Is it legal to ask which faculty members I will meet on the interview day?

[Smashingdude]

Hey,

So I asked one program this question via email. My idea was to at least know the names/designations of the persons that I would meet, and hence I could address them properly, and know what to expect. I had some information from the website, but I wanted to confirm. However, the program coordinator got offended or something, and said this is confidential and can't disclose it to me. By the AAMC standards, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, right?

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[SouthernSurgeon]

Hey,

So I asked one program this question via email. My idea was to at least know the names/designations of the persons that I would meet, and hence I could address them properly, and know what to expect. I had some information from the website, but I wanted to confirm. However, the program coordinator got offended or something, and said this is confidential and can't disclose it to me. By the AAMC standards, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, right?

Some programs will provide you with an itinerary with names of faculty who will be speaking. Some programs, not many, will actually tell you ahead of time who is interviewing you.

However, by asking, I think the assumption from the PC's side is that you are trying to get a leg up by researching your interviewers/prepping ahead of time.

It may not be against any rules, but it is not an "ordinary" thing to ask.

 

[mcl]

Hey,

So I asked one program this question via email. My idea was to at least know the names/designations of the persons that I would meet, and hence I could address them properly, and know what to expect. I had some information from the website, but I wanted to confirm. However, the program coordinator got offended or something, and said this is confidential and can't disclose it to me. By the AAMC standards, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, right?

It could also be that the coordinator doesn't yet know which faculty are available/willing to interview on your day, and the coordinator doesn't want you to know that in case it makes the program look disorganized. Truth is, sometimes it's not readily apparent who is going to be available on a particular day until you're actually preparing the itineraries.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Agree with SouthernIM. Don't ask this in advance. It isn't that important to know and makes you look bad in some folks view.

 

[MDtoUSMLE]

People doing interviews like to know your real baseline and they like surprising you with their questions. They don't, in general, like to be researched or looked up as they might feel persecuted kinda. Take it easy and prepare yourself yo answer general questions and specialty-specific questions.