<p>I applied to 4 schools, and only interviewed at 3.
My first interview was Choate, and as I anticipated being more interested in Exeter (the first school I had ever heard of, and the one that got me interested in BS), it was a “practice run” for my mother and I. I loved it, and fell more in love with it every second I was there.
I was about to tell you to not interview at your least choices, but then again, things change after interviews.
People will also tell you to either apply to a billion schools, or practically no schools. Find a balance that fits your budget and your time commitment. If schools are close to eachother, such as Exeter and Andover, interview in the same weekend, as I did. Or, if a school is a “safety” like NMH was for me, don’t interview, but still show tons of interest and commitment to the school. Don’t sit on your heels for any school, or wait for them to reach out to you.
Space out the interviews to give yourself time to relax, improve your interviewing skills, and reflect on each school/schools you last visited. This is also easier on your parents, who won’t have to take a million days off of work.
It WILL all work out. My mom was stressing about interviews, because she is a teacher and only gets so many sick/personal days a year, but everything was fine. We got two Saturday interviews and one Friday interview and it was fine. We also live about 5 hours away for the 3 schools, so I feel your pain, a bit.</p>