<p>jj43912- Your mom is confusing the interview process of college with that of jobs. Harvard interviews all the applicants it can, according to how many alumni interviewers are available in the area. There is no pre-selection for interviews in the U.S. Receiving an Ivy interview does not indicate you have a higher chance for acceptance.</p>
<p>Your mom is exhibiting normal parental pride and optimism, it’s great she is so supportive. Naturally, she believes you are special. Good luck.</p>
<p>@jj43912, I thought the same way your mom did when I got my first interview…until I looked on CC and saw that almost everyone gets an interview.</p>
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<p>The general consensus on CC is that a bad interview will hurt you (each school probably has more or less weight) and that a good interview won’t really help you. My interviewer told me that he knows his report won’t really change anything</p>
<p>I had an amazing interview with a cardiologist, and it was my first interview. She asked me about my SATs and basically based all of her questions off of my resume. She also encouraged me to pursue tennis, even though I’m not that good. The only awkward part was when she asked me which school I named as my #1 for National Merit, and I said Princeton. But she laughed it off and told me she would give me the highest possible rating. I think out of my seven interviews, it was definitely the best :)</p>
<p>^ you shouldnt have done that. how does harvard intervieer do a report on you? like they just type what you are? or ask questions.</p>
<p>Thanks anyone for the helpful advice. I guess my mom is just being a ‘mom’ when she gets excited over an interview. I think all of mine went pretty well, oh except harvard haha, but I’m not getting my hopes up based on interviews.</p>
<p>My interviewer emailed me this afternoon to set up an interview; however, she’s only in town tomorrow and the day after and on such short notice I’m probably not going to be able to make it b/c other plans made months ago. Will it look bad if I refuse the interview? I’m international, so I don’t think I will be able to get another one…</p>
<p>hotaru748 - is a telephone interview possible? </p>
<p>Due to unexpected conflicts with my D’s interviewer, he had to change the time and offered to do the interview by phone. My D was a little disappointed as she was looking forward to meeting him in person but she did appreciate him making time in his schedule for the phone interview. It lasted almost 1hr 20 minutes. He told her that his paperwork was due by the end of the week so he needed to get the interviews completed as soon as possible to ensure his notes were submitted on time. (I am guessing the timelines vary by region/location and maybe interviewer’s availability) She learned alot about campus life, different student organizations, and tips for pre-med courses should she be admitted to Harvard. Accepted or rejected, she said enjoyed the conversation and experienced her first interview by phone.</p>
<p>Try for the phone interview if possible. Good luck.</p>
<p>Okay, remember my ****ty interview from about a month ago? My college counselor emailed the regional head and brought to light my complaints, and the head herself came out to interview me yesterday.</p>
<p>It was fantastic! </p>
<p>I swear, after my first experience I was dreading it extremely, but she was perhaps the most down-to-Earth, friendly, engaging interview I’ve had of them all. Okay, the same can be said about my Columbia interview. They both were tied on the amazing factor. It was pretty much strictly about my interests and not so much evaluating me on academic factors in the interview (which I don’t see is the point of asking about these things in an interview. That’s already in your application, no?)</p>
<p>All in all, I left in chills, and there were a few pieces of advice she mentioned about life itself that really made me think. Before I wasn’t sure if I would be interested in applyingg to/attending because the student body seems snobby and everything, which may still be true, but after the interview it seems more like a place I’d be interested in reading more about.</p>
<p>All in all, that was a ton of fun!</p>
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<p>Harvardlite… are you saying that augustagurrl should have LIED at her interview? Moral and ethical issues aside, Harvard can easily check up on what you wrote as your first choice for NMF. After all, that school is where they send any and all money you get. I suggest you rethink your approach to college. And life.</p>
<p>great alum, great interview for me.</p>
<p>I wasn’t going to lie…I mean if I said Harvard, they would know I didn’t honestly put that down as my #1 choice. But she was totally cool about it. She said she thinks that helped her get into Harvard- by putting it as her first choice- and it should help me with Princeton, which is where I want to go. So I don’t regret it at all</p>
