Hi - I am parent of D22. We are seeing college emails notifying about availability of interviews. I thought interviews came after applications were done. We looked up the sample questions asked and they seemed quite detailed. We are in throes of getting our college short lists together . Can you share your thoughts on pros and cons of signing up for these pre-app interviews?
Thanks
I would definitely let them do interviews before applying. Most of my D21 interviews were before she submitted the applications. They do, however, need to be really prepared with why that school and loaded with questions to ask interviewer! So fine to do before applied but not before prepared! Also, so interview slots fill up and my daughter got blocked out of interviewing from one of her schools as early as mid-October!
Likewise, find for LOR, scores etc to arrive before the application- I was skeptical of this myself but was fine!
thanks. just so I am clear, does the timeline look like this - research & shortlist colleges, research/prepare round 1, book pre-app interviews, prepare round II, complete interviews and then apply to more finetuned list of colleges ( after interviews) . Does that sound right? Thanks again for the pointers. Really appreciate you taking time to chime in.
I would think it is slightly different for everyone depending on timing of college visits. Some kids have their list much earlier then others… I would get the list together based on visits/research/virtual tours etc. Know that list may continue to be tweaked up until deadline dates! Don’t be afraid to book interviews before the app is submitted but KNOW the school well, be prepared and know about where it lands on the list. An ill-prepared interview could be worse than not interviewing! We had my daughter do some interviews at schools lower on her list first to get some practice and saved the reach interviews for later. Not all schools offer interviews and not all offer before the application is received. for those that do offer before the application you can definitely take advantage of that to help space it out. My daughter’s timeline mainly took place in fall/early winter. Its great if they can get more done in late summer/early fall but that doesn’t always happen! Good luck!
D20 started with a massive list of somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 schools. She researched and cut to 30, most of which we visited. That list was refined to 10 for applications and she interviewed at 9 before her senior year started (one didn’t offer any). After interviewing, she made a game day substitution and had just enough time to squeeze an interview in at the final school before getting applications finalized in late October. Her journey may seem like overkill but she was looking for a certain vibe (hence the need for lots of visits), was a fall athlete (hence the crush of summer interviews), and had a clear favorite for ED (hence the early completion of apps).
Every student’s journey is different. Family’s ability to repeatedly visit schools may be different, EC commitments vary, and most importantly, a student’s individual needs/wants are very different.
I don’t know as I would wait until January to try and schedule interviews. Colleges may have different schedules or availability and weather may make travel more difficult. That also doesn’t give any option to swap schools if the interview changes the feelings.
Fwiw, my D just graduated from a Top 10 engineering school and had no interviews for her 7 applications. I don’t remember any being offered.
My younger is top at her HS, 1580/signed up for College Search, Ok’d the release of her data as a 2x AIME qualifier, and has not been contacted about any interviews. She does get a ton of mail/email from top schools. (CS/engineering major).
Is this a non-STEM/LAC thing? Other than MIT, I don’t recall any of her target schools doing interviews.
7 out of 12 of my daughters schools (all university or LAC - no tech schools) offered interviews. She is a STEM major (not engineering). She was able to complete 6 interviews.
Many of D20’s schools were LACs or “national research universities”. The vast majority of the other schools she ended up not applying to offered them, too. Maybe it is a geographic thing? Every school she considered is located in the northeast. Even our state U offers them, though they aren’t required.
what is LAC?
Liberal Arts College e.g. Smith or Haverford
I think most LACS offer interviews although in some cases, they are non-evaluative. They are a great chance to ask specific questions about the school as well as a way to demonstrate interest.
My recollection is that DS had an interview at every school he visited after May of junior year. (None did them earlier in the cycle.) For the ones he visited spring break of junior year, he either went back (these were the ones that were possible ED schools) or arranged an alumni interview. A couple of schools set up interviews when they visited his high school.
But yes, all but one happened pre-app and a few were at schools where he chose not to apply.
A few years back but S did several interviews, mainly with the smaller schools on his list. In each case, they served two functions; let him share a tangible piece of who he is AND gave him a MUCH better feel for the school. I think the latter was far more important. His final decision came down to several schools that he did interview with.
When possible, if interviews were available on campus by admissions staff (not alumni), we tried to organize it so that he did interview the day of the campus visit. This all happened prior to application. He did some post application alumni interviews as well but really enjoyed the on campus ones the best.