<p>dewey: as you may know, the interview isn't a required part of your file. As such, I know of no statistics on admit rates for those with and without interviews. I honestly think it's negligible. A spread in admit rates may exist in schools that require them surely. I seem to recall hearing that MIT highly suggests an interview and there was a spread of admit rate in this population.</p>
<p>As for others being interviewed and not you: serendipity. Your area ASC ran out of volunteer slots most likely. For my area (large metro midwest area), we really strained our volunteers this year due to the continually growing no. of apps. I wouldn't be surprised at all if our interview success rate dropped (it's been above 90% in the past).</p>
<p>I was offered one, but my interviewer and I never had a time to meet. Weird, but the weekend she scheduled it for, I couldn't do. And then I asked her for another date and got no response for a long time. Then when she finally replied and I gave her another date, she said she was leaving the states and going off on vacation. By this date, it was so late (close to deadline) that I didn't think it would be helpful to call yale and ask for someone else. So I was never able to interview. </p>
<p>SO how will the adcom see this? Will they just think I wasn't offered or will they think I was uninterested? </p>
<p>What Yale will receive is a note that you were unable to meet. That's all. No negative, no positive. They aren't going to infer anything beyond that (e.g. not interested, blew off the interviewer). Best of luck to you in two weeks.</p>
<p>So, it's March 18. Decisions are released on March 31. I just got asked to have an interview with someone from the alumni association yesterday! Do you think that means that the admissions board is on the fence about me or something?</p>
<p>I am just wondering how one can overcome inherent nervousness and seem at ease during an interview? In those kind of situations, my voice always shakes and my answers seem stilted!! Help??</p>
<p>This may be a slightly long winded question, but I’m pretty sick of waiting for college decisions at this point, so I’ll ask anyway…
I told my interviewer that I was a member of the Youth Wind Ensemble in my area. He did not hear me correctly, or misunderstood, and thought i was in the Youth ORCHESTRA. The orchestra plays at once concert with my state’s philharmonic orchestra, and the wind ensemble plays with a professional concert band. The interviewer told me he had seen me with the philharmonic, and if we got to talk to the musicians at all. At that time i didn’t realize he thought i was in orchestra, so I answered as if he had asked about the band…
Other than that the interview went fine. About a week ago, he sent me an e-mail saying that he was going to see the Youth concert with the philharmonic, and he would like to meet in the lobby afterward. I promptly returned his email explaining that I was in the Wind ensemble and that we played with a professional concert band, not the philharmonic. He never responded…</p>
<p>SO, my question is, how much of an idiot does he think I am? Also, does he have any say at all this late in the process? Does he know the decisions for the candidates he interviewed?</p>
<p>Trom: I don’t understand your query or your emotion (“how much of an idiot does he think I am?”). From what you’ve written, your interviewer remembered something incorrectly. OK. </p>
<p>But you left a positive enough of an impression on him that when he had occasion to remember you (albeit with wrong information), he wished to see you again informally after a concert. What was the foul in that? Was it denigrating to you to be placed in the wrong ensemble?</p>
<p>And with this, you now conclude that he thinks you’re stupid? And he is sour enough to then try to sabotage your Yale application despite the fact that he takes dozens of hours each year to interview HS applicants?</p>
<p>I know waiting is stressful but the line of facts here doesn’t look too straight to me.</p>
<p>the problem is really that I didn’t catch on quickly enough to correct him at the interview when I should have. I’m really not too worried as at this point, there’s nothing more I can do anyway. thanks though!</p>
<p>I heard from somewhere that the interviewer knows the decision before we do, and that they aren’t allowed to contact us for a certain period of time.?</p>
<p>silversuz: your information is incorrect. Perhaps the regional volunteer coordinators get the info but the run-of-the-mill interviewer (like me) actually does not get the info until about 3-4 days AFTER the students are notified. This is so that snail mail decisions can reach everyone and no alum accidentally breaks the news first.</p>
<p>Not even the regional coordinators get the info before the applicants (if applicants check online). There may then be a lag based on how long it takes the regional coordinator to inform his/her interviewing corps of the decisions. There’s a moratorium on talking to applicants until the evening of 4/2.</p>
<p>What I’d like to know is why interviewers rarely answer thank-you letters. This happened to my Yale interviewer and several others. It doesn’t leave a great impression of the school, especially when you think the interview went well.</p>
<p>rb3: answering Thank You notes? I’m not sure what you mean. I’ve been sent emails and cards through the mail (meaning that they must have googled me because it’s not as if I gave them my home address). I don’t recall any of them wanting an acknowledgment from me. They generally were notes thanking me for my time and telling me they enjoyed the session. Not a call to continue to correspond. In my life, I don’t think I’ve ever *answered *a thank you note.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if any of them do get an acceptance, I can GUARANTEE you that I’m on the telephone as soon as the no-contact moratorium ends.</p>
<p>Hey, just out of sheer curiosity, where does the interviewing season start and end? Or is there no real end - does the next round begin right after Feb 15th? And is it common for candidates to score interviews after being wait-listed? (I ask because I have heard of one person who was gifted with that opportunity.) If any of these questions have already been asked before - I’ve looked through most but not all of this thread - my apologies, and if there are no answers, no worries.</p>
<p>For alumni interviews of local applicants, EA interviewing starts pretty early. Mid to late November really. About that time some RD get completed and sent to us but we’re really on a time crunch with the EA kids. The pre-January RD files get shelved until January, usually. Come early Jan (after the app deadline) we get the flood. Feb 15 or so is the official cut off date for interview reports to be in. However, a trickle still goes to New Haven after that. </p>
<p>You also asked “is it common for candidates to score interviews after being wait-listed?”</p>
<p>Some kids are accepted/waitlisted who never get an interview. I can imagine that a regional admissions rep could ask again if someone could meet with a particularly promising WL applicant who didn’t get interviewed the first time since there might be time available. The more info the better for Yale.</p>
<p>i am having an on-campus interview in july and applying this fall. are there subjects that definitely should/should NOT be discussed in an interview? i want to give the interviewer an accurate but flattering impression of me. some specific things i’m not sure whether i should mention or avoid are:
+instances where i did valuable things in my community in elementary school (is this too out-of-date and therefore irrelevant to who i am now, or are they insightful examples of being execeptional beyond high school ECs?)
