<p>cobrat, no one thinks that asking the student about their college list is “exchanging pleasantries.” That is the point.</p>
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<p>Depends on the area and individuals concerned. </p>
<p>For many in my area, it’s mutually convenient to meet in a centralized location with multiple public transportation options than to set up a meeting on their own due to distance and/or lack of convenient public transportation links in their respective areas or at their halfway points. Not every applicant has access to a car, find it convenient to drive in certain areas, or could afford a taxi/car service. </p>
<p>Not to mention there’s probably greater peace of mind for both alum interviewers and parents concerned about alum interviewers being alone with young applicants in a public venue with multiple alums and alum liaisons in the same building if applicable. </p>
<p>Cobrat,
It is inappropriate to meet an interviewee in a restaurant. Not only is is inappropriate to take up a booth if neither are planning to eat (or have more than a beverage) and then it brings up all sorts of unccomfortable dynamics, like doe the interviewee feel they should offer to pay for soemthing to eat?Yes? no? and what about the interviewer? Should they offer? Yes? No? What is the message to the other person if they do or dont? Its completely inappropropriate. ANd don’t bother to answer these qestions, I know the answers. Not looking for more. Just explaining that these scenarios are situations that should not be faced by the student. Or the alum. </p>
<p>And I think it could be extremely awkward if a bunch of applicants and alums met up in a pre-scheduled mass interview process. Even if they were all in discrete areas, I wouldnt want the students to be sitting around seeing who else they know is intervieing. The whole thing feels ickky.</p>
<p>I do alum interviews. I am guessing that you do not. I have thus far always met the applicant at a mutually agreeable time at a Starbucks. Have gotten there a little early and secured a table. Never been a problem.</p>
<p>*typo. And shaking my head </p>
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LOL-- good thing he doesnt drive.</p>
<p>I know Syracuse University conducts alumni interviews at Lubin House in Manhattan. I think it is a really good option for lots of people due to its proximity to bus/train/subway. </p>
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<p>If the students are meeting with different interviewers,…or even if they’re not…Im not sure how that would be “icky”. How is it any different than sitting in an admissions office waiting for your turn to interview? </p>
<p>Its less likely on a college campus that students will know many of the other people interviewing. Many students do now want to disclose with their classmates where they are applying, and this arrangement would make that difficult-- hence ickky.</p>
<p>Its fine if there is something like an alum club in a city (nice luxury) that has space available where alums and applicants can meet at prearranged times. But to expect a college to arrange to rent some hotel space or something and hold a group interview session for multiple alums and applicants is in most cases logistically and financially unreasonable.</p>
<p>typos again</p>
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<p>Actually, the reason why I cited diners or pizzerias outside of lunch/dinner periods is because outside of those peak times, there’s plenty of free seating and little business during non-peak times because few people go in to sit for long periods unlike the Starbucks in my area which all end up being crowded by “telecommuters” and students taking up all the spaces with their laptops unless you arrive first thing in the morning. </p>
<p>It’s a reason why I avoid going to Starbucks in my area unless it’s to order something to go. I certainly wouldn’t choose the ones in my area as a place to conduct any sort of meeting with someone…especially an interview. </p>
<p>Especially considering if interviews are conducted during off-peak hours between lunch/dinner or after dinner, the diners/pizzerias often have plenty of free seating and it’s quiet enough the owners would often welcome additional non-peak business. </p>
<p>Not to mention you’re assuming alum interviewers don’t have longstanding friendships they developed with the owners due to being neighbors/frequent customers in other situational contexts. A faulty assumption considering how close-knit many neighborhoods/business can be. </p>
<p>And the common practice among alum interviewers in my area is to pay for the interviewee. </p>
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<p>ROTFLOL. Thanks, but the only educational loans I’ve taken out up to this point was over a decade ago and was paid off within six months of graduating from college. Granted, it was only 3 figures. :)</p>
<p>And you are assuming that all Starbucks are crowded all the time just because the ones you frequent are. The world is a big place. And you are completely ignoring the issue re:perception bu the interviewer or applicant that they might feel they shold offer to order something for hte other. ITs a dynamic that has no place in the interview process.
