Interview process may be revamped

As admissions officials narrow the field of potential Duke students, they are also considering changes to the process by which those students are admitted. In particular, they will be evaluating the interview process to determine how interviews can be made accessible to more high school students.

The Office of Admissions conducts interviews on campus with admissions officers and off campus with alumni. Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions, said that he is not certain whether this will change, but said his office will be looking at others schools' programs-some of which allow professors and students to conduct interviews.

Currently, on-campus interviews are offered on a first-come first-serve basis. About eight students can be interviewed on a given day, and interviews are conducted from May through November. Alumni conduct 8,000 to 10,000 interviews annually.

Guttentag noted that not all students who receive an interview end up applying.

"No university is perfect for everyone, and if a student legitimately learns it's not as good of a match, it's completely valid [for the student to choose not to apply]," he said, adding that the interview rarely affects a student's acceptance.

Guttentag said his office will try to give international students more chances to interview. "That's where we have the greatest disparity between the number of applications and the number of interviews," he said. Most international students who receive interviews are paired with Duke alumni.

In his efforts to evaluate his office's resources, Guttentag said he will be looking at the policies of Ivy League universities and small liberal arts colleges. At Columbia University, alumni conduct interviews on a voluntary basis. As in Duke's system, the interviews are for informational purposes and are rarely considered in the admissions decision. Their offerings are also dependent on the availability of alumni in the applicant's region.

The University of Pennsylvania has two methods for conducting its interviews-by professors or admissions officials on campus or off campus by local alumni, usually recent graduates. Interviews are also optional for Penn and are not considered in admissions decisions because the school cannot interview all applicants.