AboutJay Cutts Expertise Preparation for LSAT, GRE, MCAT, GMAT. Personal statements, letters of recommendation, graduate application process, practice tests.
No Questions about Undergrad Admissions Please (unless you are planning to go to law, business, medical or grad school eventually).
Note that I change private questions to public so they are available to others. If you have something that is truly private, let me know.
Experience Over 18 years full time graduate entrance exam prep with over 1500 students nationally and internationally.
Education/Credentials BA, Linguistics with Honors and Distinction, University of Michigan
MA, Special Education with an Emphasis in Learning Disabilities and Giftedness, with Honors, University of New Mexico
Question Hello, how do graduate schools determine who to accept from interviews? Does it mean anything that (I) my application was selected for an interview? What is the purpose of an interview and am I a step closer to being accepted? Are all applicants selected for an interview?
-Thanks
Answer Hi.
You didn't mention what graduate field you are applying to. In general, programs don't interview everyone, so, yes, you have passed the first hurdle. In some programs they do interview everyone who meets certain minimum criteria, in which case getting an interview doesn't really tell you anything.
So, basically you are probably a step closer. What should you do to prepare for the interview? In my perspective the interview is a live version of your personal statement. If you have prepared a strong personal statement, you should be well prepared for the interview. Unfortunately, most people's personal statements are not as strong as they could be - even when someone knowledgable has read it and said it's cool.
I have a lot of free information on my website about writing an effective personal statement. You can access it at:
