Tips from a Duke Alumni Interviewer

<p>I think greeting them is reasonable and expected, since yes, the interviewer is coming into their house (and an an interviewer we’re supposed to let you know our contact information not only for your but for your parents so they know who you’re meeting with). I’d ask your parents to avoid singing your praises and stick to a simple “We’re glad your here” or something like that.</p>

<p>After that, ask your parents if they could head upstairs/across the house. They should play ABSOLUTELY no part in the interview whatsoever…and I suspect it would make you more comfortable knowing that they’re not listening to everything going on. Basically, the interviewer should not know they’re there.</p>

<p>I have been interviewing for Duke for over ten years and I disagree with many of the points that dookiechooz makes. I think that it is always best to be yourself and be honest. It is not realistic that someone who wants to major in science takes all electives in science and only does things related to science on his day off. YUCK! What a weirdo person that would be. Duke is not seeking weirdos! I like meeting kids with diverse interests. Also I think it is unhealthy for a teen ager to be so focused on one thing. And Dookiechooz, you contradict yourself. Your # 8 doesn’t go along with your #7. Also while a thank you note is nice, you SHOULDN’T rate someone higher because they send one. And really, you are impressed by a kid who googles you first??? That sounds so pompous and self serving. I don’t like your representing Duke this way. And one more thing…many teenagers don’t check email so often. I know they should during admissions season, but it’s a little passe. I give my students the benefit of the doubt by emailing and calling. I’m a little embarrassed you are presenting Duke this way. You make us alums seem a little Percy Weasley-ish. We are not all this way.</p>

<p>dukeblueduke-</p>

<p>I really hope my interviewer was a little bit more like you because it seemed like my whole interview was about how different my hobbies and interests were. My interviewer seemed to regard that as positive though, and he made a point of telling me that one reason he chose to study engineering at Pratt over MIT was because he wanted a well-rounded experience at college wherein he could take things like Art History and Russian Literature just for personal growth, not because he wanted to major in it.
He also stressed that the whole process was meant to be informal multiple times. We met at a StarBucks, he came from his work, and I came straight from tutoring in jeans and Ugg boots. So, it seems like these interviews are either pretty subjective experiences, or I’m REALLY bad at understanding sarcasm in interviews.</p>

<p>dukeblueduke
You sound much more like the Duke alums I know!</p>

<p>Manatee_socks, I am sure that if you got a good feeling from the interview it went well. Most interviewers REALLY want to like the students they interview and hope to help them out by giving their applications a personal touch. I never remember what someone wears. I have met the greatest kids by interviewing for Duke. I’ve done it for over ten years and I interview over 15 kids each year. I’m always looking for the best in the applicants and spend a lot of time gleaning their strengths to present in my write up.</p>

<p>My interview with Duke went very different from the “idea” of what an interview would be like according to this thread. Just be yourself, I don’t think the interviewer really needs to purely see your academic self; thats what the adcom is for. They just want to see your personality – there is more to college than just academics.</p>

<p>My Duke interviewer and I talked about the Jersey Shore (including the nickname he gave himself), his drunken road trips in college and the weather. Sure we discussed academics and extracurricular activities, but it was more just a convo about Duke and all the great things the uni has to offer.</p>

<p>so my son’s alumni interviewer sent him a thank you note after the interview noting that she was impressed with his “well roundedness” and saying that Duke would be lucky to have him. My son’s jaw dropped. Assuming her report to Duke reflects that view, would the interview count much in the process? My sense is that it might be a tipping point if he otherwise is in the universe of eligible kids but I don’t want to get too optimistic. By the way, before the interview, i informally alerted him to the many helpful tips from this thread.</p>

<p>The interview carries little weight if any. That being said, it definitely won’t hurt your son to have a positive write up by the interviewer. The interview is as much a way for the interviewer to learn about the student as it is a way for the student to learn more about Duke from the perspective of an alumni. It will help if the interviewer learned something new about the student that wasn’t clearly shown in his/her application.</p>

