<p>Sooo, my Penn interview went…interestingly.</p>
<p>First, I got an Indian interviewer, who happened to know about my spelling bee days back in middle school. So for no apparent reason other than to disparage me, he brought them up and said, “So apparently you’re pretty good at memorization and regurgitation, but college requires abstract thinking skills. What evidence do you have of these skills, or do you not in fact have them and just don’t think they matter?” He also definitely called Wharton’s ethos “Style over substance.”</p>
<p>Second, at the end of the interview, he asked me some really weird questions:</p>
<p>1) Did you use a college consultant in this process?
2) Did you receive SAT coaching?
3) Is Penn your first-choice school?
4) Why didn’t you apply ED?
5) Did you apply anywhere else EA or ED?
6) Did you apply for financial aid?</p>
<p>Is this grounds for concern? Am I just freaking out over nothing? Should I email Penn? Any thoughts?</p>
<p>.......yikes. Megalo, you're usually my calmer downer when I have absurd college fears, but I don't what to tell you about this one. From what I've seen (in your leave of absence) the "Is Penn your top choice / why didnt you apply ED?" question is pretty popular. But financial aid? SAT coach? You don't possess abstract thinking? Yikes.</p>
<p>If someone asked me all those questions I would gotten up and left. The one about financial aid is especially ridiculous. My interview was great, he asked me to tell him about myself, my academic and extracurricular interests, and then asked why I was applying ED to penn. All of it was really casual, it was mixed with him telling me about his experience. It did not really feel like I was being "graded", it felt like a normal conversation. By the end we were just talking about how awesome penn is.</p>
<p>mega--I have been surfing this board for a while, but your post got me to actually register so that I could post. I have been a Penn interviewer for 18 years. The questions you were asked were totally out of line. There is a person who coordinates the interviewers for your area as well as a regional admissions representative. Either or both of these people would be appropriate to contact. I would do it in the vein of--"I was taken aback by these questions, I welcomed the interview but felt very uncomfortable, I thought you should know for future applicants." Taking this kind of action will not compromise your Penn application. Promise. Penn considers alumni interviewers to be ambassadors for the school, and it is very important that applicants are made to feel comfortable. Our job is to get a sense of you as a person (which we convey to the admissions committee) and to tell you about Penn. </p>
<p>By the way, my own D is a spelling champ and I think that this says something very admirable about her.</p>
<p>There is no rationale for asking an applicant if they are applying for financial aid. That is none of the interviewer's business and the application process is need blind. The interviewer should not be hammering the applicant.</p>
<p>My D applied to Penn RD and has not been contacted for an interview although we live in a large metropolitan area. She has been in contact with a coach and is going out to visit soon. Do they just figure that the meeting with the coach would be in place of an interview?</p>
<p>Not everyone gets an interview. While there may be a lot of alums in your area, its possible the alum just didnt have time to schedule, etc etc.</p>
<p>This guy seemed like he really disliked you...definately talk to Penn but remember interviews aren't that important. That's surprising that he knew about your spelling bee contests...maybe he's a stalker!</p>
<p>i would definitely take nimby's advice, and contact penn.</p>
<p>even if interviews don't count as much, or you were able to answer the questions....you don't want to take any chances that could hurt your acceptance.</p>
<p>if you tell them of the situation, they may weight your interview less (if it was bad) or might even get you another one.</p>
<p>i would definitely alert them as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>dakota--interviewers get contact information for everyone in their region without regard to whatever may be happening between applicants and coaches.</p>
<p>My interview was prbably 15-20 minutes long. The only question he asked was "do you have any questions about penn?" .... and I'm thinking, "Aren't you supposed to eb interviewing me?? and didn't you graduate 15 years ago anyway so things have probably changed a lot since you graduated.."</p>
<p>it was weird
PLUS he had a weird tick... it was kind of uncomfortable but I pretended to be fine, even though I was dying inside</p>
<p>Interviewers are kept current about Penn in a variety of ways and you may find yourself in the company of a recent graduate or someone who is many years out (perhaps even with his/her own children attending). Penn folks are generally very enthusiastic about their days there and relish the opportunity to stay connected with the school and help ignite the interest of potential students. An equally motivated and interested applicant might find it very beneficial to get a variety of views about the school--the interviewer's perspective, the adcom member perspective, current student experiences, materials on the website, etc.</p>
<p>why can't dead threads rest peacefully? I'm not sure if I'm just mad at you bringing back this thread or your blatant use of Spanglish, the bastard language that spawned a horrible movie with its namesake</p>