+the fact that i’ve seen a psychologist for anxiety issues if i am not on any medications or in ongoing treatment
+pointing out that two other students from my school with higher class rank are also planning on applying (i know not to mention any specific numbers since they are looking at me wholistically-i read the thread)
+my favorite extra curriculars are: 1. a company i volunteered for but has gone out of business in the past year because of the economy, so i am no longer able to help out there. 2. a sport that i didn’t participate in my freshman or sophomore year but tried as a junior and really loved (or should i say something that i have a long-term and continued participation in, in order to show commitment since their note to my file is based only on the first impression?)
+i have a serious boyfriend and an important college goal of ours is to go to the same university, and at this point, even if that means settling for one slightly less competitive than yale (which is both of our top choices -not influenced by one another- also, he is one of the two higher ranking than me and with better test scores but will not be interviewing this summer.)
+asking the interviewer for suggestions of other schools to think about applying to once they’ve heard a bit about me. i honestly don’t know if i’m good enough to get into yale, but at this point my back-up schools are all much MUCH more safeties. i want to find some middle ground where i would be a good fit but wouldn’t feel like my hard work didn’t pay off because i got into some unselective place. the reason i hesitate to ask this is because it may come off as ignorant/lazy for not figuring out the whole college admissions process myself. but at the same time i would really value the insight of someone who has gone through the same process recently- i’m assuming my on-campus interview will be a recent graduate.</p>
<p>ok and one wardrobe question: i have a lucky necklace which isn’t big or offensive, but is very sparkly and sometimes distracts people’s eyes. should i not wear it so that the interviewer can more easily focus on making eye contact?</p>
<p>1) elementary school. No. You’ll appear to be grasping at straws.
2) private medical stuff. keep private
3) other students applying: no, you’ll appear too nervous. Ignore it. It doesn’t matter anyways
4) ECs: sure
5) boyfriend: no. It makes you look immature and not serious about what Yale has to offer. Why should they invest in you if a BF is more important. If you mention this, you’ll be sunk for sure. Frankly, you should go to the parents forum and ask about this. I’m not sure your path is one I’d want my daughter to undertake.
6) Don’t ask for other schools. It shows your lack of resourcefulness. Their internal reply would be “You’ve GOT to be kidding me”. I’d think that. If you want help searching go to other forums on CC or your guidance counselor. Don’t waste the time of a Yale admissions officer.
7) necklace? As long as it’s tasteful, not monstrously large or not gaudy, why not?</p>
<p>I’m a member of the incoming class of 2013 so this is just my take as someone who just had the interviews this year.</p>
<ol>
<li>No, because it is very outdated. Even worse it’ll make it seem like you haven’t done anything worth saying in high school.</li>
<li>I wouldn’t mention it. It’s a personal medical issue, not something to discuss with an alumni interviewer.</li>
<li>No, let the admissions officer worry about that. Your interviewer could care less, and it’ll make you seem like your already setting yourself up for not getting in.</li>
<li>Definitely talk about your EC’s.</li>
<li><p>I would definitely not talk about this. It makes it seem like going to Yale wouldn’t really be all that important to you, among other things.
Also, as someone who was in a similar situation. At one point before we applied to schools my girlfriend and I talked about that. Trying to do that would’ve made a bad situation because if one person goes to a school that wasn’t their top choice because of their significant other it gets in the way of the relationship because you’ll come to regret it. Harder to think about, but just as importantly, if a couple breaks up there’ll always be the regret of going to a school that wasn’t his/her top choice. My advice, if you both have such a strong relationship it’ll survive through college wherever you both go. and sometimes things work out great anyhow (they did for me). Of course, good luck whatever you decide to do.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t do it. It shows not only a lack of caring enough about the college process, but even worse a lack of interest in Yale. It would be like if someone you were interviewing for a job asked if you thought they would fit in at other jobs. Use your counselors, parents, friends, books, internet, etc for that.</p></li>
<li><p>Sure, wear it. Since you say it isn’t really over the top it shoul dbe completely okay.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A final note. When talking with your interviewer talk about your EC’s but also feel free to mention the things that really interest you even if they don’t really show up in your EC’s. It’s finding something that you and your interviewer can just keep talking about for a while that makes an interview great, and sometimes it’s your random interest that thye also share that gets that conversation flowing.GOod luck.</p>