<p>I have a very shy kid. She is great and witty and wise when you get to know her but in a 30 minute interview i'm afraid she might just be too embarrased and flustered to speak or make sense when she does. But all the schools seem to want an interview. Should she take her chances and possibly flub the interview or take her chances and just go with the application?</p>
<p>I have the same issue with my D. She’s done several interviews, and I have no idea how they really went. We practiced, brainstormed, strategized . . . but at the end of the day it is just her and a stranger in a room.</p>
<p>One bit of advice that helped ME during the process, is to remember that the admissions staff genuinely wants to like your kid. They like high school students in general - if they didn’t, they wouldn’t stay in the job very long. I also think they understand that not every child is a precocious Dakota Fanning.</p>
<p>Here’s a second bit of advice. I don’t know if I approve of it, but I’ll repeat it anyway: Have your daughter do a trial run at a place she doesn’t really care to go to. That way she can see how she does in an actual interview setting, but without anything of lasting consequence on the line.</p>
<p>btw- the reason I’m not sure I approve of the advice is because I’m uncomfortable using a college’s admissions staff this way.</p>
<p>It generally looks bad if you’re offered an interview but you don’t do one because you don’t want to.</p>
<p>Most schools won’t hold it against you if they’re unable to provide an interview time that works, but just turning down the interview will look bad (and potentially as if you have something to hide).</p>
<p>If your daughter is offered interviews, she should take the opportunities and do her best. Most interviews won’t alone be enough to result in a denial.</p>
<p>Have her practice common interview questions in advance (but not memorized answers, because sounding canned is bad) to get comfortable with answering them. This will help reduce nerves if the questions come up during the real interview.</p>