Interviews 2005 Match!!!

[desmangt]

i have interviews at mount sinai, cornell, and nyu but only can to go to two. anyone know anything about how these programs compare regarding:
strength of cp programs, quality of teaching, happiness of residents/work hours, or facilities?

plus, does anyone know what's up with mount sinai's financial status? i keep hearing rumors that its financial problems are getting worse.

i recently heard from ucsf and brigham, still waiting on u chicago, u wash.

Reputation wise, I would say that Mt. Sinai and Cornell are definitely stronger. As for financial problems with Mt. Sinai, they have been out of the "red" for some time now. The hospital is actually expanding several of its departments. So I think that says alot. Also, they are the only program that you listed that has specialty sign out. I would say that Mt. Sinai is probably the best in the city for diagnostics. Cornell has a great facilities, lots of "big" institution affiliations, and is probably the best in the city for research opportunitites. While NYU is a strong program, they currently don't have a Department Chair, so good luck getting a job after residency.

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[Mrbojangles]

Reputation wise, I would say that Mt. Sinai and Cornell are definitely stronger. As for financial problems with Mt. Sinai, they have been out of the "red" for some time now. The hospital is actually expanding several of its departments. So I think that says alot. Also, they are the only program that you listed that has specialty sign out. I would say that Mt. Sinai is probably the best in the city for diagnostics. Cornell has a great facilities, lots of "big" institution affiliations, and is probably the best in the city for research opportunitites. While NYU is a strong program, they currently don't have a Department Chair, so good luck getting a job after residency.

Do all three have surgical pathology specialty sign outs?

 

[EvilTaz]

This is my first post. I must say that the postings I have seen so far are a testament to how cool pathologists and pathologists-to-be are!

As for interviews: JHU,Brigham,MGH,UPenn,UCSF,UCLA.

Not applying elsewhere. If I don't get in, I'll do some lab research for a year or two.

 

[desmangt]

Do all three have surgical pathology specialty sign outs?

Mt. Sinai is the only department that has specialty sign out for every organ system. They all have cytology, hematopathology, dermpath, as separate divisions though.

 

[EvilNewbie]

I haven't heard of any new interviews for like 5 days now.... should I be concerned? Usually I hear at least one interview every other day but suddenly its a dry spell... I wonder if it has something to do with my Step 2 score? I don't know what the score is and its been almost a month since I had taken it...

 

[Primate]

MGH today, via email (as was B&W).

Hey EvilTaz, when are you going to the Hub (PM me if you want)?

P

 

[SLUsagar]

I haven't heard of any new interviews for like 5 days now.... should I be concerned? Usually I hear at least one interview every other day but suddenly its a dry spell... I wonder if it has something to do with my Step 2 score? I don't know what the score is and its been almost a month since I had taken it...

nah...wouldn't worry too much man. Me, it's been quite in my mailbox now for like 10 days....well, take that back, i DID get a kind rejection from Duke...

but seriously, i think dry spells are fine...NoV 1 is new date i feel for programs. It'll start raining emails after that.

 

[cytoborg]

Dry spell here too...actually, I've stopped checking my email but once a day or so, and it seems to make the time pass faster than multichecking.

 

[EvilTaz]

Hey EvilTaz, when are you going to the Hub (PM me if you want)?

P

Hub = Boston, right? If so, I have interviews on 11/30 and 12/6. I have a couple friends up there so I think I'll stay for the week.

I hope I find a place to paaak my caah (translation=park my car). Actually, haven't decided whether to drive or not.

 

[joedogma]

I havent heard much lately either. I am guessing that they are waiting for the deans letter before they commit to an invitation. I am not too worried but the suspense is starting to mount...

 

[skoller]

We had our first interview yesterday, at Oklahoma (sort of our home program, but not really; we did our clinical years at the Tulsa campus, and the residency's in Oklahoma City). If anyone is interested in the details, PM me and I'll be happy to share. The interviews (all six of them) were pretty relaxed, and the interviewers did most of the talking. The department seems to have undergone many positive changes in the last couple of years--a number of new faculty members, lots of new lab equipment and remodeling, etc.--and the residents seem really happy.

Anyway, we've gotten a couple of interview offers over the past few days, so here's our updated list:

Minnesota
UH/Case
UNC
Northwestern
Yale
Vermont
Cleveland Clinic
Oklahoma
Emory
Vanderbilt
U Virginia
New Mexico
Cedars-Sinai
UCLA
Iowa
UCSD
Nebraska

We're still waiting to hear something from Duke, Utah, Dartmouth, UCSF, UTSW, and Stanford.

