<p>I'm applying to these colleges in the fall (in alphabetical order from CommonApp):
Boston College
Bowdoin
Carleton
Colby
Holy Cross
Columbia
Hamilton
Pomona
Williams</p>
<p>I know that some schools strongly suggest having an interview while others could care less. For example, Boston College does not even offer interviews. Should I try to interview at the rest of the schools (if I can)? Alumni interviews for the schools that are farther away? I have already scheduled an interview with Bowdoin College. </p>
<p>Also, are college interviews casual/laid back or are they more formal?
Any information/tips would be considered helpful!</p>
<p>You can check the Common Data Sets provided by each college to see how much they weigh “interest” or interviews. The interview itself may be casual or formal, depending on the interviewer. Best to prepare for formality (research common interview questions and plan your answers). If your interviewer turns out to have a casual tone, s/he may be just as discerning as the more starched interrogator .</p>
<p>Of the colleges you listed, I did an on-campus interview for Hamilton. I dressed up fairly formally, while some others weren’t dressed up at all. It was a pretty laid-back interview, though, and it was with a student rather than faculty or an alum. I stressed about it way more than necessary. It only lasted about 20 minutes. I would definitely recommend interviewing for as many places as possible and signing up for local alumni interviews if those are offered.</p>
<p>The interview process varies a great deal school to school. Some colleges have students interview, some do alumni interviews, while others have admissions officers interview. Some interviews are evaluative and others are not. Check the website for any school you interview with and see the specifics (or call admission if you can’t find it). My D preferred the interviews with admissions officers (just felt they were the most informed and best at keeping a conversation going) but if you live far from the school, I’d definitely do an alumni interview – if nothing else it shows interest in the school which LACs in particular seem to like.</p>
<p>My D had four interviews and they were all fairly informal (even the ones with admissions officers that were evaluative). She dressed nice but not too formally (a sundress and cardigan or black pants, boots and a nice blouse depending on the weather). She also brought a resume which detailed her academics and extracurriculars and she felt this was helpful in finding an easy jumping off point to start a conversation. She also came armed with a one or two reasons she specifically liked that school and a couple of questions to ask that could not be answered by looking at the website (specific to her academic area of interest or activities she was interested in etc.). There are also some typical interview questions which you can find online and kind of prepare for.</p>
<p>PS you didn’t ask for this advice and I don’t know your stats, but I didn’t see any real safety schools on your list.</p>
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