APPIC Interview Invitation Thread (2021)

Started by psykhe
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For those of you who are interviewing at VA Ann Arbor... I applied to multiple tracks like they recommended in their brochure. They recently just emailed me to confirm my schedule and attached a few documents "about programs at their site" (according to them) and both documents are about only one of the programs I applied to. Is it safe to say that is the only rotation I'm likely able to rank? Did anyone receive documents about more than of their rotations?
 
For those of you who are interviewing at VA Ann Arbor... I applied to multiple tracks like they recommended in their brochure. They recently just emailed me to confirm my schedule and attached a few documents "about programs at their site" (according to them) and both documents are about only one of the programs I applied to. Is it safe to say that is the only rotation I'm likely able to rank? Did anyone receive documents about more than of their rotations?
Yes, I was attached information from both the tracks I applied to. Congrats on the interview and good luck!
 
Anyone gotten rejections from Kaiser Oakland, Kaiser San Diego, or LA VA? I see offers but no rejections. I haven’t gotten anything so (unless someone says otherwise) am counting those as 3 more rejections 🙁
 
For those of you who are interviewing at VA Ann Arbor... I applied to multiple tracks like they recommended in their brochure. They recently just emailed me to confirm my schedule and attached a few documents "about programs at their site" (according to them) and both documents are about only one of the programs I applied to. Is it safe to say that is the only rotation I'm likely able to rank? Did anyone receive documents about more than of their rotations?
I got a similar set of materials and they covered two of the tracks that I applied to (and two match codes were included in one of the documents). I’m not entirely sure what this means at this point. They’ll hopefully mention what tracks applicants are meant to rank during orientation or confirm that emailed materials reflect tracks the applicant is still considered for.
 
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Serving up DMs two ways today- Direct Messages & Daily Motivation!
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Official Site Name: Central Regional Hospital
Date Invitation Received: 12/7/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Adult
Interview Dates Offered: January 11, 14, 19, 22
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane
: Orangetheory and food!

Official Site Name: UT Health San Antonio
Date Invitation Received: 12/7/20
Method of Invitation: mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Forensic Track
Interview Dates Offered: 1/8, 1/15

Official Site Name: BC Children’s Hospital-Vancouver
Date Invitation Received: 12/4
Method of Invitation: mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Forensic track
Interview Dates Offered: TBD

Hang in there everyone!
 
For those of you who are interviewing at VA Ann Arbor... I applied to multiple tracks like they recommended in their brochure. They recently just emailed me to confirm my schedule and attached a few documents "about programs at their site" (according to them) and both documents are about only one of the programs I applied to. Is it safe to say that is the only rotation I'm likely able to rank? Did anyone receive documents about more than of their rotations?
So I applied to the neuro and Gero neuro/rehab and I got confused because the info looked like it was only for the gero rehab. I asked to confirm and she said I was actually being considered for both and they just didn’t have documents for the general neuro one. So you could always just ask!
 
True true. I was considering Match policies (listed below--italics from original email) in part because it will be helpful to hear back from them as I am scheduling other interviews/open houses!

"Applicants should contact a site to inquire about their interview status only if they haven't heard from that site by the morning of the day after its published interview notification date. Applicants should never make assumptions about their interview status with a site until they have received the notification from that site. In the event that you don't receive an interview notification in a timely manner, then (1) check your "junk mail" or "spam" folder to see if it ended up there, and (2) contact the site the day after that site's interview notification date to inquire about your status."
I just dug through the Match newsletter, and read that they extended their deadline to Nov. 9th (3 more days). That could explain the delay. That said, if you're waiting on them to schedule other interviews, I think it would be fine to reach out. Technically they are past the listed date.
 
Anyone gotten rejections from Kaiser Oakland, Kaiser San Diego, or LA VA? I see offers but no rejections. I haven’t gotten anything so (unless someone says otherwise) am counting those as 3 more rejections 🙁

Don’t count them out just yet. Oakland is definitely sending rolling invites - a cohort member received hers last Friday and I got mine today for the child and adult track. Stay positive 🙂
 
If I applied to 16 neuro sites and haven’t received an interview at this point, do you guys think I’ll have to go to phase 2? Still waiting to hear from about 5-7 sites
It's understandable that you would be concerned about this, but I read your post as you still having 5-7 opportunities to interview. There are clearly statistics showing the average number of rankings submitted by those who do and do not match, but in practice there are also site-specific variables like fit, how sites rank you, and how many positions they have to offer. At the end of the day, people with 10 interviews can go to Phase 2 and individuals with one interview can match in Phase 1. Going into the process with more interviews is safer in general, particularly in the context of specialty tracks with few available positions, but don't count yourself out yet. If you receive any interviews, go into them with your best foot forward and only concern yourself with Phase 2 if that time comes. Other than practicing interviewing skills, there's not much preparation one can do anyway, as we cannot predict which sites will go into Phase 2. Hang in there!
 
