Informational Interviews (Education)

[AriF]

I set up informational interviews for all of the arts education programs I applied to. All of the interviews were in person with department chairs, except for one phone interview. I'm pretty confident I made a good first impression. What kind of impact, if any, will these informational interviews have on my admissions decision?

I also have a connection to a board member at one of these institutions, who agreed to "flag" my application. What kind of impact will this have on my admissions decision?