Applicant Interviews (Alumni / AO): Differences and Preparation: 30 Minutes That Can Matter

Every November, the most anxious parent message I receive is: “Teacher, Yale sent an alumni interview invitation. My daughter is meeting the interviewer tomorrow. What should she prepare?”

My answer is always: “An interview is not an exam. You do not need to ‘prepare answers.’ What alumni expect is to ‘get to know you,’ not to ‘interview you.’ What you prepare is ‘what stories you want to share,’ not ‘standard answers.’”

Parents become even more anxious: “But what if her English is not fluent enough?”

The answer is: The purpose of an Alumni Interview is to “evaluate your sincerity and interest”. It is not to “test your language ability.” This article draws on my 15 years of hands-on experience to break down every side of U.S. college application interviews.

1. Four Types of Interviews#

Type	Hosted by	Required?	Impact on Application
Alumni Interview	Alumni	Optional, but recommended	5-10%
AO Interview	Admissions officer	Rare, very few invitations	10-15%
Third-party video interview	InitialView / Vericant	Required by some schools	10-15%
Skype / Department interview	Professor / department	Special programs, such as BS/MD	30%+

2. Alumni Interview: The Format Used by 80% of Schools#

2.1 What Is an Alumni Interview?#

An alumni interview is an interview conducted by a graduate of the school. Most Ivy + Top 30 universities invite some applicants after the ED / RD deadlines to take part in an informal 30-45 minute conversation.

School	Alumni Interview Coverage
Harvard	Some applicants, with priority in alumni-dense regions
Yale	Most applicants
Princeton	Most applicants
Brown	70% of applicants
Dartmouth	80% of applicants
Cornell	Some applicants, initiated by departments
Duke	Most applicants
MIT	EC (Educational Counselor) interviews for most applicants

2.2 Reply Within 24 Hours of Receiving the Invitation#

After receiving an alumni invitation, you must reply within 24 hours to show respect and initiative.

Email template:

Dear Mr./Ms. [Last Name],

Thank you so much for reaching out regarding the [School] alumni interview.
I would be honored to meet with you. I am available [list 3 specific time
slots], but please let me know what works best for your schedule.

I look forward to our conversation.

Best regards,
[Your name]
[Your phone]

2.3 Interview Location#

Location	Best For
Cafe, such as Starbucks	Most common and neutral
Alumni office / home	Not recommended, unless the interviewer insists
Zoom / online	Most common for international students
School-related event	Rare

Safety reminder: If the student is under 18, a parent may accompany the student to the location but should sit at a nearby table. Do not sit at the same table.

2.4 Pre-Interview Preparation Checklist#

Preparation	Details
Print 1 copy of your resume / activities summary	1 A4 page
Research the interviewer’s background	Check LinkedIn for major and career
Prepare 5 questions about the school	Do not ask questions that Google can answer, such as median SAT
Prepare 3 stories you want to share	Match them to “Why us,” “why major,” and “unique trait”
Dress code: smart casual	No suit required, but no T-shirt
Arrive 15 minutes early	First impressions matter

3. The Real Purpose of an Alumni Interview#

Many parents think the alumni interview is a “test.” That is wrong. The real purposes of an Alumni Interview are:

1. Verify the authenticity of your PS: Are the stories you wrote real? Can you talk about the details?
2. Evaluate social ability: Can you join the Yale community and converse with people from different backgrounds?
3. Check your sincere interest in the school: Why do you want to attend this school?
4. Give the AO a third-party perspective: The alumnus will write a report for the AO

3.1 What Does the Alumni Report Tell the AO?#

One to two weeks after the alumni interview, the interviewer writes an Interview Report for the AO:

Section	Rating
Academic Engagement	1-5
Extracurricular Depth	1-5
Personal Qualities	1-5
Interest in [School]	1-5
Overall Impression	1-5
Comments	300-500 words

The truth: An alumni report with “4-5 points + Strongly Recommend Admit” can meaningfully help the application. “3 points + Neutral” is neutral. Negative reviews are extremely rare; fewer than 5% of applicants receive a negative report.

