How Many Interviews?

[noisemaker483]

How many interviews do people typically accept?  Is it common to turn down offers to interview at places that are low on your list if you're pretty sure you'll get into others?

I already have 4 interview offers and I applied to 10 programs.  I know that several of the programs haven't sent their invitations yet (including my top choice), so I know that more invitations could be coming.  I'm still in undergrad and I'm worried about my ability to keep up with my classes next semester if I keep missing them for interviews week after week.

How do people usually handle this?  Do people often turn down invitations?  How many interviews do people attend on average?

Thanks in advance!

[jougami]

I did 7 interviews my senior year of undergrad and met some people who did more, but I had a very light spring semester schedule so I didn't actually miss any coursework. While I really enjoyed my interview experiences, it does get exhausting eventually and if I had more classes to deal with it would have been a challenge to keep up with them. If you know you definitely don't care about a school, you can turn down their invitation since you already have 4 interviews (unless you're an international student). Do keep in mind though that a school you don't really consider at first might be an unexpectedly good fit when visiting in person and that interviews are also a good networking experience. 

[ChallengerSwimmer23]

I had a friend of mine who was invited for 6 interviews years ago. She basically was out every weekend in January and February. She had to juggle with her final semester classes which can be a bit challenging. But you have to do what you have to. This is a career decision. If you have to take a B or even a C in a class (in worst case scenario but avoid a C if possible), because you were juggling interviews and exams in the first part of the semester, just do it. It's your final semester of senior year so it won't count much, but your interviews are extremely important. Personally I wouldn't turn down any interview offers. Give all programs a chance so you can find the right fit. I am invited to 2 interviews already and I will definitely expect more invites based on the competitiveness of the two programs that gave me interviews. I plan to be at all the interviews. I am finishing my master's thesis and balancing with major experiments. Don't have any classes next semester so I don't have to worry about any exams. But I do have to be sure that I am done with my master's thesis by early March and defend in early April to graduate in May. So I have to plan my last set of experiments accordingly while planning these interviews. Just plan out your schedule next semester accordingly. 

[jmillar]

I ended up having 4, but even that was a bit too much. It depends on whether your in school, how many classes, teaching load, etc. My biggest problem is that 3 of them were on the same weekend, so I had to ask to reschedule 2 of them. Some schools offer more than one weekend, but this is not always the case. If you get too many, you may have to turn some down.

[synapticcat]

I'm wondering the same thing at the moment. My school has a January term, where I'll just be training new students in lab and working on my own projects, and I currently have 3 interviews scheduled back to back at the end of January, one of which is pushing into the beginning of my Spring semester. I'm planning to attend any interviews I can get my hands on because I'm so nervous about getting in somewhere, but have interviews at 2 of my top choices as of yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty excited about that (also looking for advice from anyone who's interviewed at Case or UMich). 

Almost all of my courses are in my department (neuro) this semester, and it's a pretty tight knit group where most of my profs know about my applying to grad school. They're more than happy to help me keep on track with coursework if I have to miss class due to interviews, which is awesome. I'm finishing up my senior year with a capstone seminar in neuroimmunology and have a neuropharm course + lab, but that's really it outside of my lab work. 

[jmillar]

4 hours ago, synapticcat said:

 (also looking for advice from anyone who's interviewed at Case or UMich).

I interviewed at UMich last year through PIBS. It was a little overwhelming as each weekend they invite 100 students. I think ~60 get accepted. Research the people you will be paired with during interviews. They submit reviews of you and also the grad students helping out. Being versatile in your research interests helps and it worked in my favor.

[synapticcat]

17 minutes ago, jmillar said:

I interviewed at UMich last year through PIBS. It was a little overwhelming as each weekend they invite 100 students. I think ~60 get accepted. Research the people you will be paired with during interviews. They submit reviews of you and also the grad students helping out. Being versatile in your research interests helps and it worked in my favor.

 

Gah, I can totally see how that would be overwhelming. I figured that's what I would be up for. I'm pretty shocked I was even invited for an interview so I am going to do my best to be prepared going in. I'm really nervous about my interviewing abilities but have the whole month of January to prepare, and I think some profs in my department might be able to help me out with mock interviews etc.

Not sure how much you could help me on this point, but I was wondering - if I know a few current students who went through PIBS (people who graduated from my undergrad institution), would it be somehow frowned upon to contact them for advice? I would love to get their perspective but am not sure if this could be an issue, if they end up hosting or interacting with me during interview weekend. 

Thanks for your insight! Hopefully I can calm down between now and the end of January to kill the interview and not get too overwhelmed in the process. 

