2011-2012 Interview Gossip/Chit-Chat

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JackieG

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Case Western Reserve: 10/29, 11/12, 12/3 (via email sent 9/22)

It begins.


FML.. I got nothing

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Me too.. Rejected all the way..I do appreciate that they at least sent an email to tell me I'm no good.. other programs don't even do that.. For 25 bucks for each program, the least they can do is write a email
 
Rejected here too... my application wasn't even complete because not all my recs are in yet. Whatever happened to not looking at apps until after astro?
 
Yea rejected there as well w/o a complete app. Hummus was ur app complete? I'm curious to see what they based their interview invites off of.
 
Did your schools release Dean's letters for you guys already? Or is that in October this year?
 
Whatever happened to not looking at apps until after astro?

Last year CWRU invited pretty late, had dates that conflicted with just about every other program, added a late Saturday interview date, and ended up having to fill a spot in the scramble. So they are probably trying to avoid a similar situation.
 
I just got my rejection letter from Case as well. Very disheartening. So early in the game - and they didn't even download my personal statement or LORs! So what did they have, my step 1 (it's actually pretty high).
 
Just for a note of reassurance, in my experience programs seem to have extremely varied ways/criteria by which they select for an interview pool, in addition to scores, transcript, LORs, etc. including:

- geography (i.e. midwestern programs will often put a lower priority on applicants "linked" to the coasts)
- links to applicant's med school (some may interview "their own" first)
- whether the applicant rotated there (generally a plus, but for a very few programs seemingly not). Some may interview those who rotated/are otherwise known to the program first, then a few week(s) later invite others.
- program's "tier" vs. applicant's "tier" (strong applicants will interview at strong programs, but mid to lower tier programs may pass on the strongest applicants since everyone is trying to fill, and those applicants historically may go elsewhere)
- randomness. In comparing notes last year, people with very similar backgrounds/applications had completely different rejections/invites in a number of places.

I would make sure that your apps are complete ASAP, (ideally by the end of the upcoming week other than maybe one letter and of course MSPE), but I would not worry/panic unless you're getting very very few interviews by around mid-November, assuming MSPE release is 11/1.

While rejections are generally final, if you feel very strongly about a program whose interview invites went out according to this page/word of mouth, and you got radio silence, it may be a good time to send a polite note to the PD and coordinator with your interest in the program.

Good luck to all! (and better interview weather than last year :eek:) Feel free to PM if I can be of more help.
 
Just for a note of reassurance, in my experience programs seem to have extremely varied ways/criteria by which they select for an interview pool, in addition to scores, transcript, LORs, etc. including:

thank you
 
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A helpful tip overall (to make things easier as the season warms up) is to have 3 different threads.

1) Interview Invites: post only the interview invites, otherwise the thread will get bogged down
2) Interview Rejections: That way you know your app status if you didn't get an email/waitlist from them
3) Interview Gossip/Chit-chat thread: where you can basically post the types of comments that are in this thread.

If you can keep these separate, it'll make it much easier than scanning through a million posts to find out if your dream program already gave out invites... Well, just a thought...
 
MD2001 - app was not complete. I was missing 2 of the 3 LORs and my medical school transcript, but everything else was in

Seldon - my school releases MSPE on November 1
 
I just finished up interview season last year and wanted to share some things with this year's applicants. First of all, I felt exactly like most of you are feeling right now, as I was discouraged watching all of my classmates going into IM getting interviews left and right during September. I was freaking out even more because all of the people on these forums talk about how interview offers are sent out after ASTRO, but in reality the invites don't start until 2 to 3 weeks after ASTRO. The waiting was awful...after waiting the entire month of September for stupid freaking ASTRO to be finished I ended up being really nervous because no invites were sent out after ASTRO like everyone said they would be. I was just looking back at my emails from last year and I didn't get my first interview offer until October 14th, and then a few more trickled in throughout the end of October. Then the large bulk of my interview offers came in November (specifically after the dean's letter), a few in December and then a couple in January. I even received an interview after being rejected by a program:p. I basically just want everyone to know that it's only natural to be freaking out right now, but things will definitely pick up and there's no reason to worry at this point. If you get through all of November without hearing from many programs, then I could understand the anxiety. I got several interviews without having my completed application and I also received several rejections without a completed application.

