<p>Hanna - at one school which clearly stated "non-evaluative" interview, my daughter was told by the admissions officer that there was "no problem" with her being admitted, and probably with substantial scholarship.</p>
<p>I just assumed that every interview with a school representative could, would and probably should count in the admissions process. So D was prepared to talk about each school, herself, and (hopefully) whatever else came up.</p>
<p>I agree with dmd77: "Any time you talk to a school about anything--unless it's an anonymous phone call from a pay phone--you have to assume that what you say can make a difference."</p>
<p>If you think your child would likely do extremely well at an interview, then I would make sure to try to arrange one at every school I visited. Even if they do not have an official policy of regularly recording opinions at interviews, if your child comes across as someone who is especially outstanding, professional, confident, friendly, etc., I would think it would get noted somewhere in the record. If you have concerns that your child will possibly have an extremely bad interview (e.g. extreme nervousness, etc.) and the school does not require any official interviews, then you could always consider having your child use an assumed name during an informal visit/interview.</p>
<p>My kids are homeschooled, and many colleges that do not otherwise allow/require interviews have allowed them to be interviewed and often even encourage it. I just make sure my kids are somewhat informed about the college ahead of time and then tell them to just be honest about their goals, experiences, etc. As an alumnus who conducts interviews for MIT, I bend over backwards to try to make students feel comfortable at interviews, but phoniness (e.g. bragging about some accomplishment and then backing off when I ask for details) makes a bad impression. Nervousness is expected and easily forgiven. Lying, exaggerating, or misrepresenting during an interview, or even kissing up too much, is quite annoying.</p>