I know this will sound silly, but I applied for a PhD and had an interview last week. I was told they will decide who to accept over the weekend, so I thought I might receive an email on whether I've been successful or not today but haven't. Now I'm worried I've been unsuccessful. :(

How long does it normally take to receive an decision on a PhD? I know it'll probably vary between unis, but has been other people's experience with this?

You are right, it does vary between different unis/people. After my interview, i was told a decision would be made within a week. After a week, i hadn't heard anything, so i sent them an email asking if they had made a decision. They hadn't actually made a decision, but they told me what stage they were at. About a week later, they gave me a final decision.

If they told you they would make their decision over the weekend, you are entitiled to email them and ask (it won't be viewed as pushy or rude). if i were you, i would e-mail them first thing tomorrow morning. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. It's reassuring to know they may had not made their decision yet. I think I'll leave it a week before contacting them.

Hello, I don't think you have to worry yet but I wouldn't wait a week. Sim was told they would make a decision within a week and so it was acceptable to email after the week had passed. You however were told over the weekend so its acceptable to email now. I don't think it seems pushy, just keen, which is surely what they are after!

Good luck!

I have had several interviews before. From my experience, I think you would know if the prospective supervisors/interviewers are keen to take you on or not during the interview. Of course, you're anxious waiting for the result, but how did your interview go?

Thanks for the advise kirsty.

I thought the interview went well overall, but then there are 3 candidates and all our interviews might had gone well.

verypoor, i agree with kirsty, i would e-mail them today, too.

from experience of being on the other side of the recruiting process (not in academia though) i know that sometimes time is a huge factor. say, i would like to employ candidate A. candidate B is a very strong alternative, who i don't want to lose. for some reason or other, candidate A is not sure to accept the offer. if i wait too long for A's answer, i risk losing B, too. so i just wait and hope that A will accept and that B won't call earlier, forcing a decision. because if B does call and shows how eager he/she is, two things happen: a) B becomes a stronger candidate, A a weaker one, as I am looking for enthusiasm and obviously B has it, A not. b) the time i can give A gets shorter. i call A and tell him/her that i need a decision now.
what i'm saying is: if you call, your chances of getting the position grow. if you don't call, they get reduced, for every day that you wait. so: call!(or e-mail)

Don't wait and don't email. *Call* them. I went through this a couple of months ago. They said they'd get back to me over the weekend or early the following week (after an interview on a Friday. Every time I spoke to them they said they'd know by such and such day. I'd then call again on that day. My situation ended up being slightly different because they managed to find additional funding but I'm sure the fact that I kept calling (not being pushy but just being really keen) helped matters. You're not going to lose anything by calling.