How helpful is each in the admissions decision? I’m a senior who has applied to around 12 schools and I’m trying to take a visit or an interview to one of my top options in late January or February. My top option that I haven’t visited or interviewed at doesn’t offer interviews past November but only visits and is about a 7 hour drive so I want to make sure it will be worth it.
Many times more helpful to tour than to interview, IMHO. The interviewer is “selling” the school to you. The tour is a chance to see the product for yourself. See if you can also attend a class, and maybe eat in the cafeteria.
@intparent i agree about that, but by admissions decision (and i didn’t make this clear) i meant how does both affect my chances of getting in.
Well… i think interviews rarely help you, but can definitely hurt you. Does this college consider applicant interest as a factor in admissions? You can tell by reviewing the Common Data Set for the college. If they care, then go take the tour.
Why not do both? Schedule an interview for one of those days on campus and take a tour on the same day. I agree that the tour is more helpful for personal reasons, seeing whether a school is a fit for you, but an interview would have more of an impact from the admissions perspective. It is your chance to show them more about yourself and leave a positive impression on the people who will be making the decisions. I would definitely visit your top choice though. How a college presents itself on paper can be different than how it is in real-life. See if there are any overnight options on admitted students day or prior to matriculation.
I think the OP said they can’t get an interview now (after November). As I think interviews are overrated anyway unless you are SURE you are a knock-it-out-of-the-park interviewer, I wouldn’t ask for one.
I think it’s definitely worth it to make the drive to your top pick school. If I were you, I would go a step further than just the campus tour: request to sit in on classes and do an overnight visit if possible. This will not only show your level of interest is especially high, but will give YOU a really good sense of the college.
In general, I do not believe interviews are overrated. This may be simply due to my personal experience: my D is extremely strong in one-on-one discussions and I firmly believe her interview made a huge difference in her acceptance. If you are likewise strong, I would definitely recommend setting up interviews anywhere you are still able to do so. It is especially helpful if you can arrange to have your interview with the admissions rep for your state, since that person is likely to have an important part in the reading of your application.
Another thing to consider is whether the college views interviews as evaluative or informational. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/college-interviews Obviously evaluative ones are much more important, however, I still believe that an informational interview can have a good affect on your application.
Schools that care about demonstrated interest (per the Common Data Set) don’t require that you visit if you live more than 100 miles away (about a two hour drive). They realize that some families just can’t do it. you can demonstrate interest in lots of way: Get on the school’s mailing list. Attend when the school’s rep is in town (and sign in). Talk to alums and mention it in the application. Very few require interviews either - and even if they ‘recommend’ them, most are not evaluative, just informational so not worth sweating over.
I do recommend interviews though, just for the practice -even if its just with a local alum. You are going to need to present/sell yourself over and over again in the course of your life. Networking is an important skill. Getting some practice when you are 17 and the stakes are low is a good idea.
Remember that the interviewer is usually an alum of the school and not a current student. Campus culture, especially at smaller schools can change drastically over ten years. For instance, in 2007 Oxford College was a tiny regional college, which admitted almost everyone and had substandard facilities. Just eight years later, the school has become far more selective, has a much more nationally representative student body, and is constantly constructing new facilities as well as overhauling old ones. I’ve spoken to alums from the 80s who returned to campus and were shocked by just how much the school changed in almost every aspect (long time professors confirmed this change).
First of all, look at the “Common Data Set” for each college and see if “Interview” is Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered.
Also if “Demonstrated Interest” is important/considered, then inquire what else you can do if the campus is too far away to visit. Sometimes they have regional info sessions, HS visits, College fairs…
I did both whenever possible. The more info, the better. And if it helps admission chances, even better!
I don’t know if you would call it an interview, but I met with the department chair of the degree program I’m going into as part of my campus visit. It was very useful, but I wouldn’t have wanted one without the other as both parts were very informative.
Both are important-I actually ended up interviewing and touring at my top 4 (or what had been my top four) and realized that I didn’t really like two of them. In fact, I hated one of them. And it made my choice incredibly easy. It was nice to meet with admissions counselors as well. They gave me good information and even talked about what my intended majors would be like. Both is best. But seeing as the school doesn’t allow interviews past November, I’d see how a tour works out, if you can get the tour, might as well ask for the interview.
I think both are equally important, though the interview is not exactly your choice most of the time. When I was applying to Columbia, I wrote about a specific aspect I saw during my visit - I think that’s what helped me get a likely letter and an acceptance this year. But I wasn’t offered an interview, though I did get one for most other schools. I think it especially helps for Harvard and (in UK) Cambridge (from my personal experience)
A college visit would tell you about the college.
An interview would tell the college about you.
Does a College visit have anything to do with admissions? If there are two students with similar stats and one visited the college(formal visit, with tours) and the other doesn’t, will the student who visited have a higher chance of getting in?
I believe that interviews are more important. I am of the opinion that favoring campus visits would be inherently favoring those with relatively more wealth. Not everybody can fly 1000 miles for a visit.
This thread is from January. I assume the OP figured it out by now.
@happy1 the admissions ship has sailed, lol.
It may have sailed but the new passengers are waiting to get on when it returns. It is more relevant now since 85% of the information is back.
Anyone know if the Ivies track interest? Was always told their interviews did not count unless you were horrible (not just akward but generally not normal in a bad way). MIT does not track visits (they barely let me register when I visited) but they put weight on their alumni interviews. It says that last year 1% of those offered an interview who declined got in, while 10% of those offered an interview got in. At least according to their web site
I deeply regret not visiting and or asking for an interview at some of the places. Even though it does not always help. Kid with similar stats to me visited interviewed WashU, did ED was deferred and rejected. I applied RD visited sort of, no interview and got WL. Neither one of us showed any interest in Vandy. He got accepted and I got WL. My neighbor who visited Vandy got rejected and accepted at some other good places (reluctant to tell me where until after Tuesday). I missed the window for NU interviews (was offered one), tried to get one but replied too late, did not visit. I was rejected. Did not visit Duke or show any interest, got rejected, others similar kids were WL and accepted who showed interest. Probably would not have gotten in anyway as it was a competitive year but you never know. Showed no interest in Wesleyan or Lehigh and got WL. Showed moderate interest in Emory, was accepted. The Lehigh one was absolutely shocking as some of my friends who have much lower stats also got WL. Part of the problem was that for many schools I did not realize that I could request an interview. I am a good at interviews but I did not realize that until recently