<p>My daughter had both last year, in time for EA decisions; she was deferred EA and admitted RD in April. While she thought the interviews went fine, she also thought they seemed casual and rather inconsequential; it was hard to believe they played a serious role in the decision.</p>
<p>My take, for what it’s worth, is that alumni interviews are basically a way to keep both alumni and applicants engaged with the school. I suspect that a hugely negative interview report could hurt you (although I’m not even sure that’s always the case; every school has a cranky old alum or two who’s not taken seriously by the adcoms), but otherwise, it doesn’t really enter into the calculations.</p>