<p>would it hurt your chances of admission if they contact you but you say you cant do an interview? </p>
<p>what about ivy colleges in general? is the interview optional?</p>
<p>For Harvard, the alumni interview is NOT optional. I don't know about the other Ivies, though.</p>
<p>Unless there's a serious illness in your family, I can't think of how missing an interview wouldn't hurt you.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend against it unless there is a very good reason.</p>
<p>I think it depends whether you are a domestic or international applicant. </p>
<p>For internationals Harvard says it will NOT hurt your chances of admission if an interview cannot be arranged.</p>
<p>It would never hurt your chances if an interview cannot be arranged (for example, if they can't find an interviewer in the area), but if they do, it would be a very bad idea to ask not to be interviewed.</p>
<p>Of course it depends on the reason.</p>
<p>If you are an international and you are sent the list of interviewers, it's up to the applicant to decide whether to contact the interviewer or not. </p>
<p>Assuming the closest interviewer is 200+ miles from the applicant's home and she decides not to contact an interviewer, how will this be judged. (applying from Italy)</p>
<p>Why would you want to skip the interview?</p>
<p>That's a very different story. I'm not sure but I'm guessing it can't be a problem.</p>
<p>I'm interested in what prime235's reason is. If he/she is international and in a similar situation it might well make sense.</p>
<p>If there's any way that you can reasonably make the interview, do so. If you interview after overcoming challenges to get there, that will likely impress your interviewer because Harvard likes people who can rise to challenges.</p>
<p>For instance, a few years ago, I knew a low income student who was an (unpaid) reporter for the Harvard Crimson. The student managed to interview a very controversial figure who was refusing interviews with any media. The student snagged the interview by hitchhiking to NYC and going to the subject's office to beg for an interview.</p>
<p>If an international student refused to get an interview because it was just 200 miles away, it would be reasonable for Harvard to wonder how the student planned to manage to go several thousand miles from home to attend Harvard.</p>
<p>In the U.S., students will travel thousands of miles just to visit a college. Traveling 200 miles for a college interview doesn't seem unreasonable particularly if the student would have to travel thousands of miles to attend Harvard.</p>
<p>thanks (10 char)</p>
<p>"If you are an international and you are sent the list of interviewers, it's up to the applicant to decide whether to contact the interviewer or not. </p>
<p>Assuming the closest interviewer is 200+ miles from the applicant's home and she decides not to contact an interviewer, how will this be judged. (applying from Italy)"</p>
<p>From what I've seen from people posting on CC, those international interviews fill up fast because there are far more students wanting interviews than there are alums available to interview.</p>
<p>Unless Harvard has stated otherwise, I don't think there's any reason to contact Harvard if you decide not to pursue such an interview.</p>