<p>I may not be able to travel to campuses during the fall, so wanted to know if off-campus interviews would hurt my chances? I know schools want to see dedication and all, but the thing is, I'll be visiting family in April, but they don't do interviews then - Summer, I won't be able to come and during the fall I'm unsure because I don't know if I'd be able to revisit after only a few months. </p>
<p>So, do off-campus interviews hurt your chances? </p>
<p>If so, how much?</p>
<p>The only thing I would say is this…by not interviewing on campus you deprive yourself of the chance of being interviewed by an AO who will be present at the decision making. My daughter was interviewed by the admission director and (luckily) he loved her- he carried that memory to the admissions review board. Without that you are just a face on an application.
Is there really NO way you can make it out???</p>
<p>@MDMomofTwo, In the coming few months yes, but they don’t do interviews then. Summer is a definite no-no because we always go to the same place every summer and my parents will point blank not break that tradition. Now the fall, is a different story - I may be able to come but this pretty much depends on my parents - I’d only be able to make it out in December but this is still an uncertainty. Therefore, I’m considering an off-campus interview.</p>
<p>PreppyDude - Don’t worry about the interviews . . . use your time this April to VISIT the campuses you’re interested in. Arrange tours through the admissions office if you can, and, if you can’t, then do it on your own. Explore, talk to students, meet faculty (especially if you have a particular interest) . . . just get to know the school as best you can.</p>
<p>Then, regardless of whether your eventual interview is on-campus or off, you’ll be able to talk about your impressions of the school and what you experienced when you visited. Your visit to the school shows your commitment to attending that school - and that will definitely count in your favor!</p>
<p>@dodgersmom, I guess it’s better to know about the campus and faculty/students at the interview then being remarkably uninformed. </p>
<p>I’ve spoken to Andover, Exeter, Deerfield. Exeter did say that there able to schedule an interview for me in April, Deerfield said too. Andover says they start interviewing applicants for Fall 2012 in the summer. Lawrenceville, is not answering yet.</p>
<p>No. It doesn’t hurt you. If anything - students who live too far to travel get more time for their interview and we’re able to provide more details to the school, than the short time slots allocated on campus where kids are stacked up like planes trying to land in the reception area. </p>
<p>I’ve been doing them for more than thirty years. I wouldn’t do them if they didn’t hold weight. Neither would the thousands of other alum around the country. </p>
<p>If you can get to the campus - then go. If you can’t, it’s not a problem. The reason the network was developed was to reduce the burden of travel for people who live around the country.</p>
<p>@ExieMITAlum, that’s pretty reassuring. I’m just hesitant, because the widely discussed schools on CC apparently want ‘dedication’ and to show that, you travel thousands of miles to visit the campuses; I will certainly try and visit the campuses while in the US in April, but Alumni interviews will probably be easier for me. I hope the schools understand that it’s difficult for students to travel internationally during term time, and it’s a hassle. I will, certainly try my best to visit, but mainly I really hope it doesn’t hurt my chances at any of the schools.</p>
<p>Preppydude: I recommend that you not apply to schools you haven’t visited. The visit helps you confirm it’s a good place for you AND gives you specifics to talk about in your application. As far as distance interviews go, if you would feel better being interviewed by an AO, Skype is great. And if you can master Skype for this process it will serve you well once you’re a student :)</p>
<p>I don’t think it will hurt, as long as the interviewer writes a good and detailed report.</p>
<p>Also…what if you had an interview on campus with an alum?</p>
<p>@Intrinsically, wouldn’t you only have an interview with admissions officers/representatives (for on campus)? Which school’s alum interviewed you on campus?</p>
<p>One of the HADES. She’s an alumni but seems to be very active in the community there still. I know other people may have gotten admissions officers.</p>
<p>Also at another school I got a current teacher.</p>
<p>@intrinsically, I don’t think it would affect you. You were still on campus, so the fact that you were interviewed by an alum and a current teacher is only administrative as opposed to a necessity for the former (alum) because you were able to visit campus. Now, whether or not it hurts your chances if you don’t visit the campus I’m not sure - Everybody seems to contradict each other.</p>
<p>There may be a difference between on and off-campus interviews as there are pros and cons to both, but I’m sure the differences are not that big to affect an application. Don’t sweat on things like these. If they like you, they like you. If they don’t, then they don’t. Focus on your application. The only thing I could recommend is to do a campus visit. That will really tell you much more about the school; much more than view-books and things you read online. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I would suggest you try to interview on campus if at all possible, maybe hone your list this spring and then if you can’t interview on all of the campuses, try to hit your favorite(s). Off campus it definitely depends on your interviewer, (i.e. is the interviewer very involved in the community with long-time close relationship with admissions or a relatively recent grad with little experience with the process and importance of advocacy)</p>
<p>@Preppy appears to be in London. That’s a hefty plane ticket. Campus visits are ideal so a student can gauge the personality - on the other hand, I found the revisits to be a better indicator of what campus life is about.</p>
<p>Hence, it’s one thing to get two tickets on SW to fly to NE for my D’s interview. It would be a completely different budget issue to try to get them from London and make the visits during the school year (we visited five schools in three days and it was exhausting). </p>
<p>Hence us telling him that it’s a wash given the distance and expense.</p>
<p>Now - if you live near the school within a reasonable travel distance to a school - that’s another thing entirely.</p>