<p>Alumni meetings are not interviews. Cornell alumni are asked to arrange informational meetings with every applicant in their geographic area. It would be great if we could get to every applicant, but sometimes alumni volunteers are overwhelmed with applicants (and then the choice is random) or the applicant’s geographic area is not covered by an alumni committee. Contact by an alumni is not an indication of an applicant’s status. Alumni committees are referred to applicants before the applications have been reviewed. </p>
<p>misterbill. I think your son should dress nicely. He does not need a sport jacket, unless the location of the meeting requires such attire. The meeting is intended to be a friendly informational session and should not be construed as an interview. The alumni will likely ask questions about why your son chose Cornell and why your son chose ILR. He should be friendly and relaxed. The best reviews I see from alumni are those where the applicant is enthusiastic about Cornell and the alumni comes away with a generally positive reaction to the applicant. We all loved our experience at Cornell, which is why we volunteer to serve in this alumni ambassador role. There’s nothing better than a meeting where the applicant is enthused to learn about our experiences.</p>