Become an Interviewer

 

September 2022

  

Hello Everybody!

  

It is the beginning of the school year and the Harvard Class of 2026, this year's freshman class, have just celebrated their Convocation ceremony and have started classes last week. I am happy to report that there are thirty members of that Class that hail from the Philly area! Many of us had the pleasure of meeting them and their fellow applicants and speaking for myself, I find it very energizing to meet so many talented, passionate and energetic high school students each year. It makes me very hopeful that our future will be in very good hands.

  

As you might expect, the Admissions Office has a challenge in selecting the members of every Harvard Class. I cannot overstate the value of Alumni interviews in fleshing out each student's application. The Admissions Office truly studies your reports and appreciates the thoughtful insights that you provide. 

  

For those veteran interviewers - THANK YOU!  Your work is so important and I am sure you have enjoyed being a representative in the community of our fair college. If you would like to try it out for the first time, WELCOME! 

  

If you have questions, please contact Laura Ottinger '16 at ssinfo@fas.harvard.edu or your local Schools & Scholarships chairperson. That's me! Tom Kardish at interviewing@hrcphilly.com.

  

Warmest best wishes,

Tom Kardish, '83

Schools Commitee Chair

  

Listed below is the information regarding alumni interviews for recruiting the class of 2027:

  

Virtual Interviews for the Class of 2027

The health and safety of Harvard applicants and alumni interviewers - as well as their families - remain our top priorities. In light of the continuing public health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges presented by its variants, all Class of 2027 interviews will be conducted virtually through a video conferencing platform or by telephone. If you are unable or unwilling to conduct interviews virtually, if you need to opt out of interviewing this year for any reason, or if you would like to stop receiving emails from us, please indicate so on the annual Eligibility Form. 


New Alumni Interviewer Portal

Our new alumni interviewer portal is now live! The URL to the portal is: alumniportal.fas.harvard.edu. The process for signing into the interviewing portal has changed slightly. We outline the new steps below. 


To access the portal, you will need to claim a HarvardKey, if you have not done so already. Instructions can be found here. Please contact ithelp@harvard.edu or call 617-495-7777 for any questions regarding your HarvardKey credentials. You only need one HarvardKey, so if you have claimed one for any other Harvard-related activity, you need not claim another. 

  
Upon logging-in with HarvardKey, you will be presented with the annual Eligibility Form. Interviewers no longer have unique links to the portal or their Eligibility Form; it will now be the first thing you see when you log-in to the portal for the first time each cycle. If you need to sit out this year for any reason, please indicate that on the Eligibility Form. 

  

After the Eligibility Form, you will be asked to complete the Information Form. As a returning interviewer, your form will be pre-populated with the information from our old system. Please update this information as needed. In contrast to the old system, you can now update your contact and address information at any time, though you will be prompted to update your information only once per year alongside the annual Eligibility Form. 

  

Once you have completed these forms, you will see the Documents page of the new portal.  When you reach this Documents page, you are all set and ready for this season of interviewing! Please take a moment to review some of the new documents on this page, notably the "Interviewer Startup Guide," a helpful starting point for both returning and new interviewers at the beginning of each cycle.  


Interviewer Training Opportunities

Throughout the fall, we will offer six alumni interviewer training and information sessions. The sign-ups for these trainings can be found in the Documents page of the new portal. These sessions are optional and open to all interviewers.  Led by admissions officers, these Zoom webinars will cover the basics of interviewing, updates from campus, and some frequently asked questions. 

   

Thank you for all you do to support the Admissions and Financial Aid Office and our applicants! Alumni interviewers play a vital role in our efforts to recruit, admit, and matriculate students to Harvard.  We are enormously grateful for the time and care you bring to our process. 

  


Each year members of our Schools Committee evaluate applicants to Harvard College from the Philadelphia area. Alumni/ae of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges as well as alumni/ae of Harvard University graduate schools who know the College well may participate in Schools Committee work. We value alumni/ae who have enthusiasm both for their Cambridge experiences and for working with prospective students, their families and schools.

     

If you are interested in being an interviewer, email interviewing@hrcphilly.com