<p>So today I came across a student from my high school who was accepted at Yale last year and I told him that I had gotten an interview. He said that they only give interviews in my area to those who are borderline and might be accepted. Is this true? Has the admissions comm. even started meeting?</p>
<p>Please read my posts on this thread starting on the first page. Interviews have NOTHING to do with your chances of being accepted. There is no review process where the admissions committee indicates who they want to have interviewed. The admissions committee probably won't convene until late February.</p>
<p>Olive: your acquaintance is either being malicious or just flaunting his ignorance. Regardless, ignore what he said. No one even reviews the items in the applicant file before their names are sent out to the area interview coordinators.</p>
<p>Hm. Does that apply if you did an on-campus summer interview? Yale's website indicated that some people who did those interviews would do regular ones too. I didn't and assumed that they already had enough information to decide (I was deferred) or felt that one interview was sufficient, but maybe it didn't have to do with me? Did anyone who did an on-campus interview do a regular one?</p>
<p>Yeah, I know someone who did, but she wasn't admitted either so I don't think it affects you one way or the other..</p>
<p>If you do an on-campus interview, your name is still forwarded to the local Alumni Schools committees. You may well be offered an interview w/one of the alum volunteers. Feel free to meet or alternatively, you can inform the alum that you've already interviewed on campus and would like to decline.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's what I thought. I thought he didn't really know what he was talking about but maybe since he was at Yale he may have heard something different.</p>
<p>I've devoured this whole thread and I have two questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>So my interview is tomorrow. My interviewer's emails have been fairly straightforward and void of emotion. I'm scared out of my mind that this interview will be a cold interrogation, a situation I do not perform well in. I've never had an interview where I have to talk about myself like this; does anyone have any pointers for me to help keep my cool? When I'm nervous I don't speak well...</p></li>
<li><p>I have a hilariously tragic story. I called my interviewer to give him my number, but he didn't answer so I left a message. Being my shy, nervous self, I accidentally gave him the wrong number. My mother's number. Her cell is my old one, and I'm still not used to my new number. Half-way through giving him it, I realized my mistake and nervously blurted out "OH WAIT! That's not my number!" and gave him my real one. So much for first impressions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So do you guys think this affect my application badly? I can only imagine what he thought: "What kind of loser doesn't know his own number?" I'm hoping he'll just laugh it off, but reading his emails make him seem somewhat serious and cold. </p>
<p>I'm sure I'll look back at this one day and laugh. Or cry. Leaning toward the latter right now.</p>
<p>Chill. The person's emails are probably just straightforward, not meant to be cold or intimidating. I wouldn't think twice about giving the wrong phone number initially. There's nothing at all tragic about this situation. The alumni interview counts for very little and I can't imagine someone writing you off because of your voicemail. </p>
<p>There are exceptions, but VERY few interviewers interrogate. You've never had to talk about yourself like this before? I bet a relative or one of your parents' friends has asked you about an extracurricular activity or how school is going. That's the kind of talking about yourself you'll likely be doing.</p>
<p>Again, chill.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. My D had a Yale alumni interview yesterday afternoon and read through this and other Yale threads before she went. She seemed very lucky with her interviewer as he was a professor at a local college in the same area my D is interested in. She met him at his office and they talked for about 40 minutes. My D's first impression was that it was a strange interview but as she recounted what happened it sounded like he first asked her about her activities from her resume, then she asked him questions about Yale and then he gave her some general advice on choosing a major and a career path. I think she was expecting difficult tricky questions like her U of Chicago interview but this was more like a conversation between friends. Overall it seemed very beneficial for my D even if she doesn't get accepted to Yale in terms of the advice she received on majors and careers. </p>
<p>One mistake my D made was not updating her resume since the last interview she did a few months ago. The interviewer noticed a lack of recent activites. They talked about what she had been doing recently and hopefully that made up for it. But something to remember to check for next time.</p>
<p>AA</p>
<p>What do you think about me bringing an article in a regional newspaper written about me in one of my extracurricular activities to the interview?</p>
<p>I don't like it when people bring articles. I look at it for long enough to be polite and move on. I assume that I'll hear about an applicant's major extracurriculars in detail in the course of the interview so I don't need the article. I've also done this long enough to be pretty jaded. Lots of kids get written up in the newspaper. If it's your profile in Sports Illustrated, an interview with you about your latest movie in People, or a review of your book in the New York Times, then I'll be impressed. Even then, I wouldn't need the article because your accomplishments would speak for themselves. My job in the interview is to learn about you through your own words. </p>
<p>Other interviewers might find an article helpful, so that's just me!</p>
<p>I have a question for AdmissionsAddict
I'm pretty nervous about my interview, particularly because of the first impression I probably gave while I was on the phone. I picked up the phone and three seconds later my mother picked it up. The interviewer said may i speak to X twice before I could respond, I had no idea they were calling me for the interview. It took me a good ten seconds before I could get my mom to hang up her phone so I can speak to her.</p>
<p>I have never been interviewed before and how many questions would be too much ?
because Yale is my top choice.
I just hope she doesn't ask any questions about history or politics.</p>
<p>I've seen somewhere on this thread that Yale links alums to schools.
I am part of the first graduating class of my school so I am the first Yale applicant. But then, maybe they added my school or they consider me as part of the Paterson schools.</p>
<p>I just had an interesting interview...it was surprisingly short...the interviewer seemed like he was rushed or something....but he did say he was impressed...he was young (late 20s early 30s) and he asked me, "If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?"...needless to say, interesting</p>
<p>wow, wow and wow again to bicyclekick. i can't see myself answering that question.</p>
<p>haha....i said I would pick black because black is a mix of every color and i see myself as a mix of different experiences and ideas as a result of me being born and raised in the middle east, living in New Orleans, and now living in New Jersey...he liked it...he said one other person also said black "because it matches everything" and he went on to say he liked my answer better...lol....</p>
<p>supermarioj dont stress over it...i was a little worried because i got lost on the way there (Google maps sucks!! wrong directions!!!) but it all worked out fine :)</p>
<p>hey , i live in nj too, and im also from the middle east. mathces everything. lol , that answer was probably provided by a girl</p>
<p>uhh no im a guy</p>
<p>I think supermarioj meant the black matching with everything answer probably came from a girl ;)</p>
<p>I had my alumni interview today. Tell you the truth, it was a lot more laid-back than I expected. My interviewer, a lawyer, wore a sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes, compared to me in a sports jacket, dress shirt, and really nice jeans. He joked around a lot, and told me a lot about his own experiences. His questions were really general, and he gave me room to explain myself fully, and I guess I answered most of his questions while giving answers to other questions. He told me I did really well and would give Yale a really good report, but he's a lawyer, so who knows? ;)</p>