Alumni Interviewing of Prospective Students

Each year, there are approximately 400 applicants to the College from the Washington metropolitan area. The club assists the admissions office by ensuring that each prospective Dartmouth student has a local interview by a team of two alumni living near the student. The interview serves several purposes, to:

  • Provide all Dartmouth applicants with someone they have met personally and can call with questions;
     
  • Leave applicants with a better understanding of Dartmouth and feeling enthusiastic about what the College has to offer; and
     
  • Add one more evaluation, by alumni who have met the candidate and spent some time with him or her, to an applicant’s file.
It’s particularly important to have young alumni involved in the process. We especially need alums who live in (or are willing to travel to) the suburbs from which we draw most of our applicants. In order of volume, they come from Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, D.C., and Prince George’s County. Interviewers are particularly needed in PG County, and the far flung Virginia and Montgomery County areas (Reston, Annandale, Vienna, Leesburg, Rockville, Olney, Gaithersburg, etc.).

And in the fall, we will begin the process of recruiting members of the Class of 2012! Admissions officers and local alumni will visit 30-40 local high schools to talk about Dartmouth. We will make sure there is a Dartmouth presence at 8-10 college fairs or candidates' gatherings. And most importantly, some 200-plus local alumni will be involved in interviewing (or at least offering interviews to) all local applicants.

If you are a student interested in Dartmouth, an alum interested in interviewing, or a parent curious about Dartmouth admissions, don’t hesistate to contact one of the club's three district enrollment directors who coordinate admissions interviews with prospective students in our area. Those in the District of Columbia should contact Anna Maria Steward '95; in Maryland, Howard Morse '81; or in Virginia, Trina Santry '80.