Guides · Updated 4 November 2026

Northwestern Interview: Alumni Conversations, Glimpse and What to Expect

Northwestern University no longer offers evaluative alumni interviews as part of the undergraduate application process, according to the Northwestern Office of Undergraduate Admission. Instead, prospective students can book non-evaluative one-on-one Alumni 'Cat Chats to learn about the university, while applicants from US high schools may submit an optional 60 to 90 second Glimpse video and applicants from international high schools may submit an optional InitialView interview. Both video submissions are due on 6 November for Early Decision and 16 January for Regular Decision.

How Northwestern's Interview Policy Works for 2026-27

AdmitMock is an AI mock interview app for Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and US college alumni interviews: an AI interviewer asks the questions out loud, follows up, and shows you what to fix.

If you read older college guides, you will see contradictory advice about Alumni Admission Council (AAC) interviews. The current position from the Northwestern Office of Undergraduate Admission for the 2026-27 cycle (Class of 2031) is straightforward: high application volume means the university no longer offers evaluative alumni interviews as an optional part of the application process, having transitioned to its new 'Cat Chats format alongside optional video submissions.

In place of traditional interviews, Northwestern splits its spoken and video options into three separate pathways depending on what you want to achieve and where you attend secondary school.

Unlike peer universities where alumni still submit an evaluation report after speaking with you, such as in the Harvard interview process or the Duke alumni interview, Northwestern separates alumni conversations from admissions evaluation completely.

Dates and Grace Periods for Video Submissions

If you choose to submit a Glimpse video or an InitialView interview, your submission deadline falls shortly after your main Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir deadline.

By our calculation from the Northwestern Office of Undergraduate Admission application dates, Early Decision applicants receive a 5-day window after the 1 November application deadline to submit their Glimpse or InitialView video by 6 November, while Regular Decision applicants receive a 12-day window after the 4 January application deadline to submit by 16 January.

Early Decision applicants hear back with an admission decision by mid-December, and Regular Decision applicants receive their decision by the end of March.

Alumni 'Cat Chats: How the Non-Evaluative Conversations Work

Although alumni no longer evaluate applicants, the Alumni Admission Council (AAC) still runs one-on-one conversations called 'Cat Chats. The AAC is a volunteer programme managed by Northwestern's Office of Undergraduate Admission, with members across the United States and around the world.

The purpose of a 'Cat Chat is to help you explore whether Northwestern is the right community for you. Instead of an alumnus grilling you on your transcript or activity chart, you steer the conversation toward the topics and connections that matter to your college search.

Because you lead the discussion, preparing a list of thoughtful questions before the call will help you get concrete material you can later reference in your supplemental essays. You can adapt prompts from our guide to questions to ask your alumni interviewer so your conversation stays focused on real student experiences rather than facts you could look up on the website.

Northwestern highlights three main ways prospective students use a 'Cat Chat to learn about campus life:

• Geographic connections: speaking with an alum who grew up in or lives in the same part of the world as you.
• Academic and career paths: hearing from a graduate with direct experience in the major, school or industry you want to pursue.
• Shared identity or background: exploring what community and belonging look like on the Evanston campus with someone who shares your perspective.

Glimpse Video Submissions (For US High School Applicants)

If you are applying from a high school in the United States, you can record and submit an optional Glimpse video to add a candid spoken voice to your written application.

The Glimpse video runs for 60 to 90 seconds. Northwestern states that you can use this time to share your values, your perspectives, your background, or your experiences, focusing on whatever matters to you that may not come through fully in your essays and activity chart.

Submitting a Glimpse video is completely optional. The Office of Undergraduate Admission confirms that students who choose not to submit a video are at no disadvantage in the review process. Fee waivers and collaborations with Community Based Organisations are available directly through the Glimpse website.

Because 60 to 90 seconds passes quickly, you should not waste your recording reciting your high school CV or reading a written essay aloud. Our team put together a simple three-part structure to help you plan a natural, unscripted single take within the 60 to 90 second recording window:

• Opening hook (Your starting point): Introduce yourself plainly and name the single object, place, habit or personal detail you are talking about today.
• Middle section (The story behind the written file): Explain why this detail matters to how you think, work with others, or spend your free time outside the classroom.
• Closing connection (Looking forward to Evanston): Connect that personal quality to how you plan to contribute to classrooms, student groups or residential life at Northwestern.

InitialView Interviews (For International High School Applicants)

If you attend an international high school outside the United States, you do not use Glimpse. Instead, Northwestern accepts optional recorded interviews conducted through InitialView.

Just like the Glimpse video for domestic students, the InitialView interview is optional, and international applicants who are unable to or choose not to submit one are at no disadvantage in the admission process.

Note that an InitialView interview does not replace required English proficiency testing. Any applicant whose first or primary language is not English, or whose secondary schooling has not been in English, must still submit official scores from the Duolingo English Test (DET), IELTS (including IELTS Indicator), or TOEFL iBT (using Northwestern TOEFL code 1565).

When you submit an InitialView recording to Northwestern, InitialView does not review, score or rate your interview. The recording goes straight to Northwestern, where members of the admissions committee evaluate it as part of their holistic review. The committee uses the conversation to gain additional perspective on four specific areas:

• Your spoken English language proficiency in an unscripted conversation.
• Your personal qualities and how you express your ideas.
• Your academic interests and curiosity.
• Your potential fit for the Northwestern community.

