Colleges with Interviews Where Demonstrated Interest is Important (Class of 2031)

Editorial team Sep 22 · 4 min read
College Kickstart
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Your College List Class of 2031
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American Assumption Augustana Bard Bentley Bridgewater State
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Christopher Newport Class of 2031 DeSales Dickinson Dunwoody Eckerd Fairfield Florida Southern Gonzaga Grove City Guilford Hanover Hartwick Hillsdale Iona Kenyon Lafayette Lehigh Manhattanville Merrimack Moravian Mount St. Mary's - MD Naval Academy Oglethorpe Olin Pitzer Pratt Quinnipiac Roanoke RIT Rutgers - Camden Sacred Heart Saint John's - MD Saint John's - NM Seton Hall Southwestern St. Olaf SUNY Geneseo Syracuse Trinity Air Force West Point University of Dallas University of Rochester University of Tulsa University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Utica VMI Wabash Washington College Western Carolina Western Connecticut State

interviewWith the fall 2026-27 application cycle starting, it's important to keep an eye on interview requirements for the schools on your list—especially if they're looking for evidence of demonstrated interest.  

For example in cases like Hillsdale College where interviews are encouraged and demonstrated interest is very important, it's a good bet that taking advantage of an optional interview — in-person or virtual — is worth your time and may more strongly weigh on your candidacy for admission.

To compile this list, we first surveyed every school in our coverage universe where the latest Common Data Set entry for "level of applicant's interest" was reported as important or very important.  We then identified the schools where interviews are offered, encouraged, or required. 

 The devil is in the details, so to help you figure out your strategy we've also included a link to each listed school's interview policy.  Do keep in mind that interview requirements may often vary by major.   Also note that the Common Data set defines four options—very important, important, considered and not considered—and that inconsistencies are likely to exist in the way colleges define these terms.

This information is current as of 9/15/2026.

College Kickstart subscribers: this information is already available to you in the Summary and Requirements views.

 

Colleges with Interviews Where Demonstrated Interest is Important

Class of 2031

College Kickstart LLC

InstitutionInterview ImportanceDemonstrated InterestLink
American University Optional, informational Very important
Assumption University Encouraged Important
Augustana College Encouraged; Required for ED Very important
Bard College Optional Important
Bentley University Optional Important
Bridgewater State University Optional Important
Christopher Newport University Optional, encouraged Important
DeSales University Sometimes requested for test optional students Very important
Dickinson College Recommended Very important
Dunwoody College of Technology Optional, Recommended Important
Eckerd College Encouraged Important
Fairfield University Encouraged Important
Florida Southern College Optional, Encouraged Important
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Required (during Candidate Weekend for all candidate students) Very important
Gonzaga University Encouraged Important
Grove City College Recommended Very important
Guilford College Encouraged Important
Hanover College Optional Very important
Hartwick College Highly encouraged Very important
Hillsdale College Strongly encouraged Important
Iona University Encouraged Important
Kenyon College Recommended Important
Lafayette College Recommended; Strongly recommended for Marquis Awards Important
Lehigh University Optional Important
Manhattanville College Optional Very important
Merrimack College Recommended Important
Moravian University Optional Important
Mount St. Mary’s University - MD Optional Important
Oglethorpe University Optional Important
Pitzer College Optional Very important
Pratt Institute Optional; By invitation for HEOP Applicants Very important
Quinnipiac University Optional Important
Roanoke College Optional but encouraged Important
Rochester Institute of Technology Encouraged Important
Rutgers University - Camden Required of all Mason Gross School of the Arts applicants by invitation Important
Sacred Heart University Strongly recommended Very important
Seton Hall University Optional Very important
Southwestern University Highly encouraged; By invitation for some; Required for test optional or scholarships Important
St. John’s College - MD Strongly recommended; required for test optional Important
St. John’s College - NM Strongly recommended; required for test optional Important
St. Olaf College Optional Important
State University of New York - Geneseo Optional Very important
Syracuse University Optional; Required for School of Education, School of Architecture, the Department of Drama, and the Setnor School of Music Important
Trinity College Encouraged Important
United States Air Force Academy Required Very important
United States Military Academy Required Important
United States Naval Academy Required Very important
University of Dallas Required for some departmental scholarships Very important
University of Rochester Optional but strongly recommended, especially for merit-based scholarships Important
University of Tulsa Optional but highly encouraged Important
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Required Important
Utica University Optional but strongly encouraged to visit the campus for a personal interview with the admissions staff; required or early admission (after high school junior year) Important
Virginia Military Institute Optional Important
Wabash College Recommended; By invitation Very important
Washington College Optional Important
Western Carolina University Required for School of Stage and Screen Important
Western Connecticut State University Optional Important