewers have a considerable amount of both. Many interviewers have very hard-won personal and professional life experiences, whereas teenagers tend to be loaded with optimism and cockiness, unconstrained by reality. Have you, viphan, raised a family, led a major project, supervised hundreds of people, been responsible for millions or billions of dollars, or factually made life-or-death decisions that effected others? Of course not – and many/all of these experiences might well be in your future – whereas, other alumni interviewers and I have done all these things . . . and more. Does that make interviewers smarter? Obviously, it does does not. However, it probably means that their judgements, their world-view, their understanding, their prudence, and their insight are founded on a good deal more than most secondary school students’ are based upon.
Some of the disconnect may come from the fact that most of the adults here grew up at a time when thank you’s were done with paper and pen, and to respond to a thank you letter would be seen as silly, whereas the students here were raised with texting and tweeting, where every thought is expressed and to not respond could be seen as rude. Just different frames of reference.
@CaliCash (re post #22): I suspect you might have not written post #22, had you thoroughly read post #21, in which I indicated that I, too, believe: (a) it is somewhat rude, but (b) some universities discourage post-interview alumni contact. In sum, we have been in full agreement.
Your quotation at the start of post #22 has nothing whatsoever to do with the e-mail response/rudeness question. Rather, it concerns viphan’s comments re “authoritativeness.” It seems that you may have erroneously intertwined the two subjects.
I had read on here that it was a courteous deed to write the interviewer after the process to thank him for his time and say it was nice to meet him. I emailed him (since I didn’t have his address and didn’t want to stalk him down) and he was kind enough to write a nice, curt reply. Personally, I think it’s understated that the communication ends there. I didn’t attempt to write anything back and I figured it was over.
I personally had no idea that some universities restricted contact after the interview. That’s helpful to know.
I think it’s certainly courteous to respond to the thank you note, but really, it’s not something dire. Maybe the interviewer doesn’t feel comfortable responding or is unable to respond. Either way, it doesn’t make a big difference. I absolutely understand the stress the student undergoes throughout the process, but these alumni are only volunteers.
@menefrega (re post #18:"What favor are they doing for the applicant?’
Alumni interviews provide information, insight, and counsel – some institutionally specific, some more life-oriented – to seniors, based on considerable experiences. That’s a service to these kids, more than a few of whom evidently do not have such sources available, either in their homes or their schools (I only say this because it has been repeatedly said to me by many of those I interview).
I think @Sue22 nails it on the head re: the “thank you notes”. I find it very plausible that HS age kids would want a reply to a quick email Thank You note. I’ve gotten dozens – maybe even near a hundred. I’ve NEVER replied to one unless there was an issue I wanted to revisit.
Even Miss manners says once the service/gift is rendered, the recipient sends a Thank You note. No reply is required of the recipient of the Thank You note.
"Even Miss manners says once the service/gift is rendered, the recipient sends a Thank You note. No reply is required of the recipient of the Thank You note."
Exactly. Commonly, thank you notes are sent for gifts (A sweater Grandma sent for your birthday). People don’t flip out because Grandma doesn’t send another note back and say “You’re welcome!” Just to clarify my first post, I don’t believe it’s necessary for interviewers to respond but it is nice.
They’re making it possible for students to interview without getting on a plane or driving long distances. My kids have never done an alumni interview because they’ve always travelled to the school in order to interview.
Curious @menefrega I believe you’re a parent. I assume you also taught your kids to send TY notes for gifts they rec’d right? Did you also teach them to expect a YW note to be mailed back to them after sending of the TY note?
@T26E4 No offense, but I’m just curious as to why you are an alumni interviewer? From what I’ve seen of your posts, you seem to have little to no care about the students and little to no care about whether or not they actually get in. So what makes you do it? You seem to be rather bumptious…
Please, and I say this as a fellow high-schooler, appreciate that your interviewers are even willing to do this for you. All of these interviewers have jobs, many of them have children, and yet they carve time out of their busy schedule to do some service to their school. Yes, many interviews are imperfect, and perhaps you would have preferred a longer interview. However, you are a senior in high school. You (hopefully) do not have children. You do not have bills to pay. You do not have a full-time job (no, school is not a full-time job). Maybe, just maybe, an hour-long interview or a thank-you email isn’t feasible for someone who does these things. Furthermore, to you, this could just be a harmless rant. To an interviewer who has made every effort to squeeze time into their schedule to spend some time with a teenager they don’t know, this could easily be seen as rude. Don’t offend the people you need to impress.
@Sue22 - at some schools alumni interviews are the only interviews available, and even then they’re not guaranteed. Duke, for example, does not do on-campus interviews. If you get your application submitted by a certain date, and there is alumni interviewer availability in your area, you will be contacted about scheduling an interview.
I still fail to understand why getting a note acknowledging a … thank you note would make ANY difference. The process has been completed. There are no real reasons to continue the communications. As someone who has dealt extensively with students who sought or are seeking advice, I understand the need to cut certain conversations short, and especially when they turn into an endless loop of add-ons. “Oh yes, you told me this, but what about that?” or “Since you explained this, could you explain me that. My friend tells me you’re wrong! What do I tell you”
Simply stated, at one point in time, it is BEST to simply bring an END to the conversations. If there is a later offer of admission, a new thank you note could be sent and then a reply with “Congratulations” might be expected. This is, however, a different story.
@InigoMontoya (re post #36): You’re entirely right concerning the principal point provided to Sue22; however, you’ve made a slight misstatement. One’s RD application can be submitted to Duke by the “priority interview deadline” AND there may be alumni interviewers in your locality, BUT there is NO interview guarantee: volunteer alumni occasionally get sick, their kids or their parents can be seriously ill, they can have their most pressing legal case suddenly “blowup,” their boss can send them on a six-week, unanticipated overseas assignment, or their medical practice partner may have an unexpected family problem and they may be required to attend to his patients. Obviously, this list is endless, but I know you get the idea. In such situations – and for completely understandable reasons – the interview request delivered by Duke to the alumni volunteer may never be acted upon. Every alumni interviewer works diligently to overcome such impediments; occasionally, we are unsuccessful.
@toptier - I don’t believe I said there was a guarantee. In fact, my first sentence states they are not guaranteed. I said that IF you get your application in on time, AND there is availability, you will be contacted about SCHEDULING an interview. Not that you are guaranteed that your interview will be able to be scheduled (there may be unavoidable conflicts) or that, if scheduled, the interview is guaranteed to take place (as you pointed out, life can intervene). You’re extrapolating on my statements.
I was merely trying to clarify a statement by Sue22, that implied that students only needed to rely on alumni interviews if they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) travel to campus. That may be the case for some schools. For other schools alumni interviews are the only option. NOT a guaranteed option, but the only option available, regardless of how many times you may visit campus.