<p>This is why I am glad I interview at a local boarding school. I have NEVER had to deal with this issue of parents trying to eavesdrop or observe. I also have no idea why it has never occurred to me that this is an issue for some kids. Of course it would be.</p>
<p>Just seconding what others said, though, as long as you’re you and don’t try to make the interview into something it’s not supposed to be, ultimately it doesn’t count for much and your mother’s interest is not something to get tremendously stressed over. It won’t make a difference with your application, only maybe your ride home. And if mom didn’t listen in, it might even be a longer ride if you had to give her the whole play-by-play.</p>
<p>Anyway no, interviews are not supposed to have parents there. It’s your interview.</p>
<p>while I don’t condone schmincke mom’s behavior, I think most of the posters judge her too harshly and do not make allowances for cultural differences of first gen. immigrants. What seems strange to us, might be a norm in a diff. culture.
I’m sure you can find a web site with college interview etiquette rules that spell out “Don’t bring a parent to the interview” and show it to your mom.</p>
<p>Yes, we get that it may be a cultural norm elsewhere. However, this isn’t elsewhere. The cultural norm in the US is that even if mom drives kid to a college interview, we engage in the polite fiction that the kid is there independently, and mom runs errands or goes to a <em>different</em> coffee shop or bookstore or naps in the car in the meantime.</p>