How far in advance are interview invites made?

[mayanway]

I'm applying this fall for PhD programs, and know that at least one of my schools does an interview weekend for candidates who have made a first cut.  I'm a little concerned about being available for this if I'm selected.  I have to submit PTO requests from my job 3 months in advance, and suspect that there won't be that much lead time for the interview process.  Is it acceptable to inquire about possible interview dates even before submitting applications to graduate programs? 

[iphi]

Anywhere from a month to a few weeks beforehand. You can look on the results search for past interview dates for your schools.

[fuzzylogician]

You'll likely only have a few weeks. You could and ask about interview dates, in case they have been scheduled already and explain why you are asking as you did here, otherwise the inquiry will seem very presumptuous. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the dates haven't been decided on yet, since they will probably only happen next semester and people are likely not to have a full schedule yet. You could look at previous years' results in the results survey to get an idea of when interviews might take place. It'll be fairly accurate, but obviously it doesn't guarantee anything. Keep in mind that schools will understand if you can't make it there on short notice. You can always request a skype interview. 

[iphi]

You can always request a skype interview. 

 

That's a good point. Last year when I interviewed was afraid that doing Skype interviews would hurt my chances, but it wasn't possible for me to make all the interview dates in-person so I did about half via Skype. I got into them all. So that should hopefully reassure OP!

[peachypie]

most places have the interview dates set long before invites go (i.e. my school already  has told us the agenda for february interview weekend).  Anyway, you can ask them when it is and explain that you want to make sure you are able to take time off from your work which needs 3 months advance and so you'd like to put in a request to ensure you are available for an interview if one should arise.  I think it is fair to say, do you have a lot of places youd like to go?  If you have a place that is your top that you definitely don't want to miss then maybe ask off ahead of time?  Maybe if you don't get the interview you can cancel that?  I am not sure how your job works.  Interviews for me were almost always get in on Thursday leave on Saturday or Sunday.  Sometimes get in Wednesday night, and sometimes leaving Saturday.  But you can safely assume interviews will likely occur on Fridays with thursdays also being an important travel day and tour day as well as social.