I had 364,000 on my '97 Corolla (same engines as the 96's) and using conventional anything is guaranteeing you end up with an oil burner, if it isnt already. I would go 5000 miles max in 5w30 using any decent synthetic and you may end up with one that does not burn to much. The oil drainback holes in the pistons were tiny and too few. I've been in at least one (not mine) where I couldnt even get the piston rings out, it was so caked with carbon. Never did find the holes on that one, gave up on that piston. I got one ring out the next piston.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd be tempted to have done 4000 mile changes since new. If that sounds like overkill and a waste of oil, towards the last 50,000 miles or so, it was going through a quart every 250 miles, give or take (and not a puff of smoke ever). Over 4000 miles, you're headed towards five gallons of oil unless you run it dry. I could have changed it every 1000 miles and not been any poorer for the effort. The last few years we had it, all the oil I drained out of my Mazda's and Sequoia got held in plastic milk gallon jugs and poured right into the Corolla, so I rarely bought new oil for it once I started doing that. I threw a new Fram Ultra filter on it every 8-9 months or whenever.
Very durable and reliable engines, adequate power and decent MPG, but the oil burning situation got out of control on far too many of them, once it gets started. And once it does, the EGR passages and intake manifold will need frequent internal cleaning or they get full of carbon deposits. Not difficult to clean out, but not fun. Been there done that too many times.
I can only offer my advice based on my own experience in owning one for 18 years, being inside a few, and being on forums talking about them (specifically the oil burning) and I can only say I would definitely not use conventional oil in any 4A-FE (1.6L) and 7A-FE (1.8L) Corolla engine.