<p>First post, so bear with me please. Love the site though, really helpful sometimes!</p>
<p>So, during my spring break next week, my family and I are visiting UVA, Georgetown, Penn, Cornell, and Brown. </p>
<p>Just had a few questions that thought somebody on here will be able to help me with:</p>
<pre><code> -- After reading a thread I came across talking about on-campus interviews, how important is scheduling an interview? We are on a pretty tight schedule, but I would really love to schedule a visit if it can help me in any way, especially for Brown. And how do you schedule one?
-- What are some questions to ask on the tours/sessions? I have a few, but thought I could try and get an idea from you guys.
-- Can you just go to the school cafeteria and eat or do you have to schedule or what? Definitely want to go to somewhere with good food...
<p>Generally large top schools don’t care and don’t even give interviews at the school. Interviews may be slightly important at LACs, but they don’t usually start offering them until June. If you have any LACs on your list (which you probably should for comparison), check their websites on this. Re: eating in the cafeteria—most schools will give you some sort of pass or allow you to pay in their cafeteria and it’s useful to see the scene there! Good luck. There are threads on interview and tour questions.</p>
<p>I was going to wait until my son’s decisions are all in to make this suggestion on this forum, but I am jumping in now. You’ve got all universities on your list, so I don’t know if that counts, but if you think you will do well in an interview with an admissions officer, go for it. Once you home in on the schools you want to apply for, make every effort to talk with an admissions counselor or two, partly to see if the school is a fit for you, partly so they see you as a person, not just data. That seems to have helped my son in a reach LAC–he talked at length with two admissions counselors from the same school at different venues. I don’t think alumni interviews have anywhere near the impact. Perhaps it will help with universities, too. I imagine Ivies don’t do that, though, as there are simply too many applicants. But it wouldn’t hurt to try.</p>
<p>My advice? Interview your butt off. I visited Brown, Harvard and Northwestern and finagled my way into meeting assistant directors of admission just by being polite and firm, not pushy and demanding. It is CRITICAL that someone in the establishment can recognize you somehow and give another dimension to your application.</p>
<p>Are you an outstanding applicant? Try to convince the dean of admissions to see you. It’s a long shot, but SO worth it if you get a chance.</p>
<p>We did a couple of rounds of looking at schools in the spring. My son did not interview at that time. We were concentrating on figuring out which schools he wanted to apply to. Make sure you register in the admissions office so they know you were there. I do not know specifically about the schools you are visiting but many schools do keep track and it can be a benefit to “show interest”. In the summer we returned to the schools he was applying to and he interviewed with admissions and also met with faculty in the department where he planned to major. Questions about how to schedule interviews and when they will allow you to do it can generally be answered on the web sites for the schools you are visiting. Do some homework before you visit! It will make the trip much more worth while. </p>
<p>Our one stock question that we asked on all of our tours was how easy it was for non music majors to continue being involved in music. We actually scratched one school off the list in part because our tour guide replied “Well, we don’t have a musical every year, but I hear they did a few years ago”.</p>
<p>I’m taking my junior daughter to seven east-coast schools soon, and she has five interviews set up, but they’re not with admissions people, they’re all with professors (theatre professors, because she wants to major in theatre-- general BA, not BFA performance). </p>
<p>We’re new at this-- is that considered an interview? Or does it need to be an interview with an admissions person to be considered official? Should she do anything so admissions knows she met with professors?</p>
<p>It seemed like meeting the professors would help her get a feel for the schools and programs, and five of the seven schools (all but Bard and Vassar) were happy to set them up. She’s also sitting in on a class at American and Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>Meeting the professors are a great way to go. She won’t need a formal interview with Admissions at Bard at all, and, if she wants one, she’ll need to first apply.</p>
<p>A blog post (on the Bard Hopson Cottage blog) about interviewing:
Interviewing at Bard: How Does That Work?</p>
<p>August is upon us and in admissions that translates to revved up conversation among prospective students and their families. One topic that many of you are asking lots of questions about is interviewing at Bard. Remember that each school has its own set of expectations, making part of your college search process about clarifying the differences.</p>
<p>At Bard, interviews are not required but are offered to students who request them after applying. An application signals to us that you have done all of the necessary research and have determined you are serious about applying to Bard College. If you decide you want an interview, you will need to submit your application prior to or at the time of your interview. Understand it is only the application itself that we require by the time of the interview. Essays, letters of recommendation, and all other supporting documents can follow after your interview.</p>
<p>For those students who elect to interview, we highly recommend you come to our campus to do so. Our interviews are conducted by members of the admissions committee, never student ambassadors. We do not offer alumnae interviews or interviews by phone. If you live far from the campus making a visit prohibitive, you can check Bard on the Road found on our admissions website. This posting will enable you to see if a counselor is planning a visit to your area this fall at which point you can email the counselor to request an interview when he/she is in your area. We make every effort to accommodate these requests. If we are not coming to your area, however, know that you can always send information supplemental to the application to tell your story.</p>
<p>One last bit about interviews at Bard. An interview is a conversation between you and a counselor on the admissions committee. Our aim is learn some things about who you are now and what you aspire to in college. Our expectation is that you will come with a clear understanding of our academic program but we are certainly interested in helping you deepen your understanding of Bard by answering any questions you might have. A good interview leaves both parties knowing significantly more than they did when it began!</p>
<p>To make an appointment for an interview email <a href=“mailto:admission@bard.edu”>admission@bard.edu</a>.</p>
<p>Generally, meeting with faculty doesn’t “count” as an interview. The official interview is with the admissions department alone. We always wondered if the faculty my son spoke to gave any feedback to admissions, but we never got an answer. Our main reason for doing it was to get a better feel for the school and specifically the department where he planned to major. It was very helpful. We did always make sure that admissions knew that we were doing it to try to get some sort of brownie points. Again we don’t know if it made any difference or not.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great feedback, Spirit and nurse. That makes sense. And as a junior, it’s more appropriate that she get a feel for the schools/departments anyway than she formally interview-- it’s just that we can’t afford another trip just for interviews in the fall! But if talking to faculty helps her focus and find a home, that’s great!</p>
<p>If you are not going to be able to make another trip you might want to look into admission interviews. It sounds like Brown doesn’t do them at this stage but I beleive some of the other schools do. That’s a pretty ambitious itinerary! How much time are you planning to take?</p>