would it be stupid to cancel an interview?

[zhtmahtm]

So I got an interview offer about 2 weeks ago from school A, and that was the first school I've ever heard from. The POI was pretty insistent that I visit the school in person since I contacted him before application, and I'd already had a quick phone pseudo-interview. The total traveling time is like 10-11 hours, but I was getting pretty nervous about not hearing anything from other schools, so I just told him that I'd go. It wasn't a formal interview request from the graduate office, so the travel costs were on me, and I was going to be housed on a student's house (although the POI only told me that he'd ask the student for a confirmation and never replied back).

Now, I've received admissions from two schools since then (which were my higher choices than school A), and at this point honestly I don't even think that I'd be attending school A even if I got an offer. I only realized now that I was being really thoughtless about scheduling this on-campus interview. But I'm really not sure if I should ask the POI in school A to cancel the interview - it feels so immature to ask him for that. And since my field of study is not very large, I'm pretty sure that I would eventually interact with him at some time in my future (conferences, seminars etc).

I'm torn between just going for an interview and 'pretending' that I'm really interested in school A's program, or telling the POI honestly that I got offers and I'm not interested in school A anymore. Has anyone been in a similar situation like this?

[TakeruK]

If you are paying your own travel expenses to School A, then there's no point in visiting if they are not a top choice for you anymore. I think you should cancel it and get your money back. It's really weird to me that a professor would insist that you come and visit but make you pay for your own expenses!

[toxicdevil]

I am sure the POI will appreciate your honesty. And since your field is not large maybe it will help him to target someone who is actually interested.

I once rejected an interview because I had better offers and was no more interested in that school. I told professor the truth, maybe it saved him some time and resources.

[zhtmahtm]

27 minutes ago, TakeruK said:

If you are paying your own travel expenses to School A, then there's no point in visiting if they are not a top choice for you anymore. I think you should cancel it and get your money back. It's really weird to me that a professor would insist that you come and visit but make you pay for your own expenses!

Well I'm traveling by bus so the expense would be about ~$70, I just assumed that that amount of money wasn't 'significant' enough for people to consider reimbursing. I didn't ask him directly whether he was going to pay me back, but when I asked about transportation/housing he only told me that he would talk to students who could let me stay. The factor that I care more about is traveling time, since 11 hours of bus ride is a lot...

27 minutes ago, toxicdevil said:

I am sure the POI will appreciate your honesty. And since your field is not large maybe it will help him to target someone who is actually interested.

I once rejected an interview because I had better offers and was no more interested in that school. I told professor the truth, maybe it saved him some time and resources.

I guess I'm more 'worried' here, because when we were trying to set up a time for a visit, I suggested him two dates, and he replied to me that the latter date would be better because "it would give him more time to prepare/set things up". I honestly have no idea how much arrangement he made here, since he hadn't been in contact with me since we decided on the day...

[TakeruK]

Oh okay---I had thought when you said 10-11 hours of travel time, that would surely mean a flight! Since the expense is small, I still think that if you are no longer interested, you should politely tell him that due to changing circumstances, you will be withdrawing your application and thank him for his time etc. 

However, only do this if you are certain that you don't want to attend School A. When it comes to job or admission offers, I really believe in the "don't count your chickens before they hatch" mindset. So, if you are not 100% sure that you don't want to go to school A, I would still visit with an open mind. Sometimes things are a lot different when you get there (either School A might be a lot better or the other schools might not be what you expect).