I am a parent to high-functional ASD child, my son is very brilliant but awkward in social interactions. He is very nervous about interview, if we choose not to do any interview does that hurt his chance of admission? Or shall we tell the interviewer (the interviewer might be able to tell anyway), is that going to hurt his chance as well? He does not disclose he is on the spectrum in the application.
My kid was in that exact same situation last year. He nervously signed up for interviews at the 3 schools that offered them, and picked nearly the last date possible (all on the same day in August). As the date approached he panicked.
We tried to encourage him that it would be fine, reminding him that he’d had one-on-one virtual sessions with professors and AO’s already. He was also freaked out about those but they went great.
He was so distressed about the approaching interviews, that he felt they would do more harm than good. We didn’t agree, but supported him. He went ahead and scheduled himself to work a long shift that day. He emailed to say he had a work conflict and would need to cancel. Everyone was chill about it. We didn’t love the situation, but it was his choice. He got in to 2/3 with huge scholarships and was waitlisted at the third (all his friends were also waitlisted there and I don’t think the interview mattered much).
That’s a long answer to your question, but depending on the school, it won’t matter. Mine did not apply to any elite schools, so YMMV. At schools that track demonstrated interest, it’s important to show interest in other ways. I wouldn’t disclose his ASD, and it’s worth trying to come to an agreement that your kid feels good about, whatever the outcome may be. Good luck!
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My son with ASD, level 1, interviewed but he interviews very well and we are very open about his diagnosis. He is a top student (our school doesn’t rank but if they did he’ll be #1) and we mostly care about fit so we’ll see how he does on March 10. He applied to 5 GLEDCHEMMS and 2 backups.
I would interview since it’s important the school sees how your child is in person. I see no advantage from hiding his diagnosis. The school will find out when he attends and you want a school that can support him socially and emotionally not just academically: having a good fit especially for boarding school is the most important consideration.
I will say that we did not apply to schools that balked in some way after we told them about his diagnosis: those schools are obviously unable to support him and a terrible fit.
Also, your son’s social deficiencies will be touched on through his recommendations. There is no hiding social issues since boarding schools prioritize how well the applicant will fit in and contribute to their community.
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I assumed this kid was applying to college and not boarding school. My answer would be different for boarding school.
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You are right. I assumed the poster was talking about boarding school since the thread appeared on my feed but not sure if it’s college or boarding school they are asking about.
Thank you, that’s very helpful! Best luck to your son!
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it is about college application, sorry for confusion
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Thank you for sharing the story and glad your son find the right fit!
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College interviews generally have little to no impact. He could not do them and have the same results. Another option might be to do the interviews as a learning experience since they are low risk.
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Thank you, that is a new approach to see it!
Absolutely agree; D20 uses every interview as practice, not necessarily practice for interviewing to get the position (job, leadership role, etc), but as practice for working on the social skills aspect of the interview. As much as she hates the necessity for it, she practices masking as well. It has helped immensely; theatre class in HS helped as well. The job, skills, technology and expertise were never the issue for her, telling herself to pause and let the other person speak or not playing with her hair were very real things she had to practice over and over again. The more she did the less anxiety she would have.
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Thank you for your advice! appreciate it!
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