After 50 years as a Princeton Alumni Schools Committee interviewer and 45 years as a university faculty member at other institutions, I struggle as Chuck Bethel ’68 has. His points are well taken, though the question of “better things … to do” is, for me, more other things. The reality of the odds of admission is painful, particularly in that I think three of my interviewees have been accepted over the years. Still I interview. Whether a rationale or a rationalization, I do so because whether or not an interviewee is even one of the “ best and brightest,” I can possibly share a piece of the Princeton experience, that has meant so much in my lived experience. Perhaps that will have a significant impact. For me, in the time I have left, that is worth the investment, and my contribution to “Princeton in the nation’s service” (and beyond).
In Response to: The Alumni Interview Endures