<p>We are going through the process of scheduling visits to schools this summer for my d. For those parents with some experience in the process, do you believe that it was helpful in gaining admission by scheduling on-campus interviews even to the extent that interviews are not required, only recommended? Did you ever receive any feedback from the school in that regard?</p>
<p>ObsessedDad, </p>
<p>I think it depends on the school. You should be able to find out from each school if the interview is evaluative or merely informational. </p>
<p>My daughter applied Early Decision to the only school where she interviewed (during spring break of junior year). The reason we scheduled an interview during junior year there was because the distance from our home would prevent us from visiting again. At this school, the interviewers were senior students who worked in the admissions office, and my D really hit it off well with the person who interviewed her. She received a complimentary letter on her interview in the fall from the Admissions Counselor, which was definitely not sent to everyone, saying that she was one of the "favorite" students that that particuar interviewer had spoken to last year. </p>
<p>My D received an unanticipated merit scholarship from this school even though she applied through binding Early Decision, and I have recently seen their data on the students admitted this year which indicates that her SAT total was only 20 points above the average for this year's admitted students. The rest of her application was very good, as far as GPA, ECs, recommendations, demonstration of interest in learning, etc. But I have to think that the interview had at least some impact on her very successful outcome at the school.</p>
<p>Good luck - and don't be TOO obsessed :)</p>
<p>I think sometimes they are - especially if the school is a good fit and the student can honestly be enthusiastic.</p>
<p>Also, remember that one of the reasons to visit is to cut schoools from the list that may look great on paper but be unsuitable in reality. In this case, an interview helps provide your d with the equally important information that she should not spend time and energy on the school!</p>
<p>Notes on interviews:</p>
<p>If the final decision had been based on interviews, D would have attended Barnard. They're a two-way street but an interview can be just as flukey as an individual college visit...who's the tour guide, etc.</p>
<p>My sense is similar to that of MoT: some schools put weight on them, others don't, and for yet others it's only a factor if the student is borderline.</p>
<p>Rule of thumb: always do everything that's "recommended" by a selective school you want to get into. If they "recommend" that you take the Math IIC SAT II, or keep your essay under two pages, or get one rec from an English teacher, do it.</p>
<p>I agree with above posters that schools vary in the weight they assign an interview, but I don't know of any school where a positive interaction with an interviewer will count against you. So unless your student is extremely shy or for some other reason might make a negative impression, I'd say go ahead and do those interviews.</p>
<p>I have been told that generally, interviews reinforce what the adcoms already know. So if you're not so hot, the interviewers say the same, and if you are, well, the interviewers say the same.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it is another badge of ability to show interest.</p>
<p>Similarly, it is another variable in the college admissions process that can be the make or break factor in a very close decision.</p>
<p>Also, if you interview with an adcom, it is very much the make or break factor... If you suck at the interview, you have little chance of coming back.</p>
<p>Although the school I am attending, I think I did only so-so at the interview (it was my first this-counts-for-something interview), and I got in. ^_^</p>
<p>Based on D's experience, I'd say the local alumni interviews seemed to matter more than the on-campus ones.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Rule of thumb: always do everything that's "recommended" by a selective school<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Amen! I always shudder when I see some kid saying (s)he won't be taking the SAT IIs or won't be doing an interview because they are only recommended and not required.</p>
<p>Interviews, from my experience, mattered less than meetings with the admissions officers. I didn't do interviews with alums for some of my schools that I had good meetings with admissions officers and was offered the top scholarship at both of these schools (both in the top 30). I would place more emphasis in meeting and making a good impact on the people who will make the decision rather than people who will just contribute what seems to be a very small portion to the overall admissions process. </p>
<p>Note: if the interview will be with an admissions officer (as opposed to a student who volunteered), definitely go for it- it could make a big difference.</p>
<p>vig180 - At the college my daughter interviewed at, the students doing the interviewing were paid employees of the admissions office. It is a job open to seniors at the college and they are trained. The interviews are evaluative, and are considered in the admissions decision. So it is not true that interviews with students do not matter (at least in this case).</p>
<p>There are two reasons why I think that in my D's case the alumni interview counted more:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Princeton alumni intervewer was either late or didn't file her report on my D's interview at all. The Princeton adcoms were very keen to get it. They kept calling us and eventually even wanted to schedule a do-over interview, since they had no report from the first one. All this effort was in spite of the fact that D had also interviewed with an adcom on campus. If they adcom's interview meant so much more, why bother so much about the missing alum's report?</p></li>
<li><p>D hit it off with the Harvard alumnus interviewer because they were both bassoonists. She was later accepted to Harvard, and sure enough when she enrolled she got recruited by several of the school orchestras to play bassoon. And it was clear from the conductors' comments that they had read the alumnus's report. It really seemed to count for something in her case, unlike the adcom's interview at Princeton.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>When I applied to Kenyon ED, I interviewed with an adcom, and we hit it off because of our similar backgrounds. We talked and laughed for much longer than the scheduled time, and the admissions officer later admitted to my mom that I was basically accepted at my interview. My acceptance letter even stated how much the adcom enjoyed talking with me.</p>
