Interview Invites vs. Getting Accepted

[bowlerpenguin12]

How common is it to receive multiple interview invites but not be accepted to any program?

 

Or is it safe to assume that if you receive quite a few invites eventually you will get accepted somewhere? 

[MT2PA]

It is never safe to assume.  Plenty of folks on this site applied multiple rounds, had interviews multiple rounds, and still took several cycles to get accepted.  

 

Nothing is guaranteed.

[ilygurlie]

Yeah, no one can really say.

 

However, I'm curious if everyone is at different level when they get to the interview based on stats. Everyone seems to think once you're at the interview, everyone is "equal," but I've seen several programs explain their post interview scoring process - which is based on stats and the interview itself. So if you had a great interview, poor stats and someone else had good stats and an okay interview, I wonder who'd get in?

[UGoLong]

From what I've seen (and taken part in), if you get an interview, you are pretty much on equal footing with everyone else who was invited.  

 

People with poor stats (transcripts, GREs, HCE, LORs, and/or essays) usually don't get interviews; there are too many applicants out there and not enough free faculty time to interview people who didn't first look good on paper. .

 

Once you show up for an interview, you are a candidate.

 

Some interviewees -- even those with great stats -- ultimately don't get in because of issues of motivation or personality that are unmasked during their interview. Programs don't want students with inadequate interpersonal skills (medicine -- and school -- can be a stressful team sport), inappropriate knowledge of the profession or motivation to become a PA, or indications that they could become problem children as students.

[JD2012]

I feel that if you get multiple invites and no acceptances, there is an underlying issue.

[PA-C-to-be]

It can be pretty common. For many people this process takes more than one CASPA cycle and that is O-K! There is much to be said for perseverance and continuing to improve your application. If you get interviews but no acceptances, you are able to check off the big things on paper (GPA minimums, GRE, HCE, etc) that they're looking for but perhaps your interview skills could use some work. Maybe your interviews were fine and it just wasn't a good fit or there was someone else who was just more appealing to that school at that time, it's hard to know for sure. But if you make it to the interview stage, that's an accomplishment by itself so don't get discouraged!

Speaking broadly just about the 'odds' of getting into a PA program: many schools receive at least 1000 applications per cycle if not more, will maybe interview 150-300ish people from that pool and then might have a class size somewhere in the 50-100 range. That's a less than 10% acceptance rate and generally only the top 15-30% of applicants will even get to the interview stage. Also consider that you're competing against a lot of smart cookies out there not just average students, so being selected for an interview is that much more of a big deal. I met many people at interviews who were not only in their second or third CASPA cycle but were attending their second or third interview with the same school and sometimes it just takes a second or third impression to bump you into that top 10 (or less) percent. I also met current students who said the same exact thing because it happened to them.