4. 20 Common Alumni Interview Questions, With Response Strategies#

4.1 Opening Questions#

Q1: Tell me about yourself.

❌ Wrong: “I’m 18 years old, born in Taiwan, I love computer science…” (resume-style) ✓ Better: “My favorite hobby is exploring how machines learn human languages. I started programming at age 11 because I wanted to make a chatbot that could speak Taiwanese. That’s still what I’m working on today: I’m building a Taiwanese speech recognition tool with a NTU lab.”

4.2 Why This School#

Q2: Why [School]?

❌ Wrong: “Yale is one of the best universities in the world, and I want to study CS.” ✓ Better: “Yale’s CS program emphasizes ethics. Professor X’s class on AI Fairness is exactly what I want to study. Plus, I’d love to be at the intersection of CS and the Yale Repertory Theatre. I want to combine my interest in coding with my background in theater design.”

4.3 Why This Major#

Q3: Why this major?

❌ Wrong: “Because computer science has good job prospects.” ✓ Better: “In 10th grade, I helped my grandmother set up a video call to talk to relatives abroad. She couldn’t understand the English interface. I realized then that technology assumes a level of language fluency many people don’t have. So I started studying NLP. I want to build interfaces that adapt to the user’s language background.”

4.4 Academic Depth Questions#

Q4: What’s your favorite subject in school? Q5: Tell me about a project you’ve done. Q6: What’s a book / article / podcast that influenced you?

Strategy: Every answer should include a “specific name + specific insight + reason for curiosity.”

4.5 Extracurricular Questions#

Q7: What do you do outside of class? Q8: Tell me about your leadership experience.

Strategy: Tell a specific story, not a generic “I learned leadership.”

4.6 Challenge / Setback Questions#

Q9: What’s the hardest thing you’ve faced? Q10: Tell me about a failure.

Strategy: Choose a story with a real low point but also agency. Avoid: “My parents divorced / a family member passed away” because these topics are too sensitive and difficult to carry in the conversation.

4.7 Interest / Personality Questions#

Q11: What do you do for fun? Q12: If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be? Q13: Who’s your role model?

Strategy: Give a real answer + 1 specific detail.

4.8 School Fit Questions#

Q14: Where else are you applying?

Note: Alumni will not punish you for saying you are applying to other schools, but do not say “Yale is my safety”. That signals that you look down on Yale. Better answer: “I’m applying to about 12 schools, including [list 3-4 peer schools]. Yale is at the top of my list because of [specific reason].”

Q15: What if you don’t get into [School]?

Strategy: “I’d be disappointed, but I’d reconsider what makes Yale special and apply that to wherever I end up. I’d still want to study CS in a similar environment.”

4.9 Personal Quality Questions#

Q16: What’s one weakness?

❌ Wrong: “I’m a perfectionist.” (cliche) ✓ Better: “I sometimes overcommit. I’ll join 3 projects at once and have to learn to say no. I’m working on it.”

Q17: Tell me something that’s not on your application.

Strategy: Share a small quirky story that you did not write about in your application.

4.10 Questions You Ask the Interviewer#

Q18-20: Questions for the interviewer

❌ Weak questions:

• What’s [School]‘s SAT requirement? (Google can answer this)
• What’s the acceptance rate? (Google can answer this)
• What’s your job? (You should already have checked LinkedIn)

✓ Better questions:

• What’s something about [School] that surprised you when you were a student?
• Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you had done differently at [School]?
• What’s the best class you took at [School]?
• How did your experience at [School] shape your career path?
• What’s a tradition at [School] that you still think about?

5. The 5 Interview Problems Taiwanese Students Most Often Struggle With#

5.1 Not Enough “Inner Thought Process”#

Taiwanese students tend to answer in a “results-oriented” way: “I won the math olympiad and learned a lot.” What AO / alumni want to hear is the process + your inner thoughts.

