<p>Many colleges my son plans to apply say that an interview with an admission counselor is not required but recommended. How much does this interview really count in your application if not required? Many of these interviews only take place on campus, which means he'd have to miss many school days and is worried he'd fall behind in his advanced classes. Any input on interviews is much appreciated.</p>
<p>take a look at the Common Data Set or on this forum to see if those schools say that “demonstrated interest” plays a role. Certainly you can understand why a college would want to talk to a student rather than just rely on the paper app, but if the school takes demonstrated interest into account it means even more than just that. However there are other ways to demonstrate interest such as going to college fairs where those colleges present, etc. Also its different if you’re talking about visiting colleges that may be just a hour or two away by car, or would need a real trip to go see.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your quick reply.</p>
<p>I’ve found that if you call, some schools do local alumni interviews (at least that was the case for the schools my D is looking at). That way he won’t have to travel/miss classes. If that is not the case, maybe just interview with the top couple of schools on his list.</p>
<p>How important the interview is depends on the school. In my experience, the smaller schools value interviews but as the schools get larger, they seem to become less important.</p>
<p>Happy1, Thanks for your input. I’ll check if they come to our area.</p>