Weird Alumni Interviewers: Exception or Rule?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I am an older parent, and the college application process has changed a great deal since I was a high school senior and a college applicant. In my opinion, the strangest change has been the implementation of off-campus interviews conducted by college alumni. When I was a college applicant, such interviews were unheard of. (Back then, applicant interviews were "by invitation only," and were always conducted on-campus by qualified admissions committee personnel). </p>

<p>My D has participated in three off-campus alumni interviews (so far), and all three have been beyond strange. She went into each interview prepared to discuss the college's academic programs, but each alumnus-interviewer persisted in focusing on non-academic topics. Alumnus One bent my D's ear for an hour reminiscing about his booze-fueled social life at Ivy League Wannabe U. (to which my D decided not to apply, based upon that interview). Alumnus Two, representing Prestige Tech, scheduled an after-dark interview at a public location within walking distance of his high-crime neighborhood home, then proclaimed my D to be "rigid" when she was reluctant to follow him down a deserted street and into a dark alley to an abruptly-suggested alternative interview location. That alumnus then subjected my D to lurid tales of female student suicide, frat house party date rape, and details about his personal life. Alumnus Three, from Hidden Gem U., was so out of touch with his alma mater that he didn't know if his own academic department still offered courses in my D's intended major. He kept steering the discussion to social fluff ("Do you go to dances?" "Do you belong to clubs?"), while my D repeatedly tried to steer the discussion back to the college and the substance of its academic programs. </p>

<p>These interviews have been frustrating for my D, because she expected to acquire important information about each college from someone who actually studied there, but she did not acquire this information, despite her best effort. My D's reports of these bizarre interviews have been frustrating for me, as well, because--having had a number of job interviews over the years--I know from experience that when an interviewer is unwilling or unable to either ask or answer appropriate questions, then the interview is worthless--a loud and clear signal that the applicant is considered to be of the sort who "need not apply," or that the company isn't worth working for.</p>

<p>Alumni interviewers appear to function as gatekeepers, whose reports on college applicants can tip admissions decisions. In my D's case, I am concerned that such interviews might do her more harm than good with regard to admissions decisions. (My D has already been admitted to three highly-selective out-of-state universities, none of which required or even recommended an off-campus alumnus interview.) My D's fourth interview, with an alumnus of Dream School (with the most appropriate academics, the best urban location, and an automatic free-ride scholarship for qualified undergraduates), is coming up soon. She has exchanged emails with Alumnus Four, and has also spoken with him on the phone. She says that Alumnus Four seems normal, but then, Alumni One, Two, and Three also "seemed normal" until my D met them face-to-face. </p>

<p>Are weird alumni interviewers the exception or the rule? I would like to hear from other parents and from current and former high school seniors who have had similar Strange Encounters of the Alumni Kind. I would also like to hear from college admissions personnel regarding how they train their "trusted" alumni to conduct off-campus interviews, how they monitor the conduct of their alumni interviewers, and how much weight alumni reports carry.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>I suspect they are the exception. While everyone's a little quirky, I have yet to hear from any friends at my colege (or from any high school friends who went through alumni interviews) of any interviews as odd as your daughter's. Bad luck, I guess.</p>

<p>My interviewers for Princeton and MIT were both pretty normal, upbeat, inquisitive alumni. Happy to talk about me, or the school, their experiences, whatever. I suspect that's more normal.</p>

3

<p>My interviewer for MIT (in Ohio) was beyond awful. When I told him I homeschooled, he basically decided that there was no way I could be academically prepared for MIT, and he let me know that. He claimed I sounded like a "wannabe scientist" whatever that means... What else is a high schooler going to be?? He made me list books I'd used instead of actually getting to know me. Luckily, the admissions people at MIT are wonderful, and they gave me a new interview in Cambridge when I told them about this. (I was moving there anyway.) My interviewer there, an undergrad alum/ new grad student, was delightful.</p>

4

<p>I'm an alumni interviewer for an Ivy. Maybe a weird one too, but my interviews usually are at my house when other people are around, or at Starbucks. I agree that tales of anyones personal sex and booze escapades are completely inappropriate. However, my particular college does not want me to discuss an applicant's grades or SATs at all; they don't even want me to know them. So while I would talk about what they are studying in school/want to study in college, I do try to ask about extracurricular activities, books, movies, things like that. I see the interview (which does not count for much at my school) as a way to evaluate the applicant's personality; if they are a person who you'd like to be in a class or dorm with. I have never been "screened" by the college; my only qualification is that I graduated. I have occasionally received instructions for what to ask and what not to ask in an interview. At one point I was the alum in charge of distributing applicants to local interviewers and I never had any complaints about inappropriate behavior. Many of the interviewers were active in the local alumni club and came to local admissions receptions and met prospective applicants there as well. Your daughter should let the admissions office know that the interviewer made her uncomfortable.</p>

