Visiting, on-campus interviews: shows interest or just useless?

<p>The Yale website FAQ says that visiting the campus many times (I visited, and plan on going for multicultural day) won't help in terms of admissions at all.</p>

<p>My guidance counselor today told me that for so competitive a school, they do like to look at if you've shown particular interest, that you're not just one of those people applying for the sake of nonbinding early action. So does visiting benefit you or not?</p>

<p>She also said to schedule an on-campus interview. For those of you who have, how useful was it? It is non-evaluative, right?</p>

<p>Yale does not expect people to visit the campus. People apply to Yale from all over the world and from all economic profiles; not everyone can swing a visit. Visiting will not benefit you, except in terms of your making an informed decision about where you want to apply/attend. Some other elite schools like to see applicants show interest. HYP are so perennially popular that they don't need their egos stroked and they don't worry about yield in the same way some other schools do.</p>

<p>The on-campus interview is evaluative. It makes no difference if you do an on-campus interview or an alumni interview. The on-campus interviews are conducted by Yale seniors, not admissions officers. If you are unable to have an alumni interview, don't freak out. If you live in an area without alumni interviewer coverage or if your local interviewers are overwhelmed with applicants, you may not get an interview. Yale understands this and will not hold not having an interview against you.</p>