Alumni Interviews at Top Colleges — Do They Matter?
Interview policies at 24 top colleges, verbatim from their own pages, beside each college's Common Data Set rating, plus a parent prep do/don't list.
Do Alumni Interviews Matter at Top Colleges? Each School's Own Policy
At most top colleges an alumni interview is a small, optional part of the file, and not getting one does not hurt. Georgetown is the clear exception: it assigns interviews to applicants and requires them. Several others, including Johns Hopkins, Caltech and UChicago, offer no interview at all.
Parents often hear that the interview is a make-or-break moment. The colleges' own pages say otherwise, and they say it plainly. Below is each college's policy in its own words, checked on September 24, 2026. Next to it is the rating the college gives "Interview" in item C7 of its Common Data Set (CDS), the standard report colleges publish. C7 is the college's own rating of how much each factor matters: Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered.
The Table: Policy in the College's Words, and Its C7 Rating
Colleges that offer interviews
| College | What the college says | C7 "Interview" (CDS year) |
|---|---|---|
| Georgetown | "Students are required to complete their interview when assigned." Some international students may not be assigned one, which "will have no negative effect." An "evaluative report" joins the file. | Important (2025–26) |
| MIT | Educational Counselor interview "if there's one available." "If we are unable to offer you an interview, it will be waived, and your application will not be adversely affected." | Important (2025–26) |
| Yale | "All Yale interviews are evaluative." By invitation only; "many successful applicants are not interviewed." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Harvard | "Most areas do not have the capacity to interview all applicants." "Your application is considered complete without an interview." Interviewers see only your name, contact information and high school. | Considered (2025–26) |
| Princeton | Optional alumni interviews; opting out "will not put you at any disadvantage." "We cannot guarantee that every applicant will receive an interview." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Stanford | The interviewer's report "becomes part of your admission file." "Declining an interview will not incur a penalty." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Dartmouth | Not offered to all "due to alumni availability"; "not having an interview will not put you at a disadvantage." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Duke | Optional; "not receiving an interview will not affect your chances of admission." Virtual or phone only. Alumni "do not have access to your application." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Rice | "We recommend an interview for first-year applicants, though they are optional and not guaranteed." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Bowdoin | "Strongly encouraged, but not required." Virtual alumni interviews from October 1 through November 15 (ED I) or December 31 (ED II and RD). | Considered (2025–26) |
| Swarthmore | Optional; "Applicants who do not interview are not at a disadvantage." Only for students at US high schools. | Considered (2025–26) |
| Pomona | Off-campus Alumni Interview Days by registration; "only for current high school seniors." | Considered (2023–24) |
| Middlebury | Optional alumni interview requested in the applicant portal after applying: by November 8 (ED I), January 9 (ED II), January 16 (RD). "We cannot guarantee that an interview will be possible." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Emory | "Emory does not offer evaluative interviews with admission staff or alumni." | Considered (2025–26) |
Colleges that do not offer an evaluative interview
| College | What the college says | C7 "Interview" (CDS year) |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins | "We do not offer interviews as part of our admissions process." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Caltech | "We don't have an interview process at Caltech, so our supplemental essays are where you are speaking directly to us." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| UChicago | An optional two-minute video "in lieu of the traditional college interview, which is not part of our application process." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Carnegie Mellon | "Carnegie Mellon does not offer interviews." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Vanderbilt | "Vanderbilt does not offer interviews through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions." Optional video submissions instead. | Considered (2025–26) |
| Notre Dame | "While we don't conduct interviews," US applicants may record an optional Glimpse video. | Row left blank (2025–26) |
| Cornell | Apart from specific programs such as Architecture, interviews "are not required, nor available." | Considered (2025–26) |
| Brown | "Brown encourages applicants to submit a brief personal video introduction." InitialView for international or non-traditional applicants. | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Northwestern | Alumni "Cat Chats": "one-on-one conversations with high school students who are exploring Northwestern." | Not Considered (2025–26) |
| Wesleyan | Student-run WesChats: "No evaluation or record of the conversation is part of the admission application." | Newest public CDS is 2022–23; not shown |
CDS only. For Columbia, Penn, Amherst and Williams we could not verify a current policy page, so we show only the CDS. All four rate "Interview" Not Considered in 2025–26. Tufts rates it Considered and WashU leaves the row blank. The CDS links are in Sources.
What the Table Tells a Parent
1. "Not getting one does not hurt" is official policy, not reassurance. Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, MIT, Swarthmore and Yale all say it outright. If your teen is never contacted, there is nothing to fix and nothing to email about.
2. Where interviews count, they count modestly. Among these colleges, only Georgetown and MIT rate the interview Important. Most of the others that offer one rate it Considered, the lowest positive level, and Middlebury rates it Not Considered.
3. Policy and C7 do not always match. Vanderbilt and Cornell rate "Interview" Considered while saying they do not offer general interviews. Cornell's page names program exceptions such as Architecture. Emory rates it Considered while saying it offers no evaluative interviews. Middlebury offers optional alumni interviews but rates them Not Considered. We report both and do not guess the reason. If it matters for your teen, ask the admissions office directly, or let your teen ask.
