<p>hmom5 >>> I’ve seen backs go up between public school and private school factions in places where I’ve lived because you are often seen as saying the public school isn’t good enough by choosing the private, but usually parochial schools are just seen as a faith based choice. <<<<</p>
<p>You’re exactly right… that is how members of teachers unions have responded when so many of them were confronted with the fact that they had their own kids in Catholic schools. They portrayed their choice as one of “religion,” not as an indication that they thought their own public schools were somehow inferior.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that all this public/private nonsense between political factions only exists at the K-12 level; it disappears at the university level.</p>
<p>I have heard of just one case of a kid/family requesting another interviewer in all my years of volunteering. It was perceived as egregious by the regional admissions rep. I have no idea what happened to the kids application, but admissions people are typically well educated, reasonable people. The notion that a volunteer would try to sabotage a kids application out of some misguided PC vendetta about public/private schools strikes me as ridiculous- and I’ll wager that the admissions people at this university would agree with me.</p>
<p>Do you think there is anyone out there involved in education who believes that 14 year olds get to decide where they go to HS? Do you believe there’s a single educator out there… no matter how politically involved or affiliated with their union who doesn’t admire on some level (even if it’s just the dress code or uniform) some element of parochial school education? Do you honestly think that this volunteer… who has a job, maybe a family, other interests, a lawn to mow or groceries to buy… is going to take the time to craft an evil plan to keep your kid out of his alma mater???</p>
<p>My kids attended religious schools. Half my family is involved in education, mostly public schools, virtually all quite vociferous about the evils of parents who suck good students out of the public school system. Even they can find things to admire in my kids and the education they received although they don’t share our beliefs or many of our values. The most vocal of them all has commented that although we are hypocritical and racist for putting our kids in private schools, our children seem to be thoughtful global citizens committed to “giving back”.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should automatically assume that just because the interviewer works for a public school system s/he will be biased against students who attend a private school.</p>
<p>Many employees who work in public schools do so because the pay and benefits are better, and not necessarily because they believe that public schools are better.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that urban public school teachers are more likely to send their own children to private school than the population at large:</p>
<p>Some years ago, a good friend of mine was applying for a job as a public school teacher in the suburban public school district in which she lived. The school district was proud of the excellent reputation of its schools. </p>
<p>She was a bit nervous when preparing for her interview for the public school job, because her own two children attended a private school. The topic did come up in her interview and she simply explained that the private school (which was very small and offered a lot of individual attention) was a better fit for her children’s particular personalities and social/educational needs.</p>
<p>To her surprise, the school district was not the least bit threatened, disturbed, or defensive about her decision. She got the job.</p>
<p>I think you should definitely approach the school and ask for a different alumni interviewer because you and your S just “know” that any peon working for or attending a public school simply MUST be biased against superior beings like you and your S who opt for “values-based” education. </p>
<p>I’m sure that it will have a positive effect on his chances of acceptance.</p>
<p>Keep in mind also…most of the time students have NO IDEA (nor is it essential) what the interviewers do for employment or have done in the past. If your son had been able to keep the previous appointment without this “added knowledge”, seems to me, he would have been fine. I would suggest that next time, just go to the interview…don’t google the interviewer. That way your son won’t have the opportunity to build up a bias against an interviewer who may not actually HAVE a bias against students who attend private schools. </p>
<p>I think you have two choices…cancel the interview entirely or go with the person who called.</p>
<p>I guess what bothers me about this topic is the assumption of unprofessional behavior against a person you do not know. On the basis of place of employment, you assume a person can not be objective. that has nothing to do with “good political instincts” and conversely, does suggest stereotyping.</p>
<p>As others have said, asking for a change of interviewer is more likely to hurt than help your S.</p>
<p>^^I agree with thumper1’s advice to resist the temptation to google the interviewer. I’m kind of persistent and did google my D1’s college interviewer a year ago. He had much in common with our family, including time at a U where my daughter had done a summer program, and membership in an organization to which we belong. I printed the info, thought about it, and destroyed it before she could see it. I realized she’s a terrible actress, and it would be much better for them to stumble across these connections themselves, rather than setting my D up for a possibly contrived conversation with staulker overtones. Let things unfold. Don’t assume too much.</p>
<p>What a great opportunity for your son to grow and experience the real world. We don’t get to chose who interviews us when we go for a job interview, we don’t get to chose who our teachers are. We have to learn to adapt and “play the game” of life. As a parent, I find that I want to step in and try to make everything go my D’s way if possible. </p>
<p>You can’t fight the battles and you can’t change it for them, they must learn to deal with lifes lessons. Long rambling, but the moral is - If he changes interviewers, it WILL, look very strange. He should deal with it. As most of these poster said, these interviewers arent there to share their political views. </p>
<p>By the way, ADCOMS (I am told), have their own opinions of schools in the regions that they are assigned to. I know that one some private IVY’s in our area aren’t like by a few ADCOM’s, and similiar to certain publics (this from some guidance counselors, and statistics in the area of admission). I’d be more concerned about the ADCOM’s than interviewers. They have more say in admissions.</p>
<p>We have the same situation here. Many of the interviewers for selective colleges have their kids in public school. In fact, every single one of the interviewers that sons had were in that situation. It never occurred to me that it was an issue. The Cornell rep who lives in our neighborhood is a staunch supporter of our public school, believe she was on the board, and her kids all went to the public schools here. I doubt if I would get someone whose kids are not in public schools if I requested another interviewer, and it would sound awfully paranoid to ask for an interviewer whose kids are NOT in public schools. Don’t think they screen the interviewers for that. </p>
<p>I agree that it can be a disadvantage in that if the person is active with the local high schools, he may know the kids he is interviewing that go there, whereas your kid will be an unknown. But most of the kids are unknown to their interviewers anyways, from what I understand. In any case, it did not seem to make a difference in our case, as our sons were accepted to Cornell, and seemed to better than expected in the elite school acceptance situation.</p>
<p>If I were the college, I would reject any student who requested a change of interviewer based on the assumption that a public school principal would sabotage a candidate from a private school. It shows that your son judges others based on their backgrounds.</p>
<p>Wisedad
Don’t change the interviewer. This person may be the only one in your area.
