How do college interview invitations work?

CCollege interviews come in three kinds, and what we learned from Stanford's admissions office is that families often mix them up. Most colleges do not offer interviews at all and a few require one, while many sit in between, offering an optional interview through their alumni network or admissions staff. Among that middle group, the rules about who is interviewed, and when, vary in ways that catch strong applicants out.

The cost of a mix-up is small but real. A student who expected to request an interview, or who assumed none was coming, can let the one chance to meet someone from the college slip past without noticing. Why it works this way comes down to volunteers.