Alumni interviews have waning influence

After filling out forms, writing essays and taking a leap of faith to apply to the University, there's one more step for many applicants: the off-campus alumni interview.

Now that the most competitive generation of college applicants is applying to one of the world's most competitive universities, hopefuls are looking for any advantage they can find. Though interviews are technically optional, more than 90 percent of candidates for the Class of 2011 had them.

But it's unclear whether a good interview helps an applicant or if a bad interview bars an applicant from walking through FitzRandolph Gate.

Alumni interviewers themselves are uncertain of how much impact their evaluations have on admission decisions. They cited instances where students with glowing evaluations were rejected or where apprehension about a candidate gave way to an acceptance letter. Sometimes interviews and admission decisions are aligned, but interviewers said they see no rhyme or reason to the impact of their assessments.

"I don't know what happens back in [the admission office] when they're making their decisions," said Andrew Huang '77, an interviewer from Boise, Idaho. "But some of the students that I said I really didn't think should be going were accepted," while students he had highly recommended were not.

"The University," he said, "is strong about making up its own mind."

Even the Office of Admission is ambiguous about the influence of an interview. Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye said that admission decisions are driven by applications, not interviews. The information included on an application, she said, is a better indicator of college success. "There are many 17 and 18 year olds who interview well but may not be top scholars when they get to college. There are some very intelligent young men and women who, because of their background, might not interview well because they might not have spoken to adults a lot."

Nonetheless, interviews can make a difference, Rapelye said. "When we have to make the fine-line decisions between candidates, a well-written interview report can certainly help us."

Alumni interviewers agree that the interview may help the admission office understand a candidate but won't change the final decision.

"All other factors undecided, a candidate who does not have good credentials will not be accepted based solely on the interview, and a stellar candidate who had a horrendous interview will not be denied solely on the interview, unless it was something egregious," said Alden Zecha '87, an interviewer from Somerville, Mass.

Curious about the impact of his interviews, Stephen Young '80, an interviewer from Red Bank, N.J., asked the Office of Admission whether the interviews he conducted were important to admission decisions.

There is, he said, an "underlying sort of discomfort with whether or not it does make a difference" among alumni interviewers and he wondered whether interviewing was "a way to keep the alums feeling good and like they were involved."

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The Office of Admission "assured" him "that it does make a difference."

But he still has doubts. "They try to make you feel like you make a difference, but frankly," he said, "I don't know if you do."

Don Smalley '72, chair of the Alumni Schools Committee in Minnesota and the Dakotas, said he has seen the role of the interview change over his 28 years of interviewing.

Before Rapelye's predecessor, Fred Hargadon, became dean of admission in 1988, "there were, particularly in metro areas in the east, I'm told there were alumni ... who felt they were entitled to have some influence on the decisions," Smalley said.

When Hargadon became dean, however, "any leftover kingmaker aspect of the alumni role was pretty much wiped out." Though, he added, "I'm not sure how strong it really was to begin with."

Rapelye has been a strong proponent for the alumni interview, whether an applicant is from New York City or a rural town in Cote d'Ivoire. Under Rapelye, Smalley said, interviews are considered a "beneficial use of time if it helps you to get a broader picture of the students."

The interview can serve to identify people who are "misrepresenting themselves," interviewer Robert Vanden Noven '89 said. "There's always the possibility on the negative end if a person in person is not the person that they make themselves out to be on paper."

Rapelye echoed Vanden Noven's comment. "I am generally looking to see that it is confirming what is in the file; that it reflects what we have already learned about a student," she said.

The interview has added value in different geographical regions. When students live 3,000 miles away from the University, Robert Berkowitz '67 said, "[admissions officers] don't really have a sense of schools out there are like." Berkowitz is the chair of the Alumni Schools Committee in California.

In even more remote places, the interview plays different role, Zecha said. In areas that are less well understood, such as Singapore, Zecha's former home, the alumni interviewers can contribute additional information to an admissions officer who does not have direct contact with the area's culture, he said.

The interviews, he said "are not just communicating facts about students, but about the whole educational system."

The process can be both positive and negative for alumni interviewers. "It's very rewarding, and it's great to meet all the prospective students," Vanden Noven said. "There are some that will blow you away."

Bruce Mehlman '91, director of the Alumni Schools Committee in Maryland, however, said that meeting amazing applicants and seeing them get rejected can be quite upsetting. "A lot of my best interviewers ultimately quit in frustration, disappointed that [the admission office] cannot find room for the remarkable applicants they got to know and like," he said in an email.

Though Rapelye is concerned that the Alumni Schools Committees lose some interviewers each year when their top candidates are not accepted, she said her "hope is ... that they see their role as ambassadors of the University, that their role is not just to help students get admitted but also to help students learn more about Princeton, whether or not the students come to Princeton."

Even when interviewers see their candidates rejected, they often persevere. "It seemed a less expensive way to give back than buying a new gymnasium," Mehlman said.

— Princetonian staff writers Rachel Dunn and Doug Eshleman contributed reporting to this article.