Hey all,
I live in the Bay Area and my friends who live near me AND go to my school have gotten an interview already. Should I be worried? Btw, I went to YYGS last year but didn’t do an on campus interview there. Could it be that since I went to the program, they don’t feel more info is necessary?
Thanks!
There is still plenty of time for your interviewer to contact you (all of February and the first 2 weeks of March), so relax.
FWIW: Several years back, I received the below private message from a Yale peer school alumni interviewer. Due to increasing application numbers at Yale, they might – stress MIGHT – be doing the same thing.
@gibby - I don’t know this to be the case at Yale. We have no idea which applicants are “high priority” or “low priority”. If they assign a applicant to an interviewer who subsequently can’t do it, the Alumni Schools Committee Chair for the area will look for someone else to assign it to. I have, in the past, agreed to do interviews at the last minute.
^^ Good to know!
Thank you for the responses!
@gibby - would you mind sharing which school that was?
^^ I’d prefer not to, as the comment was mentioned to me in confidence and would be quite “explosive” if it were to be released for public knowledge. I mentioned the comment, as it seemed accurate. If the number of interviewers remains constant, there really isn’t any alternative to manage the excess overflow of applications, other than to designate some applications as “high priority” or “low priority”.
I agree with the above posts. Just be patient.
I would opine that even if you don’t get an interview (which I’ll be slightly surprised if you don’t), it won’t immolate your application nor guarantee its acceptance.
@gibby I thought interview reports were due February 15 according to this previous post: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/868344-yale-interview-report-deadline.html
I believe interviews past that date are meant to be informational.
That may be a working deadline, to keep them on track, not a final.
An interview can be helpful, endorse an applicant adcoms like, or sometimes, if they’re on the fence, it can bring a kid to life. But they can also be standard, same old.
Just getting one, for a tippy top, doesn’t predict anything.
And if there is some “low priority,” it can still be that adcoms like a kid, aren’t hanging on the interview report.
I recommend that anyone waiting for an interview check their junk email and see if they find an invitation. Not everyone will find one, but I bet some will.
^^Yes, check your messages. I know you young folk do not like to check messages on the phone, but old alums like myself still use that old technology. I am still waiting for one of my interviewees to return my call after 4 days. Of course, I will go the extra mile and call them back, but I’m sure its just because they never bothered to listen to their voice mail.
My son applied a few days before the regular deadline and had his interview this past Saturday. Not sure if they prioritized his interview because I’m an Old Blue or just because in Manhattan there are lots of alum to conduct the interviews.
Anybody have a sense of how long these interviews typically last? My son had his interview Saturday and it went an hour. In my experience with such interviews, an interviewer can comfortably end the interview after a half hour so presumably longer is better. Obviously though, the interview has very little impact on the final decision. My sense is that a disastrous interview can knock a candidate out while a phenomenal interview can help a bit.
Hey! I’m a currently admitted (and committed!) student of Yale’s incoming Class of 2021!
I can say from my experience that not having an interview DOES NOT mean that your application was thrown out (and vice-versa)! I applied through QuestBridge and never got any sort of communication from Yale or an alumni about the interview. I remember being super anxious because some of my friends at school who ranked Yale for QuestBridge got interviews while I didn’t! It turned out that I got in and they did not.
I wouldn’t worry about not having an interview. In some ways, think of it as a blessing! Less stress and pressure about making sure you do well on the interview. You’ve hit submit on your application already. Sit back. Relax. And wait for March!
I hope for the best!! 
@Lvillegrad - I am in the middle of my interviews. The one I did a couple of days ago lasted well over an hour. I have had some that 20 minutes seemed like forever because it was like pulling teeth to get more than a one or two word answer. I think it depends on the interviewer. Some, like me, are talkers and usually like to draw an applicant out and make them comfortable. Sometimes that takes awhile. Others may be more businesslike in their approach. I think we all end up in the same place - writing reports that are put into the mix for Yale’s holistic approach to admissions.
@Tperry1982 Thanks for the information.
I’m done with my interviews. I usually aim for 45 minutes to an hour, unless the interviewee has tons of questions (which is fine). For me, length says nothing about my level of enthusiasm, but 30 minutes is really too short for me to get a feel for the person.