While several colleges, including Columbia, Northwestern, and Penn, have moved away from alumni interviews in recent years, interviews are still part of the application process at a number of schools, and an incredible opportunity to improve your chances of admission..if you keep tabs on the many different ways to actually score an interview. Luckily we’re here to help with a comprehensive guide to the some colleges that still offer interviews in the 2026-7 cycle.
Depending on your list, you could also have an opportunity to speak with an admissions representative, current student, or alum. At Principia, we encourage students to take advantage of those opportunities when they’re available. After working hard to convey your interests and experiences within the application’s word limits, an interview gives you room to share more. It’s also a chance to learn about the college from someone who knows it well, especially if there are things you’re still wondering about as you picture yourself there.
The first step, though, is knowing which colleges offer interviews and how to arrange one. You may need to request an appointment yourself, indicate your interest on the application, or wait for the college to contact you. With so much attention going toward essays and submission deadlines, it’s easy to overlook those instructions.
We’ve organized the colleges below by how students get an interview, so you can make the most of the opportunities on your list. While interviewing can seem nerve-wracking at first, in a crowded application pool, interviews can be a great way to stand out.
Nervous? Don’t let that hold you back. Practice, prep, and plan using our Ultimate Guide to College Interviews.
Colleges Where Students Request an Interview
At the following colleges, students can request or schedule an interview themselves. Some allow you to interview before applying, which can be helpful if you’re still deciding whether the school is a good fit. Others require you to submit your application first.
Rice: Apply, then request an interview through the applicant portal by the deadline for your admission plan. Interviews are optional but recommended. They’re virtual for the 2026–27 cycle and aren’t guaranteed.
Wake Forest: Apply, then follow the instructions in your application confirmation email to request an interview within the five-day window. The final request deadline is November 18, 2026. Virtual interviews are optional, and availability isn’t guaranteed. A recorded video response is another option, with separate instructions and deadlines.
University of Rochester: Schedule or request an interview through Rochester’s website, checking deadlines for your admission plan and interview format. Interviews are strongly recommended, especially for students hoping to compete for merit scholarships.
William & Mary: Register for an appointment during the summer before senior year or in the fall. You don’t need to apply first. Optional interviews are conducted by current W&M seniors, and not interviewing won’t disadvantage your application.
Bowdoin: Sign up through Bowdoin’s interview registration pages. International students are asked to apply before requesting an interview. Interviews are strongly encouraged but aren’t required, and students may meet with admissions staff, a current student, or an alum.
Hamilton: Schedule an appointment and complete it by the deadline for your admission plan. Interviews with admissions officers or Hamilton seniors are strongly encouraged. Most are conducted by video.
Haverford: Register for a virtual interview, which you can request before submitting your application. Interviews are recommended but aren’t required, and students may meet with admissions staff, a current senior, or an alum.
Swarthmore: Register for an available appointment and choose one interview format. Optional interviews are available to first-year applicants attending high school in the United States. Not interviewing won’t disadvantage your application.
We recommend adding interview deadlines to your application tracker while you’re working on essays. Wake Forest’s five-day request window, for example, means you shouldn’t wait until your next college counseling meeting to check what’s available after submitting.
Colleges Where You Indicate Interest on the Application
Duke, Stanford, and Princeton include an interview preference or opt-out question in their applications. If you’re interested in interviewing, make sure your response reflects that. An interviewer may then contact you after you apply.
Duke: Check the appropriate box on Duke’s supplement to indicate interview interest. Alumni volunteers contact students who are offered interviews. Availability is limited, and Duke prioritizes applicants for whom additional context would be helpful.
Stanford: Indicate your interview preference on the application. Alumni volunteers may contact applicants, depending on availability in their high school’s interview area.
Princeton: Don’t select the interview opt-out option if you’d like to be considered for an interview. Alumni interviewers may contact applicants after they apply, depending on availability.
Interviews are optional at all three colleges, and indicating interest doesn’t guarantee that you’ll receive one. Not being offered an interview won’t disadvantage your application.
Colleges Where You Wait for an Invitation
MIT, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale arrange interviews after students apply. You don’t need to submit a separate interview request, and Harvard and Yale specifically state that students cannot request one.
MIT: An MIT alumni volunteer may contact you after you apply, depending on availability. MIT says interviews typically last about an hour, so plan for a longer conversation than at many other colleges. If MIT can’t offer an interview, it will be waived without adversely affecting your application.
Dartmouth: Alumni interviewers contact applicants after they apply. Interviews are optional and depend on volunteer availability and geography.
Harvard: Interviews are assigned at the Admissions Committee’s discretion, based partly on local alumni availability. Applications receive full consideration without one.
Yale: Alumni volunteers or current Yale students interview selected applicants by invitation only. Yale prioritizes students for whom the committee would value additional information.
Check the email address you used on your application regularly, including your spam folder, and respond promptly if someone contacts you. Alumni interviewers may use personal email addresses. If you’re unsure whether an invitation is legitimate, you can verify it with the admissions office.
Georgetown: Assigned Interview, Student-Initiated Contact
Georgetown’s process is a little different. Submitting the initial portion of the application starts the interview process. Once Georgetown assigns you an alumni interviewer, you’re responsible for contacting that person to arrange the conversation.
