How long to hear after an interview?

[AleksandrM]

How long does it usually take to hear from a school after an interview? I sent a thank-you note to the person that I interviewed with and she responded with all of the pleasantries, and said that I should hear from her regarding admissions shortly. Shortly can be 2 weeks to a month, as far as I can tell.

[Graham]

AleksandrM,

Each program operates a bit differently, so the answer to your question depends on the school in question.

For example, if you interviewed with Columbia Business School, hearing within two weeks of the interview (if not sooner) is very standard. If you interviewed at Harvard or Wharton, there is a set date where decisions for that admissions round will all be released - regardless of the date of your interview.

Based on the information your interviewer provided, my sense is that "shortly" should mean a couple of weeks. Of course, interpreting this comment depends on who your interviewer was; if she was an admissions officer, I'd take her word and expect a decision promptly. If she was an alum, she may not have a full understanding of the process and could have just been throwing a rough estimate out there (since alums aren't typically tied into the operational details of the admissions process post-interview).

In all cases, I wish you the best of luck in this process!

Hang in there,

Graham

[AleksandrM]

Thanks. I actually interviewed with the assistant director of admissions. I also spent the remainder of the day with a current student and she told me that she heard about 2 weeks after her interview. I hope to hear by the 23 or so.