✓ Better version: “I qualified for math olympiad in 11th grade. But before that, in 10th grade, I failed badly. I came in last in my school’s selection test. I spent the next 6 months redoing fundamentals from scratch. When I finally got in, I realized the value wasn’t the medal. It was the year of struggle that taught me how to actually learn.”

5.2 Being Overly Polite#

❌ “Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me. It’s such an honor.” (in every answer) ✓ Express gratitude once at the beginning. After that, move into a real conversation.

5.3 Freezing When English Gets Stuck#

The biggest weakness for Taiwanese students: fear of making English mistakes -> using silence to escape.

How to handle it:

• “Let me think about that for a second…” (buy time to think)
• “Sorry, I lost my thought. Let me restart.” (acknowledge it honestly)
• “I’m not sure I understood the question. Could you rephrase?” (ask honestly)

The truth: Alumni do not expect perfect English. They expect you to be sincere and thoughtful.

5.4 Forcing Every Answer Into a Template#

“This is a great question…” “I think the most important thing is…” Using the same template for every question makes you sound robotic.

The truth: A good interview feels “like a conversation.” Let the dialogue flow naturally.

5.5 Being Too Nervous and Not Smiling#

Taiwanese culture tends to be formal, so interviews can easily become overly tense. Alumni expect you to speak “like a future classmate”. You can smile, make an appropriate joke, and share what you are still figuring out.

6. AO Interview: A Rare Opportunity at Top Schools#

An AO Interview is conducted by an actual admissions officer and is very rare. It appears only in limited situations at schools such as MIT, Caltech, and UPenn Wharton.

6.1 Differences Between AO Interview and Alumni Interview#

Item	Alumni Interview	AO Interview
Interviewer	Alumnus / alumna	Admissions officer
Impact on application	5-10%	15-25%
Style	Conversational	Semi-formal Q&A
Length	30-45 min	20-30 min
Outcome	Alumni writes a report	AO directly affects the admissions decision

6.2 How to Prepare Differently for an AO Interview#

AO Interviews go deeper academically than alumni interviews. Prepare 3 additional items:

1. Papers / books: Be able to speak fluently about 2-3 books you have read
2. Current events discussion: Be able to speak fluently about 1-2 news issues you care about
3. Future vision: “What do you want to do 10 years after graduation?” Have a concrete plan

7. InitialView / Vericant Third-Party Video Interviews#

Some schools, such as Yale, Carnegie Mellon, and UChicago, ask international students to upload a third-party interview.

7.1 Differences Between the Two Services#

Service	Fee	Length	Format
InitialView	USD $290	25 min	Filmed by a real interviewer + comments
Vericant	USD $290	25 min	Same as above

The two services are essentially the same: a third-party verification of your speaking ability + logic.

7.2 InitialView Process#

1. Registration + scheduling: 3-4 weeks in advance
2. Interview: 25 minutes

• 5-minute self-introduction
• 15-minute conversation, with questions similar to an alumni interview
• 5-minute short writing task, unscripted and handwritten on site

1. Recording + comments: You receive a review after 3-5 days
2. Upload to schools: You decide whether to send it

7.3 Should You Do InitialView?#

Student Situation	Recommendation
Fluent English and confident in interviews	Do it. It can become a plus
Average English and afraid of the camera	Do not do it. It may backfire
Weak English and frequent stuttering	Do not do it. It directly lowers the polish of your application
Required by the school	Must do it

8. Follow-Up After the Interview#

Send a thank-you email within 24 hours after the interview.

8.1 Thank-You Email Template#

Subject: Thank you for the [School] interview

Dear Mr./Ms. [Last Name],

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. I really
enjoyed our conversation about [specific topic you discussed—e.g.,
"the role of arts education at Yale"]. Your point about [specific insight
he/she shared] gave me a new way to think about [topic].

I'm even more excited about [School] now—especially [specific
program/professor/club you discussed].

