<p>My son and I will be visiting most of his "match" colleges this year. Some offer the option of having an interview. As my son would probably be accepted in these colleges without an interview, I'm wondering if he might be unnecessarily risking rejection by going to an interview. He's very mature for his age, but I'm not sure how he'd do on an interview(he also has very long hair and a beard, if that matters).</p>
<p>Another question is whether to go on an interview for a "reach" college. USC would probably be my son's first choice of schools, but he may be a longshot to get in. I wonder if going on an interview might give my son the slight advantage that could get him accepted?</p>
<p>I'd say he should go. Unless he's unbelievably off-putting in his interview, which I doubt, it won't hurt his chances. On the flip side, going won't help a ton, but it could give him a "push" over. It also demonstrates interest, which is especially important in the "match" range. The beard thing shouldn't be a big deal whatsoever as long as he presents himself professionally.</p>
<p>I'm another borderline student, and I got into USC without an interview, but I'd recommend that one as well. Again, it probably can't hurt, and there's a possibility that it might help.</p>
<p>Practice interviewing at his match schools will probably make him more comfortable for interviews with his reach schools next fall. But I wouldn't push him into interviewing. My son did only 1 1/2 interviews when we visited colleges in spring of his junior year. They went quite well, which boosted his confidence.</p>
<p>At my school, we are taught to interview whenever possible, and to interview in person (as opposed to over the phone) whenever possible. When you interview, you become more than stats and essays and ECs, you become a person with a 3-d personality that cannot be expressed in writing. The school gets an idea of how you interact with officials, and you get an idea of how they ineract with you. I would say he should go for it.</p>
<p>I agree, interview aas often as possible, whlle these may not matter so much, the more practice a perosn has, when the important ones come down the line, the person will be more comfortable</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters. My interviewing skills got progressively better the more interviews I did, which helped immensely when I interviewed at my top picks. You're son will be doing interviews the rest of his life (for jobs, etc.) and there is no downside to getting the rhythm of interviews now.</p>
<p>Visiting and not interviewing likely would hurt him more than would a mediocre interview. Many colleges now try to raise their yields by rejecting students who seem to be using them as last resort schools. So, it can be very important to show interest. At most colleges, the content interview itself doesn't count for much, but showing up for one can.</p>
<p>You seem pretty amenable to the idea of an interview, and if your son feels the same way and you have trust in your son's maturity, the risk seems very, very, very low to me. Why not just go for it?</p>
<p>The risk in interviewing is really quite low--unless the kid has some very off-putting traits (general or focused anger, arrogance...that sort of thing) or absolutely CAN.NOT carry a conversation, there isn't much that could damage his chances. At the best it could make him come alive to the admissions people and give him a slight edge, which would be really important for a reachy school like USC. As Northstarmom said, at the match schools, it confirms that you are interested enough to take the time and money to come out to the campus AND to interview--they know that you weren't just dropping by for a few hours as a road trip diversion.</p>