<p>A lot of colleges/universities do not give personal interviews. How important are campus visits (tours and presentations organized by the admissions office)? Do they increse your chances significantly? Is there any data out there?</p>
<p>Totally depends on the college. Some colleges don’t even track your campus visits and other communication with the school, but while other colleges do consider it as part of your application (Rice, I know, does this). It won’t make or break you though because grades/SAT/essays are significantly more important.</p>
<p>The Fiske Guide to colleges divides interviews into “evaluative” and “informational”. If there is a school you really care about and its interviews are “evaluative”, try to do it if you want to gain any edge you can. Note that interviews at most places don’t start until the end of junior year (May or June) and it can be hard to get times on Fridays, so call early!</p>
<p>Some colleges like Emory really care about visits… while other like U Mich do not seem to care, in terms of taking it into account while making a decision.</p>