Hi,
So I have a Columbia interview and the interviewer wants to ask me my gpa, sat, etc. I had a Harvard interview and they did the same thing.
What is the point of this? That’s my question.
My understanding is the intv. is supposed to get to know me personally? Why ask me this stuff that adm. officers already know?
That seems really odd, are you sure they didn’t say the opposite?. Every interview I’ve had emphasizes NOT bringing test scores or gpa., and I’ve interviewed with Yale, Dartmouth and the like so it seems it would not be the opposite for Harvard or Columbia.
Harvard used to have every interviewer ask for grades and scores and report them on their form, even though of course those scores were reported independently. Many interviewers waited until the end of the interview to ask, just so they wouldn’t pre-judge the student in any way as they “get to know you personally.” A couple of years ago, Harvard changed their form and specifically told interviewers they were no longer required to ask for grades and scores, but they were still free to do so if they wished, as long as they asked with a light touch and didn’t make students feel pressured. Some interviewers now don’t ask, but some do. The truth is, interviewers still have to give numerical rankings to each interviewee in several areas, including academics, and it’s just easier to do this if you have numbers to compare different students. So some people ask for numbers ahead, some ask for numbers at the end of the interview, some ask something vague (“So I assume your grades and scores were good?” Or “So were you happy with your grades and scores?”), and some don’t ask at all, but still have to make those numerical rankings. No matter HOW they handle the numbers, however, EVERY interviewer absolutely DOES try to get to know you independently of the the numbers, and by far the bulk of their write-up is a narrative about what you’re like-- in terms of personality, academics (projects, enthusiasm, interests, analytical skills, etc.), extra-curricular activities, and overall impression. And that narrative matters more to the admissions officers than the numerical rankings because they’ve already seen all the official numbers by the time they read the interview report. So don’t be freaked out if you get asked about numbers, and don’t worry if you DON’T get asked. Different interviewers will handle the issue differently, but the ones that ask are just doing it to help standardized those numerical rankings. But really they are mostly interested in all the other interesting things you have to say.
Edit: okay so my Columbia interviewer actually DID NOT ask for my sat and GPA scores but i thought that person would because he/she said he/she will ask things that were already in my application. I assumed my interviewer wanted my stats because that’s exactly the language harvard interviwers asked in my interview to know my gpa, sat scores.
Anyway, yeah for harvard, they asked me for my stats first so they don’t forget to later which kind of worried and bothered me but I had a feeling they prob. would ask bc I heard they do. Thanks for both of your replies.
Daykidmom, your response was really helpful. Thanks for these details.
@livedexperience8 Harvard always does that for some reason. seems pointless but they do. I interview for Penn and they explicitly tell us not to ask for scores, GPAs etc.
My Princeton interviewer didn’t ask, but my Harvard interviewer did at the very beginning. He asked it pretty vaguely, but he wanted to know my specific scores on the old SAT. All I remembered was my math one though haha.
I think he asked that to get a better picture of me, especially since I immediately established myself as a STEM geek early on in the interview. Scores on SAT, SAT II, and APs kinda help validate that.
S has done several interviews for Columbia (since he graduated last May), and he was told he did not have to ask, but he could ask if he wanted. The alumni interviewers are not given access to the applicants’ files, they are only given the name/contact info, and high school (so there is no conflict/preference given, interviewers are prohibited from interviewing applicants from their own former high school).
He was told that applicants are often very nervous, but they tend to know their numbers very well, so sometimes interviewers are advised that they can make an applicant more relaxed by asking them a question that they can answer pretty easily.
He told me he’s interviewed 10 applicants for the Early application cycle, and he felt strongly that one of them really belonged at Columbia, and two others also belonged, while the remaining 7 were perhaps not as strong as those 3. He was pleased when he got a thank you email from the strongest one saying that one had been accepted. But the school doesn’t otherwise share with the interviewers any of the decisions that they make - this was just a courtesy thank you from that particular applicant.
The other thing he told me about this process is that the school knows that the application process is stacked against applicants, there are just not enough spaces for all of the worthy candidates. The school has warned their interviewers to expect that even though most of the applicants will be qualified and could thrive at Columbia, if they rank all of their applicants that high, then the process doesn’t help anyone. Since most interviewers only will talk with a half-dozen or so applicants, they should expect that probably none or maybe one of them will get in.
He says he was told that as much as anything else, the interview is supposed to help convince the applicants to really want to come to Columbia. He said something about of the accepted applicants, those had an interview are more likely to enroll than those who don’t get interviews, so the school wants to interview as many as they can. But because not everyone gets an interview, not having an interview will not hurt the applicant.
Of course, I know he could not say anything about any particular applicant as far as what makes one stand out over another, so I didn’t ask.
But he told me he enjoys interviewing applicants, and it is a way to give back to the school that did so much for him.
R columbia interviews selective
Like do they evaluate the app before giving interview
The only thing they evaluate is whether or not there could be a conflict/preference, or whether or not the applicant is being recruited for an athletic/band position.
Also, they note if there is an interviewer in the general region who could meet with them face to face, they hope to do them that way - otherwise they put them on a big list of Skype interview candidates. But if you’re one of 50 applicants in a region with say only 2 or 3 interviewers, they may geographically put some of these on the Skype list, as they know it is impossible to meet with all of you face to face.