My interviewer at Phillips Exeter told my mom while he was interviewing her that he would advocate for me in admission. Can he really help me get in? During my interview he helped plan out a schedule of what my classes/ECs would look like. I reallllyy want to go to Exeter, do you think him advocating will really help me?
Thanks!
Just to clarify, I assume this interviewer is an Admissions Officer from Exeter? I wouldn’t read too much into it because he won’t be making the sole decision plus I assume he hasn’t seen your whole file yet but, yes, an Admissions Officer can advocate for you with the admissions committee. Each AO will recommend, or not, candidates they talked to. Good luck!
The short answer is yes - strong advocate of the AO who is one of the key readers of your file can be very helpful. However, “advocate” is not a promise Of admission. How effective his advocate will be eventually depend on how strong an applicant you are. So, be happy that you did an excellent job in the interview and that you seem to be an appealing candidate to the school. Not every applicant has that.
I heard a story about a guy with 99% SSAT and decent ECs who was accepted into just one school after applying to ~10. The school informed him that the acceptance was mainly due to the AO’s strong support. To think, if he’d visited while the AO was having a bad day…
Admission is by committee. The interviewers are very conversational and complimentary and it would be unlikely that one woukd say someone was not a good candidate or that they would not support you. It could mean something it could mean nothing.