Does distance to travel affect interview invitations?

[FigmundFreud]

For example, would a school on the East Coast be more likely to invite a marginal but still feasible applicant who lived nearby than an identical applicant who lived on the West Coast? It seems unreasonable to invite someone to spend $$$ on a plane ticket if they'd be on the weak end of the interviewee pool.

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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

For example, would a school on the East Coast be more likely to invite a marginal but still feasible applicant who lived nearby than an identical applicant who lived on the West Coast? It seems unreasonable to invite someone to spend $$$ on a plane ticket if they'd be on the weak end of the interviewee pool.

No, that's not the way the process works. I highly doubt that distance to travel is a factor for any school. A marginal candidate is lucky to get an interview regardless of how much money they have to spend on travel. Schools aren't going to give interview invitations to applicants who have no chance whatsoever of being accepted--that'd be a waste of the school's resources. But, of course, it's just part of this process that some applicants will shell out tons of money on interviews to schools they won't get accepted to.

 

[Med Ed]

For example, would a school on the East Coast be more likely to invite a marginal but still feasible applicant who lived nearby than an identical applicant who lived on the West Coast? It seems unreasonable to invite someone to spend $$$ on a plane ticket if they'd be on the weak end of the interviewee pool.

Depends. If you are an expensive private school on the east coast and you receive an application from a Texas resident, what are you going to think? That the person is going to forgo a plethora of cheap in-state options to attend your institution? Highly unlikely without some mitigating circumstance.

The west coast is a different story, as there are far more highly qualified applicants than in-state seats. The seller's market dynamic becomes stronger, and it becomes much easier to extend interview invites to that cohort.

From the institution's standpoint, the "nice" thing about interviewing applicants who are weaker on paper is that they are less likely to have competing offers.

 

[FigmundFreud]

Depends. If you are an expensive private school on the east coast and you receive an application from a Texas resident, what are you going to think? That the person is going to forgo a plethora of cheap in-state options to attend your institution? Highly unlikely without some mitigating circumstance.

The west coast is a different story, as there are far more highly qualified applicants than in-state seats. The seller's market dynamic becomes stronger, and it becomes much easier to extend interview invites to that cohort.

From the institution's standpoint, the "nice" thing about interviewing applicants who are weaker on paper is that they are less likely to have competing offers.

But schools have no reservations about someone on the borderline paying big money for a plane ticket that probably isn't going to lead to anything? Not trying to sound indignant, just want to be sure.

 

[P0ke]

But schools have no reservations about someone on the borderline paying big money for a plane ticket that probably isn't going to lead to anything? Not trying to sound indignant, just want to be sure.

No, they don't care.

 

[jorjorswens]

I'm from the west but got most interviews in the Far East. I think that application and school fit play bigger roles. 4 east coast interviews to 1 west coast.


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