How do schools contact applicants for interviews?

[applyingtograd]

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How will schools contact us for interviews? Will they e-mail or call? And if they call, what might they ask?
Thanks!

 

[denimfan]

I believe some schools do a "pre-interview" by calling before they send out email invitations to official on-campus interviews whereas some schools would just send emails out for official interviews.

 

[emily621]

Totally depends on the school - for a couple, my POI called me personally; for some, I got an email from them. I think for at least one or two, I got a notification from the department. And they could ask you anything if they call you - one of my POIs asked me to talk a little bit more about my research interests before telling me she wanted to invite me to interviews, a couple just talked details about the weekend. Could be anything, really 🙂

 

[member612]

Hey there,

It really depends on the school, as everyone else is asking.
This is a great question, by the way - one of which I should have thought of after applying! Guess I was too caught up in the application process to think ahead.

(1) E-mail from department head
(2) E-mail from POI
(3) Phone call from admissions committee
(4) Phone call from POI

It really varies per school, but I had to do 3 phone interviews prior to getting an in-person interview. This typically happens because either (1) they had an enormous amount of applicants and this was part of the weeding-out process, or (2) they want you, but just want to make sure you're a normal person that is able to articulate who you are and what you're interested in.

Only one of them was truly interview-like (i.e., serious, research-oriented questions), while the other two were more about gauging my interest in their programs and whether or not they should spend the time to invite me out for an interview.

My only takeaway is just be yourself, and I feel that the majority of people getting a phone interview prior to the in-person interview will be just fine. 🙂

Hope this helps!

 

[applyingtograd]

Thanks! That helped a ton!
So I might be over-thinking this/ being a bit paranoid 🙂...but do you think they would look at it negatively if you didn't pick up when they called (not sure if I could pick up if I was in a meeting or at work)?

 

[ssodium]

Thanks! That helped a ton!
So I might be over-thinking this/ being a bit paranoid 🙂...but do you think they would look at it negatively if you didn't pick up when they called (not sure if I could pick up if I was in a meeting or at work)?

I don't think so - unless the POI had contacted you earlier to arrange the time. It would be silly for the to think that we are always by our phones just waiting for them to call 😉
It would depend on the school/POI but I was always contacted by email first before they called.

 

[ResearchGirlie]

Thanks! That helped a ton!
So I might be over-thinking this/ being a bit paranoid 🙂...but do you think they would look at it negatively if you didn't pick up when they called (not sure if I could pick up if I was in a meeting or at work)?

I didn't pick up for unknown numbers when I was waiting for grad school invites. Just too nervous! It worked out fine for me and nobody seemed bothered at all. People don't expect you to be sitting around waiting for their unannounced phone call (even though you likely are when waiting for interviews!). The phone calls were almost always just to let me know that I was being invited for an interview and to let me know they'd be sending details via email.

 

[EmotRegulation]

Not picking up might be a great strategy (though make sure your voice mail message sound professional!) because then you aren't caught off guard. Some PIs do like to ask questions and you may feel more prepared if you can remind yourself of the person's research and program details so you can present yourself in the best possible light.

 

[member612]

Thanks! That helped a ton!
So I might be over-thinking this/ being a bit paranoid 🙂...but do you think they would look at it negatively if you didn't pick up when they called (not sure if I could pick up if I was in a meeting or at work)?

Not paranoid at all - great question. I think everyone else hit it on the head - no problem at all if you don't pick up the phone right when they call. They often called while I was still at my job, so they totally understood when I called them back at a later time and explained I was at work. Maximize the time, and do your research before you call them back! 👍

 

[Psyc325]

appic or grad programs