 

[smellycat]

Add UVA and GW to my list...

 

[jeff2005]

updated list

Emory
Wash U
U of Alabama
U of Iowa
? of Utah
Yale
MGH
UVA
MCV
LSU - Shreveport
U of Kentucky- Lexington
UCSD
Jefferson
SLU

Still would really like to hear from Vandy and UNC

 

[ddx]

anyone got any dirt on uc irvine or usc? heard these programs aren't all that great. thnx!

 

[Mrbojangles]

Got an e-mail from UCSF yesterday. The e-mail said that this year there are alot more applicants and that scheduling an interview may be difficult.

 

[SLUsagar]

updated list

Emory
Wash U
U of Alabama
U of Iowa
? of Utah
Yale
MGH
UVA
MCV
LSU - Shreveport
U of Kentucky- Lexington
UCSD
Jefferson
SLU

Still would really like to hear from Vandy and UNC

jeff (and anyone else who got an IOWA interview)
regarding IOWA, i emailed them asking what was up re:interviews, and they told me that they wait until AFTER the dean's is out to offer....
so you peeps that got interviews already...??? how??!!! i assume your dean's letter isn't out being that it's law [sarcasm] that dean's can't be downloaded until NOV 1st.

?? are they just lying then? that's not cool...seriously.

 

[hrtgeek]

Just wanted to add to the list of places that are responding. My updated list includes:

Interviews:
OHSU
UCSD
UT Houston
UNMC
Stanford
UCSF (yesterday)-- difficult to find an open date

Waiting for:

U Wash
Baylor
UCLA
UCD
UCI
Loma Linda
Cedar Sinai

 

[stormjen]

Maybe Iowa waits for the Dean's Letter before offering interviews to less competitive candidates? I don't know the strength of your application, so I couldn't say for sure. I certainly haven't heard anything from Iowa yet, and I know I'm a "less competitive" candidate.

 

[hrtgeek]

Having arranged interviews at Stanford and UCSF I decided to go ahead and contact UC Davis. I simply informed them that I would be in the area interviewing and if they anticipated inviting me for an interview I would schedule them at the same time. Although I was concerned I might come off being too forward it didn't seem to bother them. I promptly received an invitation for the same week as the others.

Now for the logistical nightmare of interviewing 4 out of 5 days from Stanford to Sacramento.

 

[jeff2005]

jeff (and anyone else who got an IOWA interview)
regarding IOWA, i emailed them asking what was up re:interviews, and they told me that they wait until AFTER the dean's is out to offer....
so you peeps that got interviews already...??? how??!!! i assume your dean's letter isn't out being that it's law [sarcasm] that dean's can't be downloaded until NOV 1st.

?? are they just lying then? that's not cool...seriously.

Iowa was my first interview invite. I don't know what's up with what they told you. Who knows. From what I've seen from your posts I doubt that I'm a stronger candidate than you.

I'm crying in my milk about not getting a UNC invite and really not expecting one ever at this point.

 

[Gut Shot]

Iowa was my first interview invite. I don't know what's up with what they told you. Who knows. From what I've seen from your posts I doubt that I'm a stronger candidate than you.

I'm crying in my milk about not getting a UNC invite and really not expecting one ever at this point.

What happened, jeff2005, is that when Iowa loaded its applications into the standard review process that is used by all residency programs (a room filled with dart-wielding monkeys), your application was struck by a special golden dart, which means you get an interview prior to the release of the Dean's letters.

 

[stormjen]

Ah ha! I KNEW monkeys were involved in the residency selection process, somehow.

 

[Gut Shot]

Ah ha! I KNEW monkeys were involved in the residency selection process, somehow.

Yes, what you are hoping to avoid is the dreaded black dart. Duke has a lot of monkeys that wield those.

 

[SLUsagar]

Iowa was my first interview invite. I don't know what's up with what they told you. Who knows. From what I've seen from your posts I doubt that I'm a stronger candidate than you.

I'm crying in my milk about not getting a UNC invite and really not expecting one ever at this point.

