<p>How much of an influence do interviews have on admissions?</p>
<p>Not much at all. I got into Penn and I never even had an interview.</p>
<p>I got in ED and was not even contacted about an interview. Wouldn't worry about it.</p>
<p>my interview for penn was the worst one I had...
I walked out sure that my chances were ruined...but I still got in..and that too into the Vagelos LSM program.</p>
<p>Totally meaningless. Like LadyinRed, my interview was positively horrible, but I got into Wharton. My interviewer asked me nothing about myself. All she did was tell me about how she met her husband at Penn and all her friends went to Penn blah blah blah.</p>
<p>My mother's best friend does interviews for Penn, and said I shouldn't have bothered agreeing to one when they called me because they mean absolutely nothing and it's just a waste of my time.</p>
<p>Is it good to keep in contact with the regional rep.?</p>
<p>I have never communicated with my regional rep (other than the app of course) and still got accepted. It is probably more important for deferees.</p>
<p>thanks for your input guys.</p>
<p>Most people recommend keeping in contact with the regional rep--to show interest--but I find it entirely not required or even that important. Although, if you're waitlisted or you think you have a weak chance, etc., your continuous contact with the regional rep would help. Also, as far as interviews go, at interviews, admissions officers just mainly check for whether or not you're just a complete jerk. I've heard of once that UPenn turned away a guy with lots of legacies because at the interview, the guy was so smug and so full of himself and showed no interest whatsoever because he thought that he had a sure ride in--well, came as a surprise to him, right?</p>
<p>While you probably shouldn't be too stressed about the interview or do exactly what I did, I think it really helped me out. In one of my answers I talked about how I never had much trouble getting myself to do work and had a genuine love of learning. I ended up getting into the College with BFS. When I visited, someone in the admissions office, describing BFS to me without knowing I was already in, told me the readers look for people who are enthusiastic about learning and would be well suited for research. Now, this isn't exactly a direct correlation, but I was pretty surprised when I got into BFS. </p>
<p>My point? While some may have had bad experiences, mine is a case where I had an interested interviewer and the interview process really helped me out ( I was telling the truth though!)</p>
<p>The thing is my stats arent that good and I want to show them who I am and what I am capable of.</p>
<p>excel,
In that case, an interview is a GREAT way to show that. Good luck!</p>