Whenever a school offers an optional interview, students tend to overthink the decision. The math is actually simple once you see it clearly.
The cost-benefit case for accepting
An optional interview is a straightforward opportunity-cost calculation. The downside of an average, professional interview is close to nothing, most schools describe alumni interviews as informational rather than heavily weighted, and a merely fine conversation rarely moves your file in either direction. The upside of a genuinely strong interview, though, can be real: at a school that considers demonstrated interest, or in a borderline decision where the committee is looking for any additional signal, a memorable, well-prepared interview can be the thing that tips a file toward admit. Thirty to sixty minutes of your time against that asymmetric payoff is, for almost every applicant, a clear accept.
When declining actually makes sense
The legitimate reason to decline is logistics: your assigned interviewer is genuinely unreachable (200+ miles away with no virtual option offered, for instance), or the only available time directly conflicts with something immovable like a required exam. In those cases, request a virtual alternative before declining outright, most schools will accommodate this, since remote interviews are now standard practice. What is not a good reason to decline is simple anxiety about interviewing. That anxiety is worth addressing with preparation and practice, not avoidance, because you're giving up a low-risk, potentially high-value opportunity to sidestep a manageable discomfort.
How much interviews actually count
This varies meaningfully by school. Some highly selective schools use alumni interviews mainly as a demonstrated-interest and character check, with limited weight in the final academic decision. Others, particularly schools that explicitly list 'interview' as a factor they consider in admissions, treat a strong interview as a genuine, if modest, boost. Because you rarely know in advance exactly how much weight your specific school assigns, the safest assumption is that it can only help, and treating it as low-stakes-but-worth-doing-well is the correct posture either way.
Video interviews count the same
Many schools have shifted partly or fully to video interviews in place of in-person alumni meetings. These carry identical weight from a demonstrated-interest and evaluation standpoint, prepare for them exactly as you would an in-person conversation: research the school, decide what you want the interviewer to know about you, and test your tech setup ahead of time.
A borderline case I saw play out
I once worked with a family debating whether to bother with an optional interview at a school their daughter was genuinely excited about but statistically borderline for. She almost skipped it out of nerves. She did it anyway, came across as thoughtful and specific about why the school's program fit her, and was admitted off a waitlist a few months later, the admissions officer later mentioned the interview had been a notable, positive data point in her file. That single 40-minute conversation cost her almost nothing and, in a genuinely close decision, may have been the deciding factor.
Want to walk in ready instead of just hoping it goes well?
College Interview Prep with Jenny gives you a full mock interview and live feedback so your optional interview becomes a genuine advantage.
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