4. Several interviewers never see the application. Harvard and Duke say so explicitly. The interviewer is meeting your teen, not checking the file. That is a reason to let the conversation be real, not rehearsed.
Parent Prep: Do and Don't
Do:
- Check the policy now. Know which colleges on the list assign, invite, accept requests, or offer nothing. Middlebury's request deadlines (November 8 for ED I) and Bowdoin's window (October 1 to November 15 for ED I) come early.
- Make sure your teen watches the inbox. MIT and Harvard say interviewers typically make contact by email, so an unanswered message can mean a missed interview.
- Handle logistics. A quiet room, a working laptop for a video call, a ride to a coffee shop. Harvard asks that no one else be in the room.
- Help your teen prepare questions for the interviewer. Good questions come from the same research that makes a strong "why us" supplement. Our guide to why this major versus why this college explains the difference.
- Encourage a thank-you note written by your teen, in their own words.
Don't:
- Don't sit in, listen in, or record. Princeton says interviews "must not be recorded in any way," and Harvard says "any recording of this conversation is strictly prohibited."
- Don't script answers. In our view, a memorized pitch sounds like someone else's, the same way a parent-polished essay does. See how much parents should help with the college essay.
- Don't contact the college to ask why your teen wasn't interviewed. At every college above that addresses it, the answer is on the page: capacity, not judgment.
- Don't pay for a visit to "get an interview." Harvard and Princeton say they do not offer on-campus interviews. For how visits relate to admission more broadly, see our demonstrated interest table.
Where the Real Weight Is
If a 30-minute conversation is at most Considered, the essay is the place your teen speaks to the committee at length. Caltech says this directly. Our look at what 185 colleges said about essay importance and how holistic readers read a college essay show where that weight comes from. Your teen can run their own draft through GradPilot's free college essay review against the Common App narrative craft rubric. Read the feedback together. The review gives qualitative feedback on the writing; it does not predict admission, and your teen remains the author. If your teen is still choosing where to apply early, our Early Decision acceptance rate table is a useful companion.
FAQ
Does the Harvard alumni interview matter?
Harvard says that "most areas do not have the capacity to interview all applicants" and "your application is considered complete without an interview." Its 2025–26 CDS rates the interview Considered. If your teen is contacted, accept; if not, nothing is lost.
Which top colleges require an interview?
Among the colleges we checked, only Georgetown says students "are required to complete their interview when assigned." Its 2025–26 CDS rates the interview Important.
Can we request an interview?
It depends on the college. Harvard says "it is not possible to request an interview," and Yale interviews by invitation. Middlebury and Swarthmore take requests through a portal. At Princeton, an alumnus may invite your teen unless they opt out in the Princeton-specific questions.
Should I prepare my teen with mock interviews?
A short practice run with a friend or a counselor can reduce nerves. Scripted answers tend to backfire, because the interviewer is trying to meet your teen. Focus on logistics and good questions.
What if the interviewer and my teen don't click?
At colleges that treat the interview as one Considered factor, a single average conversation is a small part of the file. Your teen should write a brief thank-you and move on to the essays.
Sources
All retrieved September 24, 2026.
Admissions policy pages
- Georgetown: Application Requirements and Forms
- MIT Admissions: Interview
- Yale Admissions: Interviews
- Harvard College: Interviews
- Princeton: Application Checklist
- Stanford: First-Year Interview
- Dartmouth: How do I get an interview?
- Duke: Alumni Interviews
- Rice: First-Year Domestic Applicants
- Bowdoin: Connect
- Swarthmore: Request an Interview
- Pomona: Off-Campus Interview
- Middlebury: Interview Policy
- Emory: FAQs
- Johns Hopkins: FAQ
- Caltech: Essay Writing Advice
- UChicago: Optional Materials
- Carnegie Mellon: Common Admission Terms
- Vanderbilt: First-Year Process
- Notre Dame: Evaluation Criteria
- Cornell: Does Cornell require personal interviews?
- Brown: Video Introduction
- Northwestern: Alumni
- Wesleyan: Interviews
Common Data Sets (C7 "Interview")
- Georgetown CDS page
- MIT CDS 2025–26
- Yale CDS 2025–26
- Harvard CDS 2025–26
- Princeton CDS 2025–26
- Stanford CDS page
- Dartmouth CDS 2025–26
- Duke CDS 2025–26
- Rice CDS 2025–26
- Bowdoin CDS 2025–26
- Swarthmore CDS 2025–26
- Pomona CDS 2023–24
- Middlebury CDS 2025–26
- Emory CDS 2025–26
- Johns Hopkins CDS 2025–26
- Caltech CDS 2025–26
- UChicago CDS 2025–26
- Carnegie Mellon CDS 2025–26
- Vanderbilt CDS 2025–26
- Notre Dame CDS page
- Cornell CDS 2025–26
- Brown CDS page
- Northwestern CDS 2025–26
- Columbia CDS 2025–26
- Penn CDS 2025–26
- Amherst CDS 2025–26, Section C
- Williams CDS 2025–26
- Tufts CDS 2025–26
- WashU CDS 2025–26
Let Your Teen Check Their Own Draft
Your student runs their essay against the matching Common App rubric for free. Read the feedback together; the writing stays theirs.