I would never do that to an applicant. Never.</p>
<p>One would hope that undergrad loans were paid off (assuming no additional grad/professional school debt) 15 years after they graduated.</p>
<p>man just one post without a typo, please…</p>
<p>There are something like 5 Starbucks in my town. One of them is always packed. The others, you can almost always find a seat, no matter what time of the day it is. </p>
<p>When kids I work with have interviews at Starbucks, I generally tell them to get there early and order a drink, so the interviewer doesn’t feel obligated to purchase it, which they should not do. </p>
<p>Cobrat, so you’re saying that if 2 people who each rely on public transportation to get around their city decide to meet, it’s easier for someone else to dictate that they should meet at Public Place A than for the two of them to get together and decide that Public Place B is most convenient / accessible for both of them?</p>
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THIS. Exactly. Cobrat, please don’t tell us your coworkers or bosses or cousins do college interviews and always buy a snack or meal for the applicant. Blowing the BS whistle on that one. And if they did, its not appropriate. Only once did I ask an applicant if they wanted something. Usually I had arrived early and had gotten a beverage and a seat. If they sat down before getting a drink, I might ask if they wanted to go get something. Often they had their own water bottle with them. </p>
<p>This time the key stuck… causing… a typo</p>
<p>It is inappropriate for the interviewer to ever purchase food or drink for an applicant. </p>
<p>Has anyone ever done an interview in a hotel lobby? I live in an area where there are an abundant amounts of hotels and I was wondering if this is ever utilized. It’s public, there are usually plenty of seating and it’s a safe location. As I said before, most of the kids around here are interviewed in coffee places - Starbucks, Peet’s, etc. </p>
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<p>The folks I know in my area who does alum interviews would actually feel it highly rude and unbecoming for the interviewer to expect the interviewee…especially a high schooler to pick up any part of the tab. Especially if we’re talking a nominal amount at a pizzeria or a diner. </p>
<p>Anyone who is said to have allowed or worse, expected the interviewee to pick up their portion of the tab would be regarded as “cheap” and not acting as a good host…especially supervisors and senior colleagues I’ve had who were alum interviewers at elite colleges. </p>
<p>Hmm… not thought about a hotel, but its nor really an issue where I live. </p>
<p>Your folks are wrong, Cobrat. This isnt a family gathering. Or a cultural issue. Its a situation where there should be no expectation, courtesy or not, between the two. Each should pay for their own beverage. And they shoud not have a meal together. Just no.</p>
<p>They are NOT a HOST at an alum interview in a coffee shop. That is now what the process is about. If an alum held thei interview on “their” territory, as it were (their home, their office) offering a beverage, or a light snack like cookies or someting,might be ok. But if they are in a coffeeshop, each gets their own snack if they want it. Am surprised you arent understianding the covert “power dynamic” as you are so often want to throw around. </p>
<p>I have read this thread with interest, as I am an active, enthusiastic interviewer for my school and in the thick of interviewing right now. I do my interviews at Starbucks, Panera, Dunkin, and occasionally mall food courts. I agree with most that bring along a non-alum spouse is just wierd, but for me the big issue is that the second person changes the dynamic to a 2-1 thing. Just last week I saw this dynamic in play when a young man I interviewed was warm, engaging, and charming for an hour of conversation but when his parent joined us, he completely shut down and let the parent take over the conversation, despite my efforts to not let that happen.</p>
<p>On the point of asking about where a student is applying, I always ask students how their college process is going–where it started in terms of the kinds of schools and programs they were considering, and where they ended up applying. Not the specific schools, but the kinds of schools, locations, size, etc. The purpose here is to try to gauge why they decided to apply to my school–but backing into it in terms of the process rather than them just giving a canned answer. I find this sparks great conversation and can give me a feel for where my school ranks in preference without ever asking directly.</p>
<p>As to the value of alumni interviews, I would like to believe that my school values the reports we do in enhancing a candidate’s application file. My personal goal is to encourage my interviewees to share aspects of themselves they may not have been able to on the Common App or supplements. I never ask about scores or grades (but most kids share) because I figure the adcoms have all that. The biggest role admissions interviewers can play, perhaps, is to share their passion, pride, and dedication for their school. I start off each of my interviews by telling students why I do this volunteer work and how my education has served me well over the years.</p>
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<p>As I said, everyone I know in my area who are alum interviewers, especially the private elite colleges would vehemently disagree. They’d regard that as “being cheap” and thus, a poor reflection of being an alum interviewer if a coffee house/restaurant is chosen. </p>
<p>This mentality seems similar to the mentality in many families, friends, and workplaces where the unspoken rule is the older/more senior person is usually expected to pick up the tab. </p>
<p>Well your alums are out of line. They dont get it. This isnt about an “unspoken rul for the polder person to pick up the tab”. But its clear there is no point in discussing it. </p>