[jougami]

On 12/19/2017 at 5:48 PM, synapticcat said:

Not sure how much you could help me on this point, but I was wondering - if I know a few current students who went through PIBS (people who graduated from my undergrad institution), would it be somehow frowned upon to contact them for advice? I would love to get their perspective but am not sure if this could be an issue, if they end up hosting or interacting with me during interview weekend.

I didn't apply to PIBS, but contacting students you know in the program definitely won't hurt you (unless they harbor a secret grudge against you). During my interviews, I talked to a current student at one of the schools I applied to who I knew previously and they gave me valuable insight into the program.

[synapticcat]

Hi all, I don't want to ~reactivate~ this thread, but now that it's approaching mid-January and I haven't seen any traction on any of my other applications, I'm left wondering if the three interviews I have are a decent enough chance of admission that I shouldn't apply to other programs?

The logical part of me is saying, statistically, I stand a good chance of getting admitted. But, the anxious part of me is saying that maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to attempt to apply to some of the later app deadlines (1/15), or even to Masters programs with similar deadlines. 

[StemCellFan]

9 hours ago, synapticcat said:

Hi all, I don't want to ~reactivate~ this thread, but now that it's approaching mid-January and I haven't seen any traction on any of my other applications, I'm left wondering if the three interviews I have are a decent enough chance of admission that I shouldn't apply to other programs?

The logical part of me is saying, statistically, I stand a good chance of getting admitted. But, the anxious part of me is saying that maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to attempt to apply to some of the later app deadlines (1/15), or even to Masters programs with similar deadlines. 

That's a tricky question because I don't know what the post-interview acceptance rates for those programs are.  I want to say that 3 is still a good number of programs to interview at and putting your best foot forward you should get into any of them.  I don't know if programs have a list of candidates they have preference for or whether everyone is more or less equal on interview day.  I'd like to think all candidates have an equal chance of a post-interview acceptance once they are there and then everything is contingent on a positive interview and evaluation.  But again, I don't know if all three of those programs have a 40% post interview acceptance rate or somewhere closer to 70-80%.

 

If there are programs you are interested in and want to send out a couple more applications that's up to you.  The fact that you have interviews at 3 good PhD programs right now, I don't think you need to apply for a Masters unless you really want to do one.  If you don't get in this year, I would just look at the parts of your application you can improve on (do you need to retake the GRE?  More research experience?  Take a graduate level biochemistry course?) and focus on that and apply next year.

Edited January 8, 2018 by StemCellFan

[noisemaker483]

10 hours ago, synapticcat said:

Hi all, I don't want to ~reactivate~ this thread, but now that it's approaching mid-January and I haven't seen any traction on any of my other applications, I'm left wondering if the three interviews I have are a decent enough chance of admission that I shouldn't apply to other programs?

The logical part of me is saying, statistically, I stand a good chance of getting admitted. But, the anxious part of me is saying that maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to attempt to apply to some of the later app deadlines (1/15), or even to Masters programs with similar deadlines. 

I can't speak to how sound this advice is, but one of my professors told me that I should ONLY accept 3-4 interviews (even if I was offered more) because any more than 4 is tiring and 3 should be enough to guarantee at least one acceptance.  I ended up getting nervous about being accepted and didn't follow that advice anyway, but I think you should be fine with your 3 interviews.  After all, they invited you because they like you and they want to see you come to their program!  You could always apply to more programs if you want, but based on what I've been told, it doesn't seem totally necessary.

[synapticcat]

2 hours ago, StemCellFan said:

That's a tricky question because I don't know what the post-interview acceptance rates for those programs are.  I want to say that 3 is still a good number of programs to interview at and putting your best foot forward you should get into any of them.  I don't know if programs have a list of candidates they have preference for or whether everyone is more or less equal on interview day.  I'd like to think all candidates have an equal chance of a post-interview acceptance once they are there and then everything is contingent on a positive interview and evaluation.  But again, I don't know if all three of those programs have a 40% post interview acceptance rate or somewhere closer to 70-80%.

 

If there are programs you are interested in and want to send out a couple more applications that's up to you.  The fact that you have interviews at 3 good PhD programs right now, I don't think you need to apply for a Masters unless you really want to do one.  If you don't get in this year, I would just look at the parts of your application you can improve on (do you need to retake the GRE?  More research experience?  Take a graduate level biochemistry course?) and focus on that and apply next year.

My general opinion is that once you've gotten the interview, you're academically qualified to attend the school and that everything is more or less on your interviews and evaluations. Though I imagine that if you have a POI who you've corresponded with immensely that could put you at an advantage. As far as post-interview acceptances go, I've been told for PIBS by a friend of mine who's a current student that "an interview almost guarantees acceptance". I find this very hard to believe, though. I've heard from others it's more like 2/3 - 3/4 of interviewees get an offer, depending on the department, which seems more likely. I don't know anything about Case, but I have a specific area of research interest that makes me a good fit for their program, and CWRU tends to like students from my undergrad institution. Vermont I'm not too worried about due to prior connections and a positive LOR from a PI in the program. 

