They are not important! I had my interview one week after I submitted my application. You think they can finish reading all the applications and decide which ones they want to interview? I don’t think so! Again, there’s no correlation between your chance of acceptance and whether or not you had an interview. My close friend was accepted ED last year without an interview, so please don’t sweat it, it’s really not worth it.
If you don’t mind me asking, what was your friend’s test scores?
@Yomo710 2380 superscore. Another school friend got in with a 2100 superscore.
@TrazCapDEV Was he exceptional in some other category like ECs?
@neoking You mean the 2100 kid? No, he had legacy though.
I believe this is how it works: alumni interviewers are given lists of students in the area along with intended majors (but not their entire applications), and they can chose who to interview based on who shares their interests. If there are no interviewers in your area, no interview. (But don’t quote me on that - it’s a little hazy) In any case, I didn’t get one, and none of my friends who were accepted, including some who got likely letters and high-level scholarships, got one. From what I can tell, there is no correlation between your getting an interview and being accepted.
Tshiknn is correct. It says on the website: “Candidates who are not offered an interview are not at any disadvantage in the admissions process.”
Meanwhile they tell us alumni interviewers that our work is much appreciated, a very great help, and blah blah blah.
I think the only way an alumni interview could hurt a candidate is if they blew it off with no explanation to the interviewer … we’re supposed to report that to the adcom if it happens.
I think the school’s biggest concern is keeping the alums feeling useful and involved, while trying to make sure they don’t do anything creepy with the kids.