<p>Anyone from SoCal receive their interview yet? ):
I haven’t got any contact from the interviewer yet, and I really want to have one. I submitted my app beginning of Dec.</p>
<p>NYers: If you interview at the Harvard Club, what information does the confirmation email they send you say? My friend seems to have not received his copy.</p>
<p>If interview success can be measured by length, I guess I did pretty well. We chatted just shy of two hours.</p>
<p>The inevitable “why Harvard” question showed up, and I kind of had to do some improvisation. Other than that, it went great. We talked about a bunch of different things, like music, biology and poetry, haha-- the whole gamut of interests. It was actually her first interview (she graduated like last May) as well, so good experience for both of us?</p>
<p>I got asked for my test scores though. Did that happen for anyone else?</p>
<p>My interviewer got changed. I still haven’t been contacted by her, but she has until the 1st. She’s in a pretty high political position, so I’m kind of intimidated.</p>
<p>@jsungoh, we’re in SoCal and D had her interview yesterday. Don’t despair. She sent in her app way back in November and was just contacted for the first time last week.</p>
<p>@adchang, my D had to fill out a two-page form to give to the interviewer :).
There were questions about her SAT scores, favorite books, ECs, etc. It was basically a rehash of her resume all over again! Her interviewer collected it from her and kept it “for his files”. So, I am actually surprised you were only “asked” for your test scores.</p>
<p>^ That’s strange. I never had access to the interview forms. My interviewer asked me for my scores and asked questions as he went along the form. I’m a little worried, though, because I didn’t have a chance to give him all my ECs and awards…We spent so much time having conversation about a few of the things I listed. (It was a 1.5 hour interview)</p>
<p>Overall, the interview was great. There were some extremely difficult curveball questions…the kind where you want to dig a hole and die because they’re just unanswerable…but I got through them by the Grace of God. He actually joked about them later and apologized, claiming that we had different learning styles and that he was trying to pinpoint the differences between us by asking me difficult questions.</p>
<p>Then, he said that the interview was the best he’s ever conducted and told me that I have a very realistic chance of acceptance compared to nearly all students he’s interviewed. Maybe that will make up for the things I didn’t have a chance to tell him! He also told me that I remind him of his daughter (same SAT score, same intellectual interests, etc.)</p>
<p>To the people who are nervous about their interviewers, don’t be. Mine seemed very business-oriented and serious, but he was “all bark and no bite.”</p>
<p>@dignified: Ahh. Well, I caught a glimpse of the form as my interviewer was filling it out. I suppose if it had questions about books and stuff, then that’s all covered. We kind of went over all that stuff in a more casual, conversational way than me filling it out. Had some nice discussion about our favorite composers and writers.</p>
<p>I was very surprised with how closely I and my interviewer matched up. We both did music (actually were part of the same youth orchestra for a year?). We kind of liked the same composers (Russian) and didn’t like Bach so much. And although we’re both sciency, we also like literature and poetry. </p>
<p>Just curious, what did everyone say to that “why Harvard” question? I kind of talked about how their motto Veritas was the first thing that appealed to me compared to all the fudging that I read about in the paper and see around me, then segwayed student-led extra-curriculars and such.</p>
<p>Learned a lot, hopefully that this interview won’t be all my $75 paid for.</p>
<p>Wanted to ask about the whole cross-admit business. After being blessed with Yale SCEA acceptance, I did my Harvard and Princeton interviews. Both interviewers asked me where else I had applied and when I told them Yale accepted, they both offered the “Oh, that school. Don’t like them” joke (H v. Y v. P rivalry, you know, haha). One interviewer actually said he would mention that in my report. Are they supposed to ask that? Are they supposed to tell the committee?</p>
<p>morningglory111: Harvard interviewers are not supposed to ask about other colleges you applied to; that’s spelled out in the handbook they are supposed to read.</p>
<p>lutherjw: it’s not bad advice! with 35,000 applications this year, and the same 2000 or so admits, the odds are lower than ever of acceptance.</p>
<p>I can guarantee I had the strangest/weirdest interview ever in the history of Harvard interviews. I thought I was on punk’d the entire time.</p>
<p>@EastOfEden, do tell!</p>
<p>By the way, my interviewer might be coming to my rural suburb town. Specifically, to my school. Where I LIVE in.</p>
<p>I’ll share the entire story after decisions come out (just because I don’t want to be identified by my classmates)</p>
<p>But…I will say it involved pornography and breakfast cereal. Oh my god that sounds so bad, but I swear I’m telling the truth</p>
<p>^ Sounds like my kind of interview.</p>
<p>Just had my interview… they didn’t ask me Why Harvard! And I was all prepared, too.</p>
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<p>I WANT TO HEAR THIS STORY. Pornography and Breakfast Cereal could be the title of, like, a David Sedaris novel. Or maybe a really terrible indie rock album.</p>
<p>I have my interview two weeks from now! It’s at a downtown law office, with a bunch of other kids 
I have a pretty unique “why Harvard”, though. YAY I’M GOING TO GET IN</p>
<p>Was contacted literally the day after I submitted, had the interview towards the beginning of January. The guy was really chill and didn’t take himself too seriously, very much like myself. Interview went very well, he asked me a few questions about my extracurriculars and why I want to go to Harvard, and I answered honestly without trying to trump myself up or make myself look like God’s gift to mankind. Most of it was him selling Harvard.</p>
<p>Just being yourself and not taking yourself too seriously is the key.</p>
<p>^i second hamburglar. i took my yale interview too seriously and it was terrible. i was chill for harvard and she said i was exactly what she was looking for ;)</p>
<p>My H is an alum ,who does interviews for Harvard .I think a bad interview can go against you ,but a good interview is just another piece of data . I think it is important to be proud of your accomplishments ,and don’t be shy about about telling your interviewer why you belong there! My D, a current freshman ,had an interview that lasted over 90 minutes ,and the only reason it ended was her brother ,who drove her there ,had a train to catch .Some alum take on many interviews ,others just do a few ,so don’t worry if your interview is only 40 minutes ,as there may be someone coming close behind you .</p>
<p>Hi, I was just wondering if anyone else has had their first interview with a non-alumni interviewer. The reason I ask is that my interviewer both called and emailed me about setting up an interview (which is this Friday, at my school), but never mentioned alumni status. They said they were “asked to interview me in connection to my application to Harvard University,” with no mention of being an alum. The only reason I found this odd was that in the five or six other interviews I’ve had, my interviewer has ALWAYS identified themself by either their graduation year, or as an admissions counselor. Also, they’re coming directly to my school, during school hours, at their suggestion. Out of the four people applying from my school, I’m the only one who has been contacted and set up an interview. One other applicant has been called, but didn’t sound like he was going to take the interview offer. Just wondering about possible significance?</p>