<p>Happy New Year everyone! I have a question about college interviews. D has met with several teachers where she is applying and we have had a chance to spend a few days at each of her top choice schools, which are universities with strong music departments. She has submitted her applications and is now getting notices about sign-ups for interviews, non-musical, generally with local alumni. She has done one, for a university where we did not get a chance to visit and for which she is doing a regional audition, so that made sense. I am just wondering what is the general wisdom regarding doing an interview if you already have visited and know a lot about a university. Just wondering if it is worth the time/effort especially right in the middle of audition season.</p>
<p>I would think that if a school is academically competitive, it would be in her best interest to do an interview, especially if it’s local. Some schools are known to be much less generous with merit scholarship if students do not do an interview. Obviously, you would never want the interviews to interfere with her audition preparation/travel, but I would say taking a few local interviews for top choice schools is definitely not a bad idea. Absolutely necessary? No. But it can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Ask yourself these questions for each school:</p>
<p>How much importance does the school place on a live interview in admissions decisions irrespective of potential major? You can often determine this by looking at the school website or checking their entry on the College Board site.</p>
<p>Did your daughter speak one-on-one with the specific admissions rep for your home location when visiting the school?</p>
<p>If the school considers interviews to be important and she had minimal or no contact with her personal admissions rep, then she should probably have the interview for that school. Since she must prepare for at least one such interview, the amount of preparation needed for interviews for other schools should not be large, particularly if she has visited and knows a fair amount about those schools already.</p>