Is it ok to ask the interviewer if I can stay in contact with them? The interviewer gave me his phone number in the beginning so I was wondering if it’s ok to ask if we can keep in touch through text instead of email. If that’s too inappropriate then is it ok to keep in touch through email?
Depends upon why you want to keep in contact.
Okay if you have additional questions about the school & okay to let interviewer know of the admissions decision and your choice of school, but probably not okay if you think that it will help you with admission into the school.
I let the students I meet with know to feel free to contact me with any questions that come up, or even if their parents would like to ask a question. Outside of that, I think contact would be awkward, unless it’s a thank you note.
Also be aware that for certain schools there is a blackout period where alumni are banned for communicating with students. It’s usually the two weeks prior to decision releases.
Why do you want to keep in touch?
I wanted to stay in contact because I have additional questions about the school. From the replies I’ve been getting, it seems that it is ok.
I definitely don’t expect to have an advantage over the admission process or anything of that sort. The interview I had was really pleasant and very informative so I wanted to ask more questions.
I already thanked him for taking the time to meet up with me so I don’t know if it’ll be weird if I email him saying I want to stay in contact…
Got it, thank you for taking the time to reply!
I think it’s best to simply email the alumni with your question, and phrase it something like “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve emailed you. I have another question and am wondering if you might be able to answer it…
I appreciate the time you’ve already taken.”
Assume the alumni is a busy person. Fewer emails are better. If the alumni minds, he/she will say sorry, but it’s not convenient. If they don’t mind, they will give you an answer, and probably say feel free to ask any other questions.
I would make a list of questions that you can’t find the answers to on the college website. When you have a handful, email with those questions.
I think that is a better idea than doing an email each time you think of a new question.
In other words, don’t spam your interviewer.
It depends on the interviewer. I think it’s fine to email him with additional questions. You should be respectful of his time but use cues from him as to how much time he wants to continue to invest in talking to you. I would stick with email, not text, unless he texts you first.
Our S19 interviewed with a young alum at Carleton and, even though he didn’t end up going to school there, they still keep in touch. The alum called S19 after he was accepted and asked if he had any more questions. S19 was honest and listed his options and they talked through pros and cons of each. They even met again in person. I think they are keeping in touch. Won’t hurt to have him as a future connection.
I used to do alumni interviews…keep this in mind:
- We interview you, send in our report, and then later we see if you are admitted or not. We have no insight into how admissions work or if you have a good chance or anything like that.
- We are an alumni and may have attended years ago. We try to keep up with what is going on on campus.
- We are excited about our alma mater and getting young people to attend…that is why we are doing interviews.
- We like to make sure you have enough information to make your decision.
- As an older person, to me texts are things I need to deal with right away. I am working texts would be distracting . Emails would be better in this situation because this is not an emergency and I can give thought/research to your question.
- Remember that you can text to an email and get the response in your text.
- Look up what you can on line before you ask me.
- I do not have magic…I do not know exactly when they will post results, how much financial aid you would get, etc.
- I am happy to talk to you about advantages/disadvanages of this college vs. others.
- I am happy to talk to you about my experience at the college.
- If I felt you were taking too much of my time after a few exchanges, I would refer you to the admissions counselor.
- I have never had too much follow up from any interviewees
- Do not glom on to the interviewer as if knowing them will help you get admitted. We have no power other than to trying to make sure the college gets the best picture of you.
- I would not specifically say “I want to stay in contact”…I would just contact the person with the questions. “I enjoyed our interview last month…I had some questions about college life I did not see on the website and was wondering if I could ask you about your experience on the intramural water polo team.” (or whatever)
- Ask yourself if this is a interviewer question or an admissions counselor question. Questions about the interviewers experiences? Interviewer. Questions about if you will get credit for AP Calc AB ? Website.
Questions about how GPA is calculated if you moved in 10th grade? Admissions Counselor
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. It is very helpful and answered all of my questions. I mostly wanted to keep asking questions and get to the interviewer because I thought we connected. That may be due to the fact that the interviewer was only 5 years older and he only graduated recently.
I’m an alumni interviewer. I would find it creepy if a student that I interviewed kept texting me. I give my cell phone number out to students in case they have trouble finding me on the day of the interview – not to chat.
People my age generally don’t like to have conversations by text message. If you have a legitimate question, put it into an email, and offer a time for a phone call.