Taking time off for interviews

[undertoad]

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Hello everyone. I plan on applying to clinical PhD programs during the 2017 cycle, for fall 2018 admission. I currently work full-time providing home-based direct services to adults with mental health diagnoses, so my time off has to be planned carefully.

1) Based on a review of program websites, it appears most interviews take place on Fridays during January or February. Is this a safe assumption? If this is the case, my current plan is to preemptively reduce my schedule to Tuesday through Thursday during this timeframe. That way I don't have to scramble to find coverage if I'm offered an interview. I have plenty of paid leave available and can also act as a floater to make up hours.

2) Some programs in which I'm interested don't list their interview schedule online. Would it be weird or inappropriate to email the contact person and ask if there is a general time that interviews occur every year?

Thanks.

 

[temppsych123]

Wow, you're on top of things! Do you work for an organization that might be able to get a temp person to cover for you during the window in which you might interview?

Interview dates can vary a lot by program; in some cases all faculty coordinate and there's a big interview/prospective student day or set of days where people come all at once, while at other schools individual faculty might set up specific days with their own applicants. My interviews fell anywhere from mid-December to mid-February, excluding right around the Christmas/New Years holidays.

I think that, before you email specific programs, it would be helpful to look through SDN application cycle archive threads and see when some of those schools have had interviews in the past. You should also keep in mind that right now, programs are likely to be very busy fielding questions from applicants for this cycle (to start in fall 2017), so you're better off waiting until after this application cycle is over (I would say maybe spring-time or early summer next year) to get in touch and ask those questions. That also gives you time to keep your eyes open here to see if people discuss when interviews are for those programs you're interested in. I would hope you don't have to request time off 14+ months in advance!!

 

[Justanothergrad]

Interview dates are not likely known at this point, particularly for a cycle in advance. They may have a 'target' for this years applicants but details beyond 'sometime between late January and early February' are still unlikely. As temppsych said, check the past dates and just expect that interviews may occur at any point during the Mid-December until early Feb cycle, frequently on Fridays. In my experience, they have stayed somewhat consistent within a week or two. A bit of a ways off but depending on the distance to the programs and the types of weather that might occur on the way, you may want to consider travel time as you think about planning. Anticipate potential delays and leave time for travel. Its better for your personal health and its better for your interview.

With you being this far ahead in the planning process, I would spend the time focusing more on research involvement (plenty of time) and knocking out the GRE.

 

[undertoad]

Wow, you're on top of things! Do you work for an organization that might be able to get a temp person to cover for you during the window in which you might interview?

Interview dates can vary a lot by program; in some cases all faculty coordinate and there's a big interview/prospective student day or set of days where people come all at once, while at other schools individual faculty might set up specific days with their own applicants. My interviews fell anywhere from mid-December to mid-February, excluding right around the Christmas/New Years holidays.

I think that, before you email specific programs, it would be helpful to look through SDN application cycle archive threads and see when some of those schools have had interviews in the past. You should also keep in mind that right now, programs are likely to be very busy fielding questions from applicants for this cycle (to start in fall 2017), so you're better off waiting until after this application cycle is over (I would say maybe spring-time or early summer next year) to get in touch and ask those questions. That also gives you time to keep your eyes open here to see if people discuss when interviews are for those programs you're interested in. I would hope you don't have to request time off 14+ months in advance!!

Thanks for your response. There are a couple of different options as far as shift coverage goes, but right now a complete leave of absence isn't desirable. I could weather it financially, but there are concerns about the staffing pattern (which hasn't looked too hot lately) and consistency for some of the folks with higher service requirements or medically complex needs. Of course, this could all change in the next year, but my supervisor (who has been extremely supportive) is transferring at the beginning of the year, so I'm trying to grease the wheels now and get a tentative plan in place.

I really liked your suggestion about looking through the archive threads. I didn't know those existed! And I will start reaching about in the early summer.

Thanks again.

 

[undertoad]

Interview dates are not likely known at this point, particularly for a cycle in advance. They may have a 'target' for this years applicants but details beyond 'sometime between late January and early February' are still unlikely. As temppsych said, check the past dates and just expect that interviews may occur at any point during the Mid-December until early Feb cycle, frequently on Fridays. In my experience, they have stayed somewhat consistent within a week or two. A bit of a ways off but depending on the distance to the programs and the types of weather that might occur on the way, you may want to consider travel time as you think about planning. Anticipate potential delays and leave time for travel. Its better for your personal health and its better for your interview.

With you being this far ahead in the planning process, I would spend the time focusing more on research involvement (plenty of time) and knocking out the GRE.

Travel time is something I'm giving a lot of thought to, especially since I'm applying to a wide geographic spread of programs. If I had to fly, I would probably take an early flight the day before the interview, especially if the place is snow-prone. We don't get a lot of snow where I live, but it's always super-dramatic when it happens, because no one is prepared for it.

Your advice about research and the GRE is good. Currently involved in research, and I plan on taking the GRE this August. I'm doing small amounts of test prep now, focusing on quant (I'm in school full-time in addition to working full-time, so I have to be really selective about what I focus on), and I plan on ramping it up April - August because I won't be taking any classes.

Thanks!

 

[Spydra]

I had a similar challenge when I applied last cycle and I used the archives here and program websites to get a ballpark of when interviews might be. I saved up all my vacation time, adjusted my workload as much as possible, and let my coworkers who would be covering for me in on what was going on so they didn't think I was just lounging on a beach. Depending on where you are applying research typical weather patterns because crazy storms can mean interviews are rescheduled.