Early versus late interview effect on acceptance rate?

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viralhiker

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What effect (if any) does the date of an interview (EDIT: interview invitation) have on likelihood of acceptance?

Take for example a school with rolling admissions that accepts ~50% of applicants post-interview. Does that imply that those who are invited to interview in August/September have a significantly greater chance (>50%) at acceptance than someone who is invited in December/January (<50%)?

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I went 3/3 on post ii rejections from my interviews in August-sept last cycle :)
 
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I went 3/3 on post ii rejections from my interviews in August-sept last cycle :)
That’s rough, sorry to hear that. Were you able to get feedback from those schools on what led to their decisions?
 
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That’s rough, sorry to hear that. Were you able to get feedback from those schools on what led to their decisions?
Didn’t really mind had more interviews and ended up with multiple acceptances so w.e
 
What effect (if any) does the date of an interview have on likelihood of acceptance?

Take for example a school with rolling admissions that accepts ~50% of applicants post-interview. Does that imply that those who interview in August/September have a significantly greater chance (>50%) at acceptance than someone who interviews in December/January (<50%)?
According to every adcom that has commented on that here, NONE!!!!!

The date of the II has some correlation to how desirable they consider you (i.e., stronger, or more "preferred" candidates receive earlier invitations), but the date of the interview is related to scheduling and capacity issues, not your odds of acceptance. They have seats right up until the end, and in fact, end up pulling from WLs even after they are done. They just don't run out of seats in December/January.

By March, you might be interviewing for the WL, but not before all As have been issued, and all As aren't issued before they are done seeing everyone they want to see!
 
According to every adcom that has commented on that here, NONE!!!!!

The date of the II has some correlation to how desirable they consider you (i.e., stronger candidate receive earlier invitations), but the date of the interview is related to scheduling and capacity issues, not your odds of acceptance. They have seats right up until the end, and in fact, end up pulling from WLs even after they are done. They just don't run out of seats in December/January. By March, you might be interviewing for the WL, but not before all As have been issued!
Thanks for the reply! I should have clarified, I meant the date of interview invitation. I understand that the actual day you interview will be affected by scheduling considerations.
 
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Thanks for the reply! I should have clarified, I meant the date of interview invitation. I understand that the actual day you interview will be affected by scheduling considerations.
Then, yeah, sorry for the bad news, and pleeeze don't stress about this during Labor Day weekend, but, as you know, apps aren't reviewed chronologically. They stratify them and go through them in whatever order they prefer (URM, high stat, low SES, legacy, whatever). Obviously, higher priority (which varies from school to school) goes first.

This doesn't mean you are SOL if you don't hear until December, but, of course, they are more interested in the people who are hearing now. At the end of the day, I beg you not to stress over things you can't control. If they are all chasing the purple unicorn high stat, low SES URM, and you don't fall into that bucket, there is nothing you can do about it except wait your turn. But don't worry. There are only so many of them, and each of them can only attend one school, so there are plenty of opportunities for everyone else! :cool:

Rest assured, the vast majority of strong candidates find a home by the end of the cycle. It probably bears repeating -- while the oh so kind adcoms repeatedly remind us that 60% will fail, and we are rejected until we are accepted, you know where you stand stat-wise and EC-wise. As long as you applied widely to a reasonable number of carefully curated schools, you have an excellent to chance to be in the 40%, even if you haven't received an II by Labor Day.
 
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What effect (if any) does the date of an interview (EDIT: interview invitation) have on likelihood of acceptance?

Take for example a school with rolling admissions that accepts ~50% of applicants post-interview. Does that imply that those who are invited to interview in August/September have a significantly greater chance (>50%) at acceptance than someone who is invited in December/January (<50%)?
At my school, we do tend to get pickier at the end of the cycle. At the beginning, if we are hesitant about accepting someone, the Wily Old Admissions Dean constantly badgers up with "if you don't take this kid, you know they'll go elsewhere"
 
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At my school, we do tend to get pickier at the end of the cycle. At the beginning, if we are hesitant about accepting someone, the Wily Old Admissions Dean constantly badgers up with "if you don't take this kid, you know they'll go elsewhere"
With all due respect, all you are really doing is stating the obvious. I think your Wily Old Admissions Dean is more concerned about your not accepting the early interviewing candidates you and you colleagues maybe aren't so in love with after meeting them because he knows, at least on paper, that they are more attractive than whoever is going to be coming through the door later, and not because he is afraid they will go elsewhere.

Everyone will go elsewhere if that is their best option. Objectively, your stronger candidates will always be more likely than your weaker ones to go elsewhere. This is true regardless of when you choose to interview them, or whether your dean nudges you to accept someone you have doubts about, simply because they are more likely to have better options by virtue of their being your stronger candidates.

Is your yield really higher among the candidates you accept earlier, because you were less picky and kept them from going elsewhere? I'll bet exactly the opposite is true, and that your yield is higher among the weaker candidates that you are "pickier" about when you accept them later, because they are less likely to have better options.

That is a very different thing from stating that you get pickier at the end of the cycle. If you are indeed pickier, it's because you are picking from objectively less attractive candidates. Isn't that what everyone does, at every school (i.e., @LizzyM's staircase analogy -- lower scoring candidates need to break through more on an interview to receive an A)?
 
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