The way I've been thinking about this is that based on statistics alone, I have a good shot of admittance at any of these programs if I have a good interview/visit. I think I panicked about this last night, but after reflecting on it I don't think I'm going to try to submit any more apps. I think it's partially just seeing people on here with like 132498239904 interviews that made me nervous! I'll be back in the lab in a few days and I'll definitely bring it up with my PI, who almost always has sound advice on these things. I'm going to focus on prepping for the interviews I do have  

1 hour ago, noisemaker483 said:

I can't speak to how sound this advice is, but one of my professors told me that I should ONLY accept 3-4 interviews (even if I was offered more) because any more than 4 is tiring and 3 should be enough to guarantee at least one acceptance.  I ended up getting nervous about being accepted and didn't follow that advice anyway, but I think you should be fine with your 3 interviews.  After all, they invited you because they like you and they want to see you come to their program!  You could always apply to more programs if you want, but based on what I've been told, it doesn't seem totally necessary.

I've been told the same thing, more or less. I was so convinced I wasn't going to get in anywhere that like a week after I submitted my applications I was in lab meeting looking up "plan B" lab tech jobs hahaha. I agree, and right now my interview schedule is working out perfectly, with my last interview being the weekend before my spring semester starts, which is obviously not the most important thing but is super convenient! Like I said above, I was kinda panicking about this last night and I've realized I should spend my time focusing on the interviews I do have, which seems the most level-headed approach I can come up with. Thanks for assuaging some of my fears haha - good luck with your interviews! 

[StemCellFan]

12 minutes ago, synapticcat said:

My general opinion is that once you've gotten the interview, you're academically qualified to attend the school and that everything is more or less on your interviews and evaluations. Though I imagine that if you have a POI who you've corresponded with immensely that could put you at an advantage. As far as post-interview acceptances go, I've been told for PIBS by a friend of mine who's a current student that "an interview almost guarantees acceptance". I find this very hard to believe, though. I've heard from others it's more like 2/3 - 3/4 of interviewees get an offer, depending on the department, which seems more likely. I don't know anything about Case, but I have a specific area of research interest that makes me a good fit for their program, and CWRU tends to like students from my undergrad institution. Vermont I'm not too worried about due to prior connections and a positive LOR from a PI in the program. 

The way I've been thinking about this is that based on statistics alone, I have a good shot of admittance at any of these programs if I have a good interview/visit. I think I panicked about this last night, but after reflecting on it I don't think I'm going to try to submit any more apps. I think it's partially just seeing people on here with like 132498239904 interviews that made me nervous! I'll be back in the lab in a few days and I'll definitely bring it up with my PI, who almost always has sound advice on these things. I'm going to focus on prepping for the interviews I do have  

 

I think that's a good idea.  If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't apply to any other programs.  I do think 3 is enough.  For some people, just 1 interview is enough for them, and I know people that only applied to two programs, got interviews at both, and then admitted to both programs.  I also know someone who had 3 interviews and didn't get in anywhere (after waitlists), but they also mentioned not feeling like they were engaged in conversation enough when they met with faculty and had okay-ish stats going in.  I don't know how much faculty actually go back to GRE/GPA after an interview, but I like to think that person didn't portray their enthusiasm for science enough and that's why they ultimately didn't receive an acceptance.  I have heard mixed remarks about that, though... so I'm not completely sure.  Maybe someone who knows more about the process can weigh in there.

At this point, I would work on communicating your research, reasons for wanting a PhD, and make sure you are able to show your love of science.  You should be alright if you're able to do that!  Good luck!

Edited January 8, 2018 by StemCellFan

[BabyScientist]

I have 6 interviews lined up, one is still pending, so maybe 7.

I work full time, and my job is super understanding about taking time off for this. I also have a ton of paid time off saved up, so I'm still getting paid for the days I'm missing. I have 3 interviews in a row in late February, so I'll be out for almost 2 full weeks.

My mistake is that all my interviews are across the country, so I've got a lot of loooong flights coming up.

The reason I accepted all if them is because I felt like I had to give every opportunity a shot. What if you go to your top school interview and hate it? Or go to your last choice and love it?

I just had an interview at my 2nd to last choice school, and I loved it more than expected. If I had declined any interviews, this would have been one of them, so I'm really glad I didn't.

But, at the same time, if you've got like 10 interviews, it would be exhausting and some probably wouldn't go well. Just keep in mind that you'll have to choose between all of these schools eventually.

Edited January 17, 2018 by BabyScientist