you are being watched

[cowgirl]

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Just had my interviews at a school which went really well but then I was going through some of the feedbacks and one talks about how you need to make sure you are careful because school x has a close community and you are being watched.They director specifically told us everything we tell the student guides is off the record. Just wondering what the person's comment may have been referring to. Hmm.

 

[Iamajew]

I had a similar experience at another school - all of the interviewees were put into a room with older medical students and we were told to "ask away" and be very open. Our tour guide was in the room and led the tour afterward...pretty casual and nothing unusual.

THEN, I found out later on that the tour guide works for the adcom and, while she wasn't spying on anybody, i'm sure making a positive or negative impression would somehow influence the decision for acceptance/rejection/waitlist later on. Lesson learned.

 

[acl3623]

I had a similar experience at another school - all of the interviewees were put into a room with older medical students and we were told to "ask away" and be very open. Our tour guide was in the room and led the tour afterward...pretty casual and nothing unusual.

THEN, I found out later on that the tour guide works for the adcom and, while she wasn't spying on anybody, i'm sure making a positive or negative impression would somehow influence the decision for acceptance/rejection/waitlist later on. Lesson learned.

wow, thats a load of crap. because when you talk to the students, you always ask stuff that youre actually concerned about (living area, safety, friendliness) and just cause you ask a lot of questions (like me!!!) doesnt mean that you wouldnt go to the school. guess the interview really does last from the moment you steop foot on the campus till you leave!

 

[Supercluster]

I had an awkward situation when I was interviewing at a school where the tour guides are on the admission committee...the tour guide ended up being an old friend of mine. I hadn't seen her in months, so we had a little reunion in the conference room and we chatted a little. I didn't talk to her too much though because I feared that the other interviewees would wonder why I had this personal relationship with the person judging them. I wonder what happened when they asked her to evaluate me--I assume she recused herself, but if she didn't then maybe I got a good recommendation
I saw her a little while later and she just asked me how my interview went and normal stuff like that, so I guess it wasn't a big issue to her. Still haven't heard back from that school... 🙄

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

thats just creepy!!!!!!!!
i would have screamed when they said that

i guess they mean dont talk smack or it will get around.

 

[cytoborg]

I'm a tour guide at a top 10...my 2 cents...Assume that everyone you encounter is evaluating you, period. At some places it can be fluid - you just won't know which places until it's too late. This bit me in the a$$ at a particular school that everyone loves to hate, but will remain unnamed 😉 , when a student host randomly started pimping me with tough interview questions when we were supposedly "casually" hanging out the night prior to the interview. It was early in the season and I didn't have my canned responses polished up yet, plus this caught me completely off-guard, so I stumbled through some awkward responses. After that, he acted frosty toward me and I knew something was wrong. Turned out the dude was good friends with my student interviewer, who didn't even give me 10 minutes the next day. Gee I wonder why. 6 wks later = rejection. 😡 Anyway, that's probably more the exception than the rule. The more common scenario is that if someone in the group stands out as particularly obnoxious and/or inappropriate, this info can find its way back to the adcom. Just remember the manners your mother taught you: smile, say please and thank you, keep a positive attitude and avoid negative comments, and DO NOT make political, religious, or otherwise inflammatory statements. (You'd think that would be a no-brainer! But you'd be surprised.) Just my 2 cents, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[cytoborg]

wow, thats a load of crap. because when you talk to the students, you always ask stuff that youre actually concerned about (living area, safety, friendliness) and just cause you ask a lot of questions (like me!!!) doesnt mean that you wouldnt go to the school.

Actually, we love it when interviewees ask questions - it shows they are interested, paying attention, and thinking. As long as the questions are phrased in a positive, diplomatic, and curious manner (i.e. not confrontational/snobby/arrogant/etc) then they are interpreted very positively, and we take a greater interest in the person.

 

[Haybrant]

damn, does this mean that when i got in a fist fight with a fellow vandy interviewee and a student tour guide had to break us up it will count against me? Any extra points for winning the fight you think?

 

[ColoMD]

Actually, we love it when interviewees ask questions - it shows they are interested, paying attention, and thinking. As long as the questions are phrased in a positive, diplomatic, and curious manner (i.e. not confrontational/snobby/arrogant/etc) then they are interpreted very positively, and we take a greater interest in the person.

Agreed. But this really shouldn't come as a drastic shock to anyone. After all, what are you all doing after we say that you have reached the point of "off the record" that would negatively affect your admission status? Probably nothing. (But being a jerk to the tour guide isn't going to win you those intangible points we may need to break a tie and push you into or out of a class.)

 

[rockit]

damn, does this mean that when i got in a fist fight with a fellow vandy interviewee and a student tour guide had to break us up it will count against me? Any extra points for winning the fight you think?

Sir, I believe you have an obligation to elaborate.

 

[Code Brown]

This is the main argument for not staying with a host while at an interview. It's probably not going to help you, but it may hurt you.

 

[aparecida]

I was going through some of the feedbacks and one talks about how you need to make sure you are careful because UofL has a close community and you are being watched. Just curious..does that mean that what you tell your student tour guides can get back to the adcomm? They director specifically told us everything we tell the student guides is off the record. I don't think I have anything to worry about but just wondering what the person's comment may have been referring to. Hmm.

That's a scary thing to hear. On the other hand, I'm more inclined to believe the admissions director than a vague anonymous student feedback post. I think it may just have meant that if you, say, make an enormous jerk of yourself while on the campus tour, a passing (non-tourguide) student might notice and mention something to one of the students who is on the adcom. Something like that.

 

[PostalWookie]

If you interview at NYU, keep an eye out for those 4 not-so-obvious videocameras they have trained on the waiting room. I'm totally serious. Why would a room the size of your slightly bigger than average living rooom need so many cameras? It can't be for security, since there's no way any thief could possibly find their admissions office in the basement down there.

But aside from that, they're super nice. But watch the cameras.