<p>I'm having trouble finding on the sites whether or not an interview is required:</p>
<p>Upper schools:
1. Stanford (ca)
2. Columbia (ia!)
3. Harvard (ca)
4. Yale (ca)
5. Princeton (ca)
6. Northwestern (ca)
7. UPenn (ca)
8. Pomona (ca)
9. Brown
10. UChicago (ia!)</p>
<p>Middle:
1. UC Berkeley
2. USC (ia!)
3. UCLA</p>
<p>Lower/safeties:
1. UC San Diego</p>
<p>None of the UCs require an interview.</p>
<p>I believe only the Ivy League, but don't quote me.</p>
<p><em>moan</em></p>
<p>So Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Brown all require interviews?</p>
<p>I think they are 'recommended', but call their admissions office to be sure.</p>
<p>Harvard attempts to interview all of students who apply, and the interviews are arranged by a Harvard alum. Whether applicants based in the U.S. get interviews depends on the availability in their area of a willing alumnus/ae. If the student doesn't get an interview because of a lack of an alum in their area, it doesn't count against them. I would bet, however, that a student who turns down an interview without very good reason such as having to be out of town on the only dates the interviewer is available, will probably not get a Harvard acceptance.</p>
<p>Some shy students have posted on CC about planning to not accept the offer of a Harvard interview because they feel they are too shy to be able to interview well. For the reason that I mentioned, that's a bad idea.</p>
<p>International applicants have to arrange their H interviews themselves, and often doing so isn't possible due to the lack of an alum in their area. The Harvard website and, I think, the Harvard application has info about this. If international applicants can't arrange an interview, it doesn't count against them.</p>
<p>The best way that you can get the most accurate answer to your question would be to e-mail the admissions office. Do make sure that you've carefully checked their web site first.</p>
<p>Durr, go on the website. For Columbia interviews aren't required, and in fact, they aren't always recommended, because they often hurt the applicants (this is what an admish officer told me and about 300 others)</p>
<p>Stanford does not offer interviews, either on or off campus.</p>
<p>I believe everything else (Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn, and Brown) the interview is recommended, but not mandatory. HYP interviews depend on interviewer availablity. You have to indicate interest for the Harvard interview. I live overseas, and I was interviewed by all of these schools except UPenn. However, my classmate got interviewed by UPenn, so they also have interviews.</p>
<p>Northwestern offers on-campus interviews and interviews in the Chicago geographic area. However, I believe it's more informational than anything.</p>
<p>I don't think any selective school makes interviewing mandatory. However, it's often the best if you accept the interview, should it be offered. Having an interview often indicates that the school is interested in your application and wants to find out more. The admit rate for MIT applicants who accept an interview offer is also significantly higher than those who turn down their interview opportunities - so it is to your advantage to accept an interview.</p>
<p>Out of the schools you listed, I remember I only had to demonstrate interest for Harvard (since I live abroad).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Durr, go on the website. For Columbia interviews aren't required, and in fact, they aren't always recommended, because they often hurt the applicants (this is what an admish officer told me and about 300 others)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Serious? I have my doubts about this. Any serious school would do something about such an alarming trend - maybe have alumni give less penalising interviews. One role of adcoms is to gather as much information about the applicant's profile and character to best decide on his or her suitability for the college. I don't believe a trend that hinders this function and rewards information asymmetry would be allowed to continue.</p>
<p>It doesn't sound right to me either that Columbia interviews hurt while most of the colleges tend to reward interviews, however slightly. You mean those columbia alumni interviewers are especially evil and devious or tend to emit sarin gas?</p>
<p>mmmmm, sarin gas.</p>
<p>Chicago doesn't require-- it can't require. A lot of kids are applying from all over the country and the alumni network is pretty concentrated in a few metro areas.</p>
<p>If you're super-interested in a school, see if you can visit and do an on-campus interview.</p>
<p>I also don't get your "ca" and "ia" codes.</p>
<p>Alright, so I guess I won't have to worry about interviews until I'm offered them? Then I should accept them?</p>
<p>CA = common app
IA = individual app</p>
<p>Stanford doesn't want interviews, neither do UCs.</p>
<p>I believe all the other schools recommend interviews but don't require them. It is in your interest to do them however.</p>