<p>Glad it went well, Lingbo!</p>
<p>How do u google people? I have tried it but the results were just a bunch of ...
So?</p>
<p>hahaha I did the same exact thing for my MIT interview in october, and I told my interviewer that I googled him. he thought it was hilarious</p>
<p>Haha, yeah, I also googled my Brown interviewer. I didn't bring up that fact because I thought that that would have been a bit weird (but then again, someone on the brown page had an interviewer who looked him up on myspace...i thought that was kinda creepy). Anyways, I found out that my interviewer was a music major and played the cello which was an advantage for me because I'm also involved alot in music.</p>
<p>I don't know, I think that just knowing a little bit about your interviewer helps take away the feeling of anticipation/anxiety.</p>
<p>It would freak me out to know a lot about my interviewer beforehand. The more you know about a person without actually knowing the person, the more separate you are from that person. That separateness -- the divide of knowledge you've recieved without it having been given -- can't be a good thing. Whenever I'm going to contact somebody potentially intimidating, I pretend that they will surely be the friendliest, most down-to-earth person (even while not being too casual...) just so I don't worry myself. But I don't read about them all over the internet.</p>
<p>Has it ever happened to to any of you that you got interviewed by someone you know, or someone you've met? Like, for example, I say 'Hi' to some of my neighbours when I see them even if I don't know them personally -- I usually don't even know their names. Say you get interviewed by one of these people. Wouldn't it be kind of awkward because you would definitely see them again before and after you get your acceptance letter?</p>
<p>And about the whole Googling thing, I think that it's okay to learn about your interviewer before you get interviewed. You sort of know what to expect... I don't think I'd bring it up, but if I did, I don't think that they should be too freaked out. I mean, isn't it normal to expect that a high school student that wants to have every possible advantage in the admissions process would do something like this?</p>
<p>I have run into 2 students whom I had interviewed and who later were rejected. One ended up going to a church that I started going to about a year after she'd applied to Harvard. Another ended up being my meditation teacher in a free local meditation class. </p>
<p>Seeing them wasn't awkward. I liked both of the students when I interviewed them (which is usually the case -- whether or not the students get in). I genuinely wished both of them well. When I saw the student and her family at church, after the service, I went up to them and talked to them, saying nice things about the girl, and asking about her college experiences. It was a pleasant conversation, and I've had other pleasant conversations with her and her family since then.</p>
<p>The student who ended up being my meditation teacher was happy to see me, recognizing me first, and giving me a hug. She also told me that things ended up for the best for her because she ended up having to stay in town for college, and during her freshman year, both of her parents (who were only in their early 50s) suddenly died just months apart due to medical problems no one knew they had. She seemed to have been happy to have been able to see them frequently before they died.</p>
<p>Anyway, there's no reason to be embarassed if you end up getting rejected (as is the case for most H applicants) and then run into your interviewer. People interview for Harvard because they like young people and want to help their alma mater. Most interviewers will like most of the students whom they meet because, frankly, most applicants are quite pleasant to interview. The interviewers also know that due to admission odds, is usually unlikely that anyone whom they interview in a particular year will get in even though virtually all of the people whom they interview will be excellent students with some impressive achievements.</p>
<p>I think it depends on your interviewer. If he/she is the type of person who seems to be 'cool' with it, then mentioning it would be no problem. But if he/she is a stickler for propriety, forget it.</p>
<p>I guess you weren't a stalker after all =) Congrats!</p>
<p>Thanks, lackadaisy!</p>
<p>I guess I'll add this to the record - I was accepted to Harvard. I honestly don't think my interview was particularly fantastic at all (just talked about ECs, Harvard, pretty banal stuff) and the interviewer seemed unenthused about keeping in contact with me and was just polite and distant. So I don't feel the interview was a big tip factor or anything.</p>
<p>My final advice - not really worth googling your interviewer. Just really weird when I ask questions like, "What did you major in?" and already know what's going to come out of his mouth.</p>
