Interview scheduling as admission filter

Requiring applicants to schedule and complete a brief interview creates a low-cost, high-signal filter: motivated, mission-fit applicants self-select into the interview while less interested candidates drop out, so the scheduling friction itself becomes the primary discriminator rather than interview performance. That allows colleges to allocate scarce aid more efficiently and improve retention and campus fit without expensive downstream fixes. — If broadly adopted, this simple operational tweak could reshape financial-aid targeting, retention outcomes, and fairness debates about which procedural frictions are legitimate selectors in higher education.