Contacting Program About Interview

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It's too early to start freaking out. It's electronic. They got it. Unless something in your app has changed, just got back step 2 for example, I vote leaving it alone. I don't think being the over zealous "why haven't I heard from you yet" applicant is appealing......

In December, maybe I reverse my opinion.
 
My take: if you are on the other side of the Mississippi from the school of interest: I think it's OK. Schools have limited interview slots and if they are iffy on you soley because you are so far from them they often, I am told, go with a safer, more-local applicant.

Proof: I've emailed ~4 programs already who are far from me. 3 invites from those 4. Most of them in under 15 hours.

Perhaps it's just coincidence.

I've only done this, however, for places I REALLY want interviews at.
 
+1 to Per4mer8. Sit tight for a bit OP. There are a lot of applications to sort through, and a lot of interview list movement will likely happen as the interview season gets going.

AnesDiva makes a good point, and the bold statement below is good. My only modifier would be "...for places I REALLY want to train." I would say most (if not all) programs want applicants (e.g. future residents) who want to be there.

When I applied, my invites were pretty sparse. I did some more research and digging up info on programs, and took a more critical look at places I had applied. I emailed a small number of programs in early November to let them know of my strong interest. The interview offer rate for this "strong interest email" was >70%.

My take: if you are on the other side of the Mississippi from the school of interest: I think it's OK. Schools have limited interview slots and if they are iffy on you soley because you are so far from them they often, I am told, go with a safer, more-local applicant.

Proof: I've emailed ~4 programs already who are far from me. 3 invites from those 4. Most of them in under 15 hours.

Perhaps it's just coincidence.

I've only done this, however, for places I REALLY want interviews at.


It's too early to start freaking out. It's electronic. They got it. Unless something in your app has changed, just got back step 2 for example, I vote leaving it alone. I don't think being the over zealous "why haven't I heard from you yet" applicant is appealing......

In December, maybe I reverse my opinion.
 
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i would 100% do it i did it when applying and it helped a lot. if your havent been given in interview already your on the back burner and you need to get yourself off of it. and this is a way to do it. awaiting till december is not smart. all the slots will be full. whats the worse thats gonna happen if you email... they arent gonna give you an interview ? well you already dont have one and dont think they are sitting there just looking at your application there are thousands. do it.
 
are you suggesting to go ahead and email the programs now? or in the next few weeks?
 
I think you'll get different info from different people. I asked my PD about this, that person told me to wait until December. Now most program's spots are either filled up or they are waiting to go through more applications. If they looked at your application and decided not to offer you an interview they're not going to switch a spot from an applicant deemed interview-worthy based on an email. They may think 'Why didn't this person do an away rotation or show interest before now?' My PD says they get about 100 or so of these and ignore all of them, they told me to wait until december because that is when people start to cancel because of money/other interviews, they are more likely to offer you an interview if they actually have one open. Just my 2 cents, if emailing early works for others give it a shot and report back here what happens
 
what is there to lose? at worst, you may find out how they stagger interviews (i.e. we will plan to ask more people later, vs. we have already sent out all our offers)
 
I m just wondering where you draw the line of being or sounding annoying/demanding?
 
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I am thinking of sending out a note in a couple weeks to a program that has offered interviews but I haven't heard from yet. Out of curiosity, should I send an email to the coordinator or program director? Is email ok, or should I draft a formal letter?

Thanks for the advice!
 
What about for prelim interviews? Is it appropriate to express interest and ask for an interview at a program you will already be interviewing at for anesthesia? What about if it only offers categorical spots (I know this probably isn't a huge issue with the anesthesia folk because they know that we will all be applying for a combination of both advanced and categorical spots, but what about the prelim folks)?
 
What about for prelim interviews? Is it appropriate to express interest and ask for an interview at a program you will already be interviewing at for anesthesia? What about if it only offers categorical spots (I know this probably isn't a huge issue with the anesthesia folk because they know that we will all be applying for a combination of both advanced and categorical spots, but what about the prelim folks)?

Yes, in this case as soon as you hear from an advanced program and have your interview date set it would be a good idea to contact the prelim program (med/surg/transitional) and let them know you've been offered an interview and the date.
If they only offer categorical spots the prelim program may be a little confused but it's worth a shot. Just say 'hey, i'm in town this day at your program.'
 
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