what to expect from alumni interview? help!

hey fellas,

i applied to cornell regular decision as a bit of a reach - my gpa is kind of low but i did good on my act (35) and my grandma went there.

earlier today i got an email from a local member of the “Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network” saying she’d like to meet & interview me. i’m happy cuz it means they’re probably considering me, but i am worried about the interview - i am not sure what to expect. the email seems kind of curt and upfront, like a “type A” personality.

what kind of questions can i expect from an interview like this? is it important to the application process? and so on…

thanks in advance!!!

It’s not a sign that they’re considering you–they try to interview everyone.

It’s not super important. They will for sure ask about why you want to go to Cornell, so be specific in your answer. Know how to talk about yourself–what academic subjects interest you, what you put as your intended school/major and why, what activities you have participated in during high school, and your impact on them. Prepare some thoughtful questions–make sure the answers to these questions can’t be easily found on the Cornell website. All in all, don’t stress too much about the interview; it is just a conversation. Dress nice, arrive on time, and be polite. Relax and smile! Most people have good interviews, so positive interviews don’t typically have a huge impact on decisions, but another small boost helps. I think negative interviews can impact you, but the interview would have to be really bad, so don’t stress out about it! And also don’t read too much into what the interviewer tells you. I had a really fantastic interview for Brown ED and my interviewer said I would be perfect for Brown, and he doesn’t see why they wouldn’t accept me. He said he would write me an amazing report and guess what? I was deferred. So the interview matters very little in the process.

Also, have you responded to the interviewer’s email? Don’t read too much into the tone. My interviewer sounded super serious in his email and he was super nice and laid back in real life. Be polite/courteous in your reply back. If you haven’t answered them, here’s an edited version of what I said to my Brown interviewer that you can use as a template:

Hello Mr. or Ms.[insert their last name],

I am definitely interested in conducting an interview for [insert college name]. I live in [insert town] and I am available [insert days and times]. Please let me know what times and locations work best for you and I will be happy to schedule the interview at your convenience.

Thank you for contacting me, and I look forward to meeting you!

–Your Name

Also I suggest maybe looking up your interviewer, and seeing where they work, etc. Maybe you can tailor some of the things you say to their interests. I couldn’t find much about my interviewer, but I did see that he went to law school on his LinkedIn and he studied history at Brown so I made sure to talk about my interests in government, history, and politics.

Good luck!

@sciencenerd123 thank you for the post! i will take your advice to heart. i did respond and it will probably take place this saturday - i will update this thread after it happens.

i accidentally responded to her email with the wrong account (all emails sent to my “professional” account get redirected to my “personal” account, and i accidentally replied using the personal one)… hopefully she doesn’t notice, lolol.

update: the interview went pretty well, she was nice and friendly. it was more me asking her questions than her asking me questions, and she inquired if there was anything that i couldnt include on my application or things that had happened since i applied that may be relevant.