I seriously doubt i'm a stronger candidate jeff...come on:

Emory
Wash U
U of Alabama
U of Iowa
? of Utah
Yale
MGH
UVA
MCV
LSU - Shreveport
U of Kentucky- Lexington
UCSD
Jefferson
SLU

Still would really like to hear from Vandy and UNC

regarding Vandy/UNC, it totally baffles me. How do you get interviews @ places like Emory, Wash U, UCSD....and NOT get UNC/Vandy. That flat out doesn't make sense. All of these programs are clearly better than the latter.
I feel for you. I did get Vandy early on, but am STILL waiting on UNC, and like you, have gotten interviews @ a few bigger names. Go figure. I mean i know people say that some programs just take longer to offer simply b/c one person reviewing apps may be slower....
but i think it's been like WEEKS since the first UNC offer was made, so i think i'm getting the message . Jeff, do you think they'll ever send a rejection email or simply not reply?

ALSO, for jeff/yaah, and OTHERS AS WELL....what's your opinion on Wake Forest???

I got invite by snail mail yesterday. Seems like a decent program in terms of them having some quality fellowships like dermpath etc. But somehow it seems like in terms of east coast prgms, DUKE and UNC always get more hype.

Anyone have any info/dirt/praise/comments on WAKE FOREST???

 

[garfield]

Wake Forest: Smallish, sort of isolated town in the middle of the state. Pretty natural area with trees and hills. The parking situation is nice: the garage I think was on the same level as the path dept and close. Buildings looked in good shape, not old and rundown like some public, older schools. Residents had nice actual offices, not just the cubicles. Nice faculty and residents. Tendency to crank out more private pathologists than academic. Nice program, but you're right, you don't hear about them as much as the other places. For the academic minded, probably not a good place to go. For private folks, would probably be a solid place. I think they had an unorthodox CP training schedule where you spend like 6 months in modified med tech courses.

 

[TigerPath05]

Has anyone heard from U of Florida-gainesville or U of South Florida - Tampa?
Just wondering? I don't have very more interview dates left and I haven't heard from them, maybe they are waiting until Nov.1.

 

[QuietSylph]

Has anyone heard from U of Florida-gainesville or U of South Florida - Tampa?
Just wondering? I don't have very more interview dates left and I haven't heard from them, maybe they are waiting until Nov.1.

I applied to Gainesville and haven't heard a thing myself.

 

[Smitty]

Has anyone heard from U of Florida-gainesville or U of South Florida - Tampa?

I got an invite from Gainesville by snail mail today. The letter says something to the effect of "we've gotten a lot more applicants lately so you need to hurry up and schedule an interview" Kinda pushy, but whatever. I really don't know much about the place, other than my PD said it's a good place and has really been "revitalized" in the last few years. They didn't offer a free hotel stay and it's right in the path of every hurricaine that hits the east coast so I'm kinda on the fence about going there. (Not that I think I'm too good by any means, just lazy and cheap).

 

[Smitty]

Here's an updated list for me. Just curious, if any of you guys had to nix a few of these, which ones would it be?

Cleveland Clinic
OSU
U. Kentucky
NYU
Cornell
BIDMC
UVa
VCU
UNC
Wake
ECU
MUSC
Emory
UF-Gainsville,FL
UAB
Vanderbilt

 

[Smitty]

Haven't heard JACK SQUAT from Philly programs. OK, that's my last post.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Here's an updated list for me. Just curious, if any of you guys had to nix a few of these, which ones would it be?

Cleveland Clinic
OSU
U. Kentucky
NYU
Cornell
BIDMC
UVa
VCU
UNC
Wake
ECU
MUSC
Emory
UF-Gainsville,FL
UAB
Vanderbilt

It all depends on what criteria you're using to deep six some of the programs. This again kinda addresses the question of, "What are the top path programs?" It's really hard to answer that since different programs could be strong in different aspects. Personally, I got interviews from too many places and I decided to deep six 4 of the programs you mentioned above. The programs were fine; I wasn't too fond of living in those places (upon further thought and reflection, I have no genuine interest in living in the South; I never really had a burning desire to live in Cleveland either and I still don't). I also have an interview set up at UNC which is also in the South. But I have some buddies down there that I wanna hang out with so it was a good excuse for me to keep that interview. Duke hasn't gotten back to me...screw them...they suck. So that's one idea for something you could ask yourself. Do you really envision LIVING in the city where the program is located? Other questions you could ask yourself is are you interested in research-oriented or research-heavy institutions? You got family? Which location would be out of the question from the perspective of your significant other? That's just a few ideas.

