Alternative Interviews?

[phyanth]

I wanted to ask this in advance, in the wonderful event that I do get interview offers! So, I am having surgery to remove a tumor on my pituitary gland at the end of January, which is unfortunately when interviews are commonly offered/taking place. This neurosurgery has an average one month recovery time, and I doubt I will be functional enough for an interview. 

If I get an offer, would it be horrible to ask for a Skype interview early/asap instead of an in-person interview? Would this take me out of consideration for a position? I'll be fine in a month, but I won't be able to fly, have lots of screen time, etc.

I would absolutely love to be able to go, but my surgery is time sensitive, and I essentially HAVE to have it done between Jan 15-30th and not doing the surgery would be life altering. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by phyanth

[TakeruK]

When you get an interview invite, you should let the school know about your surgery and recovery period. If they get back to you before your surgery, they should find a way to interview you before your surgery. I don't know what will happen if they get back to you right while you are having your surgery. If you are not able to respond to their interview request or cannot interview for an entire month, then it might affect their ability to make you an offer.

This really depends on how each school runs things. If you are the only one with an interview conflict, they could conduct all the other interviews in February, make offers by March 1 and then interview you after you recover and make you an offer if you qualify since adding one more person might not really affect their budget. Or, if you are a strong candidate that they would really want to have, they might "save" a spot for you, interview you and if they want you then accept you and if not, take someone off the waitlist. On the other hand, if you were not one of their top choices and they rather have someone who they can interview and secure the spot sooner, then not being available for a month could negatively impact your chances of admission.

In any case, if you hear back from any school between now and your surgery, you should let them know about your scheduling conflicts. You might consider even reaching out to some of your schools (especially your top choice ones) in the days leading up to your surgery to let them know. Or, you might want to consider giving email access to someone you trust and instructions on how to respond to any grad school inquiries that happen while you are recovering, especially during and right after surgery, if you are going to be very limited in screen time. If you have someone you trust at this level, that might be better but it's your choice!

[TrustYourGut]

I would be as forthcoming as possible and communicate with the programs who do send you invitations. I think any program worth your time can and should be accommodating to medical considerations that are obviously necessary. Personally, I would be as flexible as possible and leave the accommodations up to them (say you're willing to Skype, take an alternate date, etc, whatever is the most convenient for THEM). Some programs might prefer one over the other, but I would think that if they say a Skype interview is acceptable to them, I don't think it will seriously affect your chances.

In the meantime while you're waiting for invitations and preparing for your procedure, you might (this is what I would do, anyway) designate a person you trust (spouse, close friend, parent, etc) to check your email and maybe voicemail once a day while your in surgery and shortly after to check for invitations. Perhaps even work something out so they can respond on your behalf and explain the situation to the admissions committee. If it were me, this would give me peace of mind that interview invitations weren't just sitting around unanswered and it would also help me to focus on my recovery rather than stressing about interviews.

[phyanth]

Thank you @TakeruK and @TrustYourGut, I really appreciate it! Now to wait and see if I actually get any interviews...

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

I think your question has already been answered well, but wanted to pop in to give hugs and say best of luck with the procedure!

[phyanth]

@GreenEyedTrombonist, thank you!! You're too sweet