范德比尔特大学 Interview FAQs
CoRPs Alumni Interview Program
Program Overview
Vanderbilt University alumni provide first-year applicants with informational interviews through Commodore Recruitment Programs (CoRPs). Through CoRPs, applicants are invited to contact alumni in their local areas to request an informational interview about life at Vanderbilt. Interviews are informational and serve as a tool for students to evaluate their fit with Vanderbilt University. While the interview is informational in nature, CoRPs alumni interviewers will also provide an evaluative report to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions that will be included in the applicant's admissions file.
CoRPs alumni interviews are optional and are not a required part of the admissions process at Vanderbilt. Students who do not participate are not negatively impacted in the admissions review process.
Not all students will be able to complete a CoRPs alumni interview. While a vibrant Commodore community exists around the globe, Vanderbilt does not have trained CoRPs alumni interviewers in every city or area. As a result, some students will not have the opportunity to participate in an interview.
CoRPs Interview Request Process
Once you submit the Common Application or the Universal College Application, you will receive an email with instructions for setting up a MyAppVU account. If you choose to participate in the program, you will request an interview from your MyAppVU portal. You may search for alumni in your local area and submit a request for an interview online. The selected alumnus will reply to you to coordinate the meeting. Interviews always take place in a public space, such as a coffee shop or office lobby. Once the interview is complete, the interviewer submits a report to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions on your behalf. This report is added to your admission file and treated as an additional letter of recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does Vanderbilt require interviews?
A: No, interviews are not required for first-year applicants. Vanderbilt does, however, offer CoRPs alumni interviews for applicants to evaluate their fit with Vanderbilt. Not participating will not negatively impact our admissions decision. In fact, fewer than 20 percent of all first-year applicants participate in the CoRPs alumni interviewing program each year.
Q: How do I request a CoRPs interview?
A: Go to your MyAppVU portal! After you submit the Common Application or Universal College Application and create your MyAppVU account, you will see a tab called "Alumni Interview" in your MyAppVU portal. Use this tab to request an interview.
Q: Are applicants who do not participate in the CoRPs alumni interviewing program negatively affected in the admissions review process?
A: Absolutely not. The absence of an interview report from the applicant's file will not negatively impact the admissions decision.
Q: What do I do if there are no trained CoRPs alumni in my area?
A: Unfortunately, Vanderbilt does not have trained CoRPs alumni interviewers in every city or area. As a result, some students will not be able to participate in an interview. Moreover, we discourage applicants from going out of their way to meet with an interviewer if the interviewer is not in the applicant's immediate vicinity.
Q: If there is not a CoRPs interviewer in my area, may I request a phone or Skype interview?
A: No. We prefer that these informational interviews take place one-on-one and in-person. Phone interviews and Skype interviews are not permitted for domestic students.
Q: I am an international applicant applying to Vanderbilt and there are no alumni listed in my country. What should I do?
A: If there are no alumni listed in your area, you may not be able to participate in an alumni interview. If there is an alumnus listed in a directly neighboring country, you are allowed to request a Skype interview with that individual only if the alumnus agrees to that arrangement. Please do not request interviews with alumni who are from completely different areas of the world (e.g., If you are from China, please do not request an interview with an alumnus from the United Kingdom).
Q: What should I do if I do not receive a response from the alumnus?
A: Allow three business days for the alumnus to respond to your request for an interview. If you do not hear from the alumnus during that time, you may cancel your outstanding request for an interview. If you cancel your request, please provide your reason for cancellation by choosing from the drop-down menu of options provided. Only after you cancel your original request will you be able to send an interview request to another alumnus.
Q: Can I search for an alumnus from my school of choice at Vanderbilt?
A: No. The purpose of the alumni interview is to put a personal face on Vanderbilt, and we believe you can learn about the Vanderbilt experience from any of our wonderful alumni volunteers.
Q: The deadlines for requesting interviews have now passed. May I still request an interview?
A: No. While we apologize that you were not able to participate in an alumni interview, requesting an interview past the deadline does not allow enough time for applicants to arrange an interview and successfully meet with an alumnus in enough time for our office to receive the interview report before decisions are rendered.