<p>Summer of Fall? Thoughts?</p>
<p>I meant summer OR fall. Which is a better time? When things are more relaxed during the summer, or later in the fall, when a child stays fresh in admission officer’s mind, and has more to report on, but it is all during a very busy time?</p>
<p>My d interviewed on campus over the summer and was accepted. My advice is to do what is most convenient for your family. Though I do encourage interviewing on campus with AO’s rather than off campus with alumni, if you can manage it.</p>
<p>I am pro Summer, especially for schools that see the most applicants. We did that, coupled with fall visits to the schools in which our D was most interested (so we could get a vibe for school when students were on campus). I think AOs have fewer appointments per day, so you have a chance to be more memorable.</p>
<p>That said, she was admitted to one school where she interviewed over the summer and rejected at another; she was also admitted to a school after a Fall interview. Still, if we had to do things all over again, I’d do it the same way.</p>
<p>Don’t you feel school should be in session?</p>
<p>SevenDad, what were your observations on Groton, SPS and Saint Andrew’s schools?</p>
<p>I think that fall is best, considering that you’ll see the school in session, fall is when you’re completing your applications, and fall is when you’ll be so excited for BS. Summer is too lazy…and a lot of people get into the schools with a fall interview. I didn’t think it mattered too much!</p>
<p>We interviewed early in the fall and thought that was great. We had our first interviews the first week of school, and we were the only ones in the admissions office, which was great! I also highly recommend doing interviews on non-holiday weekdays if possible, or at least for your top-choice schools. I know it is a pain with one or both parents having to miss work, but it was so much more relaxed in the admissions office and I feel like we got more time in the interviews. Campus was less crowded too–no running into other groups touring around campus at every stop on the tour. </p>
<p>Just an example of how great it was to interview on a Tuesday in mid-September at Suffield: the headmaster wandered past the admissions waiting area, saw us parents sitting there while son was interviewing, came over and introduced himself, and then later took my son over to the photography department, which he had missed on his tour. I don’t think that would have happened in the late fall or on a busy weekend. Also a testament to that particular headmaster–very nice man!</p>
<p>My son interviewed the first week of December. Given the long Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, I would suggest interviewing in September/October.</p>
<p>We preferred the Fall as definitely wanting to see the school in full swing. You’ll find every interview to be a story by itself. I’ve experienced the average 1.5 hr interview to being on campus for 4 hrs. The interview that you felt went wrong but turned out well in the end to the one where the 5 year old comes and pulls the fire alarm. Standing room only in the Admissions room to downright intentional intimidation by other parents in the waiting room. Personally I enjoyed the whole process. The main reason I prefer the Fall is because it gave me a chance to pick the brains of the tour guide for scuttlebutt. I’ve heard some schools make a concerted effort not to have students other than the guide talk to the parents. I’ll never forget going on the SG tour when we checked in on a class where the students were still waiting for the teacher. Everyone was seated and fairly quite but as soon as we popped our heads in we were invited inside and all the kids started talking up SG, a really friendly bunch. Been on another tour where I had to ask the guide if he would mind if we could go inside the building. We did utilize the PS holidays and we booked those dates early but it’s not always a perfect science. Enjoy!</p>