Accepting/ Declining interview offers questions

[psych23]

Okay, I need some help on this one. I looked all over SDN and couldn't find a solid thread on this subject. If I somehow overlooked it, please direct to the thread.

When I get interview offers, what time line do I have for accepting or declining the interview? I assumed I should answer right away in case the slots fill up, but then it's hard to schedule in a way to have all the interviews in the same region at once. Is it okay to pick a date and then switch it later on or would that prove to be difficult if all the slots fill up?

I can always decline some interviews but it is so early in the process I don't know how many offers I will get. This is preventing me from declining some offers that I feel like I should.

Any thoughts on this? What would be my best strategy?

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[notdeadyet]

There have been a lot of great discussions about this exact subject on this forum devoted to ERAS and the NRMP match. A couple of program directors have weighed in with their thoughts.

Cliff notes: Rescheduling is fine and not surprising. Just do so politely and give 2-4 weeks notice of cancellation.

 

[DocHolliday21]

I completely forgot about that forum.

It is great! Thank you!

 

[psych23]

This is very helpful. Thanks.

 

[ieatmop]

I accepted every interview as they came in, and built a nice do-able interview schedule. Then as more desirable offers came in, I canceled the lesser interviews with a brief email. Something like:


"Thank you for the opportunity to interview with your program. Unfortunately I will no longer be able to attend the interview. I wish you the best of luck for this interview season."


Basically every program took that well. Cancel interviews as early as possible.