Students must complete an interview when assigned. Georgetown aims to make interviews available to every applicant, although some internationally based students may not receive an assignment because of availability. That won’t negatively affect their admissions review.
What About UVA, UNC, Pitt, and Other Popular Colleges?
Many colleges our students apply to don’t offer general admissions interviews. Some have informal opportunities to meet with students or alumni, while others accept video introductions. These options have different purposes, so check whether a conversation is informational or will be included in your admissions evaluation.
UVA: Doesn’t offer undergraduate admissions interviews.
UNC–Chapel Hill: Doesn’t use interviews in its general admissions review. Separate scholarship processes may include interviews.
Pitt, Pittsburgh campus: Lists interviews as “Not Considered” for general first-year admission in its latest Common Data Set. Certain scholarship processes include interviews.
Virginia Tech: Neither requires nor schedules personal interviews for undergraduate admission.
Boston College: Doesn’t offer admissions interviews.
Columbia: Columbia College and Columbia Engineering discontinued their alumni interview program beginning with the 2023–24 application cycle.
Penn: No longer offers alumni conversations as part of the application process.
Northwestern: No longer offers alumni admissions interviews. Alumni ’Cat Chats are informational and don’t evaluate a student’s admissibility.
Vanderbilt: Doesn’t offer interviews through its undergraduate admissions office. Optional Glimpse and InitialView submissions are available, depending on applicant eligibility.
WashU: Doesn’t offer evaluative admissions interviews. Students can schedule informal Bear Chats with current students. International applicants also have third-party interview submission options.
Brown: Encourages a personal video introduction of no more than 90 seconds. It also accepts InitialView interviews from international students or students from nontraditional learning backgrounds.
Policies have changed at several of these schools, so check current instructions even if someone you know interviewed there in a previous year.
Interviews for Specific Programs and Scholarships
A college’s general interview policy may not apply to every program. Students applying to certain academic programs or scholarships should check those requirements separately.
Cornell Architecture: Architecture applicants must submit a video interview. Personal interviews aren’t required or available for Cornell’s other undergraduate programs.
University of Michigan: Interviews are limited to certain programs, including Dental Hygiene, some School of Music, Theatre & Dance programs, and School of Education programs with a recorded video interview requirement.
Morehead-Cain at UNC: The scholarship selection process includes video interviews for semifinalists, separate from UNC’s general admissions review.
Pitt’s Rees-Chancellor’s Scholars Program: The scholarship program includes first-round interviews for semifinalists and second-round interviews for finalists.
Pitt applicants who indicate interest in the Frederick Honors College and submit all required materials by December 1 receive priority consideration for Rees-Chancellor’s semifinalist selection. Semifinalists are notified in December to schedule their first interview, and finalists are notified in February to schedule a second.
College Interviews FAQ
Does not getting an interview hurt your chances?
At MIT, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Duke, not receiving an interview won’t disadvantage your application. Yale explicitly states that “many successful applicants are not interviewed.”
It’s understandable to wonder what it means when a friend gets an invitation and you haven’t. However, interview availability and selection work differently across colleges, and you usually won’t have enough information to draw a conclusion about your application. We recommend focusing on whether you’ve followed the college’s instructions rather than comparing invitations.
Of course, not receiving an interview is different from failing to request one or respond when assigned. Check your colleges’ policies before assuming there’s nothing else you need to do.
Should you do an optional college interview?
At Principia, we generally encourage students to interview when the opportunity is available. It gives you time to discuss interests and experiences you may only have mentioned briefly in your application, while learning more about the college.
If you’re nervous, that’s understandable, especially if this will be your first interview. Practicing with your counselor can help you feel more comfortable talking about yourself and knowing what to expect.
Can you request an interview after submitting your application?
At some colleges, including Rice and Wake Forest, you must apply before requesting an interview. Other colleges arrange interviews themselves and don’t accept requests. Check your school’s instructions promptly, since the interview request deadline may be different from the application deadline.
Is a video introduction the same as an interview?
A video introduction usually asks you to record something independently rather than speak with an interviewer. You may have a set amount of time to introduce yourself or respond to a prompt, and the college may give specific instructions about what to include.
Follow those instructions closely. A personal introduction, a recorded response to an assigned question, and a third-party interview aren’t interchangeable, even if all three involve submitting a video.
How should you prepare for a college interview?
Start by reviewing your application and thinking about which experiences you’d like to discuss further. You don’t need to fit every activity into the conversation. A few specific examples will help you explain what you enjoy, what you’ve learned, and what you hope to explore in college.
Spend some time researching the school, too. Your questions should reflect things you actually want to understand, whether that’s how students explore different majors or what it’s like to join a particular campus community.
Preparing for Your College Interview
Once you have an interview scheduled, give yourself time to practice answering questions aloud. An answer that seems clear in your head can be harder to explain in conversation, and practice can help you figure out where you need a more specific example or a little more thought.
At Principia, we work with students on choosing those examples and preparing questions that reflect their interests in the college. The goal is to feel comfortable discussing your experiences while leaving room for the conversation to develop naturally.
Our Ultimate Guide to College Interviews includes common questions, sample responses, and advice on how to approach the conversation.
Policies checked November 1, 2026. This guide covers selected colleges and focuses on first-year admission. Follow the official instructions for your college, program, and application plan, as availability and deadlines may change.
