Hey everyone! So I applied to many of the T20 schools RD, and still haven’t gotten an interview from Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, or Penn. However, I know multiple people in my school who’ve gotten ones from all of theses schools except for Stanford. I know that these interviews are supposedly random–but not getting interviews from this many worries me. Thoughts? Are stats ever considered when assigning interviews?
all these schools say that it’s totally random, though i see a lot of people online in a similar situation to you. i would try not to read anything into it!
Hi! I know that Stanford’s interview program is pretty limited compared to other schools, and I believe that only around 15% of students actually get offered an interview due to limited availability.
Same goes for Columbia.
Princeton, MIT, and Penn typically try to interview most applicants, but I would not be concerned about not getting an interview because stats are never considered. It’s only based on availability. Even if other students at your school have received interviews, it does not mean anything because they are totally random.
I’m also in a similar situation because I haven’t received an offer to interview for UPenn even though every other applicant at my school has. It’s nothing bad or good. However, I know that MIT and UPenn are still in the middle of conducting interviews so you might get contacted later.
Best of Luck!
I just got my interview request on the 5th. Dont worry about it too much! If you dont get one it will not count against you
My D has been expecting an interview (Penn, Stanford), but she hasn’t been contacted yet … This means she won’t have it, or still has a chance for that?
@singingbear One can never know, but my son just received an invite for a Penn interview today. So it seems the window isn’t closed yet.
My interviewer says that the Interviewer Reports for Stanford are due on February 19. So I don’t think Stanford interviews are happening after that.
I’m also waiting for an interview for UPenn and I’m very anxious because I haven’t gotten one thus far but my friend from a different country has. Even though everyone says it’s random, it’s hard to feel settled with not getting an interview.
@ilovekimjunkyu I totally agree! Thanks for the info. Looks like my D doesn’t have a chance for Stanford.
@singingbear Well generally a lack of an interview doesnt mean anything except the lack of an Alum near your location (especially if you live in the States). It shouldnt negatively affect you, but i dont exactly know to what extent this is true (it is true to some extent for sure).
Same thing for @ilovekimjunkyu
Expressing an emailed interest for an interview certainly wont hurt.
@TheGuy1 Hi! How do you suggest one writes an email of interest for an interview? Just get straight to the point?
@ilovekimjunkyu Pretty much! It’s a bit more than a month left for decisions to come by, and certainly expressing your interest for an interview directly helps.
I dont know how much it’ll help, but it’ll be a lot fo help if the school in question has a designated interview committee contact detail set (email or phone or both and so on).
Hope this helps! Try to sound more ‘honored’ to get one, but dont do that over the top. It helps to directly tell them what help would it do to you (in any specific reason pops up in your mind).
Just FYI, Penn has a pretty detailed web page regarding applicant interviews, which includes:
“Please don’t worry if you’re not invited to interview. Since we aren’t able to reach every applicant, not having an interview won’t be held against you in our review.”
“It’s our policy that applicants can’t request interviews.”
I am not suggesting that a request would create a problem. Make your own decision. But, I thought this information was helpful.
On Penn website they say about 90% applicants would have interviews … I wonder how come one of them is not available here in west part of the country …
I’m getting very worried because I haven’t been contacted yet and I live in Pennsylvania. I’ve also been hit up with tons of spam calls clogging up my voicemail so I really hope nothing got lost in there.
What happens if you can’t make it to two interviews ? They have not rescheduled ours. Dropped you think?
@TechGuy70 Dropping one from your end is a horrible sign. Try and reschedule either one. If not, opt for a skype one (in the worst case). Not coming for one is definitely a negative sign, even if you notify them of this beforehand.