At what point do you start refusing interviews?

[Xiao]

Wanted to know all your thoughts/experience. Although the ultimate goal is to maximize one's chance at acceptance, we also want to save time + $$$. Please explain your choice.

To clarify on the "ONLY after you receive an acceptance" option: if you received an acceptance early (e.g. 10/15), please respond as to what you would have done if you didn't hold an early acceptance. in other words, what would you do if you had more interview invites coming but no acceptance yet? makes the poll more meaningful IMO

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[gmcguitar4]

depends on how strong your application is and how well you think you interviewed. If you have had like 8 interviews, you probably don't need to interview anymore. Usually 3 interviews can get you an acceptance, unless your a complete jittering weirdo/no social skills.

 

[Coffee Machine]

The only time I'll start turning down interviews (I've had six thus far, with one acceptance) is when I get accepted to my top choice and afterwards get offered an interview at a school that I know I wouldn't prefer.

I would say that anyone who turns down interviews before they've got at least one acceptance is crazy. There is no "magic number" of interviews at which you're guaranteed an acceptance. This whole thing is way too much of a crapshoot to take such a gamble.

 

[Catalystik]

The only time I'll start turning down interviews (I've had six thus far, with one acceptance) is when I get accepted to my top choice and afterwards get offered an interview at a school that I know I wouldn't prefer.

I would say that anyone who turns down interviews before they've got at least one acceptance is crazy. There is no "magic number" of interviews at which you're guaranteed an acceptance. This whole thing is way too much of a crapshoot to take such a gamble.

Well said.

 

[Cinclus]

I sort of reached that point today when I started canceling interviews, though I'm still going to attend my Duke interview. I've been to 9 already, I've been accepted to several schools I would attend over those I canceled at, and I'm getting tired of the interview thing.

 

[GS Mikami]

I ended up rejecting interviews after I attended my first 10. I hadn't been accepted at that point but I figure it out that if I was getting all those interviews it meant that I was a desirable candidate, thus at least one acceptance had to come from the interviews I attended.

 

[rxnfiend]

I sort of reached that point today when I started canceling interviews, though I'm still going to attend my Duke interview. I've been to 9 already, I've been accepted to several schools I would attend over those I canceled at, and I'm getting tired of the interview thing.

Agree with every single point, even down to the Duke interview.

 

[SisterDisco08]

I sort of reached that point today when I started canceling interviews, though I'm still going to attend my Duke interview. I've been to 9 already, I've been accepted to several schools I would attend over those I canceled at, and I'm getting tired of the interview thing.

setting off my stud finder

 

[elblackwell]

I am not a jealous person, but looking at the mdapps of rxnfiend,cinclus, and GSMikami does make me feel a little twinge of envy. You guys are awesome, congratulations!

 

[docbrill]

I attended 3 interviews in September - 2 MD and 1 DO. In early October, I was accepted at the DO school, after which I cancelled all my remaining DO interviews (this school was my top DO school). In mid October, I was accepted at my top choice MD school and at this point I cancelled MD interviews at schools that I would NOT consider attending over my top choice. I am only attending 3-4 more interviews at schools that I might attend if they offered an amazing financial aid package.

I think it's best to start canceling interviews after you have been accepted by at least one school and then start canceling interviews that are lower in your ranking system than the one(s) you have been accepted to.

 

[wanderer]

There's no magic number. You can be super awkward yet still get into 1 school out of 10 because that one school didn't care all that much about the interview, or because you got lucky and got an interviewer that was too awkward to realize how awkward you are.

 

[jesse120]

Good thing I'm not expecting too many interviews to have to make a decision of whether to refuse them lol.

 

[WhizoMD]

I back-loaded most of my OOS interviews to dates after 10/15, so I wouldn't have to go if I got in. If I hadn't been accepted, I would still be attending every scheduled interview.

 

[music2doc]

Keep accepting interviews until you have an acceptance in hand. At that point, start rejecting any interviews at schools to which you would not accept an invitation over your current acceptance. It really is that simple. Until you've been accepted, you need all the interviews you can get.

 

[Xiao]

well...this is a one-sided poll...