Two Interviews - Chances?

Hello! I applied regular decision to Harvard this year, and received an alumni interview pretty early on. I believe it went quite well, and it lasted more than twice as long as the originally allotted time. Late last month (Feb) I was contacted by a senior admissions officer with an email that stated she had read and enjoyed my application and wanted to schedule an interview to learn more about me. I felt that this interview also went decently well. She had asked me some questions about the current responsibilities I hold within my family and whether those responsibilities would be an issue should I have to travel far away from home for college, which I would be doing if I were to attend Harvard (I told her they wouldn’t be a problem). She also repeatedly complimented my writing abilities and we’ve been sending some emails back and forth since the interview as I ask her questions about various concentrations/classes I‘m interested in.

I’m interested in knowing if there’s anything to be said in regards to my admissions chances given all of this info. Totally understand that it’s all completely up to chance and this could very well mean nothing; however, as a first-gen student I’m not entirely confident in my ability to make accurate inferences about these things, haha. Figured that if there was anything to be said about this stuff, someone here would know.

Thanks in advance, and best of luck to everyone else applying this year.

You’re totally in there!

The vast majority of people who get admitted into Ivys only have one interview, and the interviewer won’t come in with any prior knowledge about the candidate except their name, email, etc. So the fact that you got TWO interviews and that in the follow up interview they actually read your essays and supplements is a really good sign. Although harvard’s admission rate is extremely low, your chances are looking good. Best of luck!

I think it’s a good sign, but I have a different take. Each Ivy has a different process, and what other Ivies do is irrelevant. And it’s routine that alumni interviewers don’t see your application, but AOs are familiar with all aspects of it.

When the original report does not support the candidate strongly and the admissions officer is interested in a candidate, the candidate might be offered a second interview. The committee is loathe to admit a student who has a weak interview report. Alternatively, the original interview might not have provided specific information that the AO was looking for. For example, she might have wanted to know how you envisioned leaving your family despite your large role at home.

If the AO interviewed you just before the committee meetings, which ended today, it’s a good sign that she presented you as a strong candidate. But it’s not guarantee. The committee is composed of 40 people, and every decision is made by majority vote.

It’s nice that you did well and that the AO has been able to answer your questions. I would lay off the questions for a while because this is a busy time for the AOs, and each one has many, many students.

Best of luck.

Thank you both!

You probably will not get an answer here. But I agree, don’t email too much. It could annoy the admissions person in a busy time.

Did you mention family responsibilities in your essay/application?

I agree with @jazzing . I think you’re probably being seriously considered, and I think they needed more information to make a decision. Good luck.

I did! It was a significant theme in my essay.

It might mean that your first interviewer wasn’t very clear or didn’t write effectively or just was a bad fit to your interests (although this last one doesn’t sound like what happened). When I have been asked for a second interview it means

  1. you are still in play but they need more info to decide, maybe they are on the fence. The fact that they called you back though means you have an advocate inside the group.
  2. bad fit with first interviewer

I once was asked to do a second interview with a kid from an alternative school who was perhaps the best string bass player in the country under the age of 18. Her school did not offer APs and she spent a lot of her spare time driving her bass back and forth to a symphony-level instructor. She was really awesome. BUT: Her first interviewer came from a school where if you didn’t have six APs they thought you were unambitious…

I gave her a great write up and things went better for her although we lost her to a rival school.

Good luck