The College Interview

Applying to College
1

<p>OK, so here's the deal. I've submitted my Harvard application, yay! But here's part of an email I got about 2 hours ago:</p>

<p>"The Harvard Admissions Office has asked the Harvard Club of Silicon Valley’s Schools Committee to conduct an alumni interview as part of your Harvard College application. We are holding interviews on Saturday January 11th and Saturday January 25th at the New Enterprise Associates/Northern Lights facility in Menlo Park at 2855 Sand Hill Road (alongside the Rosewood Hotel). Interviews will be held both days in the morning at 9, 9:45, 10:30, and 11:15 am and in the afternoon at 12, 12:45, 1:30, and 2:15 pm. Please let me know by return email which date and time work best for you. If you have a specific date and time you would like to request, let me know; however, interviews slots fill fast so you may not receive your first choice. Your interview will last approximately 30 minutes. Please arrive promptly for your interview so we may remain on schedule.
If you cannot attend either the January 11th or 25th interview days, individually scheduled interviews are available. For these interviews, an alumnus will contact you directly to arrange a one on one meeting at your mutual convenience. All interview reports are due by February 15th."</p>

<p>OK, so I've got to do an interview. Great. The interviews are scheduled at the absolute worst time for my circumstances, and I probably won't be able to schedule an individual interview either. The email makes it seem like I HAVE to do the interview, but here's from the Harvard website:</p>

<p>"More than 15,000 alumni/ae help us recruit students from all 50 states and from around the world. In the United States, typically you will have the opportunity to have an in-person interview with a regional Harvard representative in or near your local community. However, if an interview cannot be arranged, you will not be at a disadvantage during the application process."</p>

<p>So do I still have to do this interview, or is it entirely optional? Please help!</p>

2

<p>Somebody? Anybody?</p>

3

<p>Okay, here’s my less than helpful answer:</p>

<p>(1) Not doing an interview won’t hurt you.</p>

<p>(2) Doing an interview may help you.</p>

<p>Yes, I realize it seems contradictory, but that’s the way it is. Interviews probably make a difference only for those few who have really, really amazing or really, really awful interviews. For the vast majority who fall somewhere in the middle, the interview makes no difference at all.</p>

<p>So, if you can’t do it, don’t worry about it. If you can, and you can blow the interviewer’s socks off, it could help you.</p>

<p>And, for others who may be reading this thread, my answer would be different if this were a tiny, lesser known college that places a lot of weight on level of interest. In that case, just showing up to the interview helps, and not doing an interview could hurt.</p>