Hi applicants! Stanford alum here. I’ve conducted alumni interviews for years. If you are not offered an interview, it is simply because there are not enough alumni interviewers in your area, or because alumni interviews are not conducted at all in your area. It is not counted against you, so please do not stress if you aren’t offered an interview! Also, there is no need to bring a resume or transcript to the interview. The interview is meant to be a non-intimidating conversation, with no set questions, no tricks, and certainly no right or wrong “answers”. The interview serves three basic purposes: 1) We can tell you about the school from the perspective of an alum, 2) We can answer any questions you might have (but you don’t need to have any), 3) We can get a sense of what kind of person/student you are, beyond what the application says. So just be yourself! From my perspective, when I do an interview, I do my best to figure out what is wonderful and unique about that person, and that rarely involves grades and scores. Good luck to you all!
oh my gosh!!! on cloud 9 after my interview today. It went really well and the person interviewing me was uber sweet. I’m sure you will all do great, just be yourselves and let your personality shine 
@whoopdeedoo4 I believe that the early results always come out on a Friday. So, for example, in 2015 (Class of 2020), early decisions were released Dec. 11, 2015, which was a Friday. And 2014 early decisions (Class of 2019) was released on Dec. 12, 2014, also a Friday. But this year, the Fridays are the 8th and 15th so I don’t know which one of those days it is going to be.
omg just finished my interview today!!
Anyone in Singapore got interview?
Interviewed today. It was video chat though. About 50 minutes, short and to the point. Fingers crossed
So even if an interview goes well, it doesn’t affect the decision process?
@Zalo11 if an interview goes well then you just check another box that just by itself won’t push the needle to admit you. However if you bomb the interview (i.e. were super late, came across as rude, extremely inarticulate, awkward, arrogant, didn’t do any research on the school etc) then this is enough reason by itself to reject you.
I’ve read a lot about how fantastic essays can significantly help your chances, but I’m worried that my essays may be mediocre. Since Stanford is so selective, would that destroy my chances of getting in?
What’s done is done; you can’t change what you’ve submitted. It’s no use hand-wringing after the fact.
For many people who thought their essays were fantastic, it turns out their essays did not resonate with adcoms, while for many applicants who thought their essays were just ok, it turns out the reviewing adcoms were moved by the essays. In other words, how you felt about your own essays is not indicative of whether they will move reviewing adcoms.
Did anyone apply with the Coalition App? My portal still has an X beside school report but my counsellor has submitted that.
@goggleguy I think it’s too late now, as they need the interview reports by a certain date to finalize the review of applicants. The interview is technically optional, but it is strongly advised to do it. Your application may be negatively impacted because it seems as if you weren’t willing to make an hour of time to schedule an interview, but you should hope at this point that it doesn’t affect it too negatively.
Does anyone know what time they’ll be releasing decisions? I know its on the 15th of December, but like what time?
@Zalo11 No. And it may be before the 15th.
When do they announce the date when they will release the decisions? When did they announce it before?
@person2000 I think the official date has usually been the 15th but sometimes admittees have been known to receive acceptances a few days beforehand for EA
If you look back at previous release dates they have been the 2nd Friday of December, not necessarily the 15th. They release at 7pm EST.
The second Friday of December is the 8th. Since you said Stanford usually releases its decisions on the second Friday, would it be possible for them to release one week early?
That’s my guess. Only a guess. I did look back to 2012 and every year since '12 they were released that 2nd Friday.