interview chit-chat

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I though I would start a thread so we could vent about the interview offers/rejections and not clog up the formal threads.
I must say that at this point I'm feeling a bit scared. It is November and I only have 3 offers and have already gotten 3 rejections. Do programs usually send out interviews on more than one date? If somebody else on this forum got offered an interview at program X, can I assume that I have been passed over? More comments are welcome.
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I wouldn't worry yet, especially since you already have three interviews. Most of my interviews started rolling in during November last year. I even received one last minute in January (!). Some places send out interviews in waves. For example I received an interview to U Mich after the initial interviews were sent out. I don't know about other places however. Good luck.
 
Of the places that have offered me interviews, the only one that didn't come on the day someone posted it on the forum was Loyola, who sent me my email 2 days after they first went on the board. On the other hand, there are quite a few that have sent offers to others but haven't given me a rejection, so I assume they aren't 100% sure they will have enough people to interview and haven't ruled me out.

Anyone know what's up with Henry Ford? Apparently they have sent some rejections but they're not on the offers board at all?
 
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I have 5 interviews and 3 rejections so far out of 43 programs. I think this week we should start hearing from more programs since they have had some time to look at the MSPEs. Cross your fingers...
 
Anyone have any insider info about how common it is for people to cancel interviews late in the season when they feel they have gone on enough? Is that why programs hold off on rejecting us right out, because they want us available to fill any holes that may be created later on, or have they really not sent all the invites they intend to ultimately send?
 
I hope more interviews come in the next few weeks as well. Also, a side note, it is incredible how small the field is and yet there are 4 ppl viewing the Rad Onc forum at 3:30am!! I think we have a problem.:eek:
 
Now i guess we all understand what people meant by how stressful these months are going to be. This waiting game is going to give me an ulcer :rolleyes:

I have a question for those applying... Obviously we've all heard TY is far less stressful and will still turn us into good docs, but I applied to both TY and prelim med programs just to make sure I get an intern spot and for back-up plan in case I dont' match. As far as prelim med interviews, how many interviews is anyone going on? At this point, I think I applied to too many out of fear (and it's so easy to just click the button)...any thoughts on numbers?
 
RadOncRudy said:
Now i guess we all understand what people meant by how stressful these months are going to be. This waiting game is going to give me an ulcer :rolleyes:
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Seriously... This whole thing is so much worse if you're couples matching too. I don't get why advanced programs don't just automatically give you a prelim/TY at that institution. Applying separately is the dumbest thing mostly because it adds more travel costs. And we all love travel costs. :scared:
 
RadOncRudy said:
I have a question for those applying... Obviously we've all heard TY is far less stressful and will still turn us into good docs, but I applied to both TY and prelim med programs just to make sure I get an intern spot and for back-up plan in case I dont' match. As far as prelim med interviews, how many interviews is anyone going on? At this point, I think I applied to too many out of fear (and it's so easy to just click the button)...any thoughts on numbers?
Click to expand...

I'm applying to only one PY behind my TY options, and that's at my home school. I thought about applying to a couple more at places close enough to drive to, but I seriously wouldn't go as far as to fly to prelim interviews.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of response from the TY places. I have heard from basically everyone in my hometown and only one from the rest of the 10 "freebie" places I applied (and that one is at a location where I got a rejection from radonc). So is it just that TY programs don't like inviting too many out-of-towners?
 
TY is a tough match.

I know TY programs would hate this idea, but I think that if a rad-onc (derm, whatever) program also has a TY, the candidate should meet with just the PD of the TY program on the day of the primary interview. Then, the primary faculty should make their rec to the TY program. Make things a lot easier.

S
 
SimulD said:
TY is a tough match.

I know TY programs would hate this idea, but I think that if a rad-onc (derm, whatever) program also has a TY, the candidate should meet with just the PD of the TY program on the day of the primary interview. Then, the primary faculty should make their rec to the TY program. Make things a lot easier.

S
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This is what Mayo Jax is doing. They just make the interview day an hour longer for those doing the TY interview. There may be others.
 
Does anyone else find it hard to believe that some programs haven't invited people for interviews yet even though they are planning on interview dates only 3 -4 wks away? It seems pretty inconsiderate with all the money and time applicants put into this process. This makes getting plane tickets and other travel expenses even more expensive.

Oh well, I needed to vent a little. The waiting game is more stressful than I thought it would be (5 interviews, 2 rejections from 33 programs).

Best wishes everyone.
 
Good question. I wonder if interviews have been offered and just not posted on the board. It's pathetic how paranoid the waiting makes you :)
 
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Hey all,

Out of the 50 or so programs I applied to last year, roughly 10 never even bothered to sent me a rejection letter. I thought that was thoroughly unprofessional (especially after the $35 per application) and even told a few so.

