When do interviews happen?

[SoulinNeed]

I'm trying to do an away rotation this fall/winter. However, I'm not sure when to schedule it, but it would have to be between late Sept to late Nov, and I think it would be bad form to leave for interviews during an away rotation unless it's for that institution. What do you guys think? I also have to take Step 2 sometime during this time. I was told that Psych interviews tend to be later in the cycle. Is this true? Thanks for any help.

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[technopoly]

I'm trying to do an away rotation this fall/winter. However, I'm not sure when to schedule it, but it would have to be between late Sept to late Nov, and I think it would be bad form to leave for interviews during an away rotation unless it's for that institution. What do you guys think? I also have to take Step 2 sometime during this time. I was told that Psych interviews tend to be later in the cycle. Is this true? Thanks for any help.

It is nearly impossible to plan for this. In general, I think people understand that you are interviewing as long as you are not leaving every week. I tried to block out time for interviews with reading months in October and November but actually did most of my interviewing in December, January and, yes, February.

I think you should do the away when you want to do it and not based on attempts to predict what the interview season will be like. And if this is an audition for you, I still stand by that.

 

[Psychotic]

I'm trying to do an away rotation this fall/winter. However, I'm not sure when to schedule it, but it would have to be between late Sept to late Nov, and I think it would be bad form to leave for interviews during an away rotation unless it's for that institution. What do you guys think? I also have to take Step 2 sometime during this time. I was told that Psych interviews tend to be later in the cycle. Is this true? Thanks for any help.

Why are you doing an away?

Psych interviews vary a lot by region and of course by program. I did a lot of interviews in the southeast, and they tended to bunch up earlier in the season, starting in mid October, and in some cases being all done by mid December. I also interviewed in the northeast, and those tended more towards the November to January window.

If you already have a list of programs you are interested in, if you spend some time on SDN or on program websites, you can get a good idea of which weeks and months they interview.

 

[FlowRate]

I'm trying to do an away rotation this fall/winter. However, I'm not sure when to schedule it, but it would have to be between late Sept to late Nov, and I think it would be bad form to leave for interviews during an away rotation unless it's for that institution. What do you guys think? I also have to take Step 2 sometime during this time. I was told that Psych interviews tend to be later in the cycle. Is this true? Thanks for any help.

In addition to what everyone else said, I'd also mention that the more competitive you are (for the places you apply), the earlier your interview season will be. The entire season stretches from early Oct to Feb, with the majority of interviews in Nov/Dec.

 

[SoulinNeed]

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[TeaAndCrumpets]

I interviewed at most of the Chicago programs in 2014; at the time, I did 3 of my interviews within the first 2 weeks of November, and 1 the first week of December. I think I could have opted to do 1-2 in late October, though.

 

[FlowRate]

. decided to PM instead.

 

[HarryMTieboutMD]

I'm trying to match in Chicago. I'm doing an away because I don't think I'm all that competitive (sub 210 step 1, but I come from a top 5 MD school), but it's not in Chicago. I'm from there, want to go back for family, and need to show some of these programs that I'm serious about going there.

An away rotation is going to be a waste of time- but check with a faculty mentor who knows the game. A top 5 MD school is going to put you FAR ahead of a lot of applicants, irrespective of a low step 1 score (unless you have other red flags). Northwestern, UIC, and UChicago are getting more competitive, though if your aim is to convey your seriousness, communicate this during your interview ("I have family in Chicago and am 100% set on coming back here"). Also, an away rotation is not a guarantee to elevate your status (you have to REALLY stand out and sway the residents/attendings for a month straight), and most people who try this at my program fail, and the ones who do well were strong applicants on paper anyway.

 

[Psychotic]

An away rotation is going to be a waste of time- but check with a faculty mentor who knows the game. A top 5 MD school is going to put you FAR ahead of a lot of applicants, irrespective of a low step 1 score (unless you have other red flags). Northwestern, UIC, and UChicago are getting more competitive, though if your aim is to convey your seriousness, communicate this during your interview ("I have family in Chicago and am 100% set on coming back here"). Also, an away rotation is not a guarantee to elevate your status (you have to REALLY stand out and sway the residents/attendings for a month straight), and most people who try this at my program fail, and the ones who do well were strong applicants on paper anyway.

This is what I think, too - the away "audition" rotation is more than a waste of time, it likely won't help and might even hurt you, and what's more it could really foul up interview scheduling in the Oct/Nov/early Dec window. For the life of me, I don't know why people do these in psychiatry. If you could do an away in July or August or September, maybe that makes sense, but not during interview season.

Instead of doing an away, I would apply to the Chicagoland programs, and when you first learn on SDN of people getting invites and you haven't heard from them, I would send an email to the PD explaining your local ties, your desire to be there, and your specific interests in their program. This will be around mid October...

 

[SoulinNeed]

My issue is whether or not I'll even get interviews at these programs. Like I said, my Step 1 score is below 210, people from my school don't apply to Psych in Chicago unless it's Northwestern (maybe UChicago). I'm afraid that I may get stuck in this position of not being competitive enough for NU, and the other programs not taking me seriously because of where I come from, and them rarely seeing applicants from my school. So, I wanted to do an away in Sept to Oct at UIC/Rush/Loyola (one of them) to show that program and the others that I'm serious about going to Chicago.