<p>We have two interviews scheduled in January, after the application deadline. These schools are far away from us, so it was difficult logistically to travel there earlier this fall. Have any of you done the same? </p>
<p>DS is worried about writing essays about "why x school would be a good fit" before he has even visited. He certainly has done a ton of research about both, and is very committed to them. (In fact we wanted him to visit other schools closer to home first, before making the investment in a plane ticket out there.)</p>
<p>I also wonder if the interviewer will have read, even just skimmed, DS's application before the interview. </p>
<p>Any thoughts or advice from people who have done this?</p>
<p>My daughter did this at two schools. At one, it did seem as though he had read her app. At another, she wrote that essay based on the viewbook info and said so. She also offered (in the essay) to write another on the spot after she interviewed. It turns out that she got violently ill at the hotel the morning of that visit so never got the visit or face to face interview.</p>
<p>She was waitlisted at both but I don’t think it had anything to do with the timing of the interview. She was waitlisted everywhere (ten schools) that year!</p>
<p>GMC: I don’t think that the interviewers look over the applications before the interviews, though I could be wrong. Those of us who do off-campus interviews are doing it “cold,” so to speak, but we tend to tailor the questions based on the direction the interview is going and have a lot of leeway as to what we talk about with the applicant (although there are certain questions that we are required to ask). </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about writing the essays if your child hasn’t visited. Remember, lots of students do this, and if your kid has done a lot of research (which it appears he has) that will certainly be good enough. Good luck!</p>
<p>We visited a school on the day before the deadline, it was a last minute addition and ended up being our favorite. The AO had her application folder on her desk and told us that she had read it that morning.</p>