Apply early and receive late interview invite?

[jakec]

Hey Everyone, 

 

This is my first time applying, so I am a little unaware how the interview process goes.  I submitted my application early, some as early as mid-May and others no later than May 22.  Everything has been verified and processed and I received emails from a few schools saying "my application was under review."  I even heard back from one school already regarding an interview in August.  I haven't heard anything back however, from some of my top choices who I know have already begun asking people for interviews.  My question is if I applied early and my application is under review, and I have not heard back for an interview yet, but others have am I likely to receive an interview in the future?  I am not sure how the admissions committee works, but to me if they have seen my application and not offered me an interview yet, then they probably won't offer me one in the future. Is this fair to say, or are there people who applied early in the cycle and yet didn't get an invite to interview until much later in the cycle? 

[Teacher2PAC]

I think it all depends on the admission committee. Each committee has their own way of sorting applications. It is possible that you might get called for a second or third interview. If you want to, you can give them a call or email to ask about your application status. They might be able to clarify if you are on a waiting list for an interview or if they are going to take a second look at your application. 

[UGoLong]

It varies. Some schools try to get the "superstars" in for interviews first. Some members of some committees take longer to review the applications they have been assigned (like their part of the alphabetical order, etc). Sometimes it also takes a while for the initial screener to release the applications to the reviewers, after first making sure that all of the school's requirements have been met.

 

If you applied in May, don't sweat it if you haven't heard yet.

[PA-C-to-be]

Rolling admissions can stretch across several months. I submitted my CASPA almost exactly a year ago now to the day which is still considered early and was in the first interview for one school, second interview for another, the last interview for another school, and heard back from the other schools at random times during the cycle. I went several months without hearing from several programs after receiving the "application received/under review" notification and some of those schools invited me to interview seemingly out of the blue after that long of a wait. I also met many other people at interviews with similar experiences here. It's hard to do, but be patient! You might get only early interviews, you might have them nicely spaced out throughout the cycle, it really just depends

[MT2PA]

Every school is different.  I applied mid June and received interview invites as early as August and late as November (for December interview times).

 

Applying early doesn't guarantee interview invites, it just gets your app in front of faces before the onslaught.  Not getting an invite right away doesn't mean you won't, just means you haven't yet.