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Don’t count them out just yet. Oakland is definitely sending rolling invites - a cohort member received hers last Friday and I got mine today for the child and adult track. Stay positive 🙂
Thank you! May I ask which track your friend heard from? I applied to behavioral med.
 
Serving up DMs two ways today- Direct Messages & Daily Motivation!View attachment 324603

Official Site Name: Central Regional Hospital
Date Invitation Received: 12/7/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Adult
Interview Dates Offered: January 11, 14, 19, 22
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane
: Orangetheory and food!

Official Site Name: UT Health San Antonio
Date Invitation Received: 12/7/20
Method of Invitation: mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Forensic Track
Interview Dates Offered: 1/8, 1/15

Official Site Name: BC Children’s Hospital-Vancouver
Date Invitation Received: 12/4
Method of Invitation: mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Forensic track
Interview Dates Offered: TBD

Hang in there everyone!
Love the motivational meme--thank you 😁👍
 
Have people been able to match with fewer interviews (e.g. less than 5)?
I personally know four people who matched in Phase 1 with less than five rankings, two of which had one ranking. This is not a representative sample of the applicant pool, but one can certainly match with as little as one ranking. Just think of the most basic thought experiment - you interview with one site and that site turns out to be a perfect fit and believes that you would perform very well there. You rank them and they rank you in the first or second place (for 2 available positions) - you are guaranteed to match there. Discussions about likelihood are different but I think the ultimate point is that anything can happen. In my personal view, being bogged down by negative thoughts of 'what if' could negatively impact the interviews one does have. It all comes down to what happens on 02/19/2021.
 
I personally know four people who matched in Phase 1 with less than five rankings, two of which had one ranking. This is not a representative sample of the applicant pool, but one can certainly match with as little as one ranking. Just think of the most basic thought experiment - you interview with one site and that site turns out to be a perfect fit and believes that you would perform very well there. You rank them and they rank you in the first or second place (for 2 available positions) - you are guaranteed to match there. Discussions about likelihood are different but I think the ultimate point is that anything can happen. In my personal view, being bogged down by negative thoughts of 'what if' could negatively impact the interviews one does have. It all comes down to what happens on 02/19/202
It seems that I am fixated on the idea that 8-10 interviews is a 100% match rate.
 
That’s great to hear. Many supervisors have told me that less than 5 interviews will not result in a match...but I’m glad that isn’t the case.
I've heard that 5 is a 95% match rate and 3 is a 75% match rate. These are word of mouth rates, so take with a grain of salt, but hopefully it helps calm your nerves a bit. And it is definitely possible to match with only 1 interview. Ultimately that is all you need.
 
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I personally know four people who matched in Phase 1 with less than five rankings, two of which had one ranking. This is not a representative sample of the applicant pool, but one can certainly match with as little as one ranking. Just think of the most basic thought experiment - you interview with one site and that site turns out to be a perfect fit and believes that you would perform very well there. You rank them and they rank you in the first or second place (for 2 available positions) - you are guaranteed to match there. Discussions about likelihood are different but I think the ultimate point is that anything can happen. In my personal view, being bogged down by negative thoughts of 'what if' could negatively impact the interviews one does have. It all comes down to what happens on 02/19/2021.
Agree, an applicant from my program had 2 interviews and matched with her first choice because the site was a perfect fit. I think more interviews are helpful in that they increase your odds but getting interviews with sites that are an excellent fit is the more important factor
 
That’s great to hear. Many supervisors have told me that less than 5 interviews will not result in a match...but I’m glad that isn’t the case.
I was aiming (originally) for 5-6 interviews. I think 3-4 interviews and you have a good chance at matching still. Feel out the interviews. It may be better to rank higher the interviews that went well and where you feel they liked you a lot rather than necessarily your top choice. Best of luck and keep positive!
 
Thank you! May I ask which track your friend heard from? I applied to behavioral med.
I asked her and she said she was a little unsure because they mentioned the tracks were: Adult, Adult Hospital, and Child. She did apply for behavioral med so maybe one of the adult ones are actually bmed.. I’ll keep you posted if she clarifies with them.
 
Official Site Name: Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health
Date Invitation Received: 12/7/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email (went to my junk email)
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): N/A
Interview Dates Offered: 1/22, 1/25, 1/26 (both morning and afternoon time slots)
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Reminding myself this will all be worth it in a few months!
 
