School Psychology @ Teacher's College (Columbia University) Interview

[confusedandtired]

Hi guys! I've applied to ~9 schools for a master's in School Psych for Fall 2020, and I just started hearing back from programs! Here's my situation, and I wonder if any of you have been in a similar one:

I received an interview offer from Columbia University for their School Psych program via email a few days ago and was thrilled! However, traveling to New York for just a 1-day interview is very expensive for me and poses a financial burden, and I emailed back asked if doing a Skype interview would be feasible. They replied and said this, "It would be preferable if you could come in person as the interview day will involve a presentation about the program and meeting the faculty in addition to a student interview whereas a Skype interview would only be an interview with a current student. Let us know if coming in person would be feasible, otherwise, we can find a time to do a Skype interview."

I'm not really sure what to think at this point. I previously had an interview for Yeshiva University's School Psych PsyD program a few days ago via Skype, and when I asked to do a Skype interview after receiving that interview offer they had a much better response than Columbia did, "Unfortunately we don’t have funds for this. But we absolutely are happy to set up a video interview. This will not count against you in any way. We know the financial burden is real. Please let the scheduling TA know that we’ll be arranging to do it remotely with me but you’d love her to help arrange for you to have the chance to speak with current students, etc. Does the time allotted for our interview in this schedule work for you? If not we can look for another time. Thanks."

Basically, I'm conflicted because Columbia didn't sound too accommodating about having a Skype interview, whereas Yeshiva really was and even said that doing the Skype interview would not count against me--that was extremely reassuring. I am worried that if I do the Skype interview with Columbia that my chances of being accepted will be lessened. 

Has anyone done a Skype interview for Columbia University's School Psych master's program? Should I just bite the bullet and shell out a couple hundred dollars to fly to NY? I will say, Columbia is one of my top choices, and if I had to fly out for a school, this would be the one. But like I said, it's a pretty big financial burden for me. Any advice you all could give would be so appreciated!!!

[Littlebiggieman]

Hi, 

  Weird question, and I hope you figured this out, but do you know how many people Columbia interviewed versus how many they accepted last year? Thanks!