Shout out to our interviewers

As soon as I finish writing this post, I’m going to send an email message to our interviewers, thanking them for their work and inviting them to stop by the office to pick up a gratitude-loaded chocolate bar.  It goes without saying that a piece of chocolate could hardly represent the contribution they make to the admissions process.  The Admissions Office’s ability to offer as many as 40 interviews each week — plus three information sessions — depends on the enthusiasm of Fletcher students for the community and on their interest in contributing to the selection of future community members.

On the one hand, all we ask of our interviewers is a roughly 90-minute weekly commitment.  And we know that the opportunity to interview regularly can be a professional development opportunity, keeping those skills sharp.  On the other hand, we put the burden on interviewers to find their own substitutes, even during midterm exams.  We demand that their notes arrive quickly after the interview, regardless of what they have going on during the day.  (And we tell them they need to look nice, though they may be coming from the gym.)  In a sense, it’s not the time they offer each appointment, but the steady full-semester commitment that we so appreciate.  And interviewees appreciate them, too — the evaluation surveys that interviewees are invited to complete are extraordinarily positive.

We’ll continue to offer a very limited schedule of interviews (most of which are already booked — remember that interviews remain optional) until January 15, drawing on our student interns, a few in-town volunteers, and Admissions staff, but the experience for those who visit Fletcher during the winter break is never as satisfying as a mid-semester visit.  We take pride in our visit program, through which applicants can be students for a day.  The focus for most visitors is the evaluative interview.  Many, many thanks to our student interviewers for helping us to make it happen.