<p>Disastrous.</p>
<p>He was cold and smug.</p>
<p>Awesome! Second best interview so far. Princeton was best. I had such a great time and my interviewer was very friendly!</p>
<p>Does it really matter if you feel it was a great interview? It seems that everyone I know said they had great interviews.</p>
<p>Yeah, mine was great too. We talked about a range of topics, from the dangers of deadlifts to the pure logic in rooting against the dallas cowboys. I’d call it epic, but only if I get in of course.</p>
<p>Are there any international applicants that had Harvard interviews who’d be willing to share their experience?</p>
<p>“He was cold and smug.”</p>
<p>If your interviewer was rude or hostile, call Harvard and let them know – they may be able to arrange a second one.</p>
<p>My interview was okay, but it definitely wasn’t as good as the other experiences posted here. I accidentally said some things that I shouldn’t have said (for example, I basically admitted that my school is spoiled and has a distorted view of the world). Overall it was alright though, she was very friendly even though I got lost and was 20 minutes late.</p>
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<p>Well, boho_girl, I would think that the interviewers in your country would be like the general people you meet everyday. My Harvard interviewer was pretty much the typical sort of middle-aged Australian, minus the beach-side attire. I’d imagine that whatever the typical sort of person is in your country would probably be similar to what your interviewer will be like, though you might get some odd ones.</p>
<p>Lol, my interview was very simple. I handed in the form they asked for. He asked for a few clarifications on the form (What is the Putnam examination? What is your class size?). Then he asked me a few questions: Why Harvard? What do you feel is your greatest asset? Do you think you are competitive by nature? Do you read books/magazines/journals/newspapers often? Then he answered the questions I had written on the sheet they asked for (questions about Harvard). It lasted no more than half an hour. I can’t imagine that is going to count for much in my decision. I mean, he was nice, and his questions were interesting, but he didn’t give me a lot of chance to elaborate, and he didn’t really get to know me/my accomplishments too well. Lol, it was the POLAR opposite of my MIT interview, I’d say, which involved me talking for 2.5 hours, him not really answering personal questions about his time at MIT in detail, etc… Still, I can’t imagine that Harvard interviews play as large a role as some people think. It wasn’t that much of a big deal in my case.</p>
<p>
Thanks for the reply, but the reason I’m asking this is not because I want to know how my interviewer will look like, but because there are no interviewers in my country, so they asked me if I’d be going abroad any time soon, or if not, they’d arrange a phone interview.
And unlike Australia, official language of my country is not English, so I think they might just want to see how fluent I am in conversations, too? (just my opinion) And since I think only few (if any) apply to Harvard each year from my country, I was wondering if they’d be asking more questions about my country, school system etc.
So I was curious if there would be some questions not usually asked to domestic applicants.</p>
<p>my harvard interview was 2 hours and dude was like I 've gotten one person in each of the last two years…he stressed that he was going to be my advocate and we literally went through my application to point out flaws and how to compensate for them…he asked me Why Harvard? and what could I bring to campus? but then he asked me a lot about my ec’s any new happenings, ect. he seemed really interested so I was enthralled! He had read about me in the paper so he was somewhat familiar with me. He gave me a copy of Harvard’s monthly alumni magazine and said that we would write a strong letter! so my Harvard interview was good.</p>
<p>my harvard interview was an hour and half. he was young like mid 30s and a doctor. at the end he said i was really interesting to talk to and that he would write me a good letter. we had cross country in common, so we talked about that a lot. and then he asked me what i thought about the republican and democratic primaries so far, so then we talked about that for a while too. i always thought that harvard placed a lot of emphasis on the interview.</p>
<p>I talked a lot about my love for history and the interviewer asked what book I would suggest if he wanted to experience/learn about American History. Without hesitation, I said Cold Mountain because it told the story of the Civil War from a Southern view point and as a Northerner, I haven’t gotten that. He responded with “Damn straight, Northern Aggression.” It wasn’t until then I realized he was Southern and I had said EXACTLY the right thing.</p>
<p>A little voice in my head started cheering quite loudly.</p>
<p>boho
My son talked to his counselor and asked if the students comming from a country not listed in Harvard web under international interview, if they are prescreened by H and just interview those they think are interesting. His counselor, does not have any idea. Just to let you know I think that because you got a contact is a good sign that they are interested in you.
I am sure there are many internationals on the board but I do not understand why they are not responding to your Questions.</p>
<p>does anyone like Norestarmom know if in some international countries those who get an interview is a good sign. and until when(early March?) does H give interview?</p>
<p>If it helps in any way, my interviewer told me your teacher recommendations are weighted more than the interview report.</p>
<p>My interviewer started the interview by saying that the interview would probably have little affect on the overall application, and that the only way it could possibly ruin you is if you 1) Tank it by not speaking 2) Say offensive comments. Thus, I assume a mediocre or boring interview isn’t the end of the world.</p>
<p>Mine went really well. It was a solid hour and a half of rather open ended conversation. The first half was about me with the standard, what are you interested in, what has been your favorite class, favorite book, what is your best trait, why harvard etc. The last half was all about her experience at Harvard. It really helps if you had actually visited/stayed there for a course. Relaly, the interview is nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>do you know until when the interviews are given? some say until early March for internationals</p>
<p>Well, thanks, J mom.</p>
<p>Let’s be patient for a bit more and see if any international voices out :)</p>
<p>Of course it’s a good sign to be contacted for an international interview since there are thousands of international applicants, but very few international interviewers. Why would Harvard select someone for a rare international interview unless Harvard was particularly interested in that student?</p>
<p>Of course, getting an international interview doesn’t mean one is going to be accepted, but it means that one’s chances are better than are most internationals who don’t get interviews (Keep in mind that Harvard probably is very interested in some other internationals that Harvard can’t arrange interviews for. If it’s not possible to arrange an interview for someone whom H is interested in, the lack of an interview will not hurt the student’s application.).</p>
<p>When it comes to U.S. applicants, most live in an area in which it’s possible to arrange an interview, so getting an interview in the U.S. doesn’t mean that H is particulary interested in you.</p>
<p>And for everyone: When you get offered an interview is random: Getting offered early doesn’t mean that H is particularly interested in you, and a late interview offer doesn’t mean H isn’t interested in you.</p>
<p>I’ve interviewed U.S. applicants as late as March because of the lack of other alumni interviewers.</p>
<p>For non native English speakers: Conduct the interview in English even if it’s in your home country. The interviewer will have to answer a question about the strength of your English skills. It’s possible that some inexperienced interviewers may not realize that question is on the form until after they interview you, so if they start in your native language, gracefully move to English so they can evaluate your verbal English skills. Obviously, H will want to know about the strength of your English speaking skills, something that H won’t be able to tell from your application.</p>
<p>Oh, thanks!
I should better go prepare myself for that then!</p>