<p>The bottom line- interviews can be very influential (at certain schools). If you have the chance, it is best to go for it.</p>
<p>If interviews are recommended. . .interview. The only exceptions I would make would be for students with superb stats but poor verbal ability, or excessive shyness.</p>
<p>Also, I think all kids get more comfortable with interviews the more they do them, and most kids get better at them as well. All the more reason to interview unless interviews are discouraged by the admissions department.</p>
<p>Funny interview story:</p>
<p>My D had an interview with a senior in the Adm Ofc at one school... We were racing from school to school and she was staying on campus with kids at each place. Due to sleeping on floors, awkwardness in grabbing a shower in a strange dorm, etc, her appearance shall we say disintegrated somewhat over the 10 days.</p>
<p>We met outside the dorm where she overnighted shortly before the scheduled interview at one of the last schools; she did not look her best -- crazy bed-head wild hair, very casual outfit (probably the only thing not wrinkled), glasses instead of contacts... I'm thinking to myself "geez, she's blowing it, she looks way too casual" but because the school was not in her top several schools I let it go.</p>
<p>We arrive at admission -- the girl who is going to do the interview is practically her identical twin. Crazy hair, same exact glasses, same height, size & look, and nearly the identical outfit! They could easily have been sisters. </p>
<p>Turns out they even had one of the same ECs! It was weird.</p>
<p>She got in, ED2 & is going :)</p>
<p>The best interview my son had was held with the admissions person here in our home town. So, be sure to snag interviews if they are in your area.</p>
<p>I guess student interviews carry different weight at different places. My daughter, who desperately wanted to go to Brown, had a student interview there over the summer. She felt it did not go particularlly well (she didn't "connect" with the kid), and she was deflated after the experience. Soon after submitting her application, she was contacted by a local alumnus for an interview as if she'd never had one--that one went really well, and as it turned out, she was accepted. So we never knew if the student interview wasn't really thought of by them as the real thing or if it was by accident that they offered her the second interview.</p>
<p>My S did a local alumnus interview for his reach ED school, and they really hit it off. They bonded over being Mets fans (sigh) which is hard to be in Yankeeland. The guy kept in contact, called several times to get more info for his report, and monitored how everything went. Our feeling was that he did a full court press for S, who was by no means a shoe-in, and we believe it definitely helped him get in.</p>
<p>Hanna and Coureur feel that it is best include even those things just recommended with the application. While I do not disagree it may not be necessary in most circumstances.</p>
<p>Our son refused to take any SAT2's and was accepted to every university that merely recommended them. And in addition he was offered a $17k/yr merit scholarship by Case.</p>
<p>I would surmise that if your student is a good interviewer, an interview would help and if your student is a mediocre conversationalist or nervous the interview might not be beneficial. The same with SAT2's and other recommended items.</p>
<p>I know that when my son applied to Stanford (he is finishing his junior year now), SAT 2s were "recommended". It turned out that they were not "required" because they had found out that students living on Indian Reservations and other deprived areas were not aware of them and did not take them, and they did not want to prevent such students from applying. But for students from typical backgrounds, if the SAT 2s were missing it would be seen as a deficiency in their application. I believe almost all students applying to Stanford submitted SAT 2s and they were considered when reviewing the application.</p>
<p>One thing I would recommend is to not schedule your most important interviews first or, if the interview is for an ED school, be sure to practice. My S's first interview was for his EA school and was probably the least of his three. </p>
<p>Regarding what Originaloog said, S has a friend who was accepted at every school he didn't interview for and waitlisted everywhere else. I find the kid personable and easy to talk to, so I don't know what happened. But he's glad he took a pass on Cornell's optional interview.</p>
<p>My S, like Weenie's, did 4 regional interviews with admissions reps-all very good experiences. I think interviews with admissions reps can really give a feel for the administrative climate of a school. </p>
<p>The first was very formal and S left with a very cold sense. This was later reinforced during a campus visit and he wound up never submitting an app, but he learned alot about evaluating schools. One in particular, which involved a calamity of events (30 minute highway closure while Air Force One arrived and the Presidental motorcade passed which then caused a 3 mile back-up), stood out. </p>
<p>After several calls to the rep advising him of our traffic situation-almost 2 hours to go last 5 miles!-he happily agreed to meet during his dinner break. The first thing he said when we arrived was that he admired S's perseverance and he wrote on top of the interview form "very determined to learn about our U". This immediately put a very frazzled S at ease and they had a great discussion. He asked if we would be able to visit and we told him about our plans for the following week. He made suggestions for things we should check out both on campus and in the surrounding area. When we finally got back in the car S said he was so glad we had we had not given up-we were both ready to bail out after the first 1-1/2 hrs. Lo and behold when we arrived on campus that following Monday the rep was waiting for us and had put together a packet of materials related to S's major that he thought would be of interest and had arranged for us to meet with faculty. He followed up the next week to see if we had any additional questions. S loved the personanal attention and connection to someone on campus-he said he felt that the school really cares about their students. This factored into his final decision and he will be attending this school in the fall. </p>
<p>My advice is that unless the student is truly uncomfortable speaking with adults, if interviews are offered do them. Don't visit or interview at your top choice first. Let the kids learn what to look for and how to be comfortable in an interview on schools that are not at the top of their lists. Remind them that interviews are 2-way. They should walk away from interviews having learned as much about the school as the rep has learned about them.</p>