The Cornell University admissions community receives many inquiries each year from first-year applicants requesting an interview. However, Cornell’s colleges and schools do not offer the opportunity for a true interview because we want to be as equitable as possible during the admissions process.  

Instead of an interview, interested applicants can request to meet with a member of our Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN). CAAAN is made up of more than 6,500 alumni who meet with over 20,000 applicants annually. CAAAN contact meetings are not interviews. Instead, they are optional, informal conversations that allow students to ask questions, hear about an alum’s Cornell experience, and gather additional information.  

The process to request a CAAAN contact meeting is entirely automated; applicants can indicate interest through their Common Application or Cornell Application Status Page. If we can match the applicant with a volunteer, then the CAAAN member will reach out to the applicant to arrange a meeting at a time that works for both.  

Here are some key tidbits about CAAAN contact meetings:

• Contacts are informational, not evaluative — no need to be nervous.  
• We reach as many interested applicants as possible. Still, due to limitations caused by geography, timing, availability of alumni, and applicant volume, we can only meet with some applicants who indicated an interest in a contact meeting.  
• Students’ applications are not negatively impacted if they are not contacted.  
• Applicants can indicate their interest in a meeting through their Common Application or Cornell Application Status Page.
• Students who have already indicated their interest through their Common Application do not need to (and cannot) indicate their interest again through their Cornell Application Status Page.