<p>We were really surprised to see that at MHC, your on-campus interview is conducted by a student; the web site says if you cannot come to a campus interview you can schedule one with the admissions officer for your region. I know that person is actually one of the people who reads applications and has a say in decision-making, while I would imagine the students do not.</p>
<p>My D is very strong in person and her interview will probably be one of the stronger parts of her application -at least, it'll be right up there, and since she has some unusual situations to explain due to problems last year, I'd say her interview is really important.</p>
<p>MHC is her top choice by far, but she can't apply ED for financial reasons. We are thinking it might be beneficial for her to schedule the off-campus interview with the more senior officer, rather than with the student. What do you think?</p>
<p>P.S. It's funny that it seems like they are "backwards" from most of the other schools she's considering, where it seems the more senior interviewers are on-campus. Are we wrong about that?</p>
<p>I think the students do a great job of interviewing - in many ways better than the admissions officers who have a predetermined mindset of what they are looking for. My daughter’s interview with MHC was a lovely 2 way conversation with a current senior at MHC that lasted about 1.5 hours. She got out of it as much as she gave - and walked away with a great sense of the college and how she would fit in. And the student obviously wrote up a nice summary of the interview - and sent my daughter a lovely thank you note.</p>
<p>Out of 14 colleges that my daughter interviewed at, only 5 were done by admissions folks, and one of those on Skype. 2 of those interviews made her realize she didn’t even want to apply to those schools. (Why would an admissions person ask you what your GPA or SAT scores are? Aren’t they supposed to find out who you are beyond what is on the application?)</p>
<p>The Alumni interviews were the ones that we found a real mixed bag. The ones done by recent graduates were good, but the ones done by older Alumni didn’t seem to go well - not enough excitement on either side. (You’ll find some schools won’t set you up for interviews until you’ve submitted your application - and many of those end up being Alumni interviews)</p>
<p>So - My thought on this is go with the student interview on campus. If the admissions person visits her High School or does a local college fair, have her attend that and talk to them directly there to supplement the interview. But you also need to figure out your own thoughts on this. I originally, like you, thought an admissions person was the way to go, but after some reflection on the process feel quite differently. And we moved her into her MoHome yesterday…</p>
<p>Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I completely understand what you are saying, and I agree it would be interesting to do the student interview. The thing is, she already knows she really wants to go there (it’s her top choice), so the 2-way aspect would be interesting but perhaps not that important. What IS important to her is making the MOST impact. Her situation is very unique, she had some really serious struggles her sophomore and junior years that she needs to explain well and offset with things she’s strong in (like one-on-one discussion)… and she is really quite amazing and articulate in person, so we feel that the interview is a much more important part of her application than it might be for the type of kids who normally apply to MHC, whose transcripts are excellent reflections of who they really are. </p>
<p>I guess the question we’re really asking is: which interview would have the most impact? Would an excellent interview with the adult admissions rep help her somewhat shaky transcript more than an interview with a student? Would the committee give more weight to the adult’s opinion than the student’s? Might it be a better forum to explain her unique situation?</p>
<p>Is Mount Holyoke still doing the optional parent recommendation? That might be a way to address these struggles to which you refer, freeing her up to focus on the positives in her interview.</p>
<p>The young woman who conducted my daughter’s interview was extremely impressive. It was hard to believe she was a student. The students seem very well trained in the interview process.</p>
<p>D graduated from MHC last May. One of the factors that led to her choice of MHC was the interview with a senior (class of 2009). She was very well spoken and served as a great ambassador for the college. Her passion for intellectual thought and her passion and love of MHC came through loud and clear. She made a connection with the college that might not have happened if the interviewer was an older person, as opposed to a peer.</p>
<p>Thanks, folks! It sounds like she shouldn’t miss the student interview, then. She is planning to attend a “shadow day” in November so should we schedule it for that day do you think?</p>
<p>mallory31, we actually just saw that parent/peer recommendation in the application supplement yesterday. I will definitely use that, thank you!</p>
<p>(I’m the daughter of the OP, hi errybody)
I ended up scheduling an interview with the Admissions Officer woman who is coming to our area for October 1, but should I still get one with a senior on my shadow day?</p>
<p>If you are visiting MHC for a shadow day, I suggest interviewing with the senior student rep just for a different perspective. My daughter really enjoyed her conversation with the senior and it tipped her opinion even further toward the college. An exchange of more information between you and the college can only be helpful.</p>