Informational Interviews (Theater Education)

[AriF]

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

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