Interviews
Although not required for admission, the alumni interview can be a valuable source for learning more about the University.
Optional Alumni Interviews
Personal interviews may be available through our Alumni Secondary School Committee (SSC) volunteers, who initiate contact with first-year candidates sometime after submission of both the Common Application and Penn Supplement. Please do not contact SSC volunteers as they will reach out to you if they can arrange an interview for you.Alumni interviews are optional and generally confirm what we learn from recommendations included in the written application. Information learned in an optional interview may be used in the evaluation of an applicant's chances of admission. Individual on-campus interviews are not available as requests vastly exceed our ability to meet this need. Due to the larger volume of applicants, alumni volunteers currently interview about fifty percent of applicants worldwide. If you are not contacted for an interview, do not worry. Not having an interview will not be held against you. Since interviews are not required nor are they offered to all applicants at this time, we encourage you to rely upon your application for admission as a forum for presenting the many unique aspects of your candidacy.
Note: Applicants to the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology may be contacted for interviews by graduates of the program who are members of the SSC, but may not reside locally.
SSC interviews for Early Decision candidates are typically conducted between mid-October and the end of November, SSC interviews for Regular Decision candidates are typically offered in January and February.
Alumni interviews are offered only in regions with active Secondary School Committees. To see if a Secondary School Committee is active in your area, please select your state or country from the drop-down menu below. (Please do not contact your local chair by phone.)
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Interviews
1. Are applicants pre-screened for interviews?
We do not screen or evaluate applications before sharing applicant contact information with SSC chairs. Applicant information that is shared includes only: name, address, telephone number, temporary address, email address, name of high school, ID number, name of the Penn undergraduate school to which the student has applied, major, and whether or not the student is a recruited athlete. Sometime after internal processing is completed, alumni tie is added, if applicable.
2. I read that only about fifty percent of applicants are offered an interview, how can I be in that fifty percent?
Interviews are offered based on applicant load and alumni interviewer availability. There is no pre-screening. Interviews are scheduled by local alumni committees sometime after the applicant has submitted the Common Application and Penn Supplement. Unlike some universities, applicants do not request optional alumni interviews. Interviews are not scheduled by the Secondary School Committee office. Alumni committees typically conduct Early Decision interviews between mid-October and the end of November. Committees generally complete EDP interviews first and then conduct Regular Decision interviews. Regular Decision interviews are conducted through the end of February.
3. Can I request an interview?
Unlike some universities, there is no need for Penn applicants to request alumni interviews. Alumni interviewers may be in touch with applicants after applications are processed internally by the Office of Admissions. Requests are unnecessary, but if you absolutely insist, you may let the local alumni chair know of your interest in having an interview using the address listed on the drop-down menu above. (Please do not contact your local chair by phone.) Requesting an interview does not guarantee that you will receive an interview. Please know that interview requests may not be acknowledged as the application volume vastly exceeds our number of alumni interviewers. Currently, only about fifty percent of all applicants worldwide receive interviews.
4. I am trying to contact the local chair and there is only a physical address. Can you give me his/her phone number or email address?
No. To protect the privacy of volunteers, we do not provide personal contact information. In order to prevent volunteers from being inundated with large volumes of calls/emails, interview requests (which are not necessary) are restricted to regular mail only.
5. There is an active committee in my area yet I have not been contacted for an interview. Will I be receiving an interview?
There is no guarantee that you will be offered an interview. Interviews are offered based on applicant load and alumni interviewer availability. There is no pre-screening. Since applicant load significantly outnumbers available interviewers, we currently only interview about 50 percent of applicants worldwide. (Applicants to the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology may be contacted for interviews by graduates of the program who are members of the SSC, but may not reside locally.)
6. The committee in my area is inactive. Can I travel to another city, state, region, province, country, etc. to receive an alumni interview?
No. Not only do we not want applicants to travel long distances, we prefer to treat all applicants from an area equally. No other applicants from an inactive committee area will receive interviews. Due to the large volume of applicants, it is not possible for already overwhelmed committees to accommodate additional interviews.
7. I go to high school in an inactive area but I am traveling to or will be studying abroad in an active area. Can I receive an interview there?
No. Interviews are assigned based on the address of the high school listed on your application. Due to software constraints and volume, we regret that we are presently unable to accommodate these types of special requests.
8. I go to high school in a different area/city/county/country than I reside in. Which interview committee do I fall under?
Your committee is assigned based on the address of your high school.
9. I recently transferred to a high school outside of the area/city/county/country than my former high school. If I receive an interview, where will it be?
Interviews are assigned based on the address of the high school listed on your application. Since your high school has changed, you must contact Admissions in writing to request to have this information updated. Once your high school information is updated, your local interview committee changes, too.
10. I was offered an interview by my local committee but I am currently traveling or studying abroad in an inactive area. Can my interview be conducted over the phone?
Phone conversations are not considered formal interviews. Although we will not count this as an actual interview, it is okay for you to ask the interviewer to address a few questions about the university over the phone, if he or she does not mind.
11. I was offered an interview but I am not available at any of the dates/times my interviewer is available. Can I get a different interviewer?
Unfortunately no. We currently cannot accommodate this type of request. Although we will not count this as an actual interview, it is okay for you to ask the interviewer to address a few questions about the university over the phone, if he or she does not mind.
12. I am an Early Decision applicant that was deferred to Regular Decision. I did not have an interview before I was deferred. Is there a chance that I could still receive one?
Yes, but there is no guarantee. Interviews are offered based on applicant load and alumni interviewer availability. Since applicant load significantly outnumbers available interviewers, we currently only interview about fifty percent of applicants worldwide. You may wish to contact the local chair at the address listed on the drop-down menu to reinforce your interest in having an optional alumni interview, should the opportunity become available.
13. I was contacted for an interview but I accidentally deleted the email/voicemail message or lost the paper with interview details. How may I get in touch with my interviewer?
If you find yourself in this situation, call the Secondary School Committee Office at (215) 898-6903 and please be ready to provide any information you remember/still have about your interviewer. Although we have over 6500 interviewers worldwide, we will do our best to attempt to identify your interviewer.
14. I really want an interview but it looks like I won't get one. Is there anything else I can do?
Yes. Feel free to have an additional letter of recommendation submitted on your behalf. This recommendation can be from anyone that you feel can add an additional voice to your application (i.e. a coach, mentor, clergy leader, employer, etc. -- someone who knows you in a way other than your guidance counselor or teachers).
15. I already sent in an additional letter of recommendation and have recently been contacted for interview. Do I have to decline the interview?
No. If you would like to have an interview, you may!
16. I don't want an interview. Will turning it down be held against me?
No. Alumni interviews are optional. It is not held against an applicant and it does not put the applicant at a disadvantage if he/she does not have an interview. Alumni interviews generally confirm what we learn from counselor and teacher recommendations.
17. As a Transfer applicant, will I be contacted for an alumni interview?
No. Alumni interviews are not offered to Transfer applicants.
Candidates who have questions about the SSC interview which are not addressed above may contact:
Alumni Secondary School Committee Network
Office of Admissions
1 College Hall, Room 1
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6376
(215) 898-6903
