Back to Back interview days

[Wallaby]

For the current residents out there who have already completed the interview trail, I was curious if anyone had opinions on interviewing at different programs on consecutive days. In some cases, it may be possible to interview 3-4 days in a row.

Would you recommend against it or would you recommend optimizing the number of interview you go on? How did you strike a balance?

Thank you for any advice you might have.

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[Wolverine98]

Not a current applicant, but I did go through this. It depends on how close they are. If you can get several in the same area within a few days of each other, it's easy. If they're in separate regions, it's tougher.

I did two stretches where I had 3 consecutive days. It gets tough because your schedule can be tight if they're in different cities. You go straight from one place to the airport, then straight to the hotel, and then get up first thing in the morning and have to do the same thing the next day or two. Remember that you're going to be travelling in late Nov and through most of Dec. You never know what the weather will do to your travel plans, even on top of the regular airport delays. At one program I interviewed at, we were flying from a city that had a snow storm. I didn't get to my hotel until 2 in the morning, then I had to get up to get ready in time for the 7:30 interview day. You also see where people will have to leave the interview day early to get to the airport on time to get to the next place. This makes your day a lot more stressful.

When I did it, I tried to get as many in on one trip at a time. That's because the closest place I applied to was a 6 hour drive, so I had to fly pretty much everywhere. I did a lot of trips where I went through 3 or 4 cities at a time. Since this was late 2001, and I did a lot of last-minute buying of one way tickets, it made me popular with the security folks, so I had to add an extra hour on to my time at the airport.

Ideally, it's nice to have a day between when you're travelling between cities, but the fact is, it's not always possible to do so.

 

[Pastrami King]

I did it. A lot. Even Ann Arbor, Palo Alto, and Portland 3 days in a row. You have youth on your side and you can sleep it off in January.

 

[bucknut101]

Four years ago I did 6 interviews in 6 straight days in the following order: Oklahoma City, Columbia Missouri, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Detroit.
I was exhausted by the end but it worked out ok.

 

[iSight]

This is probably common sense to most of you guys, but just wondering where you would put your luggage the morning of interviews if you're planning on leaving right after an interview to head to the airport? That is, if you're taking a cab to your interview... did you just leave your luggage with the Hotel bell hop, and go back to the hotel and pick it up post-interview??

Sorry... pretty strange question!

 

[minterr]

take it to the interview. I would think they would be able to find a spot for your bag.

 

[taehong81]

last year i had four straight interview: Charleston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Winston salem. I actually liked it that way in that you are in your "interview mode" and get used to answering the questions and meeting new people. I guess the only things is your travel time esp weather as mentioned above.

 

[Wallaby]

Four years ago I did 6 interviews in 6 straight days in the following order: Oklahoma City, Columbia Missouri, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Detroit.
I was exhausted by the end but it worked out ok.

Thank you for all of the helpful advice everyone! I'm glad to hear that it can be done.

Bucknut - On your 6 straight days did you drive to all these locations or did you fly?

 

[golfman]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

For these back-to-back interview days, it may mean missing some of the dinners or whatever where attendance is optional.

Will missing these optional activities hurt your chances? I know they officially say missing these won't affect your chances, but it seems if you are very well like at the dinner it could help your chances. Conversely, if you are a d-bag it would hurt your chances.

Anybody have any advice on missing these optional activities? I know it's less than ideal but if it helps save money on flights and everything I think it's worth it.

 

[Visionary]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

For these back-to-back interview days, it may mean missing some of the dinners or whatever where attendance is optional.

Will missing these optional activities hurt your chances? I know they officially say missing these won't affect your chances, but it seems if you are very well like at the dinner it could help your chances. Conversely, if you are a d-bag it would hurt your chances.

Anybody have any advice on missing these optional activities? I know it's less than ideal but if it helps save money on flights and everything I think it's worth it.

Just my opinion, but I would try and make the "extra" activities, only if you can do so without sacrificing interviews. Make the priority hitting as many interviews as you can (tolerate). In my experience, the dinners and get-togethers are often attended mostly by residents/fellows, rather than faculty. Like you said, if you are a "d-bag," that may be communicated to the faculty and hurt your chances. I doubt that the converse is true. Everyone expects you to be on good behavior and likable, when visiting a program.

 

[eyelander]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

For these back-to-back interview days, it may mean missing some of the dinners or whatever where attendance is optional.

Will missing these optional activities hurt your chances? I know they officially say missing these won't affect your chances, but it seems if you are very well like at the dinner it could help your chances. Conversely, if you are a d-bag it would hurt your chances.

Anybody have any advice on missing these optional activities? I know it's less than ideal but if it helps save money on flights and everything I think it's worth it.

I interviewed a couple years ago and would say do your best to make them, but if you can't it won't break your chances. I would prioritize flights and and being able to make it from one interview to the other safely in time.

 

[echinoderm]

definitely can be done.. but i would prioritize and maybe even cancel the less desirable interviews... it's better to be polished for a few, then crappy for them all... try to consolidate based on location/geography.. also try calling to reschedule.. most (but not all) places offer a few interview dates.

 

[GuitarHero1]

I would suggest a few things, in addition to what has been discussed above. Get flights early so you have options, and try to use Southwest as you can easily change flights without extra fees. As soon as you get an interview, try to verify the details of the day so you can plan to get out of there as soon as you can. As someone said, it is fall/winter time and you may be flying somewhere with several hour delays so its better to be delayed early on in the day than late at night. You may have to go for a more expensive flight in order to fit it all in. Finally its ok to miss night before/after events if you have to make an interview. You will miss important information by not attending but that's not as bad as missing a whole interview spot.

It's annoying but doable.