Interview dates overlap slightly - any suggestion?

[hummm]

I've invited to in-person interviews from two schools on the same week. School A will have a dinner on Thurs & interview on Fri. The school B will have a dinner on Fri & interview on Sat. For the school B, I need to let my POI know that I will be attending the interview. School A interview ends 5pm, and I need to take a flight to attend school B's interview, so there is no way that I can make it to the dinner at school B. I am going to be honest with the POI at school B, but I'm afraid that I might give the POI a bad impression. Any suggestion on how I should deal with this issue?

[ssynny]

Oh that's tough! I think you're doing the right thing by emailing your POI and telling him that your flight arrives too late for the dinner, but you are definitely free for the interview. The dinner is not as important as the actual interview, so I would not worry about offending him. You're probably not the only one who can't make the it anyway. Would you still be able to meet up with the grad students after you get in? 

[FinallyAccepted]

They have to know that with such a competitive field that you can't put all of your eggs in one basket, right?  Can you tell School B that you already committed to School A, but that you're cutting your visit short at School A because interviewing at School B is still very important to you? 

[Angua]

I did this when I was interviewing.  They should be understanding -- this happens a lot. Just tell them that you are very excited to accept the interview invitation, but you have a conflict that means you won't be able to attend the dinner on Friday.  It should be no big deal, so I would approach it as though it is not a big deal.  The dinners are usually with students anyway, which can be a nice way to get to know more about the program, but they aren't vital -- it certainly shouldn't affect your chances of admission at all.

[Knox]

This is super common, it will not be a big deal. Especially since you're not missing the actual interview. Don't fret.