With both local alums and AOs on holiday break its perfectly normal you have not heard from them.
Unlike job interviews where they are the most important element for deciding a candidate, the alum interviews at most Ivy schools admissions are more for alum engagement than for acting as the last arbiter in selecting a candidate. However, I have never heard of any Harvard admit without an interview; some interviews can take place after the candidates receive likely letters. In another word, you may not need one to get admitted but you must have one as an admitted student.
RD decisions won't be finished till mid March. An applicant can get an interview request up till that time.
Question to @gibby and @jzducol. If the alum interviewer said, "you'll hear about the next step from the admissions team." after the interview, is this a good sign or neutral remark meaning that he would say this to a person who may get the rejection from the AO team as well?
The alumni interviewer has no clue where you stand with the AO. There is no next step other than a decision, unless you are missing items from your application.
According to the published Harvard admissions evaluation form: https://www.wsj.com/articles/breakdown-of-the-harvard-admissions-process-1540287000
and the filled out form I have seen, there could be up to three additional evaluations besides those of two AO readers, from the left to the right (probably in the order of importance): faculty eval, staff IV and alum IV. If the interviewer is an admission staff, his evaluation will be entered in Staff IV column. Since most applicants will have Alum IV, one with Staff IV would stand out. I imagine good Staff IV scores would have more weight than Alum IV.
If this were an alumni interviewer, I think he is just generally saying he is part of the "overall team". I don't think he is any more or less influential than any other alumni interviewer based on who he is. His report may be more or less useful in helping the AO assess a candidate he reports on because of the quality of his report. I can also easily see situations where an interviewer has a long track record of interview reports and the AO considers/handicaps the interviewer's reports based on precedent. I understand people wanting to read tea leaves, but unless you receive a likely letter, there just aren't any (positive or negative).
@familymom wrote "If the alum interviewer said, "you'll hear about the next step from the admissions team." after the interview, is this a good sign or neutral remark meaning that he would say this to a person who may get the rejection from the AO team as well?"
In the 9 years I've been on CC, this is the FIRST time I've heard of alumni interviewer from any college, not just Harvard, say such a thing. So, my gut feeling is that what the alumni interviewer meant was "should there be a next step, you'll hear from the Admissions team." In other words, your son or daughter is a wonderful candidate for Harvard, but the actual decision is out of my control and rests with the Admissions Committee. IMHO, it's a neutral remark and you/your child should not read anything into it.
Idk how you guys had your interview, but my interviewer and I had the most unusual conversation in the history of conversations. What started out as a philosophical question regarding the principles of identity eventually spiraled in to a long discussion about the purpose of life and what our purpose is on Earth. Heck, my alumni interviewer even started joking around about living in a simulation haha XD. While we did talk about my academic interests, extracurriculars, and social background– which all went really good actually, compared to my other interviews, Harvard is by far, the most abstract and quirky interview I've had lmao. I guess that just shows you how unpredictable Harvard really is haha.
@love2cheeses: No your daughter should NOT contact Harvard, as Admissions does NOT schedule interviews. After your daughter pressed the submit button, her contact information was forwarded to the alumni chapter closest to where you live. It's the alumni chapter's responsibility to schedule interviews and they are probably overwhelmed with too many applicants and too few volunteer alumni interviewers. Also keep in mind: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look/interviews
if an interview cannot be arranged, you will not be at a disadvantage during the application process.
love2cheesesRegistered UserPosts: 122Junior Member
Thanks for the quick response, but please read what @jzducol said above:
"However, I have never heard of any Harvard admit without an interview; some interviews can take place after the candidates receive likely letters. In another word, you may not need one to get admitted but you must have one as an admitted student."
@love2cheeses: If you're that concerned, you could try to contact your local Harvard alumni chapter and make an inquiry about when an interview will be scheduled. However, realize it's still early in the process with 8 weeks left for your daughter to receive notice.
Hi everyone! I also applied RD to Harvard and I have not been contacted to set up an interview. Should I be worried? How are the interviews scheduled? Does this mean I will most likely not be accepted? Thanks!
@pinkpony921 wrote "Does this mean I will most likely not be accepted?"
Last year, Harvard had an RD acceptance of 2.43%, meaning 97.57% of RD applicants were rejected. As such, the minute you press the submit button, you should assume you will most likely NOT be accepted.
If you are a US applicant and have not received an alumni interview by the third week of March, I think it's a fair assumption that Admissions did not prioritize your application for an interview and therefore you will not be accepted. As it's the first week of February though, it's still early in the process with plenty of time yet to receive an interview!
Replies to: Harvard Regular Decision Interview
Unlike job interviews where they are the most important element for deciding a candidate, the alum interviews at most Ivy schools admissions are more for alum engagement than for acting as the last arbiter in selecting a candidate. However, I have never heard of any Harvard admit without an interview; some interviews can take place after the candidates receive likely letters. In another word, you may not need one to get admitted but you must have one as an admitted student.
RD decisions won't be finished till mid March. An applicant can get an interview request up till that time.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/breakdown-of-the-harvard-admissions-process-1540287000
and the filled out form I have seen, there could be up to three additional evaluations besides those of two AO readers, from the left to the right (probably in the order of importance): faculty eval, staff IV and alum IV. If the interviewer is an admission staff, his evaluation will be entered in Staff IV column. Since most applicants will have Alum IV, one with Staff IV would stand out. I imagine good Staff IV scores would have more weight than Alum IV.
In the 9 years I've been on CC, this is the FIRST time I've heard of alumni interviewer from any college, not just Harvard, say such a thing. So, my gut feeling is that what the alumni interviewer meant was "should there be a next step, you'll hear from the Admissions team." In other words, your son or daughter is a wonderful candidate for Harvard, but the actual decision is out of my control and rests with the Admissions Committee. IMHO, it's a neutral remark and you/your child should not read anything into it.
"However, I have never heard of any Harvard admit without an interview; some interviews can take place after the candidates receive likely letters. In another word, you may not need one to get admitted but you must have one as an admitted student."
This is why I am concerned.
Last year, Harvard had an RD acceptance of 2.43%, meaning 97.57% of RD applicants were rejected. As such, the minute you press the submit button, you should assume you will most likely NOT be accepted.
If you are a US applicant and have not received an alumni interview by the third week of March, I think it's a fair assumption that Admissions did not prioritize your application for an interview and therefore you will not be accepted. As it's the first week of February though, it's still early in the process with plenty of time yet to receive an interview!