Could the interviewer be looking for likelihood of commitment?

WindCloudUltra
Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:32:40 +0000

@Gibby: I actually disagree.

@AllEars: I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The official position of the admissions office is that decisions are not based on how interested a student is. Their yield rate is/has been relatively stable, and is among the highest if not actually the highest of all universities in the country.

Yes, they are proud of that. And precisely because of that (and the appeal of Harvard in general) they’re not like some other schools that try to protect their yield by denying very very good candidates because they don’t seem to be super jazzed about Harvard. They’re confident the Harvard name will ultimately pull in most of the most desirable candidates.

Interviewers are not explicitly requested by the admissions office to inquire about your other applications. Some might be curious, others less so. I almost always ask because I’m curious; I’ve never included that in my report to the AdComs.