i got my first interview! but when to go??

[prufrock0880]

i got my first invite from jefferson today. i was offered two dates: 11/15 or 12/13. what is the best way to schedule interviews? jefferson's seem to be on wednesdays; will there be lots of overlap between schools, are are they usually on different days? i'm asking bc i see the advantage of the early interview, but jeff is not my absolute first choice, and i would hate to have to wait an extra month to interview at my first choice. any advice?

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[Evil Monkey]

see if you can determine what the interview dates are for your first choice. many mstp programs make this public information. if there is overlap with either jeff date, choose the other (hopefully not overlapping date). in general it is better to interview earlier than later.. especially if its rolling. that's pretty much a no brainer.

 

[hawkeey]

1. Avoid potential conflicts by checking on interview dates for other schools that you rank above Jefferson.
2. Avoid other conflicts by examining what is going to happen that week. Are you taking a midterm or final exam around that time? Is there a lab that you might miss?
3. Will you be able to spend more time at a school on one date rather than another? Sometimes you will be able to arrive a day earlier or stay a day later than normal... taking the opportunity to meet with more potential advisors (and also potential admission committee members).
4. Get them done as soon as possible. Depending on the number of schools you applied to you might get a deluge later... just take care of them as they come

 

[Caristra]

I guess we should probably start an interview thread soon. It would help to know what dates have been offered by different programs. Congrats prufrock

 

[QofQuimica]

i got my first invite from jefferson today. i was offered two dates: 11/15 or 12/13. what is the best way to schedule interviews? jefferson's seem to be on wednesdays; will there be lots of overlap between schools, are are they usually on different days? i'm asking bc i see the advantage of the early interview, but jeff is not my absolute first choice, and i would hate to have to wait an extra month to interview at my first choice. any advice?

Congrats on your interview invite! I recommend going as early as you can, assuming that your schedule allows it. Nothing makes you anxious quite like watching acceptances being given out all over SDN while you haven't even interviewed anywhere yet. Also, you can't know ahead of time which schools you will wind up loving and which will wind up being "not your first choice." Lots of schools look great on paper and not so great once you get there, and vice versa. I changed my mind about several schools after going to the interviews, and the one I'm attending was definitely not one of my initial top choices before I interviewed. Best of luck to you.

 

[hateroftheyear]

congrats