Does "being ghosted" mean "rejection" after PhD interview? I had a PhD interview (Computer Science) 3 weeks ago with a German institute. The interview went well and they said they will make their final decision in a week (the latest) and let the candidates know. However, it's been 3 weeks and no response. I emailed them a week ago asking if they have decided yet. Still no response. Before the interview, they were extremely responsive. E.g. I emailed and asked many questions about how I should prepare for the presentation etc. They would typically respond in like 5 mins. But after the interview, they seem to be ghosting me. Does this mean I should forget about this position?
It could be that unforeseen circumstances have prevented a timely decision. However, most likely you are not their first choice but they don't send out rejections before their first choice has signed the contract. That's pretty standard.
Something similar happened to me in the past. Three months later they called me and asked if I would still be interested. Their first choice had decided against the position. If they had send out rejection letters they would have had to restart the whole process again (with a new job posting).