<p>The good part is that alumni are usually good gauges. If the interviewer felt that strongly about your son, chances are that the admissions committee feels roughly the same way. I wouldn’t be too optimistic (hard to be with such low acceptance rates), but definitely feel proud of your son for the preparation and work that he has put into this application. I don’t hear about many “duke would be lucky to have you” responses.</p>

<p>I think the ‘value’ of a Duke interview is very similar to all other ‘famous’ schools. </p>

<p>I think I read in on of the MIT threads the following summary of “a seasoned” interviewer: “I believe I can’t get someone into MIT, but I probably can keep someone out of MIT…” This alum explained that he remembered 2 candidates who were REALLY terrible (one openly admitted that he NEVER read a book unless he had to) - both of which got catastrophic interview reports and got rejected - but he is sure he can’t get someone in solely based on his interview report (e.g. with bad grades) … </p>

<p>My son had his Duke interview yesterday - I had the chance to “observe” the last ~30 minutes of the interview from my parking spot (they sat in a Starbucks at the window). I was a little surprised about the young interviewer (she was/is probably around 27 y), but they seem to have had a lively discussion - I hope she had the same impression and that her opinion has some weight … :-)</p>

<p>I’m not saying it’s right or wrong but just for the record I would be quite nerve-wracked if I knew my parent was watching me have my interview from the car through the window.</p>

<p>^My Duke interview was in a public library on the 1st floor, and apparently my dad was watching me the whole time from the 2nd floor. I didn’t notice him come in b/c my back was to the door, but had I known that he was there, I would’ve freaked.</p>

<p>I knew my son would have felt the same as “Secret Asian Man” and “plumdum” … </p>

<p>As a dad, I hope, I know my son quite well - and I only want his best! It was just coincidence that this parking spot was available - I wouldn’t have taken this spot if it had been in my son’s view! LOL</p>

<p>He had a great laugh when he saw me (exiting the Starbucks) and realized that I could watch him! Having given plenty of interviews myself, I told him I liked his posture & body language and how he held eye-contact.
He wasn’t mad at me at all - usually I don’t drive him to the interview, this time only because of the heavy snow we had in our area the first time in 20 years, and he didn’t feel all that comfortable driving on his own. So he knows that it will not happen again …</p>

<p>Hello! I was wondering if any Duke alumni interviewers would help with this question: Do interviewers at Duke only get contact info? Or do they get other informationg about our intended majors, career interest ect. from our application?</p>

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<p>Name, High School, School applied to (Trinity/Pratt), Contact Info, Race, Intended major(s). That’s it.</p>

<p>Duke interviewers are as different as Duke applicants. Yes, we all look for the same qualities in a student, but we all ask different questions in different ways and we have different expectations for dress, etc. A professional interviewer should share his/her own guidelines when the initial contact is made. I tell my applicants that it is a low-stress conversation not designed to trip anyone up. I ask them to be prepared to ask questions about Duke. The only deal-breakers for me are extreme lateness (with no explanatory phone call), extreme sloppiness (transparent old undershirt and flip flops - yes, it happened) and monosyllabic answers. I have rated highly students who are very shy, those who are super-perky, those whose interests are all over the map, and those who have a single passion. What’s important is their intellectual curiosity for SOMETHING and their ability to draw me a clear picture of themselves, no matter what that self is.</p>

<p>I had an interview for duke on friday, 5 days ago. My interviewer didnt have his contact info on him, and said he would send me an email afterwards with it if I had any questions. I thought the interview went great, and was planning on emailing a thank-you, but I still havent received an email from him? Does this mean the interview didn’t go well? Could he have forgotten to forward his notes on the interview to Duke? Starting to panic a bit!</p>

<p>I doubt it means anything. I also had an interview a while ago and never received an email afterwards. It’s not important. It went very well too.</p>

<p>Do interviewers know admissions decisions before applicants do?</p>

<p>^I doubt it.</p>

<p>Definitely not. I doubt they ever receive information on the decisions of their interviewees. Interviewers are not that important in the admissions process.</p>