Interviews - what do they mean?

[SarahBethSortino]

So I spent quite some time on the Grad Cafe acceptance site today and saw a mixed bag of responses regarding interviews. I am applying for a PhD in History and most of the interview requests were for candidates in the sciences. So does anyone know how the interviewing thing works? If a school interviews, do they interview everyone? Or just the people on the bubble?  

[fuzzylogician]

6 minutes ago, SarahBethSortino said:

So does anyone know how the interviewing thing works? If a school interviews, do they interview everyone? Or just the people on the bubble?  

Both options are possible, it depends on the school. If they interview only those people they are unsure about, they're most likely to do so via Skype/phone. If they bring people in to campus, most likely they'll invite everyone. Some interviews may be pre-acceptance but really only to make sure the people the department is about to accept seem sane; some interviews may truly be used to weed people out. And some are post-acceptance, and are really more of a recruitment device. In short: it depends. 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

It depends. Some schools have interviewing as pretty standard and will interview maybe double the amount of students they intend to admit (I've seen some things saying the lowest admissions chance is typically 50% from these interviews, but it always varies by year). However, some schools send out rejections, acceptances, and interviews for students at the same time. Usually, those interviews mean that you met the requisites to get in but they're on the fence or want to hear more from you before making a decision. Of course, some programs don't interview at all. This seems to vary a bit between the subject you're pursuing, but is also variable by program.

If you get an interview request, I would take it seriously. It's a way for them to get to know you and you to get to know them so you can both determine if the program is a good fit for you.