Also, I agree with nothingman's post about the different criteria for doling out interviews. You will drive yourself crazy trying to predict what programs will give you an interview (unless maybe you rotated there). All you can do is apply broadly and take whatever interviews come your way and be thankful for the ones you get since the criteria vary widely from program to program. Another piece of advice would be to schedule your TY or prelim interviews as soon as possible during Sept, Oct and Nov because December and January are prime time interview season for rad onc and you don't want to miss out on a rad onc interview because of a TY interview (it happened to me). So get them out of the way early. Good luck to everyone.
 
I just finished up interview season last year and wanted to share some things with this year's applicants. First of all, I felt exactly like most of you are feeling right now, as I was discouraged watching all of my classmates going into IM getting interviews left and right during September. I was freaking out even more because all of the people on these forums talk about how interview offers are sent out after ASTRO, but in reality the invites don't start until 2 to 3 weeks after ASTRO. The waiting was awful...after waiting the entire month of September for stupid freaking ASTRO to be finished I ended up being really nervous because no invites were sent out after ASTRO like everyone said they would be. I was just looking back at my emails from last year and I didn't get my first interview offer until October 14th, and then a few more trickled in throughout the end of October. Then the large bulk of my interview offers came in November (specifically after the dean's letter), a few in December and then a couple in January. I even received an interview after being rejected by a program:p. I basically just want everyone to know that it's only natural to be freaking out right now, but things will definitely pick up and there's no reason to worry at this point. If you get through all of November without hearing from many programs, then I could understand the anxiety. I got several interviews without having my completed application and I also received several rejections without a completed application.

Also, I agree with nothingman's post about the different criteria for doling out interviews. You will drive yourself crazy trying to predict what programs will give you an interview (unless maybe you rotated there). All you can do is apply broadly and take whatever interviews come your way and be thankful for the ones you get since the criteria vary widely from program to program. Another piece of advice would be to schedule your TY or prelim interviews as soon as possible during Sept, Oct and Nov because December and January are prime time interview season for rad onc and you don't want to miss out on a rad onc interview because of a TY interview (it happened to me). So get them out of the way early. Good luck to everyone.

Thank you for this :thumbup:

It was pretty disheartening to get the big R. They should have waited till Monday ;)
 
Anyone have advice regarding letters of recommendations? For example I know most places want three but if I send 4 or even 5 is that a bad thing?

Also is anyone sending a medicine letter or only rad onc letters?
 
General wisdom is that you can send 4 just about everywhere regardless of stated requirements. More than that is probably counterproductive.

Ideally 2-3 are rad onc (I know Penn requires a medicine one). If you did a PhD/lots of research, one can/should (PhD) be from your research mentor.

The best letters are from attendings/research mentors that know you the best. If one or two of these are not rad oncs, but can write stronger letters, I would use them regardless.
 
Does anyone know if any programs other than Penn require a medicine LOR?
 
Does anyone know if any programs other than Penn require a medicine LOR?
I will go over all the programs I applied to and see if there are any other unusual requirements - if I find something, I'll post.
 
so Mayo sent out invites???
Damn 0/2 :scared:
Rad onc fans here weeee gooo.. officially worried
 
so Mayo sent out invites???
Damn 0/2 :scared:
Rad onc fans here weeee gooo.. officially worried

I know it is hard but don't worry yet. 2 is a very small number unless you had some specific connection to the 2 programs that have sent out invites already. I was in your shoes last year and it felt entirely random. I got rejected from places I thought I had a good shot at and invited to places I considered a long reach. Bottom line - don't start thinking because program x rejected me all the programs "below" it will too.
 
I know it is hard but don't worry yet. 2 is a very small number unless you had some specific connection to the 2 programs that have sent out invites already. I was in your shoes last year and it felt entirely random. I got rejected from places I thought I had a good shot at and invited to places I considered a long reach. Bottom line - don't start thinking because program x rejected me all the programs "below" it will too.

