<p>Back in the fall of 2013, I had my interview for Brown. This interview lasted a little over an hour, and my interviewer and I got the chance to discuss a wide variety of my activities and experiences (including my self-initiated swim instruction program, experiences in Kashmir and what it had taught me, being a bullying victim and what I had learned from it, John Donne's Meditation 17, and my interest in Brown for their open curriculum), as well as his experiences at Brown.</p>
<p>I felt pretty good about myself leaving the interview, but I found out I was deferred early decision, unfortunately. I'm about to hear back in a couple days as well. And yes, I have sent in my midyear report, letter of interest and update on activities, a research abstract, and a recommendation from my library boss. </p>
<p>But my main question is this: What does a longer interview signify? Do you think my interviewer would have made positive remarks and that they were actually interested in what I was talking about?</p>
<p>And side question lol...Brown has a rep for deferring a huge amount of students ED, but what can a letter of interest and the other things I listed do? As in, do they actually help my application and influence their decision? Does it even matter at all?</p>
<p>I don’t know where you live, and I’m not a Senior yet, but at my school the typical applicant to those top schools like Brown have interviews about 1-2 hours long. So an hour is about normal unless you’re a little off-putting (which you obviously weren’t).
Did you and your interviewer hit it off? I’m sure he/she gave you a good recommendation but even then, it matters so little in the application process. A stunning interview will do little to help you but a bad interview could really dent your chances. It’s mostly used to weed out the social pariahs and other people who may not fit well on campus.</p>
<p>I also don’t know too much about Brown’s deferral acceptance rate but I know schools such as MIT accept only about 6% of those deferred in the early action process during regular decision.</p>
<p>A letter of interest will definitely help you if you’re waitlisted and even deferred. If you do get waitlisted, I recommend sending another letter reaffirming your commitment to attend if accepted.</p>
<p>Good luck and best wishes! I can’t imagine how anxious you must be. I’ll be in the same boat this time next year.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice! If I can correct you a bit though, normal meetings last around 30-45 minutes in all honesty. My interviewer and I had a great conversation, and I feel like he was intrigued and smiled a little during the interview, all positive signs! </p>
<p>I am pretty anxious, and I do have some trouble getting to sleep, i.e., right now lol. The important thing now is to know that whatever happens, it is too late to change anything, and everything happens for the better! So if I don’t get in, it’s quite all right. Of course I’ll be upset about it, but I’ll lapse out of it, as I know I got into UNC Chapel Hill, which is a fantastic school as well :)</p>
<p>Well like I said, at my school, the average student interviews for about 1 to 2 hours for top schools. But yeah, it doesn’t surprise me that they would only be 30-45 minutes long.
But good! I’ll sit here and hope that you get in for the next 2 days. Don’t worry about it, though (I know, easier said than done). Take your mind off of it. Go on a Netflix binge. And after decisions, whether you’re accepted or rejected, just let loose.
Don’t do your homework that one night and maybe go to the movies or hang out with friends or spend all night playing a video game or on Netflix. You deserve it! You spent 4 years working your butt off for this one day. So have fun!
And I’ll message you. I have some questions about UNC:)</p>
<p>I think interviews in general help alot. It allows the applicant to show the genuine interest they have for the school to the interviewer and let’s the interviewer see if the applicant would fit into the school. </p>
<p>I had a 3 hour interview for Middlebury College which I think helped a lot. The conversation ended up mostly being about my interest in Education and the future of it. I’m the first one to apply to Middlebury in the 80 years my school has been around and I am ranked 18 out of 180 with a 25 ACT and 2s on AP tests. I was wait listed while I saw others with spectacular stats (top 10 with 2000+ and subject tests with 4s and 5s on AP test getting denied.</p>
<p>And actually, my classmates who interviewed for Brown only had a 15 minute interview (this is in Los Angeles) . The interviewer had a line of students getting called up to him and the applicant only had 15 minutes to talk about themselves. So an hour interview for Brown may be more helpful in applying than people who had really concise interview or no interview at all. </p>
That presumes that the interview reports matter a lot. You shouldn’t presume this. When conducted, the interviews are the smallest weighted portion of your file (as it should be). They can offer confirming evidence of other aspects of the applicant or perhaps can raise an interesting point (or red flag) not covered elsewhere. Admissions then can choose to follow up. In my experience, I’d say +95% of interviews have no effect whatsoever.</p>
<p>I can’t confirm this, but perhaps the most important part of the interview is just showing up. For schools that value demonstrated interest, making the effort to get an interview, visiting campus, talking with someone on staff, etc., may be just as important as the interview itself. D had on campus interviews at her schools that always went over the allotted time, but it was summer and they weren’t exactly busy, plus she can be wordy and has a fairly interesting backstory. At the very least, she didn’t hurt herself in her interviews.</p>
<p>I recall a session explaining how admissions work at Tufts, and they did one of those “Pick Who Gets Admitted” exercises. As the AO explained about one candidate, when the interviewer wrote about one strong candidate “reminds me of my freshman year roommate at Tufts”, that put a lock on that student’s admit. So interviews might be a small part of the package, and they won’t turn around a weak candidate, but a strong candidate at a highly competitive school might just get enough of an edge to emerge from the pack. At places like the Ivies, where there are three or four equally qualified candidates for every slot, the pick might very well go to the candidate who made the best impression in the interview.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! You all bring up really interesting points. I just hope my interview was also interesting enough. I feel like I was a competitive candidate, and I put a great deal of time into my application. I have heard a lot of deferred kids are later accepted, so my hope is kind of riding on that lol (not that it makes anything guaranteed). The result comes out tomorrow at 5 pm. I am very nervous, but I’m coming to terms with myself that it’s not necessarily the college that you go to, but rather the experiences and actions you take during your 4 years there Once again, thanks for your advices. Wish me luck!!</p>
<p>I do alumni interviews for Yale and have been doing so for 20 years. I have never had an interview last 2 hours. If the student is interesting, it will usually last about an hour. However, it is more what the conversation is about than the length. And I do mean “conversation”. If I have to pull every answer out of the candidate, who just gives me yes or no answers, I will usually end the interview within 1/2 hour. We actually do like to hear about you and that is why I ask very open ended questions.</p>
<p>I think that’s how my interview went…I had a lot of answers to offer about myself and my background! Less than 24 hours till it comes out. This is nerve racking.</p>
Once again, thanks for your advices. Wish me luck!!</p>