Great Interview Information

Admissions Tip: Interview Processes

We’ve been hearing from a number of anxious applicants this week as they wait for word from their target programs, and wanted to dispel misconceptions by sharing some information about the interview processes at a handful of the most frequently asked about schools.  

Because it’s important to set hopes and expectations with an eye to the facts, let’s first look at some of the interview-related statistics (from last year) for three schools that interview by invitation only:

Columbia
Percentage of Applicants Interviewed: 49%
Percentage of Admitted Applicants Interviewed: 84%
Percentage of Applicants Admitted: 17%
Invitation/Decision Timing: within 10 weeks for ED and 12 weeks for RD

Wharton
Percentage of Applicants Interviewed: 56%
Percentage of Admitted Applicants Interviewed: 100%
Percentage of Applicants Admitted: 21%
Invitation/Decision Timing: R1 Interview or Rejection notification by November 16th, final notification (for those who interviewed) on December 21st

Harvard
Percentage of Applicants Interviewed: ~23%
Percentage of Admitted Applicants Interviewed: 100%
Percentage of Applicants Admitted: 15%
Invitation/Decision Timing: HBS issues invitations up to the notification date, January 17th for R1
These figures tell us a number of things:

1) Timing of Invitations.  Because Wharton operates on a relatively tight round-by-round timeline and Columbia’s admissions process is rolling, interview invitations begin to flow out very shortly after the submission date.  Meanwhile, Harvard has historically issued its first invitations weeks after the deadline; this makes sense because their policy reserves the right to issue invitations all the way up to the mid-January decision notification date.  Further, because they interview a relatively small proportion of applicants, more time is spent reviewing applications and identifying the very top candidates.  This brings us to the next item:

2) Strength of Signal.  An interview invitation is almost always a positive sign about the school’s interest in an applicant and the strength of one’s candidacy, but it’s important to look at the percentage of applicants interviewed to get a sense of just how strong this signal is.  For instance, both Columbia and Wharton interview close to half of the applicant pool each year, and ultimately admit roughly one third of this group.  Meanwhile, Harvard invites just 20-25% of applicants to interview each year and admits the majority of this group.  In a sense, interviewed applicants at HBS have been pre-screened for admission and need only pass this final test, whereas the interview for many other programs serves as just one more data point in evaluating the entire application.  Of course, this information about the likelihood of receiving an invitation also has implications for what one can expect as a result.  Just as it doesn’t make sense to say that you thought you would “at least get an interview at HBS,” it’s not prudent to assume that you’re “in the door at Wharton” solely on the basis of an invitation.

3) Necessity of Interview. While an invitation to interview at Columbia is a very positive sign, those who have not heard toward the end of their 10-12 weeks should not despair; the school admits 16% of its incoming class without interviewing them.  They have also been known to bump a fair number of ED applicants into the regular admissions round (for further review).  Meanwhile, Wharton and Harvard do not admit students they have not met, so an approaching notification date is cause for slightly greater concern for applicants not yet invited to interview by these programs.

We hope that these details have addressed some concerns, and helped applicants understand what statistics to consider when setting interview expectations for other schools.  It is always important to follow the facts, as the creative theories and discussions in the online discussion forums can often be misleading.