Talking to others on the interview trail last year, some had luck consistently calling programs to make sure everything was in order and if any interview spots had opened up. But with 50+ programs that can be a bit daunting. I'd recommend consistent followups on no more than 10 programs that you really think you have a chance at/would really like to train at. Oh well to the others. And realize that it's probably 90% the secretaries fault that rejection/interview offer letters aren't sent out promptly. Always be courteous and simply ask and ask again that everything is in order.

Good luck to you all. It's not fun now, but March 15 is SO SWEET!
 
Hi Everyone,

I have a question for those receiving offers by phone. Do people leave messages for you, or do they wait to talk to you in person? I'm not by a phone all day, and I'm sure many of your aren't either.

Also, who calls, the PD or the coordinator?
 
The only offer I received by phone was from MCV. The program coordinator did leave a message on my cell phone. Hope this helps.

Random thought...how many times are you checking your email per day lately, or for that matter SDN? :eek: haha, I'm sure we're all starting to feel a little OCD in that area...good luck everyone!
 
RadOncRudy said:
Random thought...how many times are you checking your email per day lately, or for that matter SDN? :eek: haha, I'm sure we're all starting to feel a little OCD in that area...good luck everyone!
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I agree. I am checking my e-mail every hour or two during the day when I can (and SDN almost as often, as evidenced by my quick reply here!)

I do feel the high stress and worry more often than I'd like. I found that the best antidote for worry is work. I am trying to work hard on things that will make me the best physician and radiation oncologist in the long run, and hope these other things which are out of my hands, will take care of themselves.
 
RadOncRudy said:
The only offer I received by phone was from MCV. The program coordinator did leave a message on my cell phone. Hope this helps.
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Thanks for easing my anxiety here. Now, though, I'll probably be checking my cell phone messages throughout the day! :)
 
Having a PDA phone now is sweet, but sucks because now I can check my email pretty much 24/7 no matter where I am... And do I check 24/7. :laugh:
 
Anyone else hit a bit of a dry spell since the MSPEs came out? I had 4 going in to November, but have only gotten 1 more since.... and none in the last 5 days.

This process blows.
 
So other than preparing to talk about your research, why rad onc, and why that specific program, is there anything else to prepare to talk about? Anyone hear of any ridiculous interview questions?
 
For Fox Chase, the program coordinator left a message. For Mayo, the PD called (at like 6:15 pm).
 
Dwight7298 said:
Good question. I wonder if interviews have been offered and just not posted on the board. It's pathetic how paranoid the waiting makes you :)
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Yeah, no kidding. I just applied to 10 more programs.
 
I know this has been addressed ad nauseum, but, specifically for UPenn, if we ain't heard nothing, are we to assume a rejection?
 
JimmyD said:
I know this has been addressed ad nauseum, but, specifically for UPenn, if we ain't heard nothing, are we to assume a rejection?
Click to expand...

Also, more generally, are people receiving late offers (more than 2-3 days after the SDN announcement) yet? So far all of my offers have been the same day the announcement goes up on this site.
 
I received my Mayo Jax offer the week after it was first announced.
 
About the earlier discussions on board scores (maybe from another thread):

I was talking to the prog coordinator at a certain new program and I was informed that they essentially screened out all those with steps lower than 240! This was a surprise to me, since the avg of those matching was closer to 230, and this is a new program with no real reputation yet. So who knows why so many people with good scores are racking up rejections elsewhere.

Flobber: I have been stricken by the post-Deans letter dry spell too. What gives?
 
IRISH22 said:
Flobber: I have been stricken by the post-Deans letter dry spell too. What gives?
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Yeah man, still no love. I may have to stop checking this forum until I get another interview or I might have an MI.
 
Seriously...this waiting game is awful. Maybe by next week programs will have had some time to decide on interviews...in the mean time, anyone else starting to interview next week? I'm sort of regretting having an interview at a place I might really like to go as my first interview. Thinking about what to prepare is driving me crazy...I'm with you though mikedc813, I guess I'll stick to preparing the basics and my research (while remembering to not act nervous). One thing our school reminded us to do though--remember to read over your CAV and personal statement, you never know what will catch someone's eye.
 
As an aside, did anyone else enjoy the rejection email from MCV/VCU where the subject line was "Interview"? I especially enjoyed it. They should have just gone the full nine yards and went with "Interview Offer" or better yet "Congratulations!".

So lame.
 
I've mentioned this before, but both years I applied, Yale rejected my twice. Not too many people have been rejected by Yale four times ...
S
 
SimulD said:
I've mentioned this before, but both years I applied, Yale rejected my twice. Not too many people have been rejected by Yale four times ...
S
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Haha. OK, you win. That's why I don't apply to them fancy programs.
 
