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Do they check whether you are BSing or not? (my friend was asked to play piano - i assume this is a check on this). Are they friendly? i guess it varies between interviewers. Feedback to be appreciated

By Roger (Roger) on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 07:08 pm: Edit

Alejandro, your statement about varying between interviewers is exactly correct. Many schools have a standard form that the interviewer must complete, but I don't know of any that try to completely script the interview. My daughter did a Harvard interview a few years ago, and it was quite structured - questions about subjects in school, a book you read recently, etc. Other Ivy interviews were mostly open-ended discussions. In general, the interviewers were very friendly and gracious. If you know someone who interviewed with that alum before, of course, you can get an idea of what to expect. The piano "audition" thing is a new one on me. Interviewers aren't normally sent to test the candidates - often, the emphasis is on selling the school to the student. Maybe the interviewer was trying to find a way to put the student at ease, or just a piano fan. I suppose it's remotely possible that someone back in Cambridge asked the alum to check, but if they were really concerned about the student's piano ability I'd expect them to ask for an audition tape.

By Anonrs (Anonrs) on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 07:52 pm: Edit

alejandro, read this article by Jay Mathews, an education columnist for the Washington Post -- he's had 20 years experience as an alumni interviewer for Harvard.

https://app.commonapp.org/JayMathews.htm