<p>ylrac, he/she will call you, and from there, you guys will pick the meeting place and time.</p>
<p>I have not yet been contacted. Are all applicants given the oppurtunity to interview, or only some? Is it a good idea to call the admissions office and remind them that I'm still without an interview?</p>
<p>No. not quite yet. Remember it's the holidays, guys. Interviewers are busy with their families. The large majority of EA interviews were held after the EA deadline, so... just be patient.</p>
<p>Yeah - I did a sport coat and khakis, it went fine. (Last year)</p>
<p>are they really going to ask about politics? i thought it was more what are you intereseted in, what do you like about harvard?</p>
<p>"What's the last book you read?" Then be prepared to tell what it's about, analyze it, etc. My sister got that one.</p>
<p>No clue about politics. I didn't get asked any politics questions. Or any good questions. :(</p>
<p>dont be afraid to talk about other stuff too, such as tv shows, video games :D, but be really prepared to talk about your goals and plans, and how harvard will help you reach them.</p>
<p>In my EA interview, my interviewer and I discussed the impact of immigration on society in the U.S. and what I would do if I were President to better the situation. It really depends on your interviewer. They may completely leave that sort of question out. Then again, they may want to make sure you know what goes on outside of your house and school. You don't want to come off as sheltered - as someone who has lived under a rock, and has never even turned on the news (much less read a newspaper article). Just remain poised, and answer the "political questions" (if any) as naturally as you can. Be honest if you have no idea. They will respect you for admitting that over blurting out any old response (which could work against you if you're not careful). My two cents.... good luck to all applicants in the Regular Round! I hope my advice has been helpful!</p>
<p>-Jon :)</p>
<p>O.K. guys, here a few thoughts about your posts (Harvard alumna interviewer):
- Your answers are very knowledgeable and accurate. There is some genuinely useful information already posted on this thread.
- Don't worry about no interviews yet for RD applicants. I get my interviewee list sometime in January from the head of the alumni schools committee (the alumni committe from each area that interviews students). Then we contact the student for interviews in January and February. Some schools commitee heads also let the student know who their interviewer will be. The interview reports are due, if possible, by the time the adcom discusses the roster of people from your area. That varies, but it's never before February.
- The interview time is usually set by mutual discussion between the interviewer and student. Harvard asks us to be sensitive about your busy schedules, and I totally understand, having kids your age, if we have to talk through a couple of possibilities before we find a date that works. I do get somewhat turned off if a candidate makes absolutely no attempt to accommodate the interview, just saying no to a long string of suggestions. Luckily, that doesn't happen much.
- I agree completely with Northstar Mom's comments about attire. If you get "informal" cues, you still should not wear jeans, just to be safe.
- You have a good idea of the questions from this thread. One that may require some thought is the open-ended "Tell me about yourself." This is actually a good question because it allows you to steer the conversation into areas that you want to highlight about yourself.
- There also are some excellent suggestions on this thread about being genuine because phoniness, even out of nervousness, can be detected easily.
- I think the best interviewers ask students questions about themselves because the fact that a student is not knowledgeable about politics or other such areas is understandable for students who are involved with other things. But it's true that there are interviewers who do want to engage the student in a discussion about current events, etc. If you are not familiar with a subject the interviewer brings up, say so without bashfulness. Then if you are able to reason out the issue, feel free to do so so they can see your thought processeses; but if you really are too unfamiliar with the issue to do this, then you could say so and add that it would be an issue you would hope to explore before giving a thoughtful answer. The one exception is a question about books - you should always be prepared to answer a question about books, even though they don't always occur. If you are not a big reader outside of school, then discuss what has excited you from your school curriculum, and don't hide the fact that it came from the curriculum. Also, don't feel that a question about books has to be answered with fiction literature if that's not your area. If they try to steer you in that direction (even though most interviewers should try to bring out what interests YOU), then discuss one of such books you found interesting from English class if you haven't read fiction outside of class. Then steer the conversation into other material you've read that has really excited you, again even if it's from the curriculum.
You are intelligent, thoughtful students. Be your thoughtful, engaged selves and hopefully your interviewer will be one of the majority who can have an interesting conversation with you in which he/she can bring out a little bit about what makes you tick. And Harvard knows who the less adept interviewers are. They don't hold it against you unless the interviewer picks up a red flag about you.
One more thing- I chuckled about the post that said we are just normal people. I've been interviewing for 15 years. When I started, I worked out of my home, so I held my interviews there. I had children that were 3 and 4 years old at that time. During the interviews in my living room, they stayed upstairs watching an incredibly educational video that would ensure they would become the future Einsteins of America (you do believe that don't you? :) ) and more importantly would not appear in the living room asking for something. When they became old enough to stay by themselves, I started doing the interviews at Starbuck's - they were getting a little too interested in how the interviews were going, and I needed to ensure the confidentiality of the interviews.<br>
Best wishes on all of your applications.</p>
<p>On the way to my interview, I joked with my father about how if he asked me the last book I read outside of school, I'd have to answer Titus Andronicus, and that's not the sort of reading material you want to be discussing with some businessman in his office during an hour-long interview.</p>
<p>I had my interview today, and I can genuinely say that I left it not only feeling delighted, but disappointed that we couldn't continue talking! My interviewer was so nice, and easy-going, that is made the whole experience an absolute pleasure. </p>
<p>I wish I could give her a small present to express my gratitude (and for christmas as well!), but I'm a bit reluctant because it might seem a little over the top. So I'm just going to send her a nice card!!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice!</p>
<p>vrumchev, which country did you interview in?</p>
<p>I just got called in NYC a few hours ago to schedule my interview! The woman so nice! And she added a very humanizing touch by commenting on the huge transit strike going on over here! I really can't wait for my interview (early January) she seemed so nice!</p>
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vrumchev, which country did you interview in?
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<p>Australia!</p>