The frustration surprises me. An interviewer is the ‘eyes on’ reporter, a service to your alma mater. Input, not part of the actual app reviewing. It’s a very important part of the review, but one of several aspects.
And applicants, too, need to realize it’s an interview, not a pass to finalist. Be happy when it goes well. Be proud. But there’s more to pulling together a class.
@privatebanker She’s a Foundation Fellow at UGA. It was a very easy choice.
@lookingforward In your process would it be more to look out for a negative observation than any help for a positive interview. Is a good interview simply assumed unless to the contrary, based on your experience in professional admissions?
Oldest son and I decided not to do the interview game. His assessment was that interviews - the ones with alums - only provided risk with no real upside. I think he’s right but it felt like a risky move at the time, especially since he interviews well. He did have plenty of informal talks with AOs, but either didn’t request or actually (gulp) declined the opportunity to do any alumni interviews.
Worked well for him - he’s happy at his top choice - but definitely not for the faint of heart.
@itsgettingreal17 wow. That’s a big deal. I remember now. She’s rock star and will be from anywhere. UGA and that distinction is huge.
Does she like it so far?
My personal belief is the interview is all about the alum staying connected with the college, providing time and money as needed and just as important “selling” the college to the prospective student.
I have heard similar stories from alum interviewers that their very strong interview notes never resulted in acceptances to their students.
@socaldad2002 the poll here suggests you are 100 percent right.
After having spent the past several years here on CC, I’ve come to believe that at tippy top schools, interviews serve almost no purpose unless they are bad, in which case it might be a mark against a student. @lookingforward is that accurate in your opinion?
HKim, which schools have you interviewed for?
@privatebanker Yes, she does. She’s been very happy with her decision.
@privatebanker well, he didn’t interview with any Ivies except Dartmouth. Interviews were Bowdoin, Kenyon, Middlebury, Grinnell, Kenyon, Carleton, Hamilton. Ha! I guess that was eight, not seven. They all went LONG except Dartmouth. He spent (no joke) four hours with the Carleton alumnus. I kept driving by the Starbucks wondering when he’d be done…
I remember now too. Isn’t he at Bowdoin? I loved it there myself.
@privatebanker Loves it! It’s an eleven out of ten in his book so far!
Oh wow a lot of activity!
@SouthernHope For EA, I’ve actually only applied to my state school, Urbana Champaign (UIUC) as well as UIC’s GPPA program as that’s the Questbridge policy (no private or binding schools/programs). UIC I’ve been accepted to their honor’s college, but no word on financial aid or their GPPA program yet. UIUC has yet to come out (they said by December 14th was it?).
Because I didn’t match last week through Questbridge, I have applied early decision to Northwestern and UChicago automatically rolled over to Early Action.
I have a ton of schools I’m interested in (but wasn’t able to fully commit to) for regular decision including LACs like Bowdoin, Swarthmore, and Colorado College.
@Lindagaf This year, I’ve been interviewed by Rice and UPenn.
Last year, I had plenty of interviews…
@HKimPOSSIBLE wonderful and I see great things ahead!
Well, I don’t find interviews useless. It’s a different perspective than the written app pkg can convey. It’s the kid, him/herself. Often, it makes all the difference, turning a good or great app into a great kid for the college. For a top holistic, it really is a chance to report on an interaction. More than even an LoR can. And by an alum, who had that college experience, liked it enough to stay involved.
Sure kids make mistakes in the interview. Some, more deadly than others. (All the usual stuff a smart adult would guess.) Sometimes, it makes the review job easier because it’s so off. But it’s not just looking for negatives. You want to like these kids. But remember: for this college.
It’s funny that so many interviewers on CC say they try to phrase as much as they can in the positive. When it’s forced, it can feel uninformative, killing by soft praise. Readers are looking for the vitality and other key points. Does this kid feel like a match? What more did you learn that adds dimension? What lights him/her up? (Meaning, that’s relevant, not his dog, lol.)
From my perspective, it’s a lot more than selling the college or getting alums to donate more.
I will say that S19 felt he knew the schools way better after his interviews. Young alums are better at conveying good info than older ones though. I’d like to see more young alums doing interviews.
Additional two cents: I didn’t consider interviews to be a waste of time for my children at all, regardless of their impact. They are such great practice for life, and an opportunity to meet potentially interesting people to boot. Plus they learned more about the schools.
At my own alma mater, I have heard a bit about the impact. It seems they are influential mostly when the interviews are stellar or quite poor, but yes, the admissions committee will review the notes out loud as a group when discussing students (especially those on the bubble). It’s not a throw-away, but there are many parts to the application, so interviewers shouldn’t be shocked that kids they recommend don’t get selected in the end.
My school only asks us to interview typically about 3-4 students per year. I usually fall in love with most of them 
although sometimes there are clear stars. But given an acceptance rate of approximately 7-8%, I should only expect one of my interviewees to be accepted every 4 years. When you love the kids, that doesn’t feel good. But we don’t have the whole picture—we do not see their scores, their grades, their teacher recommendations, their essays, etc. Nor do we see the entirety of their competition.
Overall, I think it is valuable, and while they come at a busy time for the seniors, it seems worthwhile to me.