Interviews: what they're for, and how to prep

The most freeing thing to understand about interviews is that they go both ways. The school is getting to know your student, yes. But your student is also getting to know the school, and how a school runs its interview tells you an enormous amount about what it values.

Notice the shape of it. Some schools interview one-on-one, some in small groups, some put a couple of students with a faculty member for a real conversation. Some have your student meet a teacher, others an alum. Some are in person, some online only. None of these is better in the abstract, but each says something, and one of them will suit your particular student better than the others.

A small story that stuck with us. There's a school that interviews online only. A parent mentioned, almost in passing at an admissions event, that their student simply comes across better in person than on a screen. The admissions person didn't hesitate: of course we'll meet your child in person. That's a school treating the interview as a chance for the student to shine rather than a hoop to clear. That family knew, in that moment, that it was the right place, and everyone they've told since knows that school leads with its heart. How a school handles a small request like that is the whole school in miniature.

You can read the same signal in how they set expectations. Some schools send your student the exact questions ahead of time. They're taking the anxiety off the table on purpose, not trying to trick anyone, just helping a nervous student show up as themselves. Other schools deliberately keep it unscripted, because they want to see how a student handles a little pressure, often because the school itself runs at a certain intensity and is being honest about it. Neither is wrong. They're each telling you who they are. Listen.

As for prep, keep it light and keep it real. Help your student have a few true things ready: what they're into right now, how school's going, something they're excited about, and why this school in particular pulls them. The specifics they dug up in the debriefs are exactly what to draw on here. Have them think of a couple of questions they actually want to ask. The goal is not polish. A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old who sounds like a rehearsed adult is exactly what a school doesn't want. They're trying to meet your kid, not your kid's coach. The best preparation is the kind that lets your student sound like themselves.