<p>what’s special about the harvard interview?? what part of your application does the interviewer have?</p>
<p>It’s to sell the school to the applicant. It’s not really a big “maker or breaker” unless something significant is discussed such as an unrecorded passion or if one is a crazy racist nazi white supremicist or the like.</p>
<p>A good thing to do: act natural. Speak the way you normally would (but, with lack of four-letter words and lack of blatent colloquialisms).</p>
<p>The best advice is to “spill your guts” the interviewer will basically take a mental picture and in most cases lots of notes. Let them know about everything you do/everthing your are. If you go fishing with your family every summer, play poker on Thursdays, whatever. They will generally only ADD to the written documentation. Generally a “local” representative wants his or her hometown candidate to have success. Good Luck… relax.</p>
<p>‘It’s to sell the school to the applicant.’</p>
<p>While that advice holds for many colleges, it does not hold for Harvard. Harvard has no need to sell itself to applicants as it has an abundance of well qualified applicants for whom Harvard its their first choice.</p>
<p>My impression as an alum interviewer is that a great interview on an excellent candidate can tip the student in; a mediocre interview can tip the student out. I doubt that a great interview can tip in a student who is ordinary in Harvard’s outstanding admission pool. Consequently, if one had a 1450 v, m SAT score, is valedictorian of one’s school, National Merit commended, has 300 hours of ordinary community service without leadership or creativity, is president of NHS, has played piano for 7 years, has graduate level educated parents, and lives in a large city in the the Northeast, a great interview is not likely to tip you in. There are just too many other outstanding candidates from the NE who have great interviews plus higher scores, national leadeship in ECs, unusual national awards and also may have things going for them like being legacies, URMs, first generation college, etc.</p>
<p>If one is a 1500 URM valedictorian, NHS president from the midwest, a terrible interview may tip one out (not to say that all such people are automatically going to get accepted, but that my guess is that they are the type that adcoms give a second look to). The same would be true for a legacy from Arkansas with similar stats or a 2400, valedictorian, RSI graduate from a New England prep school.</p>
<p>If the interview reveals things that one has not put on one’s application that would impress adcoms and if one also is a solid candidate, the interview also could tip one in. An example could be if an applicant’s idea of fun has been teaching themselves Sanscrit in order to pursue better their interest in Tibetan Buddhism, a subject that is an unusual pursuit in their area that even lacks a Buddhist temple. Sometimes applicants don’t think to mention things like this because due to peers, family and teachers thinking such pursuits are weird, the applicants think the adcoms will view their interests the same way. </p>
<p>Anyway, my best advice for interviews is to take the time to read the Harvard website beforehand so you don’t say stupid things like “I want to go to Harvard because I like it’s location in Cambridge, which sounds like a small town. I’m not comfortable in big cities.” In the interview, be yourself. Don’t try to tailor your answers to what you think the interviewer is looking for. Just answer things honestly even if you think your perspective or your interests are unusual.</p>
<p>"Generally a “local” representative wants his or her hometown candidate to have success. "</p>
<p>One last thing, the job of Harvard alum interviewers isn’t to get individual students into Harvard, but to help Harvard select the best possible students. Interviewers who view their job as being cheerleaders for all local applicants aren’t respected by adcoms and their reports aren’t taken seriously. In other words, the interviewer “works” for Harvard, not for the individual student. The persons who are the students’ cheerleaders are the students’ GCs, and others whom the student chooses to write their recommendations.</p>
<p>“One last thing, the job of Harvard alum interviewers isn’t to get individual students into Harvard, but to help Harvard select the best possible students. Interviewers who view their job as being cheerleaders for all local applicants aren’t respected by adcoms and their reports aren’t taken seriously. In other words, the interviewer “works” for Harvard, not for the individual student. The persons who are the students’ cheerleaders are the students’ GCs, and others whom the student chooses to write their recommendations.”</p>
<p>I understand and agree… It was my intention to help this person be loose and present him/herself in a natural open fashion… Well Put …MOM</p>