<p>Hi, I have interviews for these two colleges coming up and I'm trying to figure out the purposes of the interviews. (I realize that they may be a mixture of evaluative and informative).</p>
<p>I found Pomona's Common Data Set, but I don't see anything about this (<a href="http://www.pomona.edu/administration/institutional-research/common-data-set/09-10/section-c.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.pomona.edu/administration/institutional-research/common-data-set/09-10/section-c.pdf</a>). I read on CC that Occidental doesn't publish their Common Data Set.</p>
<p>Does anyone know? Also, if you do, please tell me how you figured it out because I want to look it up for my other colleges/universities.</p>
<p>Occidental’s interviews are evaluative. While my son interviewed last summer I attended a group session with an admissions officer. Members of the group asked about the advantages of interviewing and were strongly encouraged to do so. It was funny to see several prospective applicants bolt to the receptionist after the session and ask for an interview that day! No luck… My son and several others had lined theirs up weeks before when they signed up for a tour.</p>
<p>Thank you Minnymom. It did turn out to be evaluative. It went pretty well too.</p>
<p>bump. Same question:Many people say that you can find our whether the interview is evaluative or informational by looking at the common data set, but exactly how? I only see some charts list interviews as “important” or “considered factor”</p>
<p>My daughter interviewed with both - and both were evaluative. But, you should always go with some questions to ask, to show your interest.</p>
<p>Re Pomona: My understanding is that if you are in SoCal they want you to interview. If you are far away the interview is not as important.</p>
<p>The closest thing I could find to the common data set for Occidental was this
[Occidental</a> College :: Factbook](<a href=“http://www.oxy.edu/x10442.xml]Occidental”>http://www.oxy.edu/x10442.xml)</p>
<p>I found this by googling Institutional Research. Often the equivalent of common data set is phrased as Institutional Research.</p>
<p>On the collegeboard site, Occidental has interviews labeled “considered” whereas Pomona has them labeled as “important”.</p>
<p>My unknowledgeable opinion is that the interview falls into the category of expressed interest. If you live nearby, they want to know that you have been there and really understand what they are about. But they are not going to require a Minnesota kid to spend big bucks to come down for the interview.</p>
<p>So, are you in SoCal or farther away.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for the info. I am actually in NorCal, but I went down to SoCal for a visit so I figured I would have an interview at the same time.</p>
My daughter had an interview at both colleges last week. She loved Oxy and her interview with Pomona left her feeling that it was not the right school for her. She was so touched by the personal postcard she received from her interviewer at Oxy. Do they do that for all? I thought it was such a nice touch