I had my Pennington School interview as an applicant for 10th grade, and it only lasted 30 min. Is that a bad sign? The interviewer told me they were tight on spots for 10th grade and normally give priority to boarding applicants (I’m applying as a day student). But they did tell me a lot about the programs there and seemed pretty positive overall. Do I still have a chance?
I’m also a student applying to boarding schools. My interview lasted around 25 minutes, but someone mentioned that it depends on the interviewer’s style. Also, if the interviewer seemed pretty positive, I wouldn’t really feel the need to worry! Good luck!!
A normal interview (with the student only) is around 15-25 minutes, so you’re fine.
Also, interview lengths do NOT reflect how well the interviews went. A short interview only indicates that the interviewer is on a tight schedule, or that they already know a lot about you just by looking at your resume. It’s worthless to ask about it again during the interview.
Pennington is somewhat unique in that they take a large cohort at grade 6, and then again at Grade 9. I’m not sure how many they take at grade 10. Last I heard that they had some empty boarding spots this year. So this maybe reason why they are looking for boarders.
But I wouldn’t worry about the length. That doesn’t mean much. Good luck.