<p>Many posters have said to start early in the admissions process. I am wondering how early one could actually start interviewing. In the fall, I will be dropping two of my daughters off at boarding schools located in New England. I was thinking of bringing my youngest daughter along (who will be in 8th grade)--scheduling interviews with schools she's interested in applying to. Will schools set up interviews the first week of school or is that too soon in the school year? </p>
<p>(This may be moot, as I may not have enough room in my minivan for both girls paraphernalia, let alone an extra child!:))</p>
<p>I think the first week of school may be a tad too early. I did my first interview Sept. 23. </p>
<p>2nd- Oct. 3</p>
<p>3rd- Oct. 4</p>
<p>4th- Oct. 5</p>
<p>5th- Oct. 8</p>
<p>6th- Nov. 28</p>
<p>7th- Nov. 29</p>
<p>8th- Dec. 3</p>
<p>9th- Dec. 4 </p>
<p>Overall, interview before Dec. 10. Clump interviews together. Do the less important ones first. You will find that by your #1 school, you'll be a pro.</p>
<p>I have contrary advice to McskittlZ10. I think D's first interviews were her best because she was fresh and excited, and this came across in the interviews. I think that by later interviews she was jaded and perhaps more rehearsed in her answers. Can't swear to cause and effect but she was accepted at her earlier schools and waitlisted at her last, which happened to be her top choice. You can manufacture some enthusiasm, but at first it's so genuine.</p>
<p>It can be helpful to start interviewing early (by early October) to start getting a feel for different schools. A little nervousness (combined with enthusiasm) can help make for a good interview, in my limited experience. I agree that after 4 or more interviews, it can be hard for the student to muster fresh enthusiasm. Also, fitting more than 2 (maybe 3 interviews) into a long weekend could be draining for some kids (possibly energizing for others).</p>
<p>The tricky thing, though, is choosing appropriate schools if you interview early. It may make sense for some students to interview at a range of schools (in terms of admissions statistics). My daughter did this; while she ended up loving all the schools she looked at, she avoided getting her heart set on a particular school . If the student doesn't take the SSATs until Nov or Dec (possibly with a retake in Jan), you may not know whether the scores are a reasonable "match" for a given school (not that this is only important stat, by any means). </p>
<p>If you wish to give recommendations to teachers and the school by December 1 (or at least before Christmas vacation), it's helpful to have interviews completed by then. Often, though, a student will still be refining their school list, even into January. As long as teachers, etc. keep copies of their recommendations, it may not too onerous for them to generate a few more in January (or later) if need be.</p>
<p>We found that if you wait until after Thanksgiving to try to set up interviews, most of the slots may be taken. But even if interview slots do fill up, schools seem to maintain interview waiting lists so it may be possible to arrange interviews as late as January.</p>
<p>My D interviewed at 3 BS last fall. She was accepted to all, but always said the first interview was NOT her best. In fact, she did not fell good about her chances because of that interview. It turned out she had a good interview, but her confidence was not where she wanted it to be approaching march 10th. </p>
<p>It might be a good idea to arrange your interviewing visits so that you save the best for last, i.e. first choice BS last. </p>
<p>Some schools don't do in-state student interview at saturday, saturday is only for out of state students.
check your school calender, last year, we had religion holidays in mid of september, and two teacher's convention days (for public schools) in early november. These are really good time to visit schools and do interviews.
The first interview was S's safety school, kind of like practice before the interviews with top choice schools.</p>
<p>I would like to re-emphasize this. Do your less important interviews first. I even interviewed at a school i had no interest in attending first. It's good to get a feel for the questions and knowing what to expect from your #1 school is a good thing.</p>