<p>DD interviewed with an Ivy League School at the Interviewer's home. She was told not to dress up for the interview. When she arrived, the Interviewer's SO was in the kitchen and chatted with DD while the Interviewer woke up his own 11th grade daughter. </p>
<p>The interview was conducted with the Interviewer in socks and the Interviewer's daughter present the whole time. At one point in the interview the Interviewer, exclaiming over DD's accomplishments, handed her resume (which he had requested DD to send earlier in the week) to HIS daughter. An uncomfortable time ensued, in which Interviewer made it clear to HIS daughter that she was not measuring up.</p>
<p>I feel this interview was unjust and DD was in someway treated to an uncomfortable/unfair situation. She was in some way "used" by Interviewer to school his own daughter.</p>
<p>Also, Interviewer's daughter attends an exclusive private school that is in direct competition with DD's public school.</p>
<p>DD feels that because of the weird psychological overlay, that a good interview report might not come out of this interview, although she feels like she answered the questions well. Does this merit an email to the admissions office? DD has many accomplishments; and now the feeling that her applicaition might be imperilled by something weird and out of the norm.</p>
<p>Although I think the interviewer acted unprofessionally, I suspect he will write a good report. He was sufficiently impressed with your D to show her resume to his own daughter!
I think, however, that it might be a good idea to describe the interview to the admissions office. The interviewer should not have allowed a third party to be present or to show your D’s resume to that third party. As well, the whole set up was way too casual.</p>
<p>Interviewer made it clear to his own daughter that his own daughter was not measuring up? Or that your DD was not measuring up?</p>
<p>Regardless, having his daughter in the room, much less showing your DD’s resume to her, was unprofessional in the extreme IMO. I’d complain – after she’s admitted.</p>
<p>My initial response is to wait until after your D gets admitted (or rejected, but hopefully admitted!) and then tell the admissions office. They will want to know if they have an unprofessional alumni representative making them look bad and possibly sending in biased interview reports.</p>
<p>My own experience as an alumni interviewer was that the college didn’t really pay much attention to what I wrote. They were more interested in me being a salesperson and an information resource for the kids applying. But I wasn’t interviewing for an Ivy, so I don’t know what their policy is.</p>
<p>Many schools, including the top schools, do not use the interview as a selection tool. It is therefore best Not to interview because there may be a bad impression on the school. DS had several of these “bad” interviews where he was glad that he was not admitted to the schools in question.</p>
<p>At some of the Ivy schools the alumni interview is merely informational and in many ways a selling point for the school. This is 100% true for most of Cornell University (Arts, engineering for sure). The entire evaluation is 255 words or less. It was not always this way, but it is this way now. If this was an interview for Cornell, I would add that to interview in the home is NOT recommended. </p>
<p>I know that at some other schools, I have read on these boards that the interview does “count.” That said it may make no difference or some difference. I have mixed feelings on whether it helps to complain. I think it is probably not helpful to the candidate.</p>
<p>Long Prime, I’m not sure that I understand you. Better not to interview because it is optional? Or better not to meet a less than stellar alum? That, I feel is actually negative, even in the not required interviews. The one thing they really wanted to know at Cornell was whether the kid even got back to you, and wanted to talk. Just what I’ve been told.</p>
<p>Oh my! It’s a shame that your DD was in this uncomfortable situation. I don’t necessarily think your DD and the interviewer’s D were applying to the same school. But, he did a really bad job as an interviewer. He should never have set up this environment where your DD was there to “give a lesson” to his D about how to answer a question, or how to even create an activity list of accomplishments. She was are right to think that a large part of her effort was designed to “help” his D.</p>
<p>So, what to do? One suggestion is for your DD to call him back and offer to talk with his D. This acknowledges she knew what he was doing and offers to help him. I think by having him on the phone (and away from his D), is important and he might appreciate her direct input. She might find a ‘convenient’ excuse to call, like “Would your D like [an outline or timetable or whatever] that our school gave to us for the college process?”</p>
<p>Be sure to take the High Road. In her thank you note to him, mention something like, “It was so nice to have spoken with you today, since you know how involving this college process can be. I hope my achievements gave your daughter inspiration as she finializes her application and list of schools.”</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the public vs private issue. This may be an issue in their household because that D is ‘costing’ them so much and still not measuring up. Private school parents always feel their kids should be excelling, but obviously it’s their own insecurities. Also don’t ‘worry’ about those socks vs shoes thing. He probably forgot to put on his shoes and I’m guessing this was a morning interview. He should have, but not a big oversight. (Just goes to show how unprofessional he was!)</p>
<p>Finally, what is an SO? I only know this as ‘sex offender’!</p>
<p>The interview doesn’t matter much in my experience interviewing for Yale. That interviewer shouldn’t be allowed to do the job, though from the volume of emails I received this year begging for people that may be an issue. </p>
<p>I know the coordinator for my region would want to know about this person’s behavior. This is the opposite of the impression any school wants to make. </p>
<p>I assume you’re too anxious about the admissions process to say anything now, but I would ask that at some point later on you send admissions a note about this so the interviewer can be stopped.</p>
<p>Wow. Unfortunately, alumni interviewers volunteer for many different reasons, and not all of them are good ones. Sounds like this one was prepping his D for the interview process.</p>
<p>I agree that it would be best to just send a thank you note and wait until after the application process is over to notify the admissions office or the regional volunteer coordinator. That should not have happened.</p>
