Help with Interview Dilemma?

[daydreamer254]

For the past two weeks a grad coordinator and I have been trying to schedule a Skype interview. He's dismissed all of my suggestions and giving me excuses, which is very irritating.

 

Anyway, one big problem we have is the time difference--I'm in Hawaii and he's in London. There's also another problem: I have another offer and need to get back to them by June. The grad coordinator at the London school knows this but his latest suggested date is May 23...and I don't want to wait that long to do the interview.

 

My question is, if we can't figure out a date and time, can I decline and give up my spot? Or do I HAVE to go through with the interview?

[misskira]

You don't have to do anything.  If you already know you don't want to accept, it's better to decline now before wasting either of your time.

[fuzzylogician]

You can certainly withdraw at any time but unless this coordinator is the person you'll be working with at this school, I'm not sure I would recommend giving up without a fight. If you have some other POI, try getting them to help you by involving them in the scheduling process. I think it's perfectly reasonable to say "I would like to have the interview some time before May (or by the first week of May or whatever), so I have all the information in front of me with enough time to make a decision about which school to attend. I have already received an attractive admissions offer from another school and I need to inform them of my decision some time in the near future" and follow that up with a reasonable set of suggestions for a meeting time. Right now you're also in a position to deliver a very soft threat of losing interest, which should be taken seriously (at least by your potential advisor). But I'd reserve that last suggestion for a later communication if this latest attempt doesn't succeed.