I mean you got 16 interviews lined up already. You're likely to get more. My friends who have all gone through this damn residency application process have all told me to interview at no more than 10 places. They tell me that I will get burned out. Time will tell if I will truly heed their advice.

 

[jeff2005]

I seriously doubt i'm a stronger candidate jeff...come on:


regarding Vandy/UNC, it totally baffles me. How do you get interviews @ places like Emory, Wash U, UCSD....and NOT get UNC/Vandy. That flat out doesn't make sense. All of these programs are clearly better than the latter.
I feel for you. I did get Vandy early on, but am STILL waiting on UNC, and like you, have gotten interviews @ a few bigger names. Go figure. I mean i know people say that some programs just take longer to offer simply b/c one person reviewing apps may be slower....
but i think it's been like WEEKS since the first UNC offer was made, so i think i'm getting the message . Jeff, do you think they'll ever send a rejection email or simply not reply?

ALSO, for jeff/yaah, and OTHERS AS WELL....what's your opinion on Wake Forest???

I got invite by snail mail yesterday. Seems like a decent program in terms of them having some quality fellowships like dermpath etc. But somehow it seems like in terms of east coast prgms, DUKE and UNC always get more hype.

Anyone have any info/dirt/praise/comments on WAKE FOREST???

Yesterday I finally got interviews at UNC and Duke. So, I guess it's still too early to be assuming programs are not interested. I called Vandy and the secretary said someone would get back to me sometime next week. I also got an invite at Wake Forest. I hear that they are a good program but really big on autopsy/forensics. They do 750+ autopsies a year.

 

[Mrbojangles]

Congrats Jeff on UNC! Anyone who cries into their milk has my sympathy .

 

[stormjen]

I got an invite from Gainesville by snail mail today. The letter says something to the effect of "we've gotten a lot more applicants lately so you need to hurry up and schedule an interview" Kinda pushy, but whatever. I really don't know much about the place, other than my PD said it's a good place and has really been "revitalized" in the last few years. They didn't offer a free hotel stay and it's right in the path of every hurricaine that hits the east coast so I'm kinda on the fence about going there. (Not that I think I'm too good by any means, just lazy and cheap).

Gainesville is two hours from either coast, so it doesn't get affected by hurricanes really, with the exception of the rare tornado that might go through the area. The most they get is lightning and a wind storm with some downed tree branches. I personally wouldn't go there for residency, but because of the humidity, not because of the hurricanes.

 

[Smitty]

Gainesville is two hours from either coast, so it doesn't get affected by hurricanes really, with the exception of the rare tornado that might go through the area. The most they get is lightning and a wind storm with some downed tree branches. I personally wouldn't go there for residency, but because of the humidity, not because of the hurricanes.

Well, I'm used to humidity and tornados, so we'll see.

I never really had a burning desire to live in Cleveland either and I still don't

I'm not too fond of the idea of living in Cleveland either, so will most likely get rid of Cleveland Clinic, even though I hate to being that it's such a good program and all.

My friends who have all gone through this damn residency application process have all told me to interview at no more than 10 places.

I'm seriously thinking of limiting mine to about 10. I've heard from so many people that the scramble in path is pretty good because so many decent programs end up not filling out of pure ego. Obviously, no one wants to scramble including myself but it's hard to spend tons of money on plane tickets and the like to interview at 15-20 places when you keep hearing stuff like that. Any thoughts?

 

[yaah]

Frankly I think the last thing anyone should plan on doing is planning on the scramble. You never know what is going to happen. The good programs almost always fill - there are occasionally unfilled CP only spots. Unless an interview is a major drawback in terms of financially or inopportune times, you should try to go if it is a place you are interested in. If you plan for the scramble you are leaving an awful lot up to chance and random factors.

p.s. you know what they say about Cleveland - It's like Detroit, only without the glitter. (Or is that the other way around?)

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I had a quick question for those who have scheduled interviews at the following institutions: Cornell, UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, Brigham, and MGH.

What hotels have you made reservations at? I can imagine those interviews being the most costly .

Gracias.

 

[Smitty]

Frankly I think the last thing anyone should plan on doing is planning on the scramble. You never know what is going to happen. The good programs almost always fill - there are occasionally unfilled CP only spots. Unless an interview is a major drawback in terms of financially or inopportune times, you should try to go if it is a place you are interested in. If you plan for the scramble you are leaving an awful lot up to chance and random factors.

