Hey,

I was just wondering if universities usually let you know about the outcome of a PhD interview. Well, I would expect them to do so, but who knows...
I had an interview a week ago and was told that I would be notified within the coming week. Is it normal to wait this long?
I know this is stupid, but I just don't have the guts to call/e-mail them as I am scared of being rejected even though it wouldn't seem surprising given that I've been waiting this long already and thinking that my interview went less then well.

I'd be really grateful for any advice though!

Velony

hi velony
Usually universities will let applicant know the outcome of the interview.
Notification within the coming week is because they have other applicants to assess, and this takes time.
Also, it could be a decision made by more than 1 person, and this takes time.
One week's wait is normal.

What I would do is send them a THANK YOU email immediately after the interview and then wait.

If you feel you have waited more than one week, it is ok to email and politely ask.
Rejection is not a bad thing. it is also not a sad thing.

happy satchi

Thank you very much for your reply Satchi!
Aww, I didn't send them a thank you e-mail...:-( I hope that this won't affect their decision though. I think I can only try and hope for the best now.
But, I guess I'll try and pluck up the courage to send them an e-mail by the end of the week if I haven't heard from them by then.

Velony

hi! oh dont worry, if you didn't send them a thank you email, this wont affect their decision.
post back and share the GOOD NEWS :-)

satchi

Dont want to discourage you (and hope that I am not right but things simply taking a bit longer). I would imagine that after all the interviews they make a preference list to who they would like to give the PhD. In case that you are not the first in the list, you will need to wait longer to get an answer from them as for sure first they will answer the preferred candidate and need a response from that one before they can send negative answers to the rest of applicants or offer the PhD to the second person on the list in case that the number 1 candidate doesnt want it.

Hmm, I am having a similar situation - no news about the outcome some time after a panel interview - and have actually sent a polite email a week ago to ask. No reply. I suspect something similar is going on, i.e. they've made a first round of offers and are waiting for responses, but it seems a bit weird they wouldn't even respond to my email. Am now wondering whether it's a 'no' and they're just not interesting in talking to me any more.

Wouldn't surprise me as I didn't think the interview went too well - but I just want to know so I can move on with my life! Am going crazy checking my email constantly.

Ephiny, that's awful that you still haven't heard from them and somewhat weird that they haven't replied to your e-mail. Maybe they are just really busy and haven’t had time to reply to your e-mail or they haven’t made a decision / have made a decision but don’t want to tell you yet.

It's been over a week now since the interview and I've given up all hope. I am just slightly irritated as I’ve had contact with the supervisor a couple of times before the interview and he/she seemed interested and even though this may have changed after the interview (I can totally understand that everyone is entitled to change their opinion, etc) I think they could have at least the decency to let me know the outcome. Oh well…

A week is no time at all. Universities are large and not terribly efficient bureaucracies, and as others have mentioned, they need to assess other candidates, and would then need to do paperwork justifying their decision. The interviewers would also have all their usual work to do, they may need to meet to discuss candidates again, some could be away at conferences etc etc, The interviews would be likely not be a priority to get finalised. So, a week is nothing. Don't give up yet.

Mine's been well over a week (closer to 3 actually!), I appreciate academics are busy people and have better things to do than email me, would just be nice to know what's going on. I'm pretty sure it will be bad news, but still, would just like to know so I can stop worrying about it. Also I have another interview lined up, so it would be good to have some indication of how this one went, so I know what to say/not say next time!

On a similar note - has anyone ever asked for feedback after a negative result from a PhD interview? I know it's common to do this when applying for jobs, and it can be helpful, though sometimes not nice to hear.