Scheduling In-Person Interviews (Ph.D./Psy.D.)

[bernie23]

Before the floodgates open and invitations begin rolling in full-force, I’m hoping that people who have gone through the Ph.D./Psy.D. application process could provide some insight into scheduling in-person interviews.

What kind of timeframe do applicants usually have to work with when deciding whether or not to accept interview invitations? Is it acceptable to ask for a few days to consider?

If offered two interviews during the same weekend, what factors would you consider when deciding which one to accept?

Is it ever acceptable to cancel a previously-accepted invitation?

Thanks to everyone for all their help throughout this stressful process!

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[mishpug]

I am just a fellow applicant, so I do not have as much information as those who have been through this process but I will give it a shot.

-One invite I received had a respond by date, the other did not. I responded to both within 24 hours since I knew I was going to attend and I wanted to be prompt.

-I have seen past posts about 2 interviews/1 weekend and it seems like people asked one of the schools for alternatives (phone interview or different date). Different people had different ways of deciding who to ask to be flexible, some went by which program was their priority and others gave priority to the invitation they accepted first. Obviously this is at your discretion.

-People cancel interviews if they receive and accept a different school's offer or if for whatever reason they will not attend the school if admitted. The courteous thing to do is to cancel ASAP so that the school or POI can invite another candidate and so you do not disrupt the careful preparations the departments make.

Hope that is helpful and good luck!

Edited to add this potentially useful thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-to-survive-interview-day.595602/

 

[Lisa44201]

Before the floodgates open and invitations begin rolling in full-force, I’m hoping that people who have gone through the Ph.D./Psy.D. application process could provide some insight into scheduling in-person interviews.

What kind of timeframe do applicants usually have to work with when deciding whether or not to accept interview invitations? Is it acceptable to ask for a few days to consider?

If offered two interviews during the same weekend, what factors would you consider when deciding which one to accept?

Is it ever acceptable to cancel a previously-accepted invitation?

Thanks to everyone for all their help throughout this stressful process!

You usually have some time to think about it - a week or two, in many cases.

Canceling happens for various "life happens" reasons, if nothing else. I had to cancel an in-person interview due to inclement weather (ice storm); my POI gave me a Skype interview.

 

[MCParent]

Before the floodgates open and invitations begin rolling in full-force, I’m hoping that people who have gone through the Ph.D./Psy.D. application process could provide some insight into scheduling in-person interviews.

What kind of timeframe do applicants usually have to work with when deciding whether or not to accept interview invitations? Is it acceptable to ask for a few days to consider?

If offered two interviews during the same weekend, what factors would you consider when deciding which one to accept?

Is it ever acceptable to cancel a previously-accepted invitation?

Thanks to everyone for all their help throughout this stressful process!

400 programs interview people over about 6 weeks. It would be completely irrational for a program to assume that everyone who is interested can make any particular date. This is especially true for programs that make their offers later; obviously people have already committed to things and their schedules are swiss-cheesed, and this is probably especially true for better applicants.

I think it is weird to ask for a few days to consider whether you are going to an interview. You're essentially saying, "I've not heard back from my top choice, and I want to keep that day free." I suppose you could save face by stating that you need a few days to assess whether it is financially feasible to travel to the less-desired site. But, what if the invites from the higher-ranked schools never come? How long will you wait to re-contact the first site?

When I applied, I just agreed to interviews when I got offered them. I had to give up some in-persons to do phone interviews.