Thank you guys.. but I'm more worried than most because I have a few negatives on my app.. I'm not the best applicant on paper..so I'm more worried than most
 
Thank you guys.. but I'm more worried than most because I have a few negatives on my app.. I'm not the best applicant on paper..so I'm more worried than most

There are only two programs who have given out invites. Did you rotate at one of those programs? If not, don't worry.:thumbup:
 
There are only two programs who have given out invites. Did you rotate at one of those programs? If not, don't worry.:thumbup:
I did not rotate there.. I got to tell you guys.. I have never seen so many positive and supportive people in a forum.. Other forums with other specialties it is a post fest of who has the best stats..

really appreciate everyone's support.. if I match drinks on me for all the supporters..

:)
 
Well... Here goes my free drink.

I away rotated at a program I considered my first choice. I thought it was within my application range. I had ties to the area and had worked at the institution before in a different department where the faculty really liked me. The rad onc faculty seemed to love me, the residents all seemed to like me. I got a great letter of recommendation from a faculty member who told me I had a great chance of matching there. One of the residents told me: "Be careful with [that faculty member]. He tells stage IV cancer patients they'll do well." Two months later I didn't get an interview when the invites came out on SDN. People told me, "don't worry yours is coming". People told me, "e-mail your LOR writer". Then my rejection came. The happy person who wrote me the LOR never responded to my e-mail to him. I had my home PD call, they got a generic response and I never got an invite.

A lot of people told me not to worry about my app. I watched people on SDN FREAK OUT only to find out in private that they had triple the number of interviews I had. I would later watch the biggest worrier match at a top program. I on the other hand got few invites for a very long time. I eventually added 15 programs on ERAS, but by then it was too late. I had missed deadlines for multiple programs wasting money, and even then it was so late for other programs I feel like they didn't even give my application a chance.

I was lucky to end up matching. I did worse than everyone else applying from my med school. I didn't get the interviews I wanted. I ended up matching in the middle of my match list to a program I had never heard of before the season in a region of the country I had no interest in. But, at least I matched.

I've definitely met people out there who weren't so lucky. I've met overconfident people. I've met underconfident people. I don't know your application. I do think rad oncs are some of the smartest, most caring, most outgoing people there are. That's a big reason why I went into this specialty. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security by well wishers. This specialty is rapidly getting more competitive. Apply to a lot of programs, have a backup plan, and good luck.
 
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Well... Here goes my free drink.

I away rotated at a program I considered my first choice. I thought it was within my application range. I had ties to the area and had worked at the institution before in a different department where the faculty really liked me. The rad onc faculty seemed to love me, the residents all seemed to like me. I got a great letter of recommendation from a faculty member who told me I had a great chance of matching there. One of the residents told me "Be careful with him. He tells stage IV cancer patients they'll do well." Two months later I didn't get an interview when the invites came out on SDN. People told me, "don't worry yours is coming". People told me, "e-mail your LOR writer". Then my rejection came. The happy person who wrote me the LOR never responded to my e-mail to him. I had my home PD call, they got a generic response and I never got an invite.

A lot of people told me not to worry about my app. I watched people on SDN FREAK OUT only to find out in private that they had triple the number of interviews I had. I would later watch the biggest worrier match at a top program. I on the other hand got few invites for a very long time. I eventually added 15 programs, but by then it was too late. I had missed deadlines for multiple programs wasting money, and even then it was so late for other programs I feel like they didn't even give my application a chance.

I was lucky to end up matching. I did worse than everyone else applying from my med school. I didn't get the interviews I wanted, went to the mdidle of my match list to a program I had never heard of before the season in a region of the country I had no interest in. But, at least I matched.

I've definitely met people out there who weren't so lucky. I've met overconfident people. I've met underconfident people. I don't know your application. I do think rad oncs are some of the smartest, most caring, most outgoing people there are. That's a big reason why I went into this specialty. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security by well wishers. This specialty is rapidly getting more competitive. Apply to a lot of programs, have a backup plan, and good luck.

