Does it mean anything to be contacted for an interview by Stanford? Or does most everyone get one? thanks
They try to give interviews where they can. It has relatively little bearing on your application. Stanford has only done it relatively recently. A recent Dean of Admissions estimated that the interview has an effect on maybe 10% of their admission decisions.
Stanford terms the interviews ‘informational’ meaning it is also an opportunity for you, the applicant, to find out about the alumni interviewer’s experiences at Stanford.
Hope that helps.
JustOneDad is correct. Interviews are informational, not required, and don’t have much bearing on the admissions decision. (I interview for Stanford by the way).
As people shared, the interviews at Stanford (re)started a couple of years after the arrival of Dean Shaw from Yale. It is a part of an effort to involve more alumni along adding to the dynamism of the faculty. The main objectives are to reach areas that are not well served and to convince students they should attend in case they are accepted. The process is NOT meant to be an extension of the selection process as much as it is supposed to be a “cheerleading” effort that sells Stanford even more. Obviously, some interviewers might take it a step further and view themselves as an intricate part of the selection.
All in all, the interviews remain a vastly overrated process that has little (and that is generous) to no impact on the decisions. It is mostly a process that is very cheap in terms of marketing and brings in more support from its past students. The benefits are on the side of the school and not necessarily the applicants.
My recommendation has always been, safe and except for specific instances, to ignore the process unless it is mandatory. In fact, there is more to lose than there is to gain!