Interview Scheduling

[soccerusa]

So I am having kind of a good problem but a problem nonetheless. I am very fortunate to have received seven interviews so far. All of these dates fall in September and I am still an undergrad about to enter a very challenging senior year. I also have one interview left to schedule where the only dates available conflict with other already scheduled interviews. I am a high stat applicant (LizzyM > 79) and I have a few questions for you guys. Also, many of the most competitive schools I applied to have yet to give out interviews.

1) Do students ever decline interviews in these circumstances? The schools I have interviews at range from very competitive schools that I would be ecstatic to attend to those that I look at more as backups.

2) If I did choose to decline to attend an interview, would I want to keep a mix of competitive and less competitive schools? (i.e. make sure to interview at a few safeties where my MCAT > 90th percentile)

3) Is there a number of interviews where one would feel comfortable that they would have at least one acceptance?

4) Any tips people have for navigating this kind of interview season while taking a highly challenging course load? I am particularly nervous as it looks like I will end up missing a lot of my upper division engineering courses while still trying to complete my senior engineering thesis.

Wow that was a lot. I always appreciate any help the SDN community can give.

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[ProbablyAPenguin]

I too would appreciate some advice on this. I have the same struggle. I wish I had known that I would get interviews a couple of weeks ago... I would have pushed back some of my interviews to October that had the option, scheduled four day weekends, etc. right now my calendar is a mess... And I don't even know my exam schedules yet. Also will have to be completing my senior engineering design project while interviewing. Eeeeep.

 

[NervousNerd]

Guys, I'm not as loaded as you on interviews but my September is full with 5 so far.

That being said, @Ismet posted in a thread I stumbled across (I think it was him). Regardless, the post said it would be foolish this early to decline an interview. Basically getting at the point of the process is not predictable and even though you get 12 II, you could only end up with a single acceptance.

Honestly I would not decline. It is so early to do this and I feel it would limit chances. You could call an office in which you have already scheduled and move the day further out? Potentially do this for a school you feel less excited about.

 

[DrBowtie]

Keep scheduling and interviewing until you get an acceptance.

 

[Ismet]

Don't decline an interview until you have an acceptance in hand.

Can you contact the 7th school and explain that there is a conflict? Schools don't stop interviewing in September, I'm sure if you explain the situation to the admissions office, they'll be able to help you out with a solution.

Your fall semester will probably take a hit. I eased up on my courses for that semester and only had 1 science class (and it was a doozy of neuroanatomy with a very tough teacher), but that semester was my lowest GPA of undergrad due to all of the interviews I was attending (I think I had 6 or so from November to winter break, so it was rough on final exams). This is the semester for good time management, and for accepting that you might not get the grades you're used to getting.

With 7 interviews so far, you're definitely in a good position as long as you interview well. But I'm sure you know that there are no guarantees in this process.

 

[soccerusa]

This might sound silly but how low can your grades go without causing concern at medical schools. I've essentially been a 4.0 student so far. Also, will non rolling schools request a copy of first semester grades. Thanks for the great advice so far.

 

[mvenus929]

Contact the most recent invites and ask for a later date due to a conflict in your schedule. MOST schools are accommodating.

 

[NoDakDok]

1) Do students ever decline interviews in these circumstances? The schools I have interviews at range from very competitive schools that I would be ecstatic to attend to those that I look at more as backups.

You would be incredibly foolish to decline any interviews before you have an acceptance.

2) If I did choose to decline to attend an interview, would I want to keep a mix of competitive and less competitive schools? (i.e. make sure to interview at a few safeties where my MCAT > 90th percentile)

Do not decline an interview without an acceptance.

3) Is there a number of interviews where one would feel comfortable that they would have at least one acceptance?

There is no number of interviews that ever guarantees an acceptance, so at no point should you feel comfortable declining an interview until you have an acceptance.

4) Any tips people have for navigating this kind of interview season while taking a highly challenging course load? I am particularly nervous as it looks like I will end up missing a lot of my upper division engineering courses while still trying to complete my senior engineering thesis.

Your interviews are insurmountably more important than your courses. If you have a LizzyM > 79 your GPA is certainly high enough that you're far from any possible concern. You literally have to fail your coursework for medical schools to care. You're not in that predicament, so focus on your interviews first and do the best you can in your coursework in the meanwhile.

Edit: As @Ismet said, no schools are done interviewing in September. Schools will reschedule you for a later interview if you simply tell them you have an unavoidable conflict. Take advantage of that and potentially use it on schools you are less interested in and could later decline if you receive an acceptance. Until then, do not take medical admissions for granted, they are fickle and unpredictable.

Good luck.

 

[Ismet]

This might sound silly but how low can your grades go without causing concern at medical schools. I've essentially been a 4.0 student so far. Also, will non rolling schools request a copy of first semester grades. Thanks for the great advice so far.

Don't get below a C. Also don't get all C's. If you've been a 4.0 student so far, it's not like you're going to fail all of a sudden. Maybe you'll get a B or two.

 

[NickNaylor]

This might sound silly but how low can your grades go without causing concern at medical schools. I've essentially been a 4.0 student so far. Also, will non rolling schools request a copy of first semester grades. Thanks for the great advice so far.

My AMCAS transcript GPA was a 3.99. My final two semester GPAs were in the 3.5-3.7 range. No one said anything.

 

[nemo123]

Go to interviews until you get your first acceptance... You can start getting picky from there. I withdrew from a couple of schools after getting IIs from them... It happens all the time. Just make sure you tell the school in a timely manner so that they can fill your spot.

 

[AMEHigh]

Why don't you just email them and say that you have a conflict and ask for other available days for interviews?

I wouldn't decline an invite until you have an acceptance.