Interview invite with no chance of acceptance

[SellerAl]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey there. I was wondering, purely hypothetically, if somebody were to have an institutional action, would receiving an interview invite mean that the institutional action hurdle has been completely overcame, or would an adcom still count it against you post interview?

 

[gmcguitar4]

If you had institutional action but were still offered an interview invite, I would say that they are giving you chance to explain the situation. If you can explain the situation well and how you overcome it, bla bla, then I feel the action against you would have less of an effect on their decision to accept you.

 

[eDITN]

Well, it means that they are interested in your application despite the institutional action. Be prepared to explain the circumstances in the interview and to show how you have grown and learned from the situation.

They wouldn't have given you an interview if you had "no" chance of an acceptance. It may still certainly work against you as the selection process continues but the extent to which is works against you will depend on how you handle the issue during your interview.

 

[MegMurry]

If you had institutional action but were still offered an interview invite, I would say that they are giving you chance to explain the situation. If you can explain the situation well and how you overcome it, bla bla, then I feel the action against you would have less of an effect on their decision to accept you.

agreed. the first thought i had when I saw this thread was "well, that's an oxymoron..." if you have been given an II, you still have >0% chance of being accepted. even if it's because you have a connection, an II is far better than being rejected.

but on this note, if you have an IA, a big egregious hole in your academic record, something, anything....that needs explaining in your application, bite the bullet and address the issue when they ask you if there's anything else you feel they should know. Initially during the season, I thought it was sufficient if I wrote about my application weakness in a secondary and didn't mention it again in the interview, but I've received more positive feedback from schools where I did speak about it in the interview. If your interviewer is willing to advocate for you, that's probably a stronger argument than your essay, however well-written. just food for thought.

 

[SellerAl]

so do you think that people are for the most part on equal grounds going into the interview, or do they have general ideas about who they'd like to pick beforehand?

 

[aSagacious]

so do you think that people are for the most part on equal grounds going into the interview, or do they have general ideas about who they'd like to pick beforehand?

In my conversations with AdComs, it tends to be the latter.

 

[MegMurry]

In my conversations with AdComs, it tends to be the latter.

I'm not at all surprised. though again, an II is better than rejection! You still have your foot in the door. So you just have to sell yourself the best you can and fight like hell to convince them you belong there 🙂 good luck

 

[eDITN]

so do you think that people are for the most part on equal grounds going into the interview, or do they have general ideas about who they'd like to pick beforehand?

Well, if the former were true then the only selection criterion post interview would be the interview itself. That certainly is not true.

Sure, some applicants will be higher on the "list" than others, but the interview is an opportunity for you to move yourself around on that list (positively or negatively). That said, the interview is not the only factor of your acceptance/denial after you have interviewed. The whole application still matters. Therefore, an issue like an institutional action will likely still be discussed when the committee makes a final decision on your application. How you addressed the instutitional action in your interview will be vitally important, obviously.

 

[IMSingular]

Hey there. I was wondering, purely hypothetically, if somebody were to have an institutional action, would receiving an interview invite mean that the institutional action hurdle has been completely overcame, or would an adcom still count it against you post interview?

It will count against you when comapared to an identical candidate with all things equal.
On other hand school wouldn't invite you unless they think you have a chance.
It will give you an opportunity to explain yourself may be at cost of few hundred dollars.
You should go for the interview so that you hone your interviewing skills, and develop a reasonable and honest explaination on how you made amendments to your behavior as a consequence of institutional action, though keep your .

 

[cheekiemunky]

Every school is different in terms of how many they accept out of those they interview. But I do know for sure that they wouldn't interview you if they weren't interested in you. I had some stuff to explain in my interviews. It actually helped me get in. But I'm sure it kept me off the list at other schools too.

 

[kpcrew]

I'm not at all surprised. though again, an II is better than rejection! You still have your foot in the door. So you just have to sell yourself the best you can and fight like hell to convince them you belong there 🙂 good luck

yeah i would think that the whole point of the process is to allow them to get to know you better. so if you have a blemish like that, your good character or whatever would win them over