<p>Wow I’m jealous of all your good interviews.</p>
<p>It’s gonna hurt me. I’m screwed.</p>
<p>Hmmm…my D hasn’t listed ANY school as first choice for NM. Do you REALLY think it makes a difference!? She was leaving it open until she got acceptances.</p>
<p>If she is waiting on schools that don’t release decisions until March 31st onward, then she should definitely have listed one. That way, if its a school she wants to go to, she could possibly get a scholarship from the school she lists. I know Auburn, UT at Dallas, U of Oklahoma and a few others told me I could go there for free if I listed them as my top choice. But go check out the NM website. They should have a list of different dates and like the last possible date to name the 1st choice.</p>
<p>“My interviewer emailed me this afternoon to set up an interview; however, she’s only in town tomorrow and the day after and on such short notice I’m probably not going to be able to make it b/c other plans made months ago. Will it look bad if I refuse the interview? I’m international, so I don’t think I will be able to get another one…”</p>
<p>My guess (and this is a guess) is that only the internationals that Harvard is extremely interested in get interviews. It is very hard to find alum interviewers abroad, and I doubt that Harvard would waste such people’s time by having them interview students whom Harvard wouldn’t seriously consider for admission.</p>
<p>(This is not the case for U.S.-based applicants. Harvard tries to interview all of those including longshots.)</p>
<p>What kind of unbreakable plans do you have? Are those plans really so important that you can’t put them aside for this?</p>
<p>Surely, you could at least offer to do a telephone interview.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that either Harvard or Princeton cares whether they are listed as student’s first choice on NM applications. For most accepted applicants to Harvard or Princeton, the Harvard or Princeton acceptance is their top acceptance, and the student gladly will accept that offer.</p>
<p>I know that Harvard doesn’t consider demonstrated interest when admitted students. I doubt that Princeton does either.</p>
<p>Many NM finalists will put as first choice a school that is very generous with merit scholarships. Some such applicants will accept a full ride offer from merit-aid offering school over an Ivy acceptance that would result in the student’s family paying tens of thousands of dollars for the student’s undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Hi,
My interview is scheduled for tomorrow. At the time of my application, I had not yet contacted an interviewer (I’m international). I therefore put “not yet advised”, “not yet informed”, or something along those lines the interview section of the application.</p>
<p>Do I need to contact Harvard to update them on my interview status or will that happen automatically when the interviewer sends in the report? I just don’t want to end up having an interview without them actually knowing about it!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>The interviewer informs Harvard when the interviewer turns their report into Harvard.</p>
<p><<i wasn’t=“” going=“” to=“” lie…i=“” mean=“” if=“” i=“” said=“” harvard,=“” they=“” would=“” know=“” didn’t=“” honestly=“” put=“” that=“” down=“” as=“” my=“” #1=“” choice.=“” but=“” she=“” was=“” totally=“” cool=“” about=“” it.=“” thinks=“” helped=“” her=“” get=“” into=“” harvard-=“” by=“” putting=“” it=“” first=“” choice-=“” and=“” should=“” help=“” me=“” with=“” princeton,=“” which=“” is=“” where=“” want=“” go.=“” so=“” don’t=“” regret=“” at=“” all=“”>></i></p><i wasn’t=“” going=“” to=“” lie…i=“” mean=“” if=“” i=“” said=“” harvard,=“” they=“” would=“” know=“” didn’t=“” honestly=“” put=“” that=“” down=“” as=“” my=“” #1=“” choice.=“” but=“” she=“” was=“” totally=“” cool=“” about=“” it.=“” thinks=“” helped=“” her=“” get=“” into=“” harvard-=“” by=“” putting=“” it=“” first=“” choice-=“” and=“” should=“” help=“” me=“” with=“” princeton,=“” which=“” is=“” where=“” want=“” go.=“” so=“” don’t=“” regret=“” at=“” all=“”>
<p>@augustagurrl: You handled the question as well as you could have. However, Harvard asks its interviewers not to ask applicants which school is their first choice. In fact Harvard explicitly tells interviewers that demonstration of interest is not a factor in admissions.</p>
<p>Asking which school one chose for National Merit #1 school is no better than asking which school is one’s first choice. It’s worded differently, but it’s still against the rules.</p>
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<p>I agree, they shouldn’t have asked her the question. But regardless, the applicant still shouldn’t LIE about it.</p>