I didn’t accuse your SIL or her college of elitism. I wrote that if you were right, and that being in good relationships with an alumnus interviewer increased the chances of a kid to be accepted, that would be elitism.
I was being skeptical of your take on the story, because it implied that the college engaged in elitist practices. Basically, I was saying that I didn’t believe that the behavior of that mother towards your SIL had any effect on her kid’s acceptance, and had your SIL interviewed her kid, her feeling towards the mother would not have affected the kid’s chances of acceptance. The reason that I believed that was specifically because I don’t believe that your SIL’s Alma Mater engages in elitist practices.
As you know, threads will often take unplanned and unexpected turns, over which the OP has no control. It can be annoying and frustrating to the OP, but that’s the nature of online forums.
I remember once I was not driving up to the speed limit, taking my kids to some sports practice. A car rudely passed me , honking and driver giving me a nasty look, cutting close in front of me before zipping off.
To the very same place I was going. In fact , for all of his big hurry, I got there a mere minute or two after he did and our kids ran together to the building. He did have the grace to be embarrassed and apologize.
I told this story to my kids as they were learning to drive.
Thank you for sharing this story. Actually, I am surprised that there were not more complaints or requests to be moved from the B Team.
Out of curiosity, did the A Team wear all white & the B Team wear all black ?
P.S. Any talk about renaming the teams ? Might be more interesting if each team was named after a major political party, for example. Certainly would boost attendance.
“Your chances of admission won’t be affected adversely if we are unable to offer you an interview, nor will they be affected if you choose not to send an extra recommendation (in lieu of an interview).”
Basically, the interview doesn’t mean much if they can’t offer it to everyone and it won’t hurt you if you don’t do one. This leads me to believe that adcoms do not give alumni interview notes much thought and that the interview is as much about keeping alumni engaged with the college and giving their time/money than about evaluating applicants.
I always go back to colleges (especially ones with billion dollar endowments) are big businesses as much as they are altruistic beacons of higher learning.
Jym, the bungles I’ve seen are not at the gun-toting level. More like not being able to answer a question about their interest in the college or how they envision themselves there. Or admitting another college is their #1 choice. Many can’t discuss their work in their proposed major area. Or who are so very nervous, they can’t engage in dialogue. Kids who, from the basic apps, had looked like contenders. This is separate from liking a kid. Again, about match.
And despite the fact that, for several years, the CDS implied an interview was not evaluative, I knew they were being read and considered vital. (Since corrected.)
I would never ding a kid in my report who was shy or nervous. IMO, it’s my job to help them feel comfortable. For many many students, alumni meetings are their first ever “interviews”.
I also think it can be very real for a student to not have a firm idea of their major at that age.
Not being able to articulate interest in the school and how they can contribute on campus is more of an issue, but if it’s not coming through in the interview, it probably didn’t come through in the essays either.
A student I interviewed several years ago clearly didn’t know anything about the school. A student who doesn’t come prepared and/or doesnt know anything about the school is not likely very interested.
I’ve only had one interviewee who was so nervous I couldn’t get anything useful out of them. My report basically said, “sorry that I didn’t do a better job.” That’s also the only interviewee I’ve had wait-listed, rather than rejected.
I went to a Catholic school (not in the US). In the frst year pupils were divided into three random groups, 1A, 1B and 1C. It came as a nasty shock to some parents who hadn’t realised the random nature of it when the following year 1A became 2C and 1C became to 2A.
Re: Team names. Let the kids vote on their own name. If the coaches didn’t foresee a problem with naming teams A and B, it’s hard to feel sympathetic for them. That was a bonehead move.
I posted # 29 before reading our post #26@lookingforward . My “don’t bring a gun” was tongue in cheek, but yes, as I mentioned, even before the reports form alums was, at my school, considered evaluative, I did indicate that the interviewee was sweet but did not seem interested in the school and did not seem familiar with it or what it offered.
When my child was in middle school my husband took a select group of kids to a European sports tournament. He’d done it with my older child and the trip was such a success that we had kids from many highly selective club teams clamoring to be included. One of the kids in my daughter’s class was a real superstar in the sport. This year she was named All-Ivy as a freshman.
Unfortunately this kid’s mother was such an unkind and ruthless promoter of her child that a number of the families of the most talented kids already signed up for the trip blackballed the family. Even if this kid could have helped the team win no one could stand the idea of spending 10 days with the mother. The daughter missed out on an unforgettable experience because of parental behavior.
Most schools will not allow an interview to take place between a prospective student and and alum that already knows them in some capacity so she would have had to recuse her self anyway.