Thanks Duke.. I applied to all.. I just want some interviews..Ill be surprised Ill get any.. But i love this field way to much to not try.. I have a back up plan but unfortunately that too is kind of in jeopardy given my negatives on my app..

And I have a very similar story as you. its gotten to the point I don't expect anything from any one and never take what people say at face value..
 
I have a feeling this is gonna be a rough year...
 
So if interviews went out from UTMB, Mayo-Fl, and NYM, is it safe to assume a rejection, or at least >90% chance of rejection?
 
A lot of programs send invites in multiple "waves" spaced apart by weeks and sometimes even months.

I would not assume a rejection unless:

a) you get an actual rejection email
b) all interview days are past and you heard nothing
c) it's early to mid january and you heard nothing

The radio silence may mean that: 1) your app has not been reviewed yet, and will be reviewed for a later interview date, 2) that you're borderline for an interview (see below) and may get offered spots that are not taken/cancelled. Remember that borderline status may depend not only on grades/scores/etc but also geography, whether your app is too strong for program's tier, whether you rotated there, etc. 3) that you're rejected and the program for whatever reason does not want to communicate that to you (FWIW, for about 1/3-half of my rejections last season, I just never heard anything from the program from app submission to match day)

Borderline for interview: A lot of people can sit in this "limbo" pool for some time with individual programs, because as the season progresses some applicants will begin to cancel interviews, and the limbo pool will be turned to to fill newly opened spots.

That said, if you're not hearing anything from a program that's inviting other applicants and that's especially high on your list, email them now to reiterate your interest.
 
So 5 programs have sent intreviews (UTMB, Mayo-Jack, NYM, Michigan, and case). only got one and it is a program I rotated at. DrVanNostran I hear you it is going. Anyone else freaking out:scared:.
 
I am freaking out. Only Nothingman's calming words and serene demeanor keep me from bashing my head into the wall... I *do* think though that it is premature to worry excessively YET. Even my friends applying in IM and psych haven't gotten too many invites.
 
A lot of programs send invites in multiple "waves" spaced apart by weeks and sometimes even months.

I would not assume a rejection unless:

a) you get an actual rejection email
b) all interview days are past and you heard nothing
c) it's early to mid january and you heard nothing

The radio silence may mean that: 1) your app has not been reviewed yet, and will be reviewed for a later interview date, 2) that you're borderline for an interview (see below) and may get offered spots that are not taken/cancelled. Remember that borderline status may depend not only on grades/scores/etc but also geography, whether your app is too strong for program's tier, whether you rotated there, etc. 3) that you're rejected and the program for whatever reason does not want to communicate that to you (FWIW, for about 1/3-half of my rejections last season, I just never heard anything from the program from app submission to match day)

Borderline for interview: A lot of people can sit in this "limbo" pool for some time with individual programs, because as the season progresses some applicants will begin to cancel interviews, and the limbo pool will be turned to to fill newly opened spots.

That said, if you're not hearing anything from a program that's inviting other applicants and that's especially high on your list, email them now to reiterate your interest.

:thumbup:

OOC, out of the ~83 programs available. How many interviews do you think an AVERAGE candidate would receive? 7-10?
 
:thumbup:

OOC, out of the ~83 programs available. How many interviews do you think an AVERAGE candidate would receive? 7-10?

None of us really know but 7-10 sounds about right but to be honest it feels very random (at least it did to me). I'd say the best data would come from tracking outcomes. It doesn't directly say how many invites people got but you can see how many radiation oncology programs people ranked (assuming most people only ranked programs they interviewed at).
 
None of us really know but 7-10 sounds about right but to be honest it feels very random (at least it did to me). I'd say the best data would come from tracking outcomes. It doesn't directly say how many invites people got but you can see how many radiation oncology programs people ranked (assuming most people only ranked programs they interviewed at).

Thanks. Mean contiguous ranks last year was ~11. I have a feeling us average candidates may start hearing things mid November when the 250+, AOA, PHd Candidates are booked with interviews.
 
:thumbup:

OOC, out of the ~83 programs available. How many interviews do you think an AVERAGE candidate would receive? 7-10?

