<p>The problem, as I see it, is the ambiguous nature of these interviews. First, the interviewer has connections to the school, but isn’t an admissions officer or employee. So do the interviews matter for admissions, or don’t they? If they matter, how much? Are they evaluative or informational (interviewer sharing his knowledge about the school,his positive experiences at the school, interviewer answering the student’s questions) or both? If evaluative, what are alums told to assess? S felt that one interviewer was trying really hard to learn where his school ranked preference-wise on S’s college list. This was awkward because In person vs. on paper it’s harder to express complete enthusiasm about a school one is less enthusiastic about, due to inadvertent non-verbal clues. Maybe the thought in the OP’s situation was that if the interviewer’s wife asked that question about where the student was applying, the student would be more likely to be honest.</p>
<p>I know one Ivy alum interviewer who says that if the student shows up parent in tow, that’s a big negative in his book. So while the parent accompanying the student may seem natural and logical to some of you, it won’t to everyone. When we were in the midst of athletic recruiting, we were advised to be careful about letting coaches come to our home. We were told they do that in part to assess socio-economics and may adjust their scholarship offers accordingly. Now that’s not quite the same scenario, but the fact remains that the alum interview setup is not as straightforward a situation as an interview by an adcom that is done on campus.</p>
<p>The fact that a kid feels uncomfortable with this interview format does not mean he is unfit for admissions or has some sort of social problem. </p>
<p>Goodness sake!!! What is the average age of people posting on this thread??? Ridiculous to say the least.
OP started posting what he/she believe went wrong with an interview. The moment I read it a red flag went on and I didn’t need “more” information, I didn’t need more bits and pieces to put it together. Interviewer SHOULD not bring anybody else to meet with student, period. You need a ride? take a cab, can’t afford it have the spouse drive you and wait “in the car”. I don’t even want the specimen sitting on a table close by. Spouse won’t allow you to do it without them? remove yourself!
Can’t you guys feel the control here? I can from the first post</p>
<p>I think that Hunt’s comment captures most of the discussion: every scenario that has been suggested makes some people more comfortable while it makes some people less comfortable. There has to be room for some variation by region, age of the interviewer, socio-economic circumstances of the interviewer/interviewee, cultural customs, and crowd levels at the local Starbucks. It wouldn’t surprise me if different universities had different rules about alumni interviews–the universities themselves are different enough.</p>
<p>Years ago, I was interviewed for a graduate fellowship in an airport hotel room–with a male interviewer. A room, not the lobby, the coffee shop, a meeting room in the hotel . . . And yes, this was a legitimate national fellowship. </p>
<p>I think the applicants would ideally display some flexibility and not fret about the details. I was driven to all of my college interviews by my father, who was present for one of them, but not at the others. I drove QMP to all of the college interviews, though I avoided being within visual range of the interviewers. This had zero impact on admissions. In terms of the desirability 17-year-olds driving themselves to interviews–it depends a lot on the distance, and the intervening traffic, in my opinion–not to mention what the weather has been like lately. </p>
<p>I said my college didn’t have rules for/against the practice. Not that paying for food never came up. </p>
<p>When the interviews did take place I was always the first one there as I was closer than all of my interviewees. When they came I asked if they’d want anything while I ordered something for myself. Most did take up a drink or two with some adding a snack like a hero sandwich, pizza slices, dessert, etc. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that I probably had a higher proportion of lower-income interviewees due to the fact I was a lower-income student myself and from what the interviewees related about their experiences/background. In such cases, not picking up the tab had the added element of feeling wrong…especially if I was going to be using a restaurant/coffee shop space and ordering something as I would never take up a booth without buying anything. </p>
<p>Even if the owner of the establishment offered to allow that as a few did when they saw what was taking place. </p>
<p>After this passionate discussion of the suitability of various places for interviewing, and of the etiquette of purchasing, I’d just like to add that my daughter didn’t make much of any location (except she wasn’t sure if she could park in the hotel parking lot for the hotel lobby interview. since she wasn’t a guest). We haven’t even discussed food/drinks. I didn’t think about it, and I assume that she may have purchased some tea or something if it seemed appropriate. She didn’t mention anything about it in any of the post-interview discussions we’ve had. Location: non-issue. Drinks: non-issue.</p>
<p>" In terms of the desirability 17-year-olds driving themselves to interviews–it depends a lot on the distance, and the intervening traffic, in my opinion–not to mention what the weather has been like lately."</p>
<p>No one has ever said on any thread that a 17 yo <em>had</em> to drive himself. Of course people know not every kid has a car accessible or that can be tied up for hours. I think the point is creating the polite fiction that one is independent. Which means that if you drive your kid, you drop him off so he enters the interviewer’s home / coffee shop / office / Starbucks / Peet’s / hotel lobby / whatever by himself and he greets the interviewer by himself as much as is possible. And then you go cool your heels elsewhere til you meet up again. And when you meet up again, you try to do so in a way that maintains the fiction that the kid is leaving by himself (so you agree to meet him a block away, or whatever). . </p>