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Skype vs. In-Person Interviews


AngryHarold

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Hey all,

I'm curious if there's a difference in acceptance rates/scholarship offers for doing a Skype interview as opposed to an in-person one. I understand the benefits of going to the campus, but as a Midwesterner with limited funds, I can't fly out East multiple times this year. I'd like to hear some opinions on this.

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I'm located in South Central United States, and I only applied to schools on the West and East coasts. I'm right there with you--I definitely cannot afford to fly out for interviews, so i'll only be able to do them over Skype. I would be more than happy to fly to all the schools if I could, but I just don't think it's in my budget :/ 

The only school I've heard back from so far is Boston University, and they asked which I would prefer (in-person or Skype). I chose Skype, but I'm hoping that it won't negatively impact my application :/

Edited by cme000
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Well, anything we could offer would be anecdotal You probably need someone in the admissions office hard crunching numbers for this – plus you must control for other variables associated with a Skype interview, for example rates of Skype interview are noticeably higher in international students for obvious reasons. Different acceptance rates might be due to international status or linguistic unfamiliarity. 

 

Basically no one knows definitively on a general level. If you want to get a feel, its better to read the website or call up the dept or admissions office on their view. They might not commit to a definite answer, but usually you can tell if it makes a difference or not. 

Stuff like, "Strongly recommended, highly encouraged" are a good indicator it does make a material difference

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I have had over the phone interviews and skype so far since I'm on the West Coast and I applied to schools all over the US. So far, all the programs I'm interested in have tried their best to figure out which works best for both parties involved since they understand the expense but want to get to know the students they accept. It gets a little awkward with the freezing and buffering sometimes. As long as you treat it as you would an in-person interview, all the schools I've talked to it was fine.

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