<p>i expressed some interest in swat, got a postcard from the college rep saying to schedule an interview and that she was coming to my HS. by then, i had taken swat off my list so i didn't follow up. now, after more research, i want swat back! so does missing the interview hurt my chances? my gpa is not that great but i go to a very very competitive hs in CA and i have decent SAT and good extracurrics.</p>
<p>Well, it was a missed opportunity to get "face time" with one of the two adcoms who will be reading your application. Generally, a chance to meet with your regional adcom is worth grabbing. My daughter drove 100 miles round trip to go to "visit nights" for as many colleges on her list as she could. It was a pain, but ya never know when that one little bit of connection will seal the deal, plus some colleges put a lot of stock in "interest".</p>
<p>Will it be make or break? No, probably not. They understand that college selection is a dynamic process.</p>
<p>I guess you can email them and ask if there would be another opportunity for an interview in your area. Most probably there won't be, but at least they'll know that you are still interested. Or if you will be visiting colleges on the East coast, you could drop by and do the info section/tour/interview thing.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind. A goo friend of mine applied to many top colleges and universities last year. Swarthmore was one of the schools on her list. She didn't interview at Swarthmore and it was the only school that rejected her. It's possible that she didn't really "fit" Swarthmore, but how would admissions know if she didn't tell them in person?</p>
<p>If you live within driving distance of the school it is a good idea to interview on campus. If you live farther away you can always request an alumni interview.</p>
<p>What exactly do you mean by driving distance? We live 9 hours away, by car, so my D has requested an alumni interview. We live in a fairly small town, so I'm not sure there will be any alumni interviewers here. Do you have any suggestions as to what distance would be reasonable for them to expect her to drive for an alumni interview? The nearest "big" city would be over 200 miles round trip. I'm not opposed to letting her drive a good ways to interview, but it will be challenging to find a block of time in which she could do that, so I'm just wondering what is considered reasonable.</p>
<p>thanks. yes, i got an alumni interview!</p>
<p>9 hours away by car is a lot farther than I would consider driving distance. I'm sure the college would not necessarily expect your daughter to interview on campus, as they might if you lived 1-2 hours away. You never know where alumni might be, so I don't think it hurts to ask the admissions office if there are alumni in your area who could do an interview. In addition, you should think of an interview, whether with an alum or with an admissions staffer, as not only a step in the admissions process, but also (and perhaps more importantly) a way to learn more about the school and especially how well the school and the student fit together.</p>
<p>nceph,
No one will expect you to drive 9 hrs for an interview.
I think your daughter should call the admissions office, tell them that she would like to have an interview, and see what they can suggest. Some times an admissions officer that travels your area could be able to conduct an interview (this kind of interview is more valuable admissions-vise then an alumni interview, since this will be the person reading her application as well). If not, they will suggest what is available at this time.
If your daughter is planning to visit at some point, she can interview then. A lot of families postpone the visits till after the admissions decisions come in, and visit only the schools where the kids are accepted (or don't visit at all). I think that Swarthmore is worth visiting if you are seriously considering it, as it does have a very distinct atmosphere/culture that isn't right for everyone.</p>
<p>Thanks. We have already visited (very much liked what we saw and heard), but it was during the summer before my D's junior year, and we were told interviews were not offered to rising juniors. I'm afraid we won't be able to make another trip there this fall.
She has put in a request for an alumni interview and has not heard back yet, but I think your suggestion of seeing if the regional admissions officer might be nearby at some point is a good one. She has been in touch with Alex Cook via email, so she should probably ask him (her?) if (s)he'll be traveling somewhere relatively convenient. </p>
<p>I guess I am still wondering what distance schools consider reasonable. My D gets lots of invitations to events for various different colleges who say, "We'll be in your area," and then it turns out to be a college fair four hours away on a weeknight. For a student with a "most rigorous course load" and the extra-curricular activites that competitive colleges expect to see, that's not really feasible. Then again, maybe the person in the admissions office who sends out the notices doesn't really have a sense of how big NC is. (I've heard similar things about how out of state folks don't quite grasp how big California is.) We're still glad to know about the distant events, just in case it does work out for her to attend, but I just hope she's not penalized for not being able to do so.</p>
<p>I live around 4 hours away from Swarthmore (NYC) and received one of those postcards informing me that the regional dean was conducting interviews. Unfortunately I got the postcard just int ime to call her and find out that all slots were full, how sad.
I put in a request for an alumni interview, which took around a month for the school to process but finally went through. I had my interview around two weeks ago, I think it went well. Ive heard that the alumni interviewers write up two page reports about every prospective student they meet with, does anyone know if this is true?</p>
<p>NCeph - you might be surprised at the location of alumni - I would have sworn, there was no way a Swat alumnus could be found in our "backwater", but when my daughter was looking hard at Swat, we met a very pleasant in-town alumna at the big college night. Is there a college or university near you? DD didn't interview with this alumna because she visited Swat summer before senior year, and interviewed on campus.</p>
<p>I think because so many Swat alumni go on to college teaching, that if you have a college within a reasonable driving distance, there's a chance of alumnus available.</p>
<p>Alumni interviewers write up a report on each interview, but 2 pages is probably on the long side.</p>
<p>Cangel - There is a college in this town, so perhaps there is someone affiliated with it who's signed up to be an alumni interviewer. That certainly would be convenient. I have some time this morning, I may peruse the faculty bios and see what turns up. Or, in a more efficient use of my time, my D can call the admissions office.</p>