Hello. My son just had his first boarding school interview as a potential ninth-grade admit in 21-22. He and the admissions officer spoke over Zoom for 50 minutes and then disconnected. My wife and I were waiting in another room expecting to be called in to speak with the admissions officer, but instead he told my son that we should just write him if we wanted to with any questions. Is this typical? I thought it was standard practice for parents to be interviewed as well, usually for the last 10 or 20 minutes of the scheduled applicant interview. Would appreciate any insight!
It depends on the school. It depends on covid protocols. It depends on time - 50 minutes is a long interview so the AO may have run out of time.
As I’ve contacted schools to set up interview times, only one or two have wanted a parent interview. I think you could send a follow up email and offer that you’re available for a parent interview if they want it.
When we went through this process with DS, the Skype interviews were students only. So, if the school generally provided Skype options in the past, they may be following the same format.
This time, with DD, we’ve had some schools tell us they will follow the “in-person” format and others not mention it at all. I would think, if you wanted to be included in the interview, you could all be on the call at the beginning to say hello, and then let the interviewer “excuse” you.
I think the schools are all probably trying to figure the virtual process out and it is early in the interview season.
Good luck!