Point taken. I appreciate your honesty. I certainly didn't mean to imply that the scramble is a dersirable thing, just that I had heard it's not as bad as some other specialties. But you're right, I should probably not even think of the scramble as an option at all. (Hopefully I won't have to ) I would just really like to limit my interviews to about 10-12, mainly because I have a strong preference for the SE. Also, my wife has since made it very clear that she has given it some thought and does NOT want to live in Cleveland or anywhere else that darn cold if we can help it. I'm an AMG with good board scores but a crappy class rank (does that even me out to be an average applicant? I don't know), and it's tough to figure out exactly how many interviews I need to go to.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I'm an AMG with good board scores but a crappy class rank (does that even me out to be an average applicant? I don't know), and it's tough to figure out exactly how many interviews I need to go to.

Join the club man. Do what I'm doing...I'm gonna end up going to 14. And we both won't be going to Cleveland.

As for cold weather...not a big fan here. However, I do like variation in seasons. Don't know how I would put up with a place that was hot or warm all the time. I certainly know that I couldn't go to a place where it was always cold. The weather in Cleveland is not bad...it's probably similar to what we get in Ann Arbor. Summers are nice. Fall is nicer. Winters suck. Spring is short.

 

[governaitor]

Smitty,

They say that even in the most competitive specialties if you rank 8 programs you are virtually a shoe-in to land one of them

 

[garfield]

After you've done some interviews, you may get tired and end up cancelling some of the later ones. At least that's what I did. But go ahead and schedule a few more than you may end up going to. Just if you do cancel, please be courteous and let the programs know as soon as possible.

 

[Smitty]

Just if you do cancel, please be courteous and let the programs know as soon as possible.

I will. I agree, it would be rude to wait until the last minute to cancel.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I will. I agree, it would be rude to wait until the last minute to cancel.

I totally agree too. I cancelled a couple a few weeks ago (which would make it like 7 weeks in advance). The Cleveland lady actually gave me lip about it but I told her, "I regret my decision but I wanted to make sure to tell you well ahead of time so that you can have enough time to fill my interview spot with another applicant." So Smitty, if you call Cleveland....be prepared...just kidding.

Garfield, my roommate tells me the exact same thing. He ended up canceling several interviews at the end of the interview trail cuz he was all "interviewed out". Unfortunately my last 4 interviews in January are some of the places I really hope to match at. OK OK I know my scheduling was ill conceived and I'll be burned out by then. Oh well, it's time to buy a big box of Power Bars so that doesn't happen .

 

[Smitty]

The Cleveland lady actually gave me lip about it but I told her, "I regret my decision but I wanted to make sure to tell you well ahead of time so that you can have enough time to fill my interview spot with another applicant." So Smitty, if you call Cleveland....be prepared...just kidding.

Wow. What did she say? "How dare you insult the Great Cleveland Clinic, you lowly pissant?!" I'm not too great with confrontation, maybe an email or a letter from me

 

[Logos']

...

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Wow. What did she say? "How dare you insult the Great Cleveland Clinic, you lowly pissant?!" I'm not too great with confrontation, maybe an email or a letter from me

Don't remember exactly what she said but she gave me an attitude; it was a while ago. I just told her the truth...said I had multiple interview offers and I simply couldn't go to them all.

I don't like telling people "No" or getting into confrontations either. I asked several people about how to cancel interviews...whether it should be done by email, letter, or phone. They almost all recommended that it be done in person over the phone. Emails and letters have a tendency to get lost. And the last thing you wanna do is piss of some program by not showing up if they still think you're gonna interview that day.

 

[garfield]

Unfortunately my last 4 interviews in January are some of the places I really hope to match at. OK OK I know my scheduling was ill conceived and I'll be burned out by then. Oh well, it's time to buy a big box of Power Bars so that doesn't happen .

Aww, that's ok. You can cancel some of the in-betweeners if you start feeling too tired. Ya don't have to go in order. You'll be fine. Take some Flintstone vitamins, an apple a day, and some Power Bars or Cliff Bars.

 

[Smitty]

Power Bars and Lady Caffeine! He-Yaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[smellycat]

Here's my list now...
GW
UVA
MCV/VCU
Beth Is.

anyone heard from Georgetown and Uof Maryland?

 

[LADoc00]

Holy cow. I just read this thread. I applied to a whole 4 places back in the day and went to 2 whole interviews where I was doing away rotations anyway. I didnt even do the match. It couldnt changed that much! What the heck. This is insane. Its like med school stuff all over again. Bleh.