Princeton Interview? What to do?

I was contacted to schedule a Princeton interview on Skype in January, and we scheduled it on Feb 3 (after she did not reply to my email for 2 weeks). On the day of the interview, she said she was busy, so we shifted the interview by 2 hours and then had to finally cancel it because she was busy. We rescheduled the interview on Feb 10 and this time she didn’t come and didn’t even send me a clarification. I waited an hour for her. Now, she is not even replying to my messages. What should I do? Should I contact the office?
Is this a normal experience?

Not normal. Do you have a regional Princeton admissions rep for your area/school? I would email them. Keep it brief and to the point. “My interviewer rescheduled the interview twice because she was busy, then did not show up the third time (Feb 10th). I am unable to get a response from her at this point, but remain very interested in interviewing for Princeton…”

Something like that, I would also call admissions tomorrow, maybe do that before you send email and see if they connect you with a name so you don’t end up in email oblivion. Time is key at this point so you don’t want to lose weeks waiting for a response. I would want to be sure they knew she bailed not you, but do it politely and succinctly.

Princeton would want to hear about this. Call the admissions office and calmly explain the situation. They can advise you how to proceed.

I was contacted by my interviewer , and we completed it yesterday. She completed asking me questions in 8 minutes only. I tried to ask her questions but she answered all the questions vaguely and in a really short time.Though she wasn’t rude or anything, she was not answering the questions properly. Every question had the same answer that Princeton has lots of opportunities and that it is really good. It was not bad but not as good as my other interviews. Why do Alumni take these interviews if ultimately they don’t care?

@AstralWanderer I’m sorry that the interview didn’t go as well as you had hoped. It’s unfortunate that the interviewer did not live up to your expectations but understand that you can not control everything. It is possible that the interviewer is dealing with life threatening issues etc. As a Princeton Alumni I’m certain she has earned her qualifications and don’t assume she doesn’t care - that is extremely short sighted and presumptuous. I hope you don’t take this attitude to college - it will not get you very far. Wishing you the best going forward.

@MomEof3 I totally agree with you. I was just a little bit upset back then with the experience, but now I understand. She must be dealing with something important, and saying she didn’t care would be a little too extreme. In fact, the interview wasn’t so bad in itself. Don’t worry, I wont. I was just a little taken aback back then, and thank you for caring!

@MomEof3 “It is possible that the interviewer is dealing with life threatening issues, etc…don’t assume she doesn’t care - that is extremely short sighted and presumptuous. I hope you don’t take this attitude to college - it will not get you very far.”

It’s leaning to the extreme in giving the benefit of the doubt by stating maybe the interviewer is dealing with life threatening issues. If that were the case, the interviewer should have excused herself and allow this to be handled by another interviewer. It was an honest reflection of how the student felt and with the original post and the interview experience, the student was justified in being disappointed. Your comment about this student’s attitude was a snap judgment and I hope that you don’t make those snap judgments when you are conducting your interviews. I understand wanting to defend a fellow alum but it’s more productive for interviewers to share the information they learn about the process with the schools to improve the process.

I don’t think OP is being presumptuous. He was there, we weren’t. If his perception was that the interviewer was rushed and dismissive, then that’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it. If the interviewer was having a problem serious enough to affect her interview performance, it was irresponsible of her not to reschedule or alert the college so they could find someone to give this student the attention he deserves.

@paveyourpath and @austinmshauri - oh pleaaaase. @AstralWanderer handled the response better than you two! All I was trying to say is for an applicant to be prepared for every step of the application process not to go exactly how they expect it to! Learn how to read - I am NOT an alumni - and she is a she - not a he. Absolutely she is entitled to voice how she felt but it’s often a hard lesson to learn for an very accomplished student to not be the number one priority for once in their educational life. This is an interview which may possibly be valued at one point out of the thousand needed to receive an acceptance letter. Young adults often make themselves sick with concern over minuscule events. Some have no experience coping with disappointments. If you look at the timeline the interviewer contacted the applicant the day after her post and the skype interview took place that day. Relax people.

@MomEof3 - I find it ironic that you started by calling a poster presumptuous, followed by commanding those with differing opinions to “learn how to read” (while misusing the word alumni), and finally suggested that OTHERS “relax”.

As I read this thread I find the replies above by @paveyourpath and @austinmshauri thoughtful, helpful, and calm.

Have a nice day!

@sherpa tks! I’m good. Make it a great day!