<p>brainylaney said “i want to give the interviewer an accurate but flattering impression of me.”</p>
<p>I’ve given this some thought and based on what you’ve written, I don’t think this combination is possible.</p>
<p>I had an on-campus interview recently and wanted to write the interviewer a thank you. Since the interviewer was a student, I wasn’t sure if I should address it to Mr. _____ or if that’s too formal. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Going formal is safer! If it’s the student I would put their full name after Mr, it’s not as stiff sounding and personally, a little more light-hearted :]
How was your interview? Was it very conversational? Did you bring a resume with you? What did you wear? Haha sorry I’m just excited! Mine is August 11th.</p>
<p>thanks 
It went very well; it really didn’t feel like an interview as it was a really relaxed atmosphere. I was surprised that the main focus was on me rather than me and Yale (e.g. he didn’t really ask why I wanted to go to Yale, what I’ll add to Yale if I’m accepted etc.). The interviewer clearly had appointments right after mine so he had to end it right after 30 minutes, though we definitely could have gone on for longer. I did bring my resume but he never asked for it, and there was never really a moment to give it to him. We ended up discussing a lot of what I included on it anyways so it didn’t really make a difference. Clothing wise, I wore nice slacks and a button down shirt which was basically what he was wearing too. It was the right mix between informal and formal. Good luck on your interview!
P.S. Thanks so much T26E4 and AdmissionsAddict - this thread really put me at ease :)</p>
<p>Thanks for such a generous post, JED! I’m glad yours went well and hope mine is just as relaxed. Sounds fun :D</p>
<p>Many thanks to the people who have posted advice on interviews here. My D had her Yale on-campus interview recently. The interviewer was a current senior at Yale. It went very well- it was a friendly conversation, not at all intimidating. They are mostly trying to get to know you better, and to find out if you know yourself better. </p>
<p>For those awaiting their on-campus interviews, the best approach would be to think about how you would answer such basic questions like: What are your academic interests? Why? What extracurriculars do you participate in? How have they enriched your life? What public issues do you care about? At least for my D, there were no esoteric questions- nothing like “if you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be, and why?”.</p>
<p>This is a great resource :D</p>
<p>Can you offer any information about interviews for REA applicants? Do the interviews differ from those for RD applicants?</p>
<p>No they are the same.</p>
<p>INTERVIEW TOMORROW.</p>
<p>at my school. 45 minutes allotted.</p>
<p>oh man x 100…</p>
<p>Best of luck to you :)</p>
<p>Good luck! Mine is tomorrow too, but at my house after school. I’m sooo scared!</p>
<p>do intls get interviews?</p>
<p>AdmissionsAddict-
Do we get interviewers who are linked to our high schools?
My friend graduated from my school like 8 years ago and then he graduated from Yale and he told me he joined the Alumni Interview thing.
Is it likely that he would be my interviewer?</p>
<p>ilovefhf: "do intls get interviews? " sometimes</p>
<p>pleaseyale: sometimes yes, sometimes not. It’s up to the volunteer. Sometimes they want to stay linked, sometimes they just live nearby. </p>
<p>This caveat however: If I personally knew a potential interviewee, I’d recuse myself and ask for someone else to conduct the interview.</p>
<p>^Why would I want another interviewer?
I think a friend interviewing me would be great.</p>
<p>I’m not speaking of what the applicant would want. I’m speaking of having above board ethics for the interviewer.</p>
<p>The “linking” refers to some ASC territories where only certain high schools are “linked” to alumni interviewers. I don’t think it has to do with interviewers who have an alumni connection, but with schools that have lots of application and therefore have assigned interviewers. See the sticked FAQ about interviews for more details. My ASC region doesn’t do linking, it’s just something I heard about on the Yale forum.</p>
<p>Interviewers are supposed to recuse themselves if they know the applicant according to the Yale guidelines.</p>
<p>Once again, if interviews with admissions counselors are required or recommended, fine.
Interviews with alumni or students are a waste of your time. If you have questions ask for an informal meeting with someone in admissions. The latest brilliant scheme, the interview with a parent of a student, goes far beyond all of it into the realm of absurdity.</p>
<p>Well objective789: some of the other schools whose forums you post upon may have a plan for students’ parents to interview but Yale doesn’t.</p>
<p>From my experience, I think most alumni volunteers know that the interview is an extremely slender or even non-consequential part of the application. Certainly Yale re-iterates that to us constantly. I’m certainly under no illusions that “my pull” is inordinate. Of the last two years, I interviewed 20 kids or so and none were admitted. Although I felt most were extremely viable, I wasn’t surprised either. </p>
<p>However, I also know that the admissions officers DO read every interview report and it goes into the factors that help them decide – however small.</p>
<p>I also know for a fact that information gleaned from an informed but objective source (such as an alum) can be a determining factor. It happened last year with two urban applicants from my area. Their LORs were bland and uninformative. But both alumni write-ups were the tipping factor for the kids where grey areas existed.</p>
<p>If you’ve read to any depth of this thread, you’ll see that I and admissionsaddict constantly chime in to the students not to stress over the interview and don’t mis-represent it for what it is. Objective789, I don’t know why you would offer your advice as such since you don’t seem to have any first hand knowledge of how Yale views the interviews (they WANT all students to have them). I know you’re a parent whose son is applying to selective colleges. I’m not sure what’s the source of your interview distaste.</p>
<p>However, I would contend that your statement that Yale interviews “are a waste of time” run counter to my first hand experience. Certainly applicants shouldn’t stress over them but to say they’re inconsequential would be too much, and frankly, poor advice.</p>
<p>If your son decides to apply to Yale and is offered an interview, I’d encourage him to sit for it.</p>