<p>My S was thrown (at least on the inside) by a direct question from one very top reach program when they asked him: if he was admitted, would he attend their school? He said something like he would love to, but his family had to see FA and costs would factor into his final decision. The interviewers said there was no merit aid at this school, and he kinda repeated he’d applied for FA through the university… so… They told him: this is a very expensive university (duh!) and then asked him to leave the interview room and please wait. When he came out, he was utterly confused and pretty down, as he hadn’t been expecting to discuss costs of college with auditors, and so couldn’t imagine why they would want him to wait around. The upshot: they called him back into their room about 10 (long) minutes later and told him he was being admitted. Again, he was thrown. He had never heard that this sort of verbal on-the-spot admission was possible. He had been prepared for a lot of “no’s” and was frankly unprepared for a sudden, in-person “yes” from his first choice program. I’m sure many of your students would have been dancing around, but he was in shock for about an hour until it sunk in. :)</p>