Here is some advice I reciecd if anyone is interested:
Hi All,
Going into the holiday season, I want to give you a little heads-up in case you encounter the issue of conflicting interviews. I know all of you are checking your email and responding within 24 hours to requests and such. Terrific! So, in the beginning, you are going to accept the interviews enthusiastically, but some of you might run into conflicts. Don't panic.
What if you have already committed to one school and another sends you an interview invitation for the same day/time? Or-what if you have two schools that overlap? Or are back to back, with a little overlap in the interview schedule and you KNOW you can't interview everyday for 2 weeks. What do you do?
First: You need to prioritize the schools you get interviews given what you know right now. You might need to do a little more research and make this list. I strongly recommend that you prioritize by: (1) the number and quality of the PIs you might like to work with FIRST; (2) the "livability" of the location/school second (this is NOT necessarily cost of living-this is environment and enthusiasm for the town and factors that are important to your non-work life); (3) the prestige and reputation of the school itself 3rd. I don't recommend factoring in cost of living at this point in time. You would be amazed at how well students have identified coping mechanisms at some schools (university subsidized housing, stipend level higher, fellowships to boost salary, loans, etc. etc.). Wait to speak with the students before writing off a school based on expense.
Second: You should make every effort to attend ALL of the sessions for each interview you accept-even the social stuff. Rescheduling is MUCH better than only going to part of the interview (especially if you are going to miss a whole day of activities). With a reschedule only the admin knows that you had a conflict and prioritized another school or something else. When you don't attend all the sessions, EVERYONE knows that you decided to do something else- from the graduate students to the graduate studies committee to the research faculty you want to work with. This impacts the acceptance vote and whether they recommend you for a fellowship. Missing some of the interview can be unavoidable, but you want to minimize it. A little is fine, a lot is bad.
Third: How do you do all this? Simple and to the point. When you get an interview request that conflicts with a previously committed interview date, you want to respond with something like: "I am so excited to interview with XYZ program! Unfortunately, I have a conflict on the XYZ date. Do you have any other interview days available?". SEND. Do this even if the school that just contacted you is your first choice. They may have 2-3 interview sessions that are equivalent that are spread-out from January through March….or a major one and a minor one or just one interview session. It is just fine to ask for another date when you have previously committed to another school. It shows professionalism. O.K., so now you have learned that there are no other times available and this is your favorite school and you have a conflict with a not as favorite school-what do you do? Accept the interview at the favorite school. Then, send an email to the not so favorite school with something like "I am so excited to interview, but I have developed a conflict for X dates. Are there any other interview sessions available?" SEND. DO NOT TELL THEM WHAT YOUR CONFLICT IS. They may have other interview dates that they can easily move you to. If so, great. They move your interview to a better time and all is well. But, what if you find-out that the not so favorite school only has one interview session? You then write to them and ask "Is there any way that I could interview at a different time later in the interview season? I understand that this represents additional work for the program, but I am very excited about your school" SEND. If they still say "no", then you follow-up with a declination of the interview, but leave the door open to them. State that you would be willing to reschedule if they end-up making another interview session at a later time something like " I am sorry. I must decline participating in the XXX date interview session. I am still very excited about your program. If you find that a second interview session becomes available later in the year, I would be happy to be considered for an interview slot. Thank you for your time and attention." SEND.
Be professional, courteous, humble, and enthusiastic. What is going on inside your head (whether you feel bad, superior, anxious, frustrated, offended, etc...) should not come out in the emails. Make sure to use the proper formal address for everyone (Dr. So and So, Mr. or Ms. whatever). Also remember that you are likely communicating with the admin who may be having a bad day or flustered. People maybe really disappointed that you want to reschedule because they were really excited about you. They may try to guilt you or push you to make another decision. Just stay professional, calm, firm, and enthusiastic. If you get sent anything odd, forward it to me. I can help advise you and it helps me learn and understand what you are experiencing.
Fourth: You may have to decline interviews-so be ready. If you haven't heard anything yet-don't be worried. Each school moves through applications at a different pace. But, you may want to check on your status. Usually it is the reference letters that will hold you up or a mistake in their application system.-but it does
T take much to check with them to find-out.
