<p>are interviews a vital part of your application? i stupidly forgot to request interviews for any of the schools i'm applying to and now am worried that i definitely should have :( do they increase your chances by a lot or is it just more of a Q&A kind of session? thanks in advance</p>
<p>Not usually...they are optional.</p>
<p>Which schools are you talking about?</p>
<p>Each school places a different emphasis on interviews. Some schools consider an alumni/admissions interview a very important part of the application, and the interview is generally longer and more "What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses, What would you like to accomplish, Whom do you consider to be one of the greatest intellects and why," etc. Most schools have moved away from interviews, given that the number of applications has risen so greatly and there is rarely time to really consider a short interview. Sometimes schools offer student/alumni interviews just to either broaden the application or give the student a chance to ask more about the school.</p>
<p>oh okay thanks everyone. i'm hoping that the schools i'm applying to don't heavily weigh the interview with everything else. physics08, i'm applying to a bunch of schools but my top choices are Wellesley, BC, and for my faar farrr dream school reach - Brown. does anyone know if any of these schools consider interviews an integral part of your application?</p>