<p>So far my LAC-crazy D had 3 interviews. Two were on campuses during our spring break visits, so I was semi-present - sitting on a bench outside adm office. The third one was with a college rep in a far, far away town, but within driving distance. I did not want my D to drive for 2 hrs, so I offered to take her there. She was happy she could do homework while I was at the stirring wheel. She told me to park in the back lot of the hotel so the interviewer would not see me or my car, and ran off to the lobby. I spotted a Target nearby, and treated myself to a Tori Amos CD while she was chatting with the rep. When it was over, D called me and requested pick up in the same place. We had a nice conversation in the car on the way back and then listened to my CD.</p>
<p>My D once had an interview in a very nice admissions building, and I went to sit in the lounge area, in a big comfy chair</p>
<p>fell right to sleep, it was a very nice little nap</p>
<p>Drop the girls off at Starbucks and leave. Have them call you when they are done.</p>
<p>There is no need for you to meet the interviewer even if she’s traveling a long distance to meet with your kids. </p>
<p>I am an alum interviewer for Harvard who interviews students at places like Starbucks. I’m interested in talking to the the students, not their parents since the students are the focus of the interview.</p>
<p>Arriving with Mom or Dad also makes students seem dependent. In most cases, the kids drive themselves to interviews even if the interview is an hour away.</p>
<p>The only reason I came in with my kid was that they hadn’t established ahead of time how long the interview would last. All I said, was “Hi, I’m Mathson’s Mom, when should I come back and pick him up.” He was dependent to the extent he didn’t have a driver’s license. :)</p>
<p>My son was dependent to the extent that he had only been driving a short time and I didn’t feel comfortable letting him drive alone to someplace he’d never been.</p>
<p>If you have to drive your kid (and we had to do that with older S due to his not having a license), if the interview is at a public place, then drop them off and wait outside or have your student call when they are finished.</p>
<p>If it’s at a person’s home, have them check with the person before the interview to find out when you should pick them up, and then just wait outside.</p>
<p>Do not do what one student did to me – had his mom drop him off, and then after the interview called her and then – during the 20 minutes that his mom took to pick him up - -the student kept talking to me. That was very irritating. Until I attempted to end the interview, I’d had no idea that he’d been dropped off by his mom. If he had asked me beforehand when his mom should pick him up, I would have told him that she should come back in an hour.</p>
<p>In this particular case, I am sure the student could drive. He was extremely pushy, and I believe he had his mom drop him off and delay picking him up because the student thought that would be a way to get a better interview by obtaining extra time. It was just irritating.</p>
<p>I only drove S to one interview, at a person’s home. I shopped in local stores, then waited around the corner for his call. I would never have wanted him to overstay the visit.</p>
<p>I do recall how independent he was, driving to another city for an interview. He was a new driver. I got nervous when it was over 3 hours before he returned. The interviewer was a fascinating man.</p>
<p>my son had 3 interviews. All were with admissions reps not alumni. The first was at a hotel 2 hours from home. My son went up to the room and my husband waited in the lobby. After the interview the rep came down to the lobby with my son and spoke with my husband for about 15 minutes about his school and his life.
His other two were at schools where they had a scheduled day plan. Department visits, tour and interview. In both cases my husband had a book and sat in the visitors waiting area. In both cases the reps came out and ask my husband to join them at the end. In one case that portion lasted about 30 minutes. The rep told my husband about the school and also about her family and the history of how she ended up at this specific college.
In all 3 cases my husband had not been planning on speaking with the interviewer. In the first case he actually was shocked and wished he had thought to have a few questions prepared. Also as it was my husband whose memory isn’t that great I was at least thrilled he remembered some details about this specific college.</p>
<p>Again, I am grateful to all who have taken time out of their days to help me with this. But I have to comment on the “to drive them or not” turn this thread has taken. </p>
<p>As I said in an earlier post, the law in our state says kids can not drive together unless the driver has been liscensed for a year or more. My DDs have been liscensed for 10 months. </p>
<p>In addition: the interviews are in a place none of us have ever been before and my DDs are country girls with country girl driving skills and the trip involves city driving.</p>
<p>There is no way I would send them in two separate cars into this kind of stressful driving situation and then expect that they could casually chat with the admissions rep. This doesn’t make them dependent any more than my saying “hello” makes me a helicopter. If the admissions rep views obeying the law and common courtesy in any other way, than this is probably not the right school…for anyone. With all due respect, to those with more experience with this process and cuing the music…“I’ve got to be me.”</p>
<p>right, hm.</p>
<p>You did not ask for commentary on why or whether you should drive. Apparently, some of us cannot help ourselves…</p>
<p>Please ignore the irrelevant comments and take the best of what remains!</p>