Juggling Interview Dates - Strategy?

[mordac21]

***not trying to humblebrag I swear***

So when you all have multiple IIs, what is your scheduling strategy? "Sooner is better" seems to be a common mantra, but it's getting to the point where that's not really feasible due to the time required for travelling, not to mention the moral shame I feel for skipping out on so much work. I would also like to have my top choice schools be towards the end of the interview cycle so I'm more practiced, but that might make it harder to get in for schools with rolling admissions.

Thoughts?

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[Doctoblast]

I'd say sooner is better for your top choices besides the schools that explicitly state that when you interview doesn't impact your chances.

 

[docbsb2015]

Sooner>Later no matter what... if work is cool with it take as many early as possible

 

[ruedjgtc]

Sooner is better.

Sure, you don't want your top pick to perhaps be your first interview. But, saving the program you want to get into wouldn't be a prudent move. As you already know the admissions are rolling, i.e. a cut throat game of musical chairs. So, the heaviest recruiting happens towards the beginning and people are fighting for seats that are left over towards the end. Even if there are two periods of evaluating applicants (Fall and Spring), our program is like that and I knew a few people who were selected from that late batch, you still want to get an interview early so you're fighting when there are more seats.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

If you have to make a point of saying that you're definitely NOT doing something, you're probably doing it. Trust me.

 

[nwts]

I am personally of the belief that sooner is better than later, but that has to be done in moderation. I think that if you have 3 or 4 interviews, you want to schedule them as soon as you can, within reason. However, if you have 9 interviews, I might be a little hesitant to schedule them all really soon unless money is not an issue for you. If you had 9 (or a similarly high number), ask yourself if there are any schools on that list that you wouldn't attend an interview for if you got accepted to some of the other schools on your list. For example: "I wouldn't interview at 8 or 9 if I got acceptances from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7." In that case, I'd try to schedule 8 and 9 in November so that you could cancel those interviews if you were admitted to one of the other schools. That way, you won't be shelling out a ton of money for travel to 9 interviews unless you actually need to.

Just my two cents.

 

[Long Way to Go]

If you have to make a point of saying that you're definitely NOT doing something, you're probably doing it. Trust me.

NotASerialKiller, 47 minutes ago

 

[snowpea28]

Hello! I would schedule the schools that you are MOST interested in early (like within the month). I hope things haven't changed too much since I applied but I believe they still do give acceptances out on October 15th?

I scheduled all my interviews within geographic driving distance for Sept/Oct, after I got acceptances on October 15th I cancelled everything except schools I was interested in. I ended up attending the school of my latest interview for what that's worth haha.