<p>A lot of NYC students will be called for an interview at the Harvard Club of New York. A really nice woman, Joselyn Simpson, will most likely schedule your interview, but you won't be interviewed by her. You'll be interviewed by two alumni in a room with a table. The alumni sit on the opposite side of you and take notes in a timed interview that runs for about 45 minutes. </p>
<p>If you're a male, WEAR A SUIT. Khaki pants and a nice shirt might have sufficed at a campus interview, but at the Harvard club, if you don't wear a classic suit, you'll look like crap compared to everyone else. Most males, including myself, even wore cufflinks. This is a really classy and professional place and it sets the tone. </p>
<p>Don't forget to bring TWO copies of your resume and if you intend on talking about any research work you've done, it's a good idea to bring the paper with you because it was hard for me at times to explain diagrams and stuff.</p>
<p>These interviews seemed very evaluative instead of conversational and the interviewers took a lot of notes. (It may be different if you're interviewing someplace else like the office of an alumnus where you'll have the opportunity for more of a personal connection).</p>
<p>I was at the H Club of NYC for my interview and it wasn't as hardcore as you described it. Yes, it's a very elaborately decorated place, but as long as you dress nicely, it does not matter. I did NOT wear a classic suit with cufflinks but just a nice sweater with khakis, and one of my interviewers wore a similar style to mine. As long as you don't show up looking like you did not care about the interview, you are fine. Trust me.</p>
<p>You are NOT always going to get two interviewers. I myself did have two, but I know plenty of other friends who applied from the New York area only had one. The reason why it is timed is not because they don't like you and hate you or something, but the logistics of the interviewing process works such that they really need to keep to a time constraint in order to interview everyone that was scheduled on that day.</p>
<p>I didn't feel like I was being evaluated when I did my interview; it was more like a conversation about just the work I had done throughout high school and what my passions really were. Of course, if you feel like you're being evaluated, it's understandable since the interviewers are partially there to evaluate you as a candidate for Harvard, but it is definitely not the over-arching tone of the whole hour unless YOU make it so, and that's what most interviews I had when I was applying to college - YOU set the tone and content of the interview.</p>
<p>Joselyn Simpson is absolutely a fantastic person. She's wonderful and just really cares about Harvard and just people in general. She's really serious and professional when it comes to her work. Just a great lady.</p>
<p>Not nearly. The style of interviews cover the entire spectrum, really. Many applicants are interviewed in the private homes of the interviewers, often with the interviewer dressed very casually, and while the rest of the interviewer's family are at home enjoying their days at the same time.</p>
<p>i was interviewed at the H club and had two interviewers, both of whom were very friendly and congratulated me after i got in....and as hypocritical as this is, dont be nervous. i mean who doesn't love talking about themselves? :)</p>
<p>Just for perspective, my interview in Dallas was rather informal by comparison. My interviewer met me at my dorm and we had the interview at a nearby Bubble Tea cafe I recommended. She even paid for my drink. I wore a polo and a pair of Dickies.</p>
<p>I completely forgot to bring my resume, but it didn't matter because we had so much to talk about anyway. I also managed to talk about the research I was involved in without any outside papers or graphs or anything.</p>
<p>Hope that helps if you were freaked out by the OP's analysis.</p>
<p>wow! i didnt realize people could be that pretentious lol. still, the op has some fantastic coments. i wont be interviewing anywhere near nyc, but i can say that the kind of info the op provided is excellent and extremelly useful if i did. good luck to all interviewees. btw most interviews are extremelly relaxed and cool. so dont worry.</p>
<p>OP raises an important point. Some Harvard interviewers take the process very seriously + formally, and it's important to be prepared for that. This might be stereotypical, but from all the anecdotes I've heard, the older your interviewer is, the more likely they'll be formal.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, my interview was in Starbucks; I dressed business casual. Brought my resume and a paper with my test scores (which he looked at at the end of the interview). Went through my resume, talking about different activities. Had some other, rather typical interview questions (why do you like harvard? why should harvard like you? what's the most recent book you read?).</p>
<p>I'm from NYC and I did not get invited for an interview yet. What can I do? Is it too late? Should I contact Harvard? An interview is very important to me!</p>
<p>In SoCal the local Harvard Club has developed its own info form the student is supposed to fill out in advance and bring to the interview. It's sort of a 2 or 3 page mini-application, listing grades, scores, achievements. etc. The interview itself was casual and friendly in tone.</p>