Does interviewing later affect my chances of getting in?

[omnismash]

Say I interview on October 5th rather than September 5th, would that month wait affect my chances of getting in?

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[FanOfCostco]

No.

 

[mrdeez]

Absolutely. There are a limited number of seats and they will fill up as the cycle goes on. They don’t discriminate against good applicants who interview early just so they will have the option to accept an applicant later who might be good too.

When I interviewed last year there was a school that had the dean meet with our group. He was very candid with us so I asked him this exact question. He said the early interview groups have higher acceptance rates for this reason. He explained if you are picking teams in gym class do you pick the best ones first or no? Now imagine you are creating a gym class for half a year. You interview the best ones first, and accept as many good ones as you can early, so you can create the best team.

I asked him if all the dental schools work this way he said absolutely. He talks to other deans and they run that same way. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you interview ten awesome people in August, that’s ten seats you can cross off the list of ~100 that you need to fill. You could wait until October but why would you? You already invited the best people in the early months so the October people are less likely to be a match for your program anyway.

Anyway, sorry for the wordy response. It’s unfortunate but it’s reality. If you’re fortunate to get an early date, rest easy knowing that those dates have higher rates of acceptance and that the program who invited you really likes you.

Also, Im caffeinated and got my flame suit on. So if anyone wants to debate this then I can share more from that convo and give details over pm.

 

[UGAbulldogs]

Absolutely. There are a limited number of seats and they will fill up as the cycle goes on. They don’t discriminate against good applicants who interview early just so they will have the option to accept an applicant later who might be good too.

When I interviewed last year there was a school that had the dean meet with our group. He was very candid with us so I asked him this exact question. He said the early interview groups have higher acceptance rates for this reason. He explained if you are picking teams in gym class do you pick the best ones first or no? Now imagine you are creating a gym class for half a year. You interview the best ones first, and accept as many good ones as you can early, so you can create the best team.

I asked him if all the dental schools work this way he said absolutely. He talks to other deans and they run that same way. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you interview ten awesome people in August, that’s ten seats you can cross off the list of ~100 that you need to fill. You could wait until October but why would you? You already invited the best people in the early months so the October people are less likely to be a match for your program anyway.

Anyway, sorry for the wordy response. It’s unfortunate but it’s reality. If you’re fortunate to get an early date, rest easy knowing that those dates have higher rates of acceptance and that the program who invited you really likes you.

Also, Im caffeinated and got my flame suit on. So if anyone wants to debate this then I can share more from that convo and give details over pm.

So to your point above, interview committees interviewing early interviewees basically make their mind up directly after the interview? I figured they would make somewhat of a decision while you are fresh on their mind.
*I understand they wont report anything back to the applicant on the interview day or before December.

 

[mrdeez]

Yes they usually meet within a week or two to discuss the recent interview group(s), make a decision, and move on to the next. How soon and often they meet depends on the school, but they make decisions on you shortly after your interview. You hear about that decision in December like you said.

 

[roma14]

Absolutely. There are a limited number of seats and they will fill up as the cycle goes on. They don’t discriminate against good applicants who interview early just so they will have the option to accept an applicant later who might be good too.

When I interviewed last year there was a school that had the dean meet with our group. He was very candid with us so I asked him this exact question. He said the early interview groups have higher acceptance rates for this reason. He explained if you are picking teams in gym class do you pick the best ones first or no? Now imagine you are creating a gym class for half a year. You interview the best ones first, and accept as many good ones as you can early, so you can create the best team.

I asked him if all the dental schools work this way he said absolutely. He talks to other deans and they run that same way. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you interview ten awesome people in August, that’s ten seats you can cross off the list of ~100 that you need to fill. You could wait until October but why would you? You already invited the best people in the early months so the October people are less likely to be a match for your program anyway.

Anyway, sorry for the wordy response. It’s unfortunate but it’s reality. If you’re fortunate to get an early date, rest easy knowing that those dates have higher rates of acceptance and that the program who invited you really likes you.

Also, Im caffeinated and got my flame suit on. So if anyone wants to debate this then I can share more from that convo and give details over pm.

What if a school doesn't assign you an interview date, instead allowing you to choose a date between August and October? Would picking an earlier date still be beneficial?

 

[omnismash]

This is my case, as the school that invited me allowed me to pick an interview date

 

[MG14]

Absolutely. There are a limited number of seats and they will fill up as the cycle goes on. They don’t discriminate against good applicants who interview early just so they will have the option to accept an applicant later who might be good too.

When I interviewed last year there was a school that had the dean meet with our group. He was very candid with us so I asked him this exact question. He said the early interview groups have higher acceptance rates for this reason. He explained if you are picking teams in gym class do you pick the best ones first or no? Now imagine you are creating a gym class for half a year. You interview the best ones first, and accept as many good ones as you can early, so you can create the best team.

I asked him if all the dental schools work this way he said absolutely. He talks to other deans and they run that same way. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you interview ten awesome people in August, that’s ten seats you can cross off the list of ~100 that you need to fill. You could wait until October but why would you? You already invited the best people in the early months so the October people are less likely to be a match for your program anyway.

Anyway, sorry for the wordy response. It’s unfortunate but it’s reality. If you’re fortunate to get an early date, rest easy knowing that those dates have higher rates of acceptance and that the program who invited you really likes you.

Also, Im caffeinated and got my flame suit on. So if anyone wants to debate this then I can share more from that convo and give details over pm.

Eh, I’d be very careful over generalizing it to all schools. That may the case for some but not true for all. Some use a point/value system. They have different scores for the different parts of the application and the interview. When all pre December interviews are done they add up the values for the individual applicants and usually pick the top scores. So sometimes it doesn’t entirely matter when your interview was (Pre December. Now post December is a different story).

There’s a reason schools can’t hand out acceptances til dec. 1st and this is partially why.

But honestly, OP don’t overthink timing, you landed an interview and you have just as good of a shot as the next applicant. Be genuine, know your application and yourself and you’ll be fine.

 

[princeafrica]

Yes. It’s unofficially and unannounced rolling admissions

 

[mrdeez]

Yeah get the early date. It’s like wearing a life vest you can choose to protect yourself or not. If the bad thing happens then you’ll be glad. If the bad thing doesn’t happen then you wore it for nothing. If it’s really hard for you to do it then don’t stress I guess.

 

[2jz]

Eh, I’d be very careful over generalizing it to all schools. That may the case for some but not true for all. Some use a point/value system. They have different scores for the different parts of the application and the interview. When all pre December interviews are done they add up the values for the individual applicants and usually pick the top scores. So sometimes it doesn’t entirely matter when your interview was (Pre December. Now post December is a different story).

There’s a reason schools can’t hand out acceptances til dec. 1st and this is partially why.

But honestly, OP don’t overthink timing, you landed an interview and you have just as good of a shot as the next applicant. Be genuine, know your application and yourself and you’ll be fine.

Completely agree with this. There's definitely schools out there that score everyone irrespective of interview date pre-dec and just accept the top scoring applicants.

 

[MG14]

Now if your given the choice then yeah always choose the earlier date. I thought you worrying/comparing when the school starts handing out interviews vs. when they gave you an invite.

 

[doc toothache]

By the time Dec 1 rolls around, there is a chance adcoms may not even remember an interviewee.

 

[thestylishgeek]

yeah it helps your chances to interview earlier, although probably not as dramatic of a difference between having a pre-dec and post interview. I would probably take the earlier date unless you think you need an extra month to prepare yourself better for the interview or the earlier date conflicts with your schedule.