Why do some private schools want to interview parents as part of application process and other privates don’t require?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally thought the Maret/Sidwell parent interviews were extremely wierd for a high school student. I mean, it felt very much like our family was being vetted — what did we choose to wear? What did we choose to say? Did we say Harvard or “school in the NE”? For lower school, I get that you don’t have much else to go on, but for upper school, admissions seemed to be less about our kid and more about us. Which was the wrong vibe for me. We ended up at a school without parent interviews and that set the tone for our engagement with the school. Our child deals with our child’s schooling issues first and foremost. We have not had to step in. If we do, we expect that the child would’ve tried first. It’s actually not our high school experience but our child’s.

This is how we feel. If a school requires a parent interview for HS it will be a sign that it’s a bad fit for us.

Went through the process for two kids. The parent interview is an opportunity for both sides to assess fit. Most of each of the interviews focused on the child, how the parents viewed the child, their goals for the child, etc., from the school's perspective (for triangulation, as others have mentioned). From our side, it allowed us to inquire about things that were important to us but which our child might not have the courage to ask or skill to evaluate (for example, the school's learning center). For a couple where there was a prior connection, more of the interview fell into the "shooting the shit" category. But even when our younger was applying to the school our older girl was then still attending, we wanted to do the interview (which the school told us would be optional) because the second kid was different than the first and we had different questions. I'd be more wary of a school that didn't take the opportunity to find out about the child through the parents' eyes or offer the opportunity for the parent to further explore what the school has to offer than one that encouraged or required it.

+1
We thought the parent interviews were a very useful and helpful part of the process for both sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally thought the Maret/Sidwell parent interviews were extremely wierd for a high school student. I mean, it felt very much like our family was being vetted — what did we choose to wear? What did we choose to say? Did we say Harvard or “school in the NE”? For lower school, I get that you don’t have much else to go on, but for upper school, admissions seemed to be less about our kid and more about us. Which was the wrong vibe for me. We ended up at a school without parent interviews and that set the tone for our engagement with the school. Our child deals with our child’s schooling issues first and foremost. We have not had to step in. If we do, we expect that the child would’ve tried first. It’s actually not our high school experience but our child’s.

I don't get it. They asked you these questions? I toured Maret recently. Was turned off by the whole vibe.

NP. We were asked about our educational experiences while interviewing and my husband and I mentioned our colleges - we went to Amherst and Harvard. Why would anyone say “a school in the NE instead of the school? Just be yourself. It’s like dating - if you want to actually find a partner who you will get on with you act like yourself not a completely different person.

They are asking where the parents went to college now?

Maybe someone should tell them that many, many colleges, especially selective ones, do not give children of alumni preference in admissions. That practice has died off back there with the crop tops, skinny jeans, and Uggs of 2005.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t choose a school that didn’t have parent interviews. But I view school as a community for my kids, one that includes other parents. I’d like to know the school has vetted them in some way.

Depends on the age. High school is different.

No it isn't. They still don't want difficult parents in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally thought the Maret/Sidwell parent interviews were extremely wierd for a high school student. I mean, it felt very much like our family was being vetted — what did we choose to wear? What did we choose to say? Did we say Harvard or “school in the NE”? For lower school, I get that you don’t have much else to go on, but for upper school, admissions seemed to be less about our kid and more about us. Which was the wrong vibe for me. We ended up at a school without parent interviews and that set the tone for our engagement with the school. Our child deals with our child’s schooling issues first and foremost. We have not had to step in. If we do, we expect that the child would’ve tried first. It’s actually not our high school experience but our child’s.

I don't get it. They asked you these questions? I toured Maret recently. Was turned off by the whole vibe.

NP. We were asked about our educational experiences while interviewing and my husband and I mentioned our colleges - we went to Amherst and Harvard. Why would anyone say “a school in the NE instead of the school? Just be yourself. It’s like dating - if you want to actually find a partner who you will get on with you act like yourself not a completely different person.

They are asking where the parents went to college now?

Maybe someone should tell them that many, many colleges, especially selective ones, do not give children of alumni preference in admissions. That practice has died off back there with the crop tops, skinny jeans, and Uggs of 2005.

Umm - I wish. As a parent of a college student, there are only a handful of private colleges have gotten rid of legacy admissions. A few are "looking into it" after some pushback spurred by the Supreme Court decision on race/ethnicity. There's a larger list of flagship state schools that have removed legacy preference, especially in California.

[Anonymous]

I'm pp - forgot to include this link

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/selective-institutions-that-don-t-consider-legacy-status