accepting recuitment visits before hearing back from other programs

[neuneuro]

Hi,

I have been lucky to receive a few interview offers for PhD programs. Unfortunately though, the recruitment dates conflict with the recruitment weekends of some of my top choice schools, but I won't hear back from those other schools until January. The schools that have offered me interviews are making me decide whether I can attend their recruitment weekend this week and next, before I have a chance to hear back from the other programs (and then fairly choose one over the other). Do most schools understand and allow you to choose another time to go if you are offered an interview at their school, but have previously committed to visit another program on the same weekend? I can't be certain I'll get an interview at any of these other programs because they are so competitive, so declining an interview seems like a silly thing to do.

 

Thank you for your advice!

 

[neuneuro]

oh I might add that I know the dates conflict because the schools I haven't heard back from have their recruitment weekend dates posted on their websites...

[TakeruK]

I am a bit confused because you seem to use "recruitment weekend" and "interview weekend" interchangeably, but to me, "recruitment weekend" is something you go to after you have already been accepted and they want to convince you to accept their offer while "interview weekend" is still part of the admission evaluation process! So, do you already have offers from the schools asking you to visit?

 

In my experience, schools are more than happy to accommodate alternate visiting schedules for "recruitment weekends" (i.e. students they have already accepted). I have never attended an in-person interview type visit before though. People have visited my schools on alternate dates and in the past, I had scheduled my own visit dates or moved visiting dates to match my schedule better. In general though, it's much better to visit on their official visit day because everyone's energy will be focused on you and you will get to meet a lot of other potential classmates. I think that meeting/knowing your classmates is as big of a part in the decision as knowing/meeting the current students in the program.

 

In your shoes, I would accept their visit offer because you have no idea of knowing what the future holds for the other schools. I would then make the decision between rescheduling which school if/when the conflict arises.

[antibody89]

I am a bit confused because you seem to use "recruitment weekend" and "interview weekend" interchangeably, but to me, "recruitment weekend" is something you go to after you have already been accepted and they want to convince you to accept their offer while "interview weekend" is still part of the admission evaluation process! So, do you already have offers from the schools asking you to visit?

 

In my experience, schools are more than happy to accommodate alternate visiting schedules for "recruitment weekends" (i.e. students they have already accepted). I have never attended an in-person interview type visit before though. People have visited my schools on alternate dates and in the past, I had scheduled my own visit dates or moved visiting dates to match my schedule better. In general though, it's much better to visit on their official visit day because everyone's energy will be focused on you and you will get to meet a lot of other potential classmates. I think that meeting/knowing your classmates is as big of a part in the decision as knowing/meeting the current students in the program.

 

In your shoes, I would accept their visit offer because you have no idea of knowing what the future holds for the other schools. I would then make the decision between rescheduling which school if/when the conflict arises.

 

Some schools have interviews during their recruitment weekends so you attend them before you are accepted

[TakeruK]

Some schools have interviews during their recruitment weekends so you attend them before you are accepted

 

Sorry if I was unclear--in my above post I was trying to say that I am not sure if these visits were meant for already-accepted students or candidates still awaiting the school's decision, because I think that makes a difference in the school's willingness to work around your schedule. 

[Queen of Kale]

I accepted my recruitment visit invites (post-acceptance) as they occurred, which was roughly in the reverse order of my preference.  I had an overlap at the end for my top two schools and both let me come on alternate weekends.  But, both programs were also ones which did not emphasize big group orientations as much as one-on-one interviews.  

 

I was glad to have individual meetings for both these schools as the content was much more focused and less 'fluffy' and I was able to confidentially choose between these two schools afterwards. In this way it might even be a plus!

 

Also, and this is purely anecdotal also, it was my experience that schools which emphasized group orientations scheduled earlier than schools which invited students to meet individually with professors. That helped everything sort itself out. I think schools know that if they are going to be rigid about the dates of attendance for students that they need to beat other schools to inviting applicants so they can ensure the success of the event attendance.

[neuneuro]

wow, this is all helpful. thanks! yes the recruitment weekends include interviews. one program offered an interview but they say on their site that they interview 12-18, then have an incoming class of 12, so it seems that most would be accepted. another program definitely selects from the interview pool- they interview around 50 for around 15 spots. it does seem like the reverse order of selectivity- the earlier programs are very good but maybe not all are quite as competitive as those that respond in january. thanks again for your input guys!