How to Prepare for Glimpse, InitialView and 'Cat Chats

Recording a 60 to 90 second Glimpse clip, sitting for an unscripted InitialView conversation, and preparing for traditional evaluative interviews at other universities like the Stanford alumni interview all require a different skill from editing a written supplement. Practise your interview out loud on AdmitMock.

The best way to avoid repeating your written application is to map your spoken points against Northwestern's 2026-27 writing supplements before you hit record. For the Class of 2031, all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir first-year applicants must answer one required 300-word question about how their background (identity, school setting, community or household) shapes how they will engage at Northwestern, plus one or two short 200-word prompts (covering topics like painting The Rock, designing an interdisciplinary class or project, joining a campus community from over 500 clubs, exploring Evanston and Chicago, or contributing diverse viewpoints).

When you plan your video or your alumni conversation alongside your written file, keep in mind how the admission committee reads the rest of your application. Several committee members review each file, looking beyond transcripts and optional SAT or ACT scores to your activity chart and two required letters of recommendation (one from your high school counsellor and one from a core-subject teacher). Because your activity chart only gives you space to list your roles, honours, and explanations of school-specific acronyms, a 60 to 90 second video is the ideal place to bring one of those entries to life.

Use this five-step checklist written by our team to prepare your spoken material without duplicating your essays:

• Audit your written supplements first: Write down the exact themes you used for your 300-word background essay and your 200-word prompts so you do not tell the exact same story on video.
• Pick one unspoken angle for Glimpse: Choose a single value, family tradition, independent project or perspective from your activity chart that only got a one-line description in writing.
• Practise speaking without a script: Set a timer within the 60 to 90 second limit and speak from three bullet points on a sticky note near your camera lens so your eyes stay up and your voice sounds candid.
• Rehearse academic follow-ups for InitialView: If you are an international applicant, practise explaining why your chosen Northwestern school (such as Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, School of Education and Social Policy, Bienen School of Music, or the School of Communication) matches what you have studied in secondary school.
• Write down three student-life questions for your 'Cat Chat: Ask your AAC alum about the Fall Quarter start and quarter system pace, how interdisciplinary classes work across schools, or how students use downtown Evanston, the Lake Michigan shore, and Chicago.

Programme-Specific Video Portfolios and Auditions

Outside of Glimpse and InitialView, Northwestern has a strict rule against extra recordings: the university does not accept or review unsolicited supplemental items such as artwork, portfolios, recordings or websites. Similarly, if you apply using Apply Coalition with Scoir, the admission committee will not review any materials stored in your Locker unless you explicitly select them to be part of your Northwestern application.

If you are applying to the Integrated Science Program (ISP) or Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS), remember that those programmes require separate online applications in addition to your general Northwestern application, though their admission status does not affect your general Northwestern acceptance decision. ISP applicants should have four years of secondary school mathematics (including one year of calculus and study of one-variable differential and integral calculus) and four years of science (including chemistry and physics, with AP Physics and Chemistry highly recommended), while MMSS applicants require a strong secondary school curriculum including a year of calculus.

However, specific undergraduate programmes require or encourage formal auditions or video portfolios as part of their specialist admissions review:

• Bienen School of Music: All undergraduate Bienen applicants must submit a Bienen School Supplement in addition to the general undergraduate application. You use the supplement portal to register for auditions, submit music prescreening or portfolio materials, and submit a required music teacher recommendation letter. Many Bienen supplement deadlines fall earlier than general admission deadlines, and the priority deadline for Bienen transfer applicants is 15 January 2027.
• Music Theatre Certificate Program (School of Communication): Students applying to the School of Communication Theatre Major who want to pursue the Music Theatre Certificate Program are encouraged to submit an optional Music Theatre Supplemental Portfolio. This portfolio includes a video personal statement, a video performance selection, and optional supporting materials. (Students applying to the Bienen School of Music do not need to submit this portfolio.)
• Schoolhouse.world Dialogues Portfolio: Northwestern accepts Schoolhouse.world certificates uploaded through the Applicant Portal after you apply, and encourages participants in the Schoolhouse.world Dialogues programme to submit their Dialogues portfolio to show how they share perspectives and engage across differing viewpoints.

Practice question

Question in the style of a Northwestern Glimpse or InitialView prompt: What is one perspective, daily habit or experience from your background that does not appear in your written essays, and how will it shape the way you engage with the Northwestern community?

Example written by our team. The applicant is invented. Every Sunday morning for the past three years, I have helped run the repair table at our neighbourhood tool library, fixing everything from toasted kettle wiring to bicycle brakes alongside retired engineers. That table taught me to diagnose a problem by asking the owner how they actually use the tool before I ever reach for a screwdriver. At Northwestern, whether I am collaborating on a design prototype across schools or joining one of the campus maker spaces, I want to bring that habit of listening first and building practical solutions with people from completely different backgrounds.

In three plain sentences, this response introduces a concrete personal setting not covered in a formal academic essay, shows how the student works with others, and links that habit directly to Northwestern's collaborative, interdisciplinary culture within a 60 to 90 second speaking window.

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