<p>Well, so far there is nothing unusual to it- that was exactly the first thing I did when I had the name of my interviewer- but why would you mention it? And, moreover, HOW? By the way I googled you, is it true that you...?? Remember you are talking about yourself there not about this person.</p>
<p>Sometimes they ask for it, sometimes they don't.</p>
<p>I always Google my interviewer so I know a little more background information about the person. I'm also able to see what they look like, so I'll be able to get a heads up in Starbucks (all my interviews are in the same starbucks....funny huh).</p>
<p>But Northstarmom, aren't you supposed to base your recommendation only from meeting the person, not from any outside things like test scores etc? That you're only bringing up the personal side of the applicant out or something? Or at least that's what my MIT interviewer told me.</p>
<p>I'd Google my interviewer too. but I wouldn't mention that I did.. It might be a good idea to lead the conversation to that way if you have common interests..</p>
<p>"But Northstarmom, aren't you supposed to base your recommendation only from meeting the person, not from any outside things like test scores etc? That you're only bringing up the personal side of the applicant out or something? Or at least that's what my MIT interviewer told me."</p>
<p>For Harvard, the recommendation is based on things like test scores, too, which Harvard asks interviewers to obtain from the applicant. The interviewer has to rate the students on their intellectual abilities, and part of that rating is due to test scores, grades, coursework.</p>
<p>I don't rate the student based on anything I happen to have seen through Google. I do rate the student based on what comes up on the interview. I also ask students to bring in a resume or activity list. It's unlikely that I'll have seen something remarkable on Google that doesn't eventually come up in the interview.</p>
<p>Occasionally, I have interviewed students whom I had encountered elsewhere. While I have deliberately not interviewed students at my S's high school, since I have been involved in lots of activities, occasionally I ended up interviewing a student who had crossed paths with me before.</p>
<p>In one situation, I interviewed a student for H that two years previously, I had interviewed for a select community program. I included that info in my recommendation. </p>
<p>As part of my recommendations, I also have put into context students' activities and achievements. For instance, there are activities that may seem typical for Harvard applicants in the NE, but that demonstrate rare creativity and independence when done in my part of the country.</p>
<p>When it comes to interviews in general -- jobs, scholarships, internships, college -- realize that it's normal now for many people to Google interviewers and those whom they interview. Keep this in mind as you post on-line, including on CC (where I have encountered at least one person whom I ended up interviewing. To my knowledge, that person never realized they had "met" me here). The world is very small, indeed.</p>
<p>I googled my interviewer and told him about it... he didnt mind at all...</p>
<p>As a young interviewer who used Google and Friendster all the time in college, I wouldn't be upset -- and in fact would be mildly flattered -- if a student mentioned using Google to find out about me. On the other hand, not all interviewers will feel the same way, especially if they are older interviewers who don't use the Internet very often.</p>
<p>(Also, I suddenly feel old, having just realized that I never began using Facebook or MySpace until after graduation.)</p>
<p>Oh, and like northstarmom, I look up my students online. Thankfully, I haven't discovered anything horrifying -- aside from god-awful graphics on one student's MySpace page -- so far.</p>
<p>my dad interviews for harvard, and its really what everyone else has been saying: interviewers are simply trying to advocate for you. he only had a negative impression of one student. </p>
<p>as for my interview, i googled my interviewer and of course I find out that he is famous. it freaked me out and made me more nervous than prepared me (but i was curious) it went relatively well and went for only 40 minutes (a little short though). whats funny is that while i didnt tell him anything he found out stuff about me beforehand--apparently the person who assigned him told him info that he could have never gotten off the internet...interesting. but i still got in to princeton, and honestly....i dont think the interview counts a lot in the app. of course, if it went REALLY bad as in talking about the KKK, yes it will impact your app. but otherwise, no. </p>
<p>of course it was princeton instead of harvard and so the interview is different. for ex., princeton does not use ratings while harvard does.</p>