Bad to turn down interview at home institution?

[JRBR]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I attend medical school at a program that has an ophthalmology program I'm not too interested in. They haven't offered interviews yet, but when they do I assume I am more likely to receive one there.

The problem is that their interview days are on the same day as programs I am very interested in. None of this may matter depending on who I actually end up receiving invites from. But would it be bad to turn down my home institution in order to go to other places I am more interested in? If so, how bad (hard to quantify, but I'm just trying to get an idea)?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[DopaDO]

I attend medical school at a program that has an ophthalmology program I'm not too interested in. They haven't offered interviews yet, but when they do I assume I am more likely to receive one there.

The problem is that their interview days are on the same day as programs I am very interested in. None of this may matter depending on who I actually end up receiving invites from. But would it be bad to turn down my home institution in order to go to other places I am more interested in? If so, how bad (hard to quantify, but I'm just trying to get an idea)?

Thanks for any insight!

I'm a 4th year applying now so I may not be the best source, but id say it depends how confident you are about your app. If you end up having 13+ iis then I'd say you are probably fine to skip your home program. I can't imagine skipping it would hurt you at other programs.

Additionally, don't waste your time or their time. If you aren't worried about matching period, then I'd say do things more high yield for you and your career goals.

 

[DrZeke]

I'm a 4th year applying now so I may not be the best source, but id say it depends how confident you are about your app. If you end up having 13+ iis then I'd say you are probably fine to skip your home program. I can't imagine skipping it would hurt you at other programs.

Additionally, don't waste your time or their time. If you aren't worried about matching period, then I'd say do things more high yield for you and your career goals.

Also, if you are a super star applicant you can also ask your advisor (ophtho mentor) what they think.

 

[MstaKing10]

Depending on your relationship with the PD, they may be willing to work with you to do an informal interview outside of the scheduled interview date. I recall a good friend of mine doing this for residency and I did it for fellowship. If that's not a choice, then see how many interview offers you have. If you have 15+ invites, then clearly you will do OK matching and probably can turn down the home program (respectfully). If on the other hand you have <10, you may want to attend. Ultimately, if you are not interested and would be happier elsewhere, do what you would if any other program offered you an interview that you were not interested in and turn it down. After all, you don't want to be there and there is a potential candidate out there that would love to have that spot you are taking up just to be PC.

 

[Slide]

Depending on your relationship with the PD, they may be willing to work with you to do an informal interview outside of the scheduled interview date. I recall a good friend of mine doing this for residency and I did it for fellowship. If that's not a choice, then see how many interview offers you have. If you have 15+ invites, then clearly you will do OK matching and probably can turn down the home program (respectfully). If on the other hand you have <10, you may want to attend. Ultimately, if you are not interested and would be happier elsewhere, do what you would if any other program offered you an interview that you were not interested in and turn it down. After all, you don't want to be there and there is a potential candidate out there that would love to have that spot you are taking up just to be PC.

Definitely do this; if your home institution likes you, see if they can work out some sort of arrangement. Even if you have plenty of interviews, it can be bad form to turn down your home institution interview. Your home program is usually one of your safety programs, whether you rank it high or not. It's rare to slip through the cracks if you have plenty of interviews but it's possible.