So I had an interview just less than an hour ago for a prestigious institution, I will not mention any names but it is ranked in the top 20 on basically any Best Colleges/Universities list. I am grateful to have been granted an opportunity for an interview, and I realize that this was a volunteer alumna, taking time out of her schedule to interview me. However, this interview was just so odd. It was at a cafe, and the interviewer brought her ~2 year old son along. I did not go for more than 30 seconds uninterrupted when I was answering her questions- her kid was acting like a, well, two-year old. The most interesting thing was that she even would talk to her kid when I was in the middle of answering her question- how odd. I maintained my composure and smiled the entire time, as if the kid did not bother me, but rather perhaps amused me. When she asked if I had any questions, I asked her whatever I was itching to ask, and she responded in very short and uninspired responses. This whole interview went for 14 minutes- the shortest interview I have ever been through (my other college interviews ranged from 30 mins to 90 mins). She barely asked any questions! I did leave her with my resume, however. Overall, I felt really strange coming out of this interview- has anyone else been through something similar? What do you guys think of this interview? Will this interview hurt my chances?
Hurt your chances? You should receive immediate acceptance and a “full ride” scholarship.
@TopTier- Haha, I wish :P.
oh this doesn’t qualify for “weirdest college interview ever”…that one has to go to the student who was contacted by the alumnus who asked to be paid for his interviewing time. 
Seen here on CC a few weeks ago…
I have a theory about job interviews, which is that the more the interviewer talks (especially about themselves) the more favorably they recall the interview. I suspect this would apply in this case as well. As long as you were friendly to the the interviewer (and two-year-old) then the report should be positive.
It won’t hurt you at all. Alum interviews really don’t count for much more than that you have demonstrated interest in the school. Just send a thank you note as you normally would and move on. Interviewer probably had a babysitter cancel last minute or something.
I still don’t understand why this is strange. Alumnae become Mommies. Mommies have kids. Kids need care. Welcome to the real world.
The child did not make it strange- the combination of her demeanor and the super short interview time is what struck me as odd- almost as if I had somehow gotten on her bad side before the interview even started. I do not see how this could be the case though…
Sounds like you had expectations about the interview which weren’t fulfilled.
Really @JustOneDad ? If you showed up for a job interview and it included a 2-year old (not sleeping, but actively involved in the interview), you would take that in stride? And you would have understood that as a teenager? Who really wanted tha job? Sorry, have to call BS on you, unless I missed the sarcasm.
It wasn’t a job interview. It was a courtesy interview between an adult and a student who wants to matriculate at her alma mater.
^ Job interviews are typically conducted by people during their work day, who are being paid for their time. It sounds like this interviewer ended up in a situation where they weren’t necessarily that thrilled to be doing the interview. Hey, it happens. My daughter had a 12 minute interview for one of her schools that I drove her 45 minutes to get to. Hey, whatever.
If she couldn’t find child care, or her babysitter cancelled at the last minute, then the whole thing should have been rescheduled IMO.
I also think this is BS. I am a “mommy”, and would not have done that in a college interview. It is a “courtesy” to the student, and as such, I would be “courteous”. At a minimum I would contact the student and explain my child care issue (because I certainly wouldn’t schedule the interview knowing I was going to have a 2 year old in tow), and ask if they wanted to reschedule or go ahead. So yes… “Mommies have kids” and “Kids need care”, but that does not translate into “Take toddler to interview”.
OP, I wouldn’t worry about it. I also wouldn’t let it affect your perception of the school either way. Go to accepted student days if you get in, and check it out without a toddler “helping” with that process. 
You and I have different definitions of courtesy.
Fwiw, I’ve had 4 kids, and was a stay-at-home-Dad for a good bit of time. I understand how child care can sometimes break down at the last minute. Still, what OP describes is unacceptable.
@JustOneDad – you seem intent on defending the alumna and describing the OP’s response as wrong or reactionary. I firmly disagree with you. What that woman did was supremely unprofessional and put her college in a bad light. I would NOT be happy if I took time from MY SCHEDULE to meet with a distracted woman and her kids and be forced to entrust some small part of my chances to her. I’d be pi**ed off.
Yes, it’s a courtesy by a volunteer – but her option was to call to cancel due to the lack of babysitting (it’s happened to me as well) rather than wasting the applicant’s time. It was rude and unprofessional – by any reasonable measure. All applicants should be afforded the EXACT same courtesy and respect. What would have happened if a student pulls out a smart phone during an interview and starts chatting with a friend? Can you imagine what kind of lambasting CC post would arise from that?
No double standards should be tolerated.
I don’t get the “it’s a courtesy” thing. No it’s not. If an alum doesn’t want to do a proper interview, then don’t volunteer to do them. This sounds extremely unprofessional and almost like something was wrong with the woman. I feel pretty certain that the school would be even more disappointed than the student.
Like several other CC participants, I’m a volunteer undergraduate alumni interviewer. With considerable respect for all the individuals who have commented – both pro and con – on this thread, I truly believe this interviewer’s comportment was unprofessional. Yes, alums have babies – and, in the most favorable light, maybe the planned child care fell through at the last minute and the volunteer did not want to trouble the applicant by rescheduling – however, that’s a really bizarre situation to impose knowingly on a likely already-stressed seventeen year old, when the alternative is a simple telephone call/e-mail to postpone.
Thanks for agreeing with me on that. Will you also agree with me that it was NOT a job interview as indicated by IxnayBob, for example? Thanks, in advance, for agreeing with me on that, too. Now, where’s the drama?
" What would have happened if a student pulls out a smart phone during an interview and starts chatting with a friend?"
That is boorish behavior. It’s not the student who is extending the courtesy in the first place.
I see no double standard. Getting treated to a “Mommy Interview” is probably good for a student. Hmmmm…looks like the student WAS adaptive enough to make sure their questions were answered. That’s good.
@JustOneDad, I never said that it was a job interview, but used that as an example of a roughly comparable situation (not identical) where the behavior would have been categorically inappropriate, except perhaps as a component of a stress interview. You seem fixated on the distinction between the two kinds of interviews.
Your approach to a losing gambit seems to be doubling down. So, this interview would have been good for the student if they hadn’t been insufficiently adaptive. I think the school involved would have a different opinion.