I counted only 82 programs accepting applications through ERAS. Did I miss a program that maybe added themselves more recently? Thanks!
 
I counted only 82 programs accepting applications through ERAS. Did I miss a program that maybe added themselves more recently? Thanks!

I may added something twice.

1 UAB
2 Arizona
3 Ca Pacific
4 Kaiser LA
5 City of Hope
6 Loma Linda
7 Stanford
8 UC Davis
9 UCSD
10 UCSF
11 UCLA
12 Colorado
13 Georgetown
14 Yale
15 Miami
16 Mayo Fl
17 U Florida
18 USF
19 Emory
20 Loyola
21 Northwestern
22 Rush
23 U chicago
24 Indiana
25 Iowa
26 Kansas
27 Kentucky
28 Loisville
29 Hopkins
30 Maryland
31 BWH
32 Tufts
33 Henry Ford
34 Michigan
35 WSU
36 Beumont
37 Mississipi
38 Washu
39 Mayo
40 Minnesota
41 Nebraska
42 UMDNJ
43 MS-Kettering
44 MSSM
45 Cornell/Flushing
46 Columbia
47 NYU
48 SUNY/Brooklyn
49 SUNY/Upstate
50 Rochester
51 Buffalo
52 DUKE
53 Wake Forest
54 UNC
55 Case
56 CCF
57 OSU
58 Cinci
59 Oklahoma
60 OHSU
61 Fox Chase
62 Drexel
63 Penn
64 Jefferson
65 Pitt
66 MUSC
67 Vandy
68 Baylor
69 Methodist
70 MDACC
71 UTMB
72 UTSW
73 Utah
74 Uva
75 VCU
76 U Washington
77 MCW
78 Wisconsin
79 Alleghany
80 Albert Einstein
81 NY Methodist
82 Hofstra/LIJ
83 USC
 
I may added something twice.

1 UAB
2 Arizona
3 Ca Pacific
4 Kaiser LA
5 City of Hope
6 Loma Linda
7 Stanford
8 UC Davis
9 UCSD
10 UCSF
11 UCLA
12 Colorado
13 Georgetown
14 Yale
15 Miami
16 Mayo Fl
17 U Florida
18 USF
19 Emory
20 Loyola
21 Northwestern
22 Rush
23 U chicago
24 Indiana
25 Iowa
26 Kansas
27 Kentucky
28 Loisville
29 Hopkins
30 Maryland
31 BWH
32 Tufts
33 Henry Ford
34 Michigan
35 WSU
36 Beumont
37 Mississipi
38 Washu
39 Mayo
40 Minnesota
41 Nebraska
42 UMDNJ
43 MS-Kettering
44 MSSM
45 Cornell/Flushing
46 Columbia
47 NYU
48 SUNY/Brooklyn
49 SUNY/Upstate
50 Rochester
51 Buffalo
52 DUKE
53 Wake Forest
54 UNC
55 Case
56 CCF
57 OSU
58 Cinci
59 Oklahoma
60 OHSU
61 Fox Chase
62 Drexel
63 Penn
64 Jefferson
65 Pitt
66 MUSC
67 Vandy
68 Baylor
69 Methodist
70 MDACC
71 UTMB
72 UTSW
73 Utah
74 Uva
75 VCU
76 U Washington
77 MCW
78 Wisconsin
79 Alleghany
80 Albert Einstein
81 NY Methodist
82 Hofstra/LIJ
83 USC

Thanks! It looks like Mississippi is no longer participating in ERAS.
 
Thanks! It looks like Mississippi is no longer participating in ERAS.

There we go. I made this before eras was available and recently took out UTSA and UT-Houston. Thanks!
 
These guys need to stop partying in Miami and send out some invites! :)
 
Ah man, the interviews are just flying by me. Anyone else getting super nervous, now that ASTRO's done?
 
ok i'm officially confused by the interview thread. i think an "underline" means an invite was sent, although two programs (new york methodist and harvard), don't cite the notification date. Would it be too much to ask to just separate the two groups (invites sent vs not sent) by a paragraph break and maybe add labels to distinguish them?
 
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