<p>I had posted in the FAQs thread about the interview scheduling deadline (Tuesday 10 December - Don't miss it), but I also wanted to say something about how to request an interview.</p>
<p>It isn't hard. Simply write to your assigned Educational Councillor and request an interview. Be polite. Let them know any relevant details. It really isn't hard. Don't (as one of my applicants did this year) write a letter that says in full. "Yo, when is my interview?" I particularly liked the "Yo".</p>
<p>One last thing, yes, we know that this whole admissions thing is stressful, however, do remember that all of the EC's are volunteers. They are doing this unpaid. I had one particular applicant (call him Tom) write to me late Friday night requesting an interview. I was out yesterday, and I sat down this morning to respond to those kids who had written to me on Friday and Saturday, and there was a mail from Tom saying (and I paraphrase) "What the heck is wrong with you? Why didn't you respond to my e-mail. Have you forgotten about me. Don't you know that I need this interview." </p>
<p>Why would anyone write something like that? That's just dumb. Being dumb does not correlate well with success at MIT. I know that applicants are stressed, and have a lot of stuff to deal with all at once, but managing that effectively does correlate well with success at MIT.</p>
<p>Wow! I knew that some students have really become unapologetically conceited, but to demand your time on their schedule is ridiculous, rude and presumptuous. I hope you attached that snot-nosed email to the application, and politely responded to the jerk’s email as: “Thank you for your patience; I have attached your email messages regarding your concerns to the admissions committee for further review and as part of your application package. Again, thank you for your patience.”
What a moron!</p>
<p>Actually no. I do recognise that kids are stressed, and I do not to weigh one stupid e-mail higher than an extended career of accomplishment. What I try to do in these cases is to transfer the interview to another EC, so that the interview is approached fresh. Though that is not always possible in all cases.</p>
<p>I used to be an EC. Did it for 15 years. Met some wonderful young people, a good fraction of whom were admitted. I quit this year. Lots of reasons for that, but part of the reason was the behavior of interviewees.</p>
<p>I didn’t get any “yo”'s, but I had multiple students pester me - three or four increasingly shrill emails within a 24 hour period is over the top. Had one student who had only one free hour in the following month - and was furious that I wouldn’t move a previously scheduled interview to accommodate him. </p>
<p>This year there seems to be a stronger sense of entitlement amongst interviewees than in the past. It’s not terribly attractive, and it can’t help. Switching ECs is the fair thing to do - but it won’t help if the second EC is treated the same way.</p>