I cant decide what was better, the misleading "interview" title on the VCU rejection message, or the "dont ask us why you you got rejected here, becuase wont tell you" bit from colorado.

...and what really gets my goat: isnt VCU the one who should be bending over backwards to interview everyone? after all, they sorta neglected to match ANYONE last year. whatever.
 
I hate this...got 5 offers so far which I'm happy about but i can't go to 2 of them because I got the email on one of them too late (all slots were filled) and then the other one's only interview date is clashing with another interview date (which was the last one left when I called). It just sucks cause I want to go on as many interviews as possible but these interview dates are sooo stringent! And I'm on my acting intern month so I can't exactly break every hour to check email...Anyways, thanks for reading my vent, good luck to you, my compadres.
 
I hear ya man, I had to decline 2 due to scheduling conflicts.
 
You guys are breaking my heart.
 
I am also surprised that VCU isn't interviewing more. I actually interviewed today with the program director at VCU and found out they are interviewing a total of 29.
 
Does anyone know...did memorial make all the offers they are going to make today or is there still hope for some of us who have not heard as yet?
 
It seems as though there are more applicants than last year from what I have been reading. This trend will only increase as people who get rejected take time off to do research and reapply....



obviously this is way too premature to talk about this: but have people started thinking about research fellow years, or just continuing in with medicine?



i have a feeling that the only interviews i'm going to get are the places i did away rotations...
 
Maybe this has been asked before, but does anyone know if programs in the past have offered interviews after formally saying they won't consider you? My fiance is still planning on interviewing at place we both really like that I got a rejection from today (Tufts). Is this a waste of time/money?
 
I think there are record numbers of applicants this year. Maryland's email said they had over 180 applications. That seems like a lot for an east coast program that probably isn't one of the ones that EVERYONE applies to.
 
Man. I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad I've got Step II studying to distract me from this whole process.
 
this whole process has definitely kept me on edge....


i keep thinking in my head that the same 20-30 people are getting interviews since so many people applied in such broad strokes

but i'm sure thats not the case....


is this anyone's second time applying? i'm curious to hear your experiences and what worked and didn't work
 
I think it's absolutely horrible that a program can offer an interview and then rescind it because you didn't email fast enough. Someone should talk to program directors about that nonsense. I think any program that does that is remarkably arrogant and unprofessional.

As far as the same people interviewing at the same programs, it's true. The Harvard and Yale and Stanford and UCSF and Penn and Michigan and MD-PhDs and a few other non-pedigree applicants are all going to see each other all winter long. It's really great for them to talk about the nuances (other than the acronym) between MDACC and MSKCC :)

But, in the same vein, there is a another group of applicants that interview at another group of programs, because everybody can't interview everybody. It's okay - for example - Henry Ford or Tufts or Pitt know it is not going to get the MD-PhD from Harvard, so they reject them and interview a normal person from UT-Memphis or Loyola or Tulane or something. Same with a bunch of other programs. Makes everybody feel better - even lets the Harvard guy commisserate ("Yeah man, I got rejected from Kaiser, I'm really worried about matching")

There is like 150-160 people with a realistic shot of matching. 50 of those only interview at top programs, 50 interview at a mix of the top and the average programs, and the rest only interview at the average programs. Most decent applicants match. A few of these get unlucky and don't, and they eventually get spots (~10-12 spots open up yearly, from past years history). The rest probably just weren't strong enough.

S
 
Which programs have offered interviews and then have stated that all spots are full? I have yet to encounter this, even when emailing the next day.
 
OmarLittle said:
Does anyone else find it hard to believe that some programs haven't invited people for interviews yet even though they are planning on interview dates only 3 -4 wks away?
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Well a little good news/bad news scenario in re: to this question. My program does not use hard screens to weed out applicants. Therefore we have three people (PD, faculty member, PGY-3 resident) literally slog through upwards of 200 applications. They actually read every PS, MSPE, transcript, USMLE score, etc. They assign each one a numerical score, compare notes and decide who to invite to be interviewed by the full committee of nine.

It takes time unfortunately. Also, a resident doesn't always volunteer (understandably) for the position and has to be "recruited" in what we sometimes view as a punitive measure. :smuggrin:
 
I read on the rejection thread there's a wait-list at u of chicago...did anyone get sent this? I didn't hear from them either way...just curious about anyone else.
 
RadOncRudy said:
I read on the rejection thread there's a wait-list at u of chicago...did anyone get sent this? I didn't hear from them either way...just curious about anyone else.
Click to expand...

Ditto here. Guess we're not even good enough for the waitlist. :laugh:
 
Due to high competition in this RO field, I am wondering whether anybody has some backup plan. ie. apply for residency in other less competitive speciality. If so, if the interviewer in RO asks you whether you have applied for other speciality, what is the best way to tell. Any input is appreciated! :luck:
 
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