Alumni Interviews for International Applicants: How They Work and How to Prepare

Why US Colleges Interview International Applicants Remotely

Admissions offices cannot send staff to every country, so most schools that offer interviews rely on alumni volunteers who live near you or on third-party video platforms. Dartmouth and other schools with global alumni networks match applicants to a graduate in or near their country when possible.

When no local alumnus is available, some schools accept a recorded interview from a service such as InitialView or Vericant . These companies interview applicants directly and send the recording, plus a writing sample, to any college that accepts their reports. You pay a fee for the service, and each platform lists its current pricing and fee waiver options on its own site.

Informational Versus Evaluative Interviews

Most college interviews are informational. The interviewer sends a short report describing the conversation, and admissions officers read it as one data point among many, not a deciding factor. A smaller number of schools run evaluative interviews that carry more weight in the final decision, including Tufts .

Northwestern discontinued alumni interviews for undergraduate applicants in fall 2024. It now offers non-evaluative alumni "Cat Chats" for recruiting purposes and, for international applicants, optional InitialView or Glimpse video submissions instead of an alumni interview program.

Check each college's admissions page for how it labels its interview before you prepare. An informational interview at one school and an evaluative interview at another call for a different level of preparation.

What an Interviewer Reports Back

Alumni interviewers write a short summary covering how you communicated, what you seemed genuinely interested in, and whether you asked informed questions about the school. They are not scoring your English fluency against a native speaker standard. They compare you to other applicants they have met, not to a fixed benchmark.

Interviewers flag conversations that felt scripted more than they flag an accent or an occasional grammar slip. A student who answers with specific examples from their own life reads better than a student who recites polished lines memorized in advance.

Questions You Are Likely to Get

Most alumni interviews open with why you chose the school and what you might study, then move into your activities list and a recent challenge you handled. Expect a question about how you would spend your time outside the classroom.

Interviewers rarely ask about specific test scores or grades, since they already have your application file. They ask about your reasoning and interests instead, so prepare to explain the reason behind your choices, not only list them.

How to Prepare Without a Nearby Admissions Office

Research the specific college the same way you would prepare for an essay: know two or three programs, professors, or clubs you would use, and be ready to explain why. Generic praise for a school's reputation gives an interviewer nothing to report.

Test your internet connection, camera, and microphone at least a day before a video interview. Sit somewhere quiet with a plain background and good lighting, since technical problems eat into your interview time and distract from what you say.

Prepare two or three stories about your background, interests, or challenges that you also use in your essays. Reusing well-developed stories across your essays and interview keeps your application consistent and saves preparation time.

Write down two or three questions about the school that a five-minute look at its website does not answer. Asking about the review process for a specific student club or how a program handles internships shows you researched beyond the admissions homepage.

Interview Day Checklist

• Confirm the exact time zone conversion for a video call scheduled by the interviewer.

• Dress the way you would for a school event, business casual is enough for most interviews.

• Keep your activities list nearby as a reference, not to read from.

• Send a short thank you email within a day if the interviewer shares their email.

If You Are Not Offered an Interview

Many colleges cannot offer every applicant an interview because of alumni availability in your region. Confirm on the school's admissions page whether interviews are guaranteed, optional and limited to some areas, or not offered at all.

At schools where the interview is optional and informational, a missing interview does not lower your application. Spend the time you would have used preparing on your essays and activities list instead.

After the Interview

The interviewer submits their report directly through the college's system, and you do not see it. Admissions officers file it alongside your essays, transcript, and recommendation letters as one more piece of context.

Do not contact the interviewer asking for feedback on how it went, since most volunteers are not permitted to share their evaluation with you. Once the interview ends, put remaining preparation time toward finishing pending essays or forms instead.

Video Interviews Versus In-Person Meetings

Some alumni prefer meeting in a public place such as a cafe if you live in the same city, while others only offer a video call. Either format follows the same preparation rules, so treat a video interview with the same seriousness as an in-person meeting rather than a casual chat.

If your interviewer offers a choice of format, pick whichever setting lets you speak comfortably without distractions. A quiet room with a stable connection usually beats a public venue with background noise, even if a face-to-face meeting feels more personal.