DEFINITION OF A COLLEGE ADMISSIONS INTERVIEW:
Usually lasting between 15 minutes to an hour, a college admissions interview is a meeting between an admissions representative from a college and a prospective student (or students) for the purpose of exchanging information, asking and answering questions and evaluating a student’s qualifications. Generally, there are three kinds of interviews:

1. The On-Campus Individual Interview can be with any number of people: a student who works in the admissions office, a faculty member, a part-time admissions counselor, an assistant or associate admissions dean, even the dean him- or herself.

2. The Off-Campus Individual Interview: an interview with an alumnus or alumna from a student’s hometown, held any day ususally in the alum’s office, home, at a restaurant or coffee shop. These interviews often take place in the fall, and even into January and February of your senior year.

FAQ #1: Is one kind of interview better than another?

ANSWER: Individual on-campus interviews will likely to benefit you more than an alumni interview. However, a few colleges, notably Yale University, pay a lot of attention to alumni interview reports during their selection process. To determine with which colleges you should set up interviews, check individual college websites or call the different admissions offices on your college list to find out if they offer interviews, and which kind.