<p>I applied to college in the eighties and most of my interviews were at the admissions office; however, many colleges can no longer do this because of the incredible increase in applicants!</p>

5

<p>There are occasional unusual ones
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/453288-how-not-communicate-your-college-interviewer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/453288-how-not-communicate-your-college-interviewer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>My alma mater (a top 50 LAC) encourages alumni interviewers to focus on non-academic topics, they want us to glean information about a student that would not show up in the grades and test scores already in the application file. We are not "gatekeepers", but our input is valued, otherwise I would not be doing it (this is my 20th and busiest year!). </p>

<p>The alumni interviewer may not be able to answer specific academic questions fully because it has been years, even decades, since he was on campus, or he did not study that major or any one like it. Nevertheless, when students ask - I discuss my experience in my major (I designed one that became a major a few years later), and how as a student at a smaller LAC I enjoyed having classes with students in other majors and learning more from their perspectives. IF I don't have the answer, I have a number of sources on campus currently that I go to for an answer to be 100% accurate, even if I am 99% sure. </p>

<p>I feel the best way for your daughter to get the answers she wants and needs is for her to ask admissions officers, department heads, professors, and even current students at the colleges she is interested in. I agree with Muffy that, if she gets the non-academic, behavioral, situational type questions, it is to gain a better understanding of an applicant's personality, maturity level, and ability to express oneself. That being said - GOOD LUCK to your daughter with the dream school interview!</p>

7

<p>Neither of my kids has had a strange alumni interview experience. I'm sorry about your daughter's odd interviews, but the good news is that at the vast majority of schools alumni interviews don't carry much weight in the admissions decision -- in part because of variations among interviewers. I think as long as the candidate does not strike the alum as the next Unabomber, he or she is OK.</p>

8

<p>My daughter had very normal, pleasant interviews last year. The only strangeness was when the interviewer asked to come to our house, but I preferred that over at interviewer's house anyway.</p>

<p>I think any time you don't feel comfortable where the interview is to be held, you should suggest a different place, most interviewers would be sensitive to that. You could also teach your kids on how to end an interview gracefully, or how not to participate in uncomfortable conversations. It is something that will occur more often as they get older, and they should learn how to handle it. As mentioned above, most interviews do not count much.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Alumnus Two, representing Prestige Tech, scheduled an after-dark interview at a public location within walking distance of his high-crime neighborhood home, then proclaimed my D to be "rigid" when she was reluctant to follow him down a deserted street and into a dark alley to an abruptly-suggested alternative interview location. That alumnus then subjected my D to lurid tales of female student suicide, frat house party date rape, and details about his personal life.

[/quote]
This guy is a pervert. I think you should report this to admissons, as he may be capable of more than just this voyeuristic "watch the innocent young teen girl squirm" kind of behavior. It makes my flesh crawl to think of some old coot getting his jollies at your D's expense.</p>

<p>These interiews don't count for much. The colleges use the alums as free marketing devices. It's a nice idea if the alum can showcase the school well, and it makes the alums feel needed. But I wouldn't worry about the imact the interviews have on D's chances.</p>

10

<p>My son had two interviews. Both were at the interviewer's house. Both seemed very normal. I agree that alumnus two should be reported.</p>

11

<p>My interviews were all at either my own house or the interviewer's. All of them were pretty normal. The Duke interviewer was a little snippy - I'm a fairly shy person when meeting strangers, and was even more so back then, and she told my mom that she didn't think I was enthusiastic enough about Duke, and my mom yelled at me for not making a better impression. I got in anyway though. :)</p>

12

<p>Strange alum interviewers are the exception. Most alum interviewers are really nice people who take time out of busy schedules to inteview because they like helping students.</p>

<p>" When I was a college applicant, such interviews were unheard of. (Back then, applicant interviews were "by invitation only," and were always conducted on-campus by qualified admissions committee personnel). "</p>

<p>I graduated from college in the 1970s, and had an alum interview when I applied.</p>

13

<p>My DS graduated high school in 2006 and had about 8 alumni interviews for Ivies and other top schools. All interviews but two were held at public places such as Starbucks or local restaurants; those two were held at the alums' homes. Two interviewers were strange especially one who shared identical interests as my son but basically silent during most of their meeting (an interesting aside: although head of some financial group, he was picked up a few months later on charges related to growing pot). Interestingly son did not get into schools where strange alum interviewed him.</p>

