Cancelling Interviews (ethical concerns)

[Original]

I was just wandering if it is ethically immoral to cancel an interview with only one days notice. Considering that a student host has already volunteered and gone out of his way to get ready for me; and the program has made reservations for formal dinners and ground transportation. What do you guys think?

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[Resident Alien]

Unless you care about them cursing at you all day that day, and vow to kill you, you're ok

 

[MAPKinkster]

I'm sure it NO BIG DEAL for the student host and it's not like the FACULTY you requested will be sitting around thinking "NOW what will I do with my time?" I think it's okay to cancel your interview, especially since it COSTS a whole lot to TRAVEL to schools...SAVE the money for other programs you are truly interested in.

 

[THE instiGATOR]

What school makes formal dinner reservations!?!?!

 

[E'01]

Originally posted by SwampMan:
•What school makes formal dinner reservations!?!?!•••

That's what I was thinking! Orignal, MD/PhD program perhaps?

 

[Original]

Yes it's an MD/PhD interview. Those programs usually hook you up really nice. Alot of them arrange and pay for air travel, put you up in a hotel, and soak you in lots of wine. Good stuff. However, I more than likely would not go to the school where I'm to interview in a few days. This is because I got into a school which I definitely prefer; so I don't want to waste their/my time.

 

[Vader]

It's not "ethically immoral" to cancel an interview, but believe me, they won't be thrilled with it, especially with so little advance notification. They are going to great expense to accomodate you, so you should be mindful of that fact. It would look unprofessional not to go. You want to be careful not to burn any bridges.

If I were in your situation (which I was last year), I would go to the interview since everything is already set. You don't have to tell them you aren't interested. In fact, it would be good to at least make it look like you are keeping an open mind. The very least you'll get out of the whole thing is a nice trip and potential networking opportunities.

This all being said, the decision is yours. I'm sure many applicants would love to be in your shoes, with the ability to turn down interviews already. It would be wise to be mindful of that also.

 

[Gotrob]

I seem to be disagreeing with everyone's posts tonight. I kinda think it is immoral/unethical to go and pretend you are interested in the school. Why should they waste their time and energy to interview someone who is not interested in attending their school? If you might change your mind about the school, then you should go...but if you know for sure that you do not want to go there, it will just be a waste of time and money for both of you.

 

[altaskier]

I wouldn't worry about cancelling too much. I mean, the student that is gonna host you is probably so busy that they won't really get to dwell on it. Also, they probably host lots of people and they are understanding if you can't make it to an interview. Same goes with the admin at the school. Just be polite and thank them for the opportunity when you cancel.

 

[gobears]

I had an interview scheduled a while back that I cancelled. I actually ended up cancelling a day before my interview. I still feel really bad about it, but I honestly had NO intention of going there. The reason I didn't go was that 1)I had just received an acceptance to a better school and 2)I didn't want to waste a whole day there.

Anyway, when I called to cancel, I was totally honest with the lady. She actually THANKED me for calling and cancelling. I agree with Gotrob in that they would rather have someone cancel the day before than to attempt to recruit someone who has no intention of attending.

But then again, I'm not md/phd and I didn't have a student host. It's your call, Original. I feel bad about my decision, but if I could do it all over again, I'd still cancel.

 

[Vader]

A lot more scheduling, money, and effort goes into preparing MD/PhD interviews compared to MD ones. First, you meet with many more faculty and the program administrators go to great lengths to manage everyone's schedules. Second, they often provide meals, hotels/lodging, transportation, etc which they pay using their program grant. They basically treat you really nicely the whole time. I didn't mean to imply in my last message that you should go and pretend like you're interested. Certainly, if you have absolutely no intention of ever attending the school, I think it would be most ethical to cancel, as the above posters suggest. It would have been prudent to cancel earlier, but I guess this may have been unavoidable. However, my sense was that there was a "preference" for the school that had accepted Original, but not necessarily a 100% certainty. I don't think it is unethical to go to an interview if you prefer a different school, as actually touring the other place may change your mind or cause you to reconsider. You have earned the interview, so there is nothing questionable about that. MD/PhD programs vary a lot more than do medical schools in a variety of ways. Therefore, the decision on where to attend is quite complex. My point above was that you just should be careful and if you do decide to cancel, do it in a way that avoid burning bridges. Hope this helps.

 

[Original]

I'm really grateful for everyone's advice. Everyone seems to be so nice on SDN That's great. Keep it up. I finally decided that I'll go to the interview and try to be as open minded as possible. I wanted to stay home because my classes that I'm taking and teaching have really suffered this semester. I got someone to teach my class but then I feel that the inconsistency is psychologically traumatizing on the students. Also, I would totally flunk out this semester if I don't get a little love and understanding from my profs. I realize that I'm extremely lucky to have such a dilema. I feel really blessed to have the luxury of even considering cancelling interviews. I wish everyone good luck with the process!

 

[Yogi Bear]

So would u mind posting the school that u're planning to attend? If u don't want to, how about a range in terms of its usnews ranking..i.e ranked 1-5, 10-15, etc. going to the interview might be better ethically, since it's one of those things were hiding the truth might be emotionally better for the admissions comittee. still, it could come back to haunt u later if u find that ur #1 choice wasn't what it was cracked up to be. then, u'd always have the guilty feeling of 'what if' u'd gone to the other school since it will always serve as a reminder of 'what could have been but wasn't'.

 

[Original]

The rankings are more important for me than for regular MD applicants, simply because I'm going into academic medicine. However, my decisions are certainly not based soley on rankings. The school I was accepted to is in the Top 5 and I found everything about the school to be absolutely spectacular (especially the people). I have an interview coming up at an even higher ranked school; however, If I'm accepted there I'll probably decline. The school I was considering not interviewing at is a top 25 school; probably even a top 20. It's a great place and I know people there are friendly.