I got a similar set of materials and they covered two of the tracks that I applied to (and two match codes were included in one of the documents). I’m not entirely sure what this means at this point. They’ll hopefully mention what tracks applicants are meant to rank during orientation or confirm that emailed materials reflect tracks the applicant is still considered for.
Interesting... I just double-checked my materials and one of mine also has two match codes, but I know for a fact one of them included in that document I didn't apply for. I hope so, too! I'm not sure how the NMS works, but I'm assuming if they don't tell us we'll see once our rankings become available?
 
So I applied to the neuro and Gero neuro/rehab and I got confused because the info looked like it was only for the gero rehab. I asked to confirm and she said I was actually being considered for both and they just didn’t have documents for the general neuro one. So you could always just ask!
Thanks for this! I will definitely reach out and ask.
 
It's understandable that you would be concerned about this, but I read your post as you still having 5-7 opportunities to interview. There are clearly statistics showing the average number of rankings submitted by those who do and do not match, but in practice there are also site-specific variables like fit, how sites rank you, and how many positions they have to offer. At the end of the day, people with 10 interviews can go to Phase 2 and individuals with one interview can match in Phase 1. Going into the process with more interviews is safer in general, particularly in the context of specialty tracks with few available positions, but don't count yourself out yet. If you receive any interviews, go into them with your best foot forward and only concern yourself with Phase 2 if that time comes. Other than practicing interviewing skills, there's not much preparation one can do anyway, as we cannot predict which sites will go into Phase 2. Hang in there!
Thank you so much!!☺️
 
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I was aiming (originally) for 5-6 interviews. I think 3-4 interviews and you have a good chance at matching still. Feel out the interviews. It may be better to rank higher the interviews that went well and where you feel they liked you a lot rather than necessarily your top choice. Best of luck and keep positive!

Always rank in order of your true preference. The Match works for you in this way. Don’t try to guess what your sites are doing/how they will rank you.
 
Interesting... I just double-checked my materials and one of mine also has two match codes, but I know for a fact one of them included in that document I didn't apply for. I hope so, too! I'm not sure how the NMS works, but I'm assuming if they don't tell us we'll see once our rankings become available?
I didn’t apply here but I was reading into the NMS policies recently and can offer some insight to your last question/statement. On January 18 when the ranking system opens, there won’t be anything pre-loaded. We’ll have to search for our programs just like we did in the AAPI. So it would be a good idea to clarify with any programs we applied to multiple tracks for. Technically in NMS you can list any program regardless of whether you applied or whether you got an interview. NMS doesn’t know where we applied and where we interviewed.
 
There seems to be some confusion about the matching algorithm every year. Please rank according to your preference, not how well you think you did in interviews. Read through the following for a better idea

 
Always rank in order of your true preference. The Match works for you in this way. Don’t try to guess what your sites are doing/how they will rank you.
Can you elaborate on this? I've heard people say that before, but I don't understand how it could be true. Isn't there a better chance you'll match somewhere if there isn't discrepancy in how you and the site match each other?
 
Can you elaborate on this? I've heard people say that before, but I don't understand how it could be true. Isn't there a better chance you'll match somewhere if there isn't discrepancy in how you and the site match each other?
The NMS website thoroughly covers this as well as includes a match simulator anyone can use. I highly recommend spending a lot of time on their website—I found it very helpful and it answered all of my questions about the algorithm and the best “strategy” (matching according to your true preferences). They include various examples of what can happen when applicants or internship TDs try to “game” the system (short version—it doesn’t work out).
 
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I was referring more to my pre-conceived notions of how I plan to rank the sites I have, prior to interviews. After interviews, if you feel as if there’s a better fit, the interview went well, and you had a good feeling to obviously rank those higher rather than your initial impressions of your preferences.
 
The NMS website thoroughly covers this as well as includes a match simulator anyone can use. I highly recommend spending a lot of time on their website—I found it very helpful and it answered all of my questions about the algorithm and the best “strategy” (matching according to your true preferences). They include various examples of what can happen when applicants or internship TDS try to “game” the system (short version—it doesn’t work out).

Thank you both! That's helpful and I'll look into those additional resources.
 
Official Site Name: VA Illiana Health Care System (Danville, IL)
Date Invitation Received: 12/4/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass (appearing) Email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Applied to General, Trauma (no specification)
Interview Dates Offered: 12/18, 1/11, 1/19 8:45am-1:00pm CST & 11:30-3:45 CST on all days; telephone interview dates also offered on 01/22
Hi, I'm currently an intern here and am happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to pm me.
 
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