In about 3 weeks, I will be visiting one of my reach schools- since the school is a plane ride away, it will be my first and only chance to visit before decisions come out. I’m not sure if I should do my interview for this school on campus- where it would be with someone from admissions, or regionally when I am more informed about the school with an alumni. I don’t want to screw up my interview on campus since it will be my first time really seeing for myself what the campus culture is like and what I’ll love about the school (assuming I like my visit). On the other hand, I want to show demonstrated interest and I’m worried that an alumni interview will show less interest and be more forgettable in admissions. What should I do?
six and one half dozen the other. Unless the school is XX Institute of Technology in Cambridge, I wouldn’t sweat it whatsoever. And those schools (Ivy tier?) don’t really care about “demonstrated interest”
@MurphyBrown Yale offers on campus interviews on a 1st come 1st served basis – athlete status or not. And you’re saying YALE asks applicants if they’ve visited and when? That’s news to me. I’ve interviewed for them for +25 years as an alumnus and I know that “demonstrated interest” isn’t on their radar.
I ask students if they’ve visited as a segue for further discussion – not as a plus/minus on them as applicants.
It won’t matter to schools whether you do an on-campus interview or an off-campus one. Colleges completely understand that not everyone is able to come to campus for an interview, or may not want to interview when they come.
However, since you are visiting the college anyways, in my opinion you should try to get an interview. In my experience (I have done 3 interviews now, all on-campus) no one from admissions has ever interviewed me. All 3 have been with rising seniors who are working in the admissions office. My interviews have been relaxed and easy, and I felt much more knowledgeable about the school having just seen an info session and been on a tour. (I interviewed at William & Mary, Swarthmore, and Pomona). But if you are really nervous about messing up the interview, maybe you should wait.
IMO it can matter depending on who the interview will be with on campus as opposed to locally. Based on her experiences, my D felt is was better to interview (when possible) with admissions counselors as opposed to alumni. She felt they were better trained as interviewers and were more knowledgeable about what is currently happening on campus (a couple of alumni she interviewed with graduated many years ago). It is unlikely that it will make any difference in the admission decision but she just found the admission officer interviews to be more pleasant and more informative.
Thanks everyone! I just bit the bullet and scheduled an interview… we’ll see how it goes