What does it mean to not get an interview?

[greenturtle]

Hey everyone! 

Looking for your honest opinions about my predicament. Based on what I have seen posted here, my top choice program (a PhD in Public Health at a top-ranked university) hasn't released decisions yet, but I have noticed that a couple people have been interviewed. To my dismay, I haven't been contacted about an interview, and I am wondering if this is a sign that I'm going to be rejected. I met with a faculty member before submitting my application, had a great interaction with her, and have kept up with her via email. I also corresponded with other faculty members, who suggested the program would be a great fit for me. I attended a prospective student day and met with some faculty there as well. 

What do you think? Should I brace myself for a rejection? Or is it possible they are accepting some people without interviews? None of the materials the department puts out about admissions indicate that an interview is a formal part of the application process.

Thank you so much for your advice! I've been admitted to another program that isn't as highly ranked, so I'll be okay, but I am still desperately hoping to get into this program. 

[whiskerplot]

It depends on the program, but not getting an interview doesn't necessarily mean rejection in general. I didn't get an interview from one of my schools (and they did do interviews) but I still got an acceptance. Best of luck! 

[itheproofofstupidity]

My guess is that if you have already spoken with faculty and have connections they simply don't feel they need to reach out to get to know you or for you to get to know them since there is already a mutual familiarity. Interviews are not necessarily a hurdle that needs to be passed to get admission. They are sometimes on an as-needed basis. For example, maybe they want to make sure you have the level of mastery over English that your test scores suggest (for international applicants). Maybe they want to ask you about your research either to get more context or to verify what is said on the documents you provided (ex. if you can't speak intelligibly on your research, you probably didn't have the level of involvement you claimed). If everything is already strong and they have previously spoken to you, then they might just not feel an interview is necessary. 

I have found that we on the grad cafe call them interviews, most of the people who have reached out to me call them "informal conversations about my application." I think interview implies a clear relationship with admission possibility where in reality an interview is on as-need basis. 

Best of luck!!

[Ternwild]

18 hours ago, greenturtle said:

I am wondering if this is a sign that I'm going to be rejected.

Don't speculate.  I'm well and familiar with rejection.  Grad committees don't interview everyone (that would take too much time).  They only review people they're typically on the fence about or those with whom they hope to find out more information before they're willing to make a decision.  That said, an interview is a good sign, but not the only sign.

[brightorangesocks]

17 hours ago, itheproofofstupidity said:

My guess is that if you have already spoken with faculty and have connections they simply don't feel they need to reach out to get to know you or for you to get to know them since there is already a mutual familiarity. Interviews are not necessarily a hurdle that needs to be passed to get admission. They are sometimes on an as-needed basis. For example, maybe they want to make sure you have the level of mastery over English that your test scores suggest (for international applicants). Maybe they want to ask you about your research either to get more context or to verify what is said on the documents you provided (ex. if you can't speak intelligibly on your research, you probably didn't have the level of involvement you claimed). If everything is already strong and they have previously spoken to you, then they might just not feel an interview is necessary. 

I have found that we on the grad cafe call them interviews, most of the people who have reached out to me call them "informal conversations about my application." I think interview implies a clear relationship with admission possibility where in reality an interview is on as-need basis. 

Best of luck!!

Thank you for this!  I thought of interviews as a very formal thing (I've been in industry for several years as an engineer/analyst) but this makes a lot more sense!

[greenturtle]

Thank you all so much for your helpful and encouraging comments. You really did make me feel a lot better! I STILL haven't heard a peep from the program. This wait has been agonizing. At this point I just want an answer- I'm not even stressing about whether I got in. Some idea of what this fall holds for me would be nice! 

[jaybird1]

This made me feel so much better because I realize that, with this new definition, then I had "interviews" as well.  They called to ask me some general questions about what I knew but it certainly wasn't positioned as an interview in the email and it seemed quite informal.
No updates since then, though.