If you need anything else from me, please let me know. I really
appreciate your time and the chance to learn from your experience.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Key points:

• Mention the specific topic you discussed to prove you listened carefully
• Mention the specific insight he or she shared to show respect
• Send it within 24 hours

8.2 Do Not Over-Follow Up#

After sending the thank-you email, do not keep asking for updates. Alumni will not tell you the “interview result.” They only submit a report to the AO.

9. Interview Dress Code#

9.1 Men#

• Khakis / dress pants + shirt + sweater / blazer, depending on the setting
• ❌ Avoid: T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops, sneakers unless they are clearly design-forward

9.2 Women#

• Suit skirt / dress pants / long skirt + shirt / knit top + flats
• ❌ Avoid: skirts that are too short, low-cut tops, sneakers unless they are clearly design-forward

9.3 Online Interviews#

• Wear formal clothing on your upper body
• Clean background: white wall or bookshelf
• Lighting: natural light from the front, not backlighting
• Stable internet: use wired internet or strong WiFi

10. Four Possible Outcomes After the Interview#

Outcome	Details
Admitted	The alumnus’s strongly recommend aligns with the AO’s evaluation
Admitted, unrelated to interview	Your PS / GPA / SAT were already strong enough; the interview was just an added plus
Rejected, unrelated to interview	The reason for rejection was elsewhere; the interview had no impact
Defer / Waitlist	The application remains in the RD pool; unrelated to the interview

The truth: The interview is rarely a “decisive” factor. It is a “verification + fine-tuning” tool. Unless your interview performance is extremely poor, such as not showing up at all or being unable to communicate clearly, it will not “ruin your application.”

11. Three Practical Interview Tips for Taiwanese Students#

11.1 Prepare With a “Story Bank”#

Prepare 8-10 “pocket stories” in advance. Each story should be clear in 60 seconds. During the interview, pull the matching story based on the question.

Story Category	Example
Academic Passion	The origin story behind “why CS”
Leadership	A specific incident from “founding a robotics club”
Failure	The story of “failing Math Olympiad and starting over”
Identity	A distinctive experience of growing up in Taiwan
Service	A specific story about one child from volunteering at an under-resourced elementary school
Family	“My grandmother’s influence”
Curiosity	“A book / podcast I recently read or listened to”
Future	“What I want to do 10 years after graduation”

11.2 Do 5 Mock Interviews#

My standard training for Dr. G. students:

Round	Method
1	Record yourself answering the 20 common questions on webcam
2	Ask a friend / parent to act as the interviewer
3	Ask a senior student to act as the interviewer, closer to real practice
4	Do a mock interview with a Dr. G. consultant
5	Do one final practice the day before the official interview

11.3 “You don’t need to perform”#

My final reminder to Dr. G. students: Alumni do not expect you to “perform”. They expect you to “show your real self.”

If you do not know how to answer a question:

• “That’s a really hard question. Let me think…”
• “I don’t have a clear answer yet, but I’m working on it.”
• “Honestly, I’m not sure, but here’s how I’d approach it.”

Honesty > perfection.

12. Conclusion: An Interview Is a Conversation, Not an Exam#

Over the past 15 years, I have seen too many parents treat the interview as the “final deciding round.” In reality, the interview’s impact is usually no more than 10%. What truly decides the outcome is still the PS, Activities, GPA, and SAT.

My final advice to Dr. G. students:

Alumni expect to meet a “future classmate,” not a “perfect applicant.” Let the conversation flow naturally, share what you genuinely love, and ask questions that invite real insight. That is enough.

It is normal to be nervous. But remember: An alumnus is also just a regular person, and after 30 minutes, you may never meet again. Relax and be yourself.

Further Reading#

• Recommendation Letters: Who to Ask, How to Ask, and How to Follow Up
• Grade 12 September-December Timeline
• After Application Results: Choosing Offers / Visas / Pre-Departure
• How to Write the 650-Word Common App Personal Statement
• How to Write the 10 Slots in the Common App Activities Section