<p>I know some colleges ask about whether or not you have visited on their supplements. Does it hurt to not visit a college beforehand?</p>
<p>Also, is it better to have an on-campus interview or an off-campus interview?</p>
<p>There are a lot of questions for which you can’t say, “Colleges do this,” because colleges don’t all do the same thing. This is such a question.</p>
<p>Some colleges care about applicants’ demonstrated interest. Some care a lot. American University, in DC, is an example. Other colleges don’t bother to track applicant interest. Many large publics don’t. Many truly elite colleges and universities don’t. Harvard, for example, does not. They can safely assume that students applying to Harvard are pretty darn interested.</p>
<p>To find out about individual colleges, you can do a few things.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can look at colleges’ profiles on the College Board’s web site. Click the “Admission” tab. Usually you’ll find a list of factors that the college considers in its decision-making, and an indication whether those factors are “very important” or “important” or merely “considered.”</p></li>
<li><p>Look for a college’s common data set online. This is a standardized document that most American colleges and universities publish. Section C7 is where they tell what factors they weigh in their admissions process. (It’s where the College Board gets its information.) Try Googling the name of a college or university, along with the phrase “common data set.” Usually, you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for.</p></li>
<li><p>Call colleges that interest you and ask them. They won’t hold it against you. You don’t have to try to guess what they’re thinking; they’ll usually tell you. After all, they want students to apply!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As for on-campus interviews vs. off-campus interviews, I think it usually doesn’t matter. When my daughter was applying to college, we did take her to interview on campus for colleges that were within easy driving distance. For one more distant university, she actually emailed and asked an admissions officer there. She said she’d be willing to travel to interview if it would mean more to the institution, but if interviewing closer to home with an alum would suit the university just as well, she’d save her money and keep her carbon footprint smaller. The admissions officer told her to keep her money and interview with a nearby alum.</p>