14

<p>I can see how having interviews adds a personal touch, and can be a great source of info for the candidate, but it seems like an incredibly error filled way to judge an applicant. I would be very surprised if any schools put much orany weight on them.</p>

<p>Although most of us <em>think</em> we are good at judging others in an interaction, the objective research on this issue does not support those beliefs. Extensive research on the role of interviews for job applicants (and also clinical settings) demonstrates that it's extremely poor device for judgments about personality or fit. Tons of other research will show that different interviewers can yield entirely 'different personalities' of applicants, and two people watching the same interview will get entirely different judgments about the applicant's character. Even if they could add some standardization to the process- using the same interviewer, same questions, extensive training, and shared metrics- you'd still only start to approximate the information one is looking for. </p>

<p>A huge number of factors account for the interviewer's reported assessment. Interaction effects and social dynamics of one time period with one person, the interviewer's unique questions, personality and behavior, the interviewer's inherent but unknown biases in perception and memory, their style of reporting and their assessment of people in general, and you get little real information about the particular candidate.</p>

15

<p>I think all three of your descriptions merit a call to someone in admissions to discuss your concerns.</p>

16

<p>"Alumnus Two, representing Prestige Tech, scheduled an after-dark interview at a public location within walking distance of his high-crime neighborhood home, then proclaimed my D to be "rigid" when she was reluctant to follow him down a deserted street and into a dark alley to an abruptly-suggested alternative interview location. That alumnus then subjected my D to lurid tales of female student suicide, frat house party date rape, and details about his personal life."</p>

<p>Please report this to the college admissions office. No college wants to be represented by this type of obviously troubled person. </p>

<p>Anyone who has an inappropriate alum interviewer should report them to the college admissions office. Doing so will not hurt your chances. The college probably will do everything within its power to either have you interviewed by a different alum or the college will discount what the original alum wrote.</p>

<p>I say this from the perspective of having chaired my college's regional alumni interviewing committee.</p>

17

<p>This is one of the reasons that we've tried, wherever possible, to do on-campus interviews. The interviewers, even when they are students or alums, behave a lot more professionally in the context of an admissions office. They also get a lot more practice at putting kids at ease than your average local alum.</p>

<p>I agree second Northstarmom: Inappropriate alumni interviewers should be reported and quickly, before they do more damage to the school's reputation and prospective students' self esteem. No school wants to be represented by someone whose conduct puts them in a questionable light.</p>

18

<p>I'm an alumni interviewer. Every school does it differently, but my college sends out a detailed guide when an interviewer first signs up with explicit instructions on where to hold interviews, what questions to ask, how to write interview reports, etc. It also sends out quarterly newsletters to keep interviewers informed about admissions, big events on campus that interviewees might ask about, and tips on how to conduct a good interview. The interviewers are not screened in any way; the local coordinator is happy to get whatever volunteers appear. The college does not view interviewers as gatekeepers in any way and the interview report is the least important component of an applicant's file (it's not required at all).</p>

<p>Like Muffy, my college specifically requests that interviewers not request resumes or ask questions that would give away GPA or test scores. Our job is to look at the whole person without the bias that GPAs bring out. While I certainly ask about academic interests, lots of questions are about extracurricular activities, what would you do if you had a free day with no responsibilities, etc. While I would never ask a girl if she went to dances, I might ask what she likes to do in her off-time. I always try to get a flavor for the high school the student attends. Point being, you and your daughter shouldn't expect a purely academic discussion. That's not what schools are looking for in alumni interviews.</p>

<p>Serious questions about academic programs should be directed to the admissions office or the department in question. Alumni interviewers are not expected or trained to answer specific questions about various majors.</p>

<p>I think you need to have a slightly different expectation for the interviews, but I agree that Prestige Tech needs to be reported and that your daughter has encountered some oddballs.</p>

19

<p>I agree that these should be reported.</p>

<p>My daughter was supposed to meet one interviewer at the motocross track (where the interviewer was competing), but weather prevented it.</p>

20

<p>These are not normal. They ought to be reported, except perhaps the last one which is borderline okay and may have just been misinterpreted. It's true that alumni are sometimes out of touch.</p>

<p>I had one interviewer who wanted to schedule an interview "after 7." Unlike my other friends who accepted such interviews, I said that I would have trouble commuting at that time and we worked out a 4 o'clock interview during his lunch break. Yes, it was shorter but I wasn't travelling through unsafe neighborhoods. As a rule, it's generally a bad idea to accept interviews in late evening hours or the homes of opposite-sex interviewers (although your D has not experienced that yet.)</p>

<p>I don't think interviewers are representative of their colleges. Don't hold it against the college that they have one very quirky graduate.</p>