rb2727 wrote:
Hi, Is there any specific weightage to getting an offline alumni invite vs getting a skype invite with adcom? The email does mention that due to less number of alums in your area, they will want to interview through skype with the adcom.
Just wondering.
The exact same thing happened to me and like you, I was also worried. On one hand because I believed that I could make a better impression personally, on the other hand because I felt like I should have indicated the willingness to travel (and hence signaled that I'm serious about the school). So I called the admissions office and offered to travel for a personal interview.
There were two take-aways:
1. While they said they'd be happy to do that, they subtly made it clear that it would require additional work on their side (rescheduling, reaching out to alumni,...), which I interpreted as a gentle way of advising me against it. (I may have been interpreting too much into it though.)
2. Over and over again, they stressed that they really had no preference. For real.
Eventually I agreed to go with the Skype interview and, hey, I got in.
Don't stress out about it. If other candidates in your area received a personal interview and you didn't, they might have just reached the interviewers' full capacity. Like someone else said above, they could've just dinged you, but they didn't. Take that as a positive sign.
Good luck!