How long are alumni interviews

On paper, I am by no means a perfect student. However, thanks to my Application Positioning, I was able to maximize the strengths that I bring to a college to compensate for other factors. Dee provided excellent advice and guidance throughout the application process. Her overall expertise in admissions, professionalism and warmth made the experience a great one. I was thrilled that I was accepted to several of the most selective colleges in the country and will be attending Stanford in the fall.

It's my pleasure to inform you that I've been admitted to my first choice college: the University of Southern California. My dream is becoming reality! I am thrilled to get the chance to belong to the USC and to start a new adventure there.

Picking schools , filling out forms, navigating the financial aid maze, and writing essays can be daunting enough, but the angst meter ratchets up a few notches during face-to-face interviews — those pressure-packed interrogations that ultimately determine your educational fate.

I've witnessed such angst numerous times during my five years as an alumni interviewer for my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. Like many colleges, Penn relies solely on alumni to provide interviews to prospective students. Among the Ivy League schools , for example, only Yale offers on-campus interviews with admissions representatives or college seniors. All others in the Ancient Eight leave the task to alumni volunteers save for Brown , which this year is eschewing interviews in favor of introductory videos submitted by applicants.

Although alumni interviews at Penn are optional, applicants almost always take advantage of the opportunity. Although these interviews are optional, applicants almost always take advantage of the opportunity. Turning down the offer naturally wouldn't send a positive message about one's interest in attending.

The interview season falls into two phases: early decision ED and regular decision RD. In all cases, it's our job as alumni to reach out to students and facilitate the interview process. Normally I conduct interviews in public places such as coffee shops inviting students to your home is prohibited , but given current COVID restrictions, all interviews this year are virtual. Nothing is recorded; I take notes, write up a report, and submit it to the admissions office. Before I get into what I ask students, let me be clear about what I don't ask.

I don't ask students about their grades, class rank, or standardized test scores. We aren't provided that information, and if a student mentions any of this during the conversation, it's not because I've inquired. I also don't ask where else a student is applying, where my school ranks among their preferences, or what the student's top choice might be. During the ED round, those concerns are of course moot. This question is about as open-ended as it gets.

Barbara Milian Thoralfsson A. Huma Fatima Dawood B. Cristina Cardoze de Kelly A. Kehaan H. Manjee B. Denis Weinstein A. Chin Jie Lim B. Tuyen Jazmyne Yarlett B. Mariana Pedemonte M. Sofia Balino M. Meng-Chien Willie Hsieh A. Semih Mehmet Aksu A. Skip to main content. Help build Duke's next class. Home Become an Alumni Admissions Interviewer. Have availability during the interview season September-February. Complete the online training process and follow instructions.

You work as a college admissions professional, independent college counselor, or college counselor at a community based organization.

You have a child applying to Duke during the current interview season. Time Commitment We ask each volunteer to be willing to interview students from September-February. Each interview should last between minutes. Each interview will require a written evaluation. Dothan Ms. Mobile Pending. Montgomery Pending. Alaska Anchorage Ms. Arizona Phoenix Mrs. Peninsula Area Mr.

Arkansas Fayetteville Pending. Little Rock Mr. California Central California Coast Dr. Los Angeles-North Mrs. Los Angeles-South Mr. Milwaukee Mr. Orange County Mr. Sacramento Ms. Caitilin Slattery Caiti B. San Diego Mr. San Francisco Ms. San Francisco North Bay Mr. Silicon Valley Ms. Colorado Aspen Pending. Colorado Springs Ms. Denver Mrs.

Fort Collins Pending. Southwest Colorado Pending. Connecticut Hartford Dr. Fairfield County-Lower Mrs. Fairfield County-Upper Mr. New Haven Pending. New London Mr. New Milford Pending. Delaware Southern Delaware Dr.

Wilmington Mr. Florida Boca Raton Mr. Daytona Beach Ms. Meredith M. Babb A. Florida Keys Mrs. Fort Lauderdale Mrs. Fort Myers Ms. Gainesville Pending. Hillsborough County Mr. Melbourne Dr. Miami Mr. Naples Mr.

Orlando Ms. Palm Beach Pending. Panama Pending. Pasco County Pending. Pensacola Pending. Sarasota Mr. Space Coast Pending. Tallahassee Mr. Tucson Miss Jasmine Anderson A. Georgia Albany Pending. Athens Ms. Atlanta-Metro-East Mrs.

Atlanta-Metro-West Mrs. Glynn County Mr. Macon Mr. Savannah Pending. Hawaii Mr. Idaho Mr. Illinois Chicago Ms. Chicago City Ms. Chicago-NW Suburban Dr. Chicago-West Pending. Peoria Pending. Indiana Columbus Pending. Fort Wayne Pending. Indianapolis Mr. Muncie Pending. Northwest Ms.

Terre Haute Pending. West Lafayette Pending. Iowa Des Moines Mr. Iowa City Pending. Sioux City Pending. Kansas Wichita Pending. Kentucky Eastern Pending. Louisville Mr. Monroe Pending. New Orleans Pending. Shreveport Pending. Maine Mr. Baltimore Mrs. Frederick Pending. Massachusetts Boston-North Pending. Boston-South Mr. Cape Cod Ms. Central Mr. Northwest Pending. Michigan Ann Arbor Mrs. Grand Rapids Mr.

Lansing Pending. South Michigan Pending. Minnesota Rochester Pending. Mississippi Gulf Coast Pending. Hattiesburg Pending. Jackson Dr. Missouri Kansas City Ms. Lots of college-related emails are ending up in this folder and students are missing crucial emails.

Want to know the top 10 interview questions you'll be asked? Download my free guide! The interviewer will write a report after the interview which gets sent to the admissions office. Almost all of these reports are p ositive which sometimes makes the interview more of a formality rather than a distinctive and influential piece of the application.

Review your entire application and supplement before going into the interview. You want your responses to be consistent with your application.

But if you are able to mention experiences or anecdotes that are not already reflected in the application , the admissions committee will learn something new about you from that interview report. Students put a lot of pressure on themselves leading up to these interviews. Just remember that almost every single interview report I've read has been very positive.