chimerical

I'd say it's a definite no. Some schools even specify that family members cannot (or should not) write LORs. Using him as a supplemental letter might be okay but the 2-3 primary letters should come from more objective sources.

Interviews are usually divided between professors asking you questions and vice versa. The percentage of time allotted to each will vary from interview to interview. Some professors will leave almost the entire interview in your court, so make sure to have lots of questions to ask and be ready to potentially drive the conversation. As far as what they will likely ask you, be prepared to talk about your research interests and why you want a PhD. If you have prior research experience, be prepared to answer detailed questions about data/sources, methodology, findings, etc.

If by "status" you mean whether you have been admitted, I would hold off unless they have specifically told you to expect a decision by X date.

To add to what everyone else said, I wouldn't lie about being interviewed/accepted/waitlisted by another program. Besides the obvious ethical problems, faculty do talk to each other and could very well find out. Not saying the OP had that in mind at all, but I have heard of someone doing this to put pressure on a target school, so I figured I'd put it out there.

Don't fret! Professors do not waste their time with applicants they are not interested in. He was probably just trying to be helpful. I've found that many professors are willing to openly discuss how their programs compare to others.

CB=consumer behavior, quant = quantitative. Both refer to marketing. Looks like things are heating up now. Exciting!

Going to a brand-new program can be risky, though I suppose it can have its advantages as well. Either way, here's hoping the next time you need to research their marketing program is during your job hunt and not another round of applications.

I'm applying to strategy programs and have gotten a few responses (see signature). It's really school-dependent though, many don't notify for another few weeks.

ARGH, I know. It's like as soon as the month changed to February I turned psychotic. Fortunately I've gotten a response from one of my interviews and solid information regarding when I can expect a decision from the two others, so hopefully that should calm this obsession somewhat. At least until the middle of the month, when, according to past surveys, the next batch of schools I've applied to start sending out interview invitations.

Hmm, I can't say that I've seen that. The programs I applied to have, so far, been interviewing/notifying about the same time or even earlier than last year. I guess it depends?

It varies by school. I have heard of people being rejected through the online application without ever receiving any other kind of notification, though it doesn't seem too common. I'll second alexis in saying that if a decision is available online and you haven't heard anything else, it probably isn't good news.

Same department tends to be a bigger concern than same university, but even then there's a fair bit of variation between programs. If you're interested in staying, talk to your professors. They can advise you on how it will affect your chances and whether they think it is a good idea in the first place.

If you had told them you'd definitely attend if admitted and then backed down that'd be one thing, but if not then don't stress too much. You can only go to one school after all. Most rational people won't hold a grudge.

Email thank-yous are appropriate and probably advisable, but keep it brief. Handwritten notes or cards aren't necessary.

Reply saying thank you, that you're excited, etc. Ask about an on-campus visit if it isn't mentioned and you haven't been on one yet. They won't expect you to make an immediate decision, so no need to reference waiting to hear from other schools.

You definitely have a decent shot of admission at this point, since professors generally only speak to applicants they are seriously considering. The number of interviewees who receive offers, however, varies greatly by school and department.

I want to say the waiting, but it's been a couple years since I took the standardized tests so I may have blocked that pain from memory.

Agreed. While I'm sure many students would be willing to talk to prospective applicants, especially at the referral of a professor, they'd likely be more forthcoming and spend more time communicating with someone who has already been accepted to the program.

There is an HBS marketing interview on the results page.

One school I applied to only gave around a week's notice for on-campus interviews so it's not necessarily too late. If other people have heard, however, then yeah, I would take it as a bad sign. Sorry.

I had to miss a lot of class for job interviews my senior year, but I was able to make it work. First thing is to talk to the school about potentially rescheduling. This may not be possible if it's an interview weekend in which they go through all the candidates at once, but it's still worth a shot. Also ask if they give the option of phone or VoIP interviews. Don't be afraid to talk to your professors either. They may not be willing to reschedule an exam, but would probably be amenable to makeup work or emailed assignments. No matter what it's important that you try to interview in some capacity, be it on a different date or over the phone. Don't worry about seeming like a pain - I had to reschedule one of my job interviews three times and I still ended up getting an offer.

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately I don't really have any advice to share, since I didn't study for the verbal section at all. I just have a knack for the skills tested there. Sorry! Wish I could be more helpful.

All quiet over here too. Even though I know people in my field generally don't hear anything until late January or even February, it's still kind of nerve-wracking to hear about all these interview invitations or even acceptances.

I think the economy is also making the funding situation very difficult at most schools. It's possible that a prof may truly want you as a student, but the department as a whole just doesn't have the money to admit all the students it wants. But hey, even if it's not a guarantee, positive feedback is still only a good thing.

*waves* I think I recognize a couple of you from another forum. Thought I'd torture myself by joining yet another admissions board. I'm applying to management/strategy programs. Way jealous that you've already gotten interview invites, acup. But us business PhD applicants are rare enough that we gotta stick together, so I won't hate you for it. My stats: BS Econ from USN top 10 undergrad, 3.97 GPA 760 GMAT (48/48/6.0) Math: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Probabilty & Statistics 2 years in consulting Letters: 1 thesis advisor, 1 research supervisor, 1 paper co-author. One of those is a big name in strategy. Research: Two years as an RA, honors thesis, three conference presentations, one journal article under review. SOP is fine, I think. It at least impressed all the profs I asked to proofread. Bit worried about my quant score but there's nothing I can do about that now. Just gotta cross my fingers and hope for the best.