<p>Hello,
I am applying to Brown Early Decision and MIT is my second choice. On the website it says December 10th is the last day to contact your interviewer and set up an interview. So does that mean I just have to have one set up by that time or do I have to be interviewed by that time? I get my ED results December 15th so can I set my interview after that. If I get in early decision I don’t want to waste my interviewers time or go through the stress of another interview. If I explain the situation to my interviewer can I set up my interview after the 15th if I don’t get into Brown?</p>
<p>I tend to ignore the questions that are repeatedly asked and answered, on the grounds that people can learn to search the forums. However, there is a question here that demands an actual answer.</p>
<p>The candidate asks:
</p>
<p>The desire not to waste the interviewers time is generally one I applaud. I have done countless interviews over the years for people who never actually got around to applying. Indeed, in some parts of the world, the interview may not be scheduled until you have at least completed part one of the application.</p>
<p>However, if you contact an interviewer after 10 December you may well not get an interview at all. The EC’s as a group are wonderful folks who give up vast quantities of their time to assist MIT. Every year there is at least one, and often more applicants who contact one of the EC’s in my region in the week leading up to Christmas demanding an interview, and often getting quite huffy if the interview is refused. We also get late requests from people who have their heart set on and expect to get into another university, who only at the last minute fail to do so and only then decide to take the MIT application process seriously.</p>
<p>The interview is easy, it does not require advance preparation, and you cannot study for it in any meaningful way. So yes, go ahead and schedule your MIT interview, as soon as possible. It is not unreasonable to ask for the interview to be after the 15th of December if possible, and if you get into Brown, to contact your MIT EC with this news and regretfully cancel the interview. But waiting until 15 December to contact your EC is simply wrong.</p>
<p>Thank you for an actual answer. I was definitely going to contact my interviewer by the deadline but wanted to know if I was able to set up the interview for after the 15th. Meaning I wanted to know if interviews could be conducted after the 10th. Thanks so much.</p>