We'll pay our own campus interview costs

[Ill pay for my camps interview]

I'm on the east coast and want a job near family on the west coast. This is how bad demand has become across sociology:
 - Tell me to pay for my interview trip and I will do it AND thank you for the opportunity to do it. 
 - If you have people paying to visit, they will show themselves as more willing to stay in the long-run. 

Instead of banking on arbitrary, subjective and - at best - minute differences in status, why not bank on who is willing to want it more (and - byway of this - wish to stay and actively contribute to your program for a long time)? 

[who doesnt pay??]

are there schools that pay to fly out candidates? I've had four campus interviews and for every single one I had to pay my own travel upfront. im now waiting for reimbursement and its why there is nothing under our tree this year.

[most?]

I had seven flyouts this season and only one of them had me buy my own plane ticket. All the rest was prepaid by the institution I was visiting. I thought that was common practice.

[Agree]

Agree with the last poster. I had 6 and only 1 asked me to pay upfront. The 7th reimbursed me for my flight when I got back.

[CC]

I've had multiple flyouts over the years. Sometimes they ask you to buy the ticket you want and they reimburse you later. But Community Colleges and some small local colleges state in the ad that they can't cover travel expenses. I've only seen these in large metro areas like NYC and LA, which makes sense, because they have a large supply of local PhD candidates.