January/February 2010
Features
Alumni Serve Columbia Through ARC
By Jessica Gresko ’05
Gerald Sherwin ’55 remembers his Columbia interview with the head of admissions in 1951. The question session lasted two minutes and ended with the officer telling him to expect his packet in the mail.
These days, it’s a little different, Sherwin says. For starters, he’s asking the questions. Sherwin is one of more than 3,200 College and SEAS alumni who interview prospective students as members of Columbia’s Alumni Representative Committee (ARC). It’s a job he sees as a cross between being a cheerleader, an information-provider and a salesman, as well as a way to help his school.
“I want [students] to feel that they’re going to get a great education, that Columbia is second to none,” says Sherwin, who has done interviews for two decades and heads a group of more than 600 alumni who interview in Manhattan.
In 2009, ARC members interviewed nearly 7,400 prospective students, about three out of every 10 applicants. But Columbia still lags behind its Ivy League peers; schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown and Penn interview almost nine out of 10 applicants, and that difference can be crucial. Admissions officers say interview reports often highlight certain aspects of the applicants — like their love for playing an instrument or why they chose to study in Guam during high school — and help them make more informed decisions.
Interviews are important for prospective students, too, giving them a personal connection to Columbia that can help them decide where to go. Students who get interviews choose to go to Columbia at a higher rate than those who don’t. And that’s one of the reasons the Admissions Office is looking for more alumni interviewers. If more alumni do just one or two interviews a year it would be a tremendous help, says Office of Undergraduate Admissions Associate Director Alec Milton ’04 TC.
Former admissions officer Keith Hernandez ’07 recalls reading interview reports from an alumnus who had specifically sought out students from a small region of upstate New York, where he had lived before attending Columbia. Even though the man had moved to Colorado, he continued to interview the New York candidates by phone. “I remember feeling an immediate connection with the students, the alumnus and that region of upstate New York,” Hernandez says.
ARC FAQ
How do I become an interviewer? Alumni interested in interviewing prospective students should visit www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/alumni/volunteers.php to sign up. Alumni need a UNI and password to sign in. If you do not know your UNI or have forgotten it or your password, you can request them on the site.
Where and when are interviews conducted? Alumni typically interview students at coffee shops such as Starbucks. Interviews take place at the alum’s convenience, and students should travel to meet the alum in the most convenient location. Interviews also can be conducted by phone if the travel distance is significant. In an effort to increase the percentage of applicants who will have the opportunity for an interview, ARC members are encouraged to conduct more phone interviews with applicants outside their respective regions.
How do I know what to ask? ARC has an online “cheat sheet” for interviewers.
How many interviews must I do? ARC members are asked to do at least two interviews a year, though in 2009 one member did more than 80.
Still have questions?
Contact the ARC team at arcinfo@columbia.edu.
Admissions officers say that an updated online system that interviewers began using last year should streamline the process. Alumni can accept interview assignments and submit their written reports online. These reports are automatically uploaded into an applicant’s file for the admissions officer to review alongside the application.
Cities such as New York, Boston and Los Angeles could always use more interviewers. But other parts of the country have a particular need for interviewers; Utah, for example, has only one. Other places with few interviewers include central New York, Wyoming, West Virginia, Arkansas and Kansas.
The Admissions Office also is always looking for alumni to conduct interviews overseas, and its new Web site may help. Alumni who may be on extended trips outside the country can now schedule international interviews. Alums also can interview in more than one region.
Sarah Ramsay ’05 conducted about 20 interviews last year, both in her hometown of Portland, Ore., and in Baltimore, where she is in medical school at Johns Hopkins. Younger graduates like Ramsay make up a large number of the interviewers.
“It’s really fun just to get to know someone,” she says of interviewing, adding that she also considers it a “huge honor” to be part of the admissions process.
Tom Ichniowski ’74, ’76J has been interviewing for more than 30 years and chairs an alumni interviewing group for Maryland. The current ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman ’77, was an active interviewer before his nomination last year. “Sometimes the busiest people are the ones who try to squeeze in a few interviews every year,” Ichniowski says.
ARC members say that interviewing is a way to give back to the school, and that interviews — which may last from 30 minutes to an hour — can fit into any schedule. Some take the process beyond the interview.
Mark Momjian ’83, the chair of the Philadelphia ARC region, tries to set up events for admitted students that showcase Columbia alumni, from baseball great Lou Gehrig ’23 to Clement Clarke Moore (Class of 1798), who is credited with writing “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and get students excited about going. Kevin Chapman ’83, the chair of the Princeton, N.J., ARC, urges his members to call admitted students to offer their congratulations and any additional advice, in addition to hosting admitted students events. Group members also got together for a holiday party last year.
Jessica Gresko ’05 lives in Washington, D.C.