‘We’re gonna sue’: Woman conducts Skype interview with Brown University. Then the interviewer asks her to turn to the side—for one disturbing reason
A woman is claiming that an alumnus from Brown University may have discriminated against her, thus making her lose an opportunity at the prestigious college.
TikToker Sophie (@sophiebrownhahahaha) stated that she was directly asked whether she was Jewish during an interview. Although the question seemed somewhat lighthearted at the time, she was later rejected from the university.
Reflecting back in a TikTok video with over 84,000 views, Sophie asked, “Is it too late to sue?”
What happened with this interview at Brown University?
Sophie was extremely excited about the prospect of going to Brown University when she was applying to colleges. An alumnus from the college sent her a message to schedule an interview, so things were looking up.
However, she was completely surprised by the experience she had when going into the conversation. Her interviewer was an 80-year-old man named Joseph. At the time, there weren’t any Brown alumni in her area who could interview her in person, so she called him over Skype.
Joseph asked her typical questions during the interview, like “What do you like about the university?” Sophie quickly replied, saying that she loved the “chosen curriculum,” referring to the open curriculum that Brown has for students. Apparently, something about that answer made Joseph think she was Jewish.
“ Oh, well you’d have to be Jewish to say that and you don’t look Jewish,” Joseph said. Sophie then told the man that she was Jewish. He asked her to “turn her head to the side,” to look at her nose. She did so.
“He sees my nose and he goes, ‘Oh yeah, you are Jewish,’” Sophie recounted. Later, when she told her mother about the experience, she somewhat humorously suggested suing the university for the question.
“ Spoiler alert. I did not sue Brown, [and] I did not go to college for free. I didn’t even get into Brown, but maybe I should look into it now,” Sophie said. It’s unclear whether she is seriously considering suing the university for the event, although it was a highly inappropriate encounter.
How do alumni interviews work?
Alumni interviews are usually a part of the application process for prestigious schools and universities. Private colleges and ivy leagues take part in the tradition, allowing a graduate from the university to speak to a prospective student and ask some general questions for their application.
Traditionally, universities train their alumni in some way, shape, or form.
One alum interviewer shared on Reddit that their school has yearly training to go over what to do or not do during interviews. The things listed for alumni not to do were clear. “Those things include bad-talking other schools, asking you challenging questions like we’re helming a job interview for Google, and challenging you to a board game. If your interviewer does this, they probably weren’t supposed to,” the Redditor stated.
It’s likely that it also includes asking about race, nationality, ethnicity, or religion. Alumni interviews are designed to develop more insight into an applicant’s interests, academic specialties, and passion for the university. It’s inappropriate to ask about other things unless it comes up in the conversation organically.
Is Brown responsible for the bad interview experience?
College alumni interviews aren’t as weighted in college applications. They’ve carried less and less weight over time, with it mainly being a way for alums to connect with their college and feel involved in the application process.
With that in mind, there is a likely chance that this specific encounter had little impact on Sophie’s application to Brown University. But if her interviewer said something outlandish and extreme about her application, it may have had an impact on how the university holistically reviewed her.
It’s also important to note that certain universities treat alumni interviews differently. While some don’t seriously consider them, there are others who have continued weighing them more heavily. In 2012, a supposed Brown alumni interviewer stated, “the interviews go to confirm what is already in the rest of the package.” In that regard, it most likely has a minimal weight on the application unless this practice changed.
Commenters share other poor interviews
Many viewers were able to share some out-of-pocket things they heard during their alumni interviews, with more than a few having similar experiences with Brown University.
Others simply drew attention to how bad the alumni’s comments were to Sophie. “As someone who also gets identified as Jewish from my profile, this sent me spinning,” one commenter said. “And sure it’s funny on one level, but so so wrong. That alum…umm no!”
There was a chance that the interviewer was also Jewish, but he did not indicate as such while talking with Sophie. Ultimately, commenters shared that Sophie was probably better “off” since the culture at Brown can be hard to fit into.
@sophiebrownhahahaha Is it too late to sue #brown #fyp #jewish ♬ original sound – sophiebrownhahahaha
The Mary Sue reached out to Brown University via email and Sophie via TikTok direct message for comment.
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