Does a later interview before DEC 3rd decrease acceptance?

[dadou91]

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Hi Everyone,

I have a few interviews in November, one possibly the week of November before Dec. 3rd and i was wondering if my chances are lower? Would schools have already selected most of their seats by then?
Thank you!

 

[NDPitch]

No, that is unlikely. Also think of all the post december interviews that go out. Plenty of people get accepted then as well.

 

[minafeet]

I think it depends on the school's process.

At many schools they meet the day of/week after the interview day and decide then.
So clearly there will be fewer seats to give out later on in the process than in the beginning.

I wouldn't worry about it though if I were you. It helps a bit to be earlier but it doesn't really hurt to be later. Either way it's a pre-dec interview

 

[pinpoint212]

Remember when applying to undergrad and there were many different processes like Early Decision, Rolling Admission, and Early Action?

Think of Pre-December 1st as early action non-binding.
Post-December 1st is rolling admission.

 

[Zbtb7]

I think it depends on the school's process.

At many schools they meet the day of/week after the interview day and decide then.
So clearly there will be fewer seats to give out later on in the process than in the beginning.

I wouldn't worry about it though if I were you. It helps a bit to be earlier but it doesn't really hurt to be later. Either way it's a pre-dec interview

Except schools don't give acceptances before December. I don't think many schools decide whether or not to accept an applicant right after an interview. Rather, they score the applicant's interview finalizing a score for the applicant. When Dec 3rd comes by, they'll give acceptances to the best candidates. This way, if a better applicant has a later pre-Dec interview, the adcoms can bump the worse ranked/earlier interviewing candidate down into reject/waitlist territory and give an acceptance to a stronger applicant. If schools decided on who to accept right after the interview and let their seats dwindle, they might as well have rolling admissions from the beginning. Not being able to bump earlier candidates out of the acceptance pool for better applicants is like the adcom tying one hand behind their back.

Therefore, I think all pre-Dec interviewees are on equal footing. Schools will accept the applicants they like the most from this cohort with interview date being a non-issue.

 

[TailorMade]

Related Question. So if we have a pre-december interview, regardless of when that is, will we know by Dec. 3 if we got accepted/waitlisted/rejected?

 

[finchy86]

This is all speculative...so to be honest in responding to the OP I have absolutely no idea.

 

[Zbtb7]

Related Question. So if we have a pre-december interview, regardless of when that is, will we know by Dec. 3 if we got accepted/waitlisted/rejected?

Often schools will score you no more than a few days after your interview so you're still fresh in their minds. Unless you're interviewing late November, it's very likely you'll have a decision on Dec 3rd.

 

[JAWSSS]

Except schools don't give acceptances before December. I don't think many schools decide whether or not to accept an applicant right after an interview. Rather, they score the applicant's interview finalizing a score for the applicant. When Dec 3rd comes by, they'll give acceptances to the best candidates. This way, if a better applicant has a later pre-Dec interview, the adcoms can bump the worse ranked/earlier interviewing candidate down into reject/waitlist territory and give an acceptance to a stronger applicant. If schools decided on who to accept right after the interview and let their seats dwindle, they might as well have rolling admissions from the beginning. Not being able to bump earlier candidates out of the acceptance pool for better applicants is like the adcom tying one hand behind their back.

Therefore, I think all pre-Dec interviewers are on equal footing. Schools will accept the applicants they like the most from this cohort with interview date being a non-issue.

This is not accurate. We know its not accurate because there are tons of spreadsheets that will show you that the chance of being offered an acceptance with a pre-december interview is MUCH higher than receiving one from a post-december interview. Therefore, there is not "equal footing" for all applicants. This is also the reason applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible (i.e. Have your DAT done before June and apply the first few weeks of the app start date).

Before December 3rd, sats are being filled in the eyes of the schools. So... After December 3rd, you are interviewing for fewer spots in the school...

This might not be true for all schools... But I think its a general trend.

 

[Zbtb7]

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[JAWSSS]

WHoa... HAHA! I read "later in pre-december" as "later than december"

Now, I completely support your statement. 😎