<p>I’ve done interviews for Brown and our guidelines also discourage doing the interview at the interviewer’s house.</p>
<p>If I had heard the guy wanted my D to go to his home for an interview I wouldn’t have let her go. I would have asked that she request they meet in a more normal setting like a coffee shop or something and if he didn’t want to I’d have had her skip the interview. I think it’s weird that it was arranged this way even if the alumni’s D wasn’t present. How common is it for an alumni to arrange for the interview to be at their own home, especially a male alumni to female applicant?</p>
<p>Oh, this simply adds to the long list of reasons why interviews should be AVOIDED if all possible. Considering the many stories shared by students and the reports shared by interviewers it is surprising why schools do not find a better way to entertain their alumni.</p>
<p>The long and the short of the interview process, and this despite that a legion of well-meaning and well-intentioned alumni exists, is that there is little to nothing to **gain **from participating in such a poorly organized and IRRELEVANT process. </p>
<p>On this forum, we have had the opportunity to read how interviewers make an effort to catch “inconsistencies” and make an effort to report them. The reality is that interviewers are NOT admission officers and are neither trained nor expected to make decisions about an applicant. “Catching” students is not what is expected from interviewers. </p>
<p>Schools such as Stanford have spent decades without the need of using interviews … and it does not seem they fared worse than the other few thousands schools. </p>
<p>Simply stated, if you absolutely cannot avoid the interview, it is essential to document all your communications with the interviewer, document the time and place, and be prepared to ONLY share the basic and essential information. If you can avoid or delay the interview forever, you will be so much better off!</p>
<p>My son was accepted two years ago by all schools he applied to except the one he had an interview. The schools he did not interview and still got accepted include WashU, Rice, and Northwestern.</p>
<p>But some schools will take as a negative the fact that prospie did not bother to schedule an interview. It’s important to show interest for most colleges.</p>
<p>H and I were disconcerted when we first heard that the interview would be in the home of the male interviewer. We did some google research and found out that he was in fact, an alum. We allowed the interview, although we were not thrilled about the location.</p>
<p>DD was troubled following the interview. If the interviewer shares her resume with his daughter, what prevents his daughter from taking it to her school? What prevents HIM from taking it to his daughter’s school (he’s a big booster of an elite, elite Ivy-driven school)?</p>
<p>Since the interview MIGHT count, H and I are considering contacting the admissions office. The unprofessional acts: home interview, socks, daughter present make us think that we should not trust his professionalism in other ways. Could the instinct for competition make him want to “boost” his daughter’s school and its candidates by not giving a professional recommendation?</p>
<p>Finally, the salt on the wound: This man is highly, highly accomplished. He’s a Big Player and has been in the business world, interviewing hundreds of executives in the U.S. and probably internationally in an extremely sophisticated and lucrative practice. He’s on the board of several nonprofits. Why did he have to treat my eager happy daughter this way? Psychologically she felt her “shining” was causing recrimination/comparison to flow to her contemporary. It was not a good experience.</p>
<p>My H thinks I’m a little overboard on taking offense with the socks. I feel that it’s almost an aggressive thing for a man to wear socks in his home when interviewing a young girl. Obviously, we don’t live in California. And my take may be just cultural.</p>
<p>Having the interviewer’s D present during the interview, and the interviewer’s showing her the applicant’s resume was inappropriate, and it would be appropriate for the applicant to contact the college’s admissions officers to let them know about this. This will not be held against the applicant. The admissions office may try to arrange another interview for the applicant (something they would attempt to do without telling local alum interviewers the reason for the second interview). The admissions office probably also would try to avoid using that interviewer again.</p>
<p>My thoughts on this reflect my experience as a former head of a regional alum interviewing committee for Harvard, and having served, too, on the national committee for alum who help with admissions.</p>
<p>At least when it comes to Harvard, alum can select the location of the interview, and they are busy people who may schedule it at a place convenient to themselves, which often is their home, something that I used to do until I heard about alum interviewers who were ambushed at their homes by angry parents of rejected students…</p>
<p>Compass, I <em>totally</em> agree with you that the choice of location was troublesome; I think such interviews belong in a coffee shop, bookstore, or at someone’s professional office, not at a home setting. (Though I can kind-of see it if the home is set up with a full home office.)</p>
<p>And I agree that the presence of the daughter was inappropriate; if such an interview did take place at a private home, I would anticipate that other family members be “kept away” and that any interchange with them be more of the “hello, can I get you anything to drink” variety.</p>
<p>However, I don’t see what the big deal is about the socks. We never wear shoes in our house, and it wouldn’t occur to me to put on shoes to greet someone coming to the door. If I “interview” a tradesman in my kitchen, I certainly don’t put on shoes just because he might have shoes on. I would leave that one alone; I think that will come across strangely if you mention it to the college, and detract from your bigger points: the home setting and the presence of the interviewer’s same-age daughter.</p>
<p>As well, I’m not sure what your fear is of this: “If the interviewer shares her resume with his daughter, what prevents his daughter from taking it to her school? What prevents HIM from taking it to his daughter’s school (he’s a big booster of an elite, elite Ivy-driven school)?”</p>
<p>Well, no, nothing prevents it. And then what? So now there’s a piece of paper that says Mary Smith of XYZ School has a good GPA and lots of good extracurriculars. I don’t see what your fear is. I agree it’s no one else’s business what your daughter’s resume looks like, but I’m perplexed as what’s going to happen negatively?</p>