<p>now that we've sent our early applications, what about interviews?</p>
<p>i know the schools are supposed to contact us, but i heard that many people say that the interviews barely help. like they don't make a difference at all.</p>
<p>but i was kind of banking on the interview to be helpful in the process for me.
like if you give a great interview? shouldn't that matter....?</p>
<p>bumpbumpbump</p>
<p>I don't think from what has been written and what I have seen it mattes a lot. It may help on the margin only. On the other hand, I am guessing it can hurt a lot if you really blow it, particularly at a competitive school.</p>
<p>the person that interviewed me said that it is worth 1% of your application :(</p>
<p>It really depends on the college/university. Some require interviews, some don't. In some cases the interview is mostly to give the applicant a chance to ask questions about the college in a (relatively) stress-free and private setting, in other cases it is so that the interviewer can give the college a sense of whether this particular student is a good fit. Without asking the college directly, I don't see how an applicant is going to know how that college is going to use the interview.</p>
<p>I've been an alum representative for my undergraduate college. In the case of that particular selective LAC, the interview is required. In part it is to give the candidate a chance to ask more questions about the school, but mostly it is to give the college one more chance to help figure out if the student is a good fit. The interview can be a critical determining factor in admission when there is some question raised by the student's file - maybe the test scores are good, but there are some bad grades, or maybe the essays were good, but one of the letters of recommendation was lukewarm. When the overall file is good, the candidate gets in. When the overall file is bad, the candidate doesn't. But when there is some good and some bad, a positive report on the interview can push the candidate from Maybe to Yes.</p>
<p>I even had one candidate who I loved, and the student interviewer loved, where the college contacted me afterwards and asked "Where is this candidate's application?". It turned out that her HS counselor had thought she wasn't a shoo-in for the college and had discouraged her from completing her application. Yes, the college was technically a "reach" for her based on her GPA, but she would have been in based on the interviews. We lost her to another school. Pooh!</p>
<p>One way in which an interview can really matter is when it is negative. A student that comes across as arrogant or rude is going to raise big flags back at the college. Same with a student who says they applied "just to see if they could get in", or who says they're only applying because their parents forced them to. Furthermore local interviewers are more likely to be familiar with the local scene; it has been reported here that alum interviewers have had kids claim significant contributions to community organizations in which the interviewer belongs and knows they are fibbing.</p>
<p>Like happymom says, I'm sure different colleges use different systems. I've interviewed and recruited for my HYP alma mater since graduation. I know that my write ups are the smallest slice of the application that is considered. But I also know that I and other volunteers sometimes add texture and context that is otherwise missing from the rest of the file. My regional rep told me that last year, two applicants were on the fence due mostly to unhelpful teacher recs. They were positive but rather fomulaic -- other items in the applications lined up well. The alums who interviewed these two students were extremely positive and provided lots of anecdotes for the admissions committee. These write ups were the items that nudged the committee into offering both candidates admission.</p>
<p>In general, the alumni writeups confirm what is in the rest of the file. Sometimes they point red flags that are otherwise missed. But it's certainly a very subjective element in otherwise subjective process.</p>
<p>Like mikemac, I've also heard of students who told interviewers "Please tell them I don't want to go there. I only applied to make my parents happy. I really want to go to XYZ U instead." Information like that would definitely get passed on.</p>