<p>Okay, a Duke alumni asked for an interview. Since it is optional and I'm most likely going to a state school, I declined. He emailed me saying "Are you not interested in pursuing Duke anymore?" What should I say?</p>
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<p>Well, it seems to me that you answered your own question. Since you’ve already declined the interview, I would just go ahead and let the alumni interviewer know your decision unless you still have even the slightest inclination of going to Duke.</p>
<p>Be honest! Just a short email saying you would like to decline the interview for personal reasons, perhaps, if you’d like to keep your application active. If you want to withdraw, mention this and find the appropriate person to contact at the admissions office. I wouldn’t say “I’m going to XXX school” because that’s something the admissions office should be told instead.</p>
<p>We do have to indicate that you’ve declined an interview, and give a reason, so your honesty will go over much better than just not replying to this next email. I’ve had a few students just not reply to my emails, and it tends to irk me, so just be honest while being tactful.</p>
<p>If you think there is any chance you want to go to Duke, you should email back and tell him that you had a personal conflict and is there any way you can interview now. I can’t believe it looks good at all to decline an interview if you are interested in going to Duke. If you don’t want to go to Duke, then tell him and let the admissions office know ASAP.</p>
<p>I agree with the rest of the posts. Just be honest and tell them why. </p>
<p>For me, I replied to my interviewer saying that I couldn’t meet at her scheduled times because I have CNA classes every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm-10:30pm and work every weekday I don’t have CNA, which is basically Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In order for me to miss my CNA class, I would have to pay $50 an hour, which requires money I don’t have. My interviewer lives 45 minutes away, and my mom needs to drive me there, so I would also have to coordinate the interview with my mom’s work schedule. And she replied basically saying that if I don’t go, she’ll tell Duke I wasn’t interested, which is totally NOT true. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair for her to tell the admissions office that when I really can’t meet with her. </p>
<p>What should I do? I feel so helpless. I honestly think this will ruin my chance of admission.</p>
<p>^contact admissions and let them know of your situation. They’ll be accomodating and understanding. :)</p>
<p>ashley, Duke will understand and will respect your work schedule since you also have to drive 1.5 hours the day of an interview. Most admissions officers respect students who also work for money and can’t afford not to generate money.</p>
<p>However, if you think you have a good shot at getting into Duke (keeping in mind that many students with near perfect stats are waitlisted annually due to excessive demand for the seats in the freshman class)…so if you are honest with yourself on your chances and think you have a viable application</p>
<p>and number 2</p>
<p>If you truly WANT Duke and want to be admitted to Duke and it is a top choice, then I think you should consider asking for a substitute to work for you on one of your paid workdays and you should forfeit that small loss of income, and you should go to your work supervisor and tell him or her that you must interview because Duke could provide you with a very expensive education at a very good pricetag. Realize that if you are admitted to Duke and have financial need, you stand to have tremendous financial support and you would have NO LOANS ALL GRANTS. We are talking thousands of dollars. </p>
<p>So I will caution you not to be short sighted. You can’t ask for an alum interview and then not expect to have to cancel your plans for the day of the interview! Everyone has to cancel their rehearsals, games, practices and commitments to complete an alum interview. All seniors have busy afternoons and evenings and have people who balk when they take a day off. Your situation with taking responsibility to generate cash flow in your household is to be respected, but again…you are being short sighted. </p>
<p>Do you have any date you can go for the interviews? Did you submit to the alum interview three viable dates you and your Mom could drive up? </p>
<p>Think big and think ahead. Many many Dukies are on complete financial aid and also had difficult life stories re finances and responsibilities…and have jobs after school in high school years. </p>
<p>I would write her a note and tell you you were being short sighted and you have arranged to forfeit a day of employed work to come to meet her on her terms. Talk to your supervisor and get someone else to take your shift one day. </p>
<p>an interview is a time to get a perspective on Duke from an alum from whatever era the alum represents in Duke history. He or she will be mindful of your sacrifice for coming…and I am not even suggesting that a Duke interview would impact your admission that much. but interviews are learning experiences. My son interviewed at five or six schools and even getting rejected is a learning experience that strengthens you. My son is in college now and has already had four evaluative interviews in his freshman year for various positions, internships and jobs. He got cut twice and got chosen twice.</p>
<p>Interviewing for Duke is really more about readiness for this next step and stage in life. I think you will get something out of the experience whether you go to Duke or not.</p>
<p>a Duke mom</p>
<p>Faline, yes, I gave her alternate dates and times that would work for me, but she refuses to meet then. It’s not about the money I’m losing from not going to work one day. It’s about coordinating the date of the interview so that both my mom and I can change our schedule in such a way that we can both go. In order for my mom to change her schedule, she has to tell her supervisor in advance by one week, and my interviewer definitely didn’t provide that. My interviewer’s initial email was a mass email to everyone she had to interview, and she had 10 available time slots. I could meet one of them by changing my schedule and my mom wasn’t working at that time, so I replied to that email 20 minutes after she sent it out. Assuming that I was going to have my interview at that time, I already changed my schedule. When I get back to my computer a couple hours later, she replied saying that some other student already filled that spot and asked if I could interview that week. I couldn’t do that, so I replied giving her some dates that would work for both me and my mom, but she said that she won’t meet outside of the 10 times she set up.</p>
<p>Hmmmm…Oh that is different then. I think it would be appropriate then for you to email Duke admissions with this issue. Try to sound business like and not too frustrated. State that you wonder if there is another Duke alum within an hour of you that could find time to meet with you and name four dates in this email that your first Duke alum couldn’t (or would not) accept. </p>
<p>sounds like you did try to accomodate! I sure hope this works out for you. Some kids your age are driving solo long distances (seriously…we met a few on Blue Devil Days who had driven themselves from New England solo!) but my own son did not have that level of skill or privilege or experience on highways so my husband drove him when he had to drive an hour to an interview. </p>
<p>well, I feel frustrated for you. See if your supervisor and your Mom’s supervisor can work another idea out…but you have tried hard!</p>