crepuscular

My son has an interview next week. 1) He has very, very mild Asperger's--think of a Bill Gates type of social awkwardness--not great with eye-contact, body language a bit stiff.. but very bright and polite. His conversation won't seem the most spontaneous or natural unless it's a subject he's very comfortable with. He could come across as a bit odd. Is this social awkwardness something the admissions people should know about in case of a comment on the interview report? or something my son could even address during the interview? 2) Also the interviewer is the VP of a hospital my husband sued in a high profile case a few years ago! hmmm. Should I be concerned about this? I'm telling my son only that the interviewer, whom I googled, looks like a friendly guy. 3) Is it common for the interviewer's personal assistant email and arrange the interview?

AdmissionsAddict

I wouldn't worry about your husband's lawsuit. I doubt the connection will register. I make my own interview arrangements but am not surprised that others use their secretaries.

As for the Asperger's, that's a tough call. If an interviewee told me right off the bat, I think I'd be a little taken aback. Also, not everyone understands what Asperger's is and that it has any link to social awkwardness, so unless your son is ready to give a brief explanation, the interviewer might not get why Asperger's matters. Giving a brief explanation seems awkward and defensive. Is the Asperger's mentioned somewhere in the application so the admissions commitee will know about it when they read the interview report?

If you decided to take the alumn interview, which is not mandatory and the absence of which does not negatively impact your admissions chances, you must think that the positives of your son's ability to interview outweigh the negatives. I'd trust that instinct.

I would be curious what other Yale interviewers like T26 think as I can easily see opinions differing about how to treat this.

crepuscular

Good points. I'm just stressing. Thank you. No it wasn't mentioned in the app. His Asperger's is so very mild. The interviewer may well think it's discomfort due to shyness. Thespian that he is, he could wow the guy. Many kids are good actors in this situation. Social awkwardness is well-represented on college campuses like Yale anyway. Since autistic spectrum seems to be on rise, (or out of the closet) and many of these kids are applying to great schools like Yale, interviewers should not be phased. Oddities are part of the game and could be seen as desirable if the oddities aren't too 'out there'. Yale seems to actively not want to be a cookie-cutting factory. Hence all the 'perfect' students not getting admitted. It seems I've talked myself out of the worry!

T26E4

AA: you're putting me on the spot! It's complex for sure. I feel that I could give correct context to crep's son's condition because I have a severely autistic nephew. Personally, the knowledge of Asperger's would be useful for me and I believe that I could give it the right write up without it coming across as an excuse.

Best of luck to your son, Crep.

crepuscular

Here's the thing: my son's Asperger's is so mild, that an interviewer will not have a clue that he is on the spectrum. So he could come across as evasive or disinterested, when all it is discomfort in sustaining eye contact. Another thing: people with this sort of wiring often take longer to process the question being asked, especially (and this what was so challenging,but valuable,about writing the essays for him) if the question is one that requires a SELF-REFLECTIVE answer. If there is a delay in answering -as there often is- an interviewer might think the kid is just not understanding the question! Clearly I'm obsessing here. This kind of friendly forum brings that out in people, I'm seeing! Everything will work out in the end.

crepuscular

AA and T26E4, Thank you both!

AdmissionsAddict

Crepuscular--Would doing a mock interview with your son help him? If he has talked his way through some of the obvious questions--academic interests, favorite extracurricular, why Yale--would that help his pacing?

FYI, I had one interviewee who very obviously had some sort of medical condition that caused odd/socially inappropriate behavior during the interview (waaay beyond poor eye contact and slowness to respond). The student never explained what the problem was. It was easy for me to start off the report by matter-of-factly explaining that there was clearly an issue with a couple examples and then go about my regular interview report. The subtlety of your son's problem creates a different issue. Can you rehearse a way he can bring up his Asperger's in a seemingly offhand manner? Would the interviewer even know what to make of it if he did? I'm just rambling now, sorry.

Good luck to your son. I interview shy, nervous kids all the time and give them good reports, so it's not like you have to be polished and wildly charming for your interviewer to respond to you.

crepuscular

AA, That's a great idea. His forensics or drama instructor might be the perfect one to ask. I don't know how cooperative he'd be if I were to volunteer to do it.

Thanks again for your help.

riverrunner

I had the same thought as AA. If your son were allowed to rehearse a little, and play the part of a prospective student who was comfortable in interviews, how would he act? He'd make eye contact, smile, have relaxed body language and so on. It's intruguing to me that your son might have the theatrical ability to portray the person he may not be able to be naturally. The important part of the interview, his answers, will be his, but the mannerisms may be him playing an ideal interview candidate! Best wishes to you and your son. You are a good mom and he is very lucky.

crepuscular

You're so right, RR, the acting skills will come in handy during the interview. I think many people go in to acting-mode while chatting. btw, One reason he is so interested in Yale are the numerous EC drama and comedy troupes available to join. Thank you for your kind words and good wishes.

ceebee63

I had a really odd interview experience today -- after reading all these posts, I was under the impression that my interviewer would, well, ask me questions. Instead, she said "this is just for you to get more information about Yale." I've visited/spent a weekend at Yale, know at least 20 Yale students, have teachers who went to Yale, and have spent a lot of time on the Yale website. At this point, after having submitted my application, most of my questions have been answered. About all I could do was ask what made her Yale experience unique and why she loved Yale. She gave me a standard answer "Residential colleges" and then practically recited the Yale brochure about res colleges. Duhhh.... She didn't talk at all about professors or friends or anything outside of college (she said she didn't do sports, and she didn't mention any other activities). Then at the end (without having asked me ANYTHING) she informed me that she would be sending Yale a letter to tell them things they couldn't find out from my application/what I'm like in person. HELLO! She doesn't know a THING about me! How can she write to Yale to tell them "what I'm like in person"?????

I was under the impression the interview was evaluative, not informational. She seemed to think it was informational for me, but that she had to "evaluate" me on like...my manners or something. So weird.

Oh, and she asked me where else I'm applying. I thought that wasn't allowed...

AdmissionsAddict

Sounds like a very odd interviewer. FYI, not all the interviewers have read the interview guide carefully or recently, so she might not have known she was asking a "forbidden question."

BandTenHut

My interviewer asked few basic questions to get a read on me, then we talked about ethics, philosophy, history, and politics for about an hour. He said I was a good thinker. It was fun.

citygirl290

AdmissionsAddict- thanks for all your help. I have been looking through this thread and it is very helpful. I wish there were more people like you who would take your time out to help so many people. I commend your kind nature.
My question is that I googled my interviewer and I found out that she is successful and started her own company. So if the conversation heads towards her life, am I supposed to show that I found out about her or is that too weird? Basically, if someone you interviewed googled you and told you, how would you react and feel?

AdmissionsAddict

During two interviews it was obvious the applicants had googled me. I thought it was weird. It's fine to google the person so you have a sense of who they are, but letting them know you did it can feel stalker-y.