I remember last year the Penn interviewer told my daughter that she has a ton of interviews to do.
There is a politician in our city who once worked for the board of education. When he was campaigning a reporter asked him how come his kid goes to a private school. He replied it was his wife decision.
Tell your son to relax and be himself.</p>
<p>Another vote for not changing interviewers.<br>
I work at an excelling public school. Several teachers- and our principal- send their own children to private schools.</p>
<p>I really can’t imagine that this alum interviewer for a religion-affiliated university expects to ONLY recommend high school students who attended public schools and not high schools students who attended private schools of the same religion. That just wouldn’t make any sense. </p>
<p>That would be like a Notre Dame grad, who is now a superintendant for a public school district, giving a “bad review” to a student just because he went to Mater Dei High. It just wouldn’t happen… (Besides… the interviewer may have gone to a parochial high school himself.) </p>
<p>Public school educators know that good students come from all kinds of schools - public, parochial, private, home-school, charter, etc. And, they know that the child didn’t choose the high school that he attended; his parents did.</p>
<p>You are getting excellent advice here, and it’s pretty much unanimous.</p>
<p>In my experience, Alumni interviews do one thing for a student’s admission chances - it shows the school that you are interested. I used to be an alumni interviewer, but I stopped when it became clear to me that the college didn’t do much with the painstaking interview reports I wrote. The kids I said were well-spoken, knowledgable and very interested in the college were waitlisted, and those I told the college weren’t really interested in the college and knew little about it got in anyway. (The college wouldn’t even assign anyone interview to a kid they didn’t think had a reasonable chance of being admitted, so the fact that none of my interviewees was rejected wasn’t a surprise.) The main point of the interview was to sell the student on the school, not the other way around. </p>
<p>But if you tell the college that you don’t think the interviewer will give your kid a fair shake just based on where they work, well you show the college that you are paranoid and that you judge people before you even meet them. The college may or may not know the “politics” of your area, but I doubt they care. They trust this alumnae to give them valid feedback and to sell your kid on their school. </p>
<p>Now if your son has the interview and he gets a feeling of clear bias, then that’s something to mention to the school (in a questioning manner, not an accusatory one). But I’d bet an expensive dinner that won’t happen.</p>
<p>Tell your son to chill, do the interview, and move on.</p>
<p>BTW, I work for the public school system. If I were scheduled to interview someone who attends private school, and they insinuated that I was biased against them without even meeting me, I’d be pretty ticked off. It says more about your biases and prejudices than it does about mine.</p>
<p>My husband attended private high school. But you wouldn’t know that if you Googled me.</p>
<p>I think, as others do, that it would be a worse move to request another interviewer than to go ahead and do the interview.
The interview is likely to go well, and if not, interviews (particularly alumni interviews) are IMO mostly regarded as PR opportunities and are given very little weight in admissions decisions.
I do not think your fears are unfounded, however. My son got unlucky as an unschooler who had dropped out of the Chicago Public Schools to pull a Chicago Public School teacher as an interviewer.</p>
<p>The interviews rarely are a break or make thing. So it’s not something I would worry about. You are going to run into the same scenario as to who reviews your kid’s app. If you get someone who despises the type of kid you kid is, it is unlucky and you have to hope he is professional enough to disregard his prejudices. He could be someone who dislikes too many asians in a school, hates jocks, dislikes quirky kids and your kid could fall into those categories. Many admissions folks who often live on incomes of $30-40K a year hate “silver spoon” kids and look at those apps accordingly. There is that element of luck always in who interviews your kid, or views his app.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine a worse thing to do than request a change of interviewer for the reason you’ve stated. It would be insulting and offensive to the interviewer, and that would not be lost on the school. I also would not assume that this interviewer would be biased against your son just because he works for the public school system or was a past principal of the public high school. Even if most people who work for the school don’t agree with going to private school instead of the public school, that doesn’t mean this interviewer shares that belief. If the interview goes badly, then you might consider a visit to the school and a conversation with someone else, but I would just go have the interview and not worry about it.</p>
and did google my D1’s college interviewer a year ago. He had much in common with our family, including time at a U where my daughter had done a summer program, and membership in an organization to which we belong. I printed the info, thought about it, and destroyed it before she could see it. I realized she’s a terrible actress, and it would be much better for them to stumble across these connections themselves, rather than setting my D up for a possibly contrived conversation with staulker overtones. Let things unfold. Don’t assume too much.</p>