Emphasizing location in interviews

[m1345]

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Premature question, but thought I'd throw it out there early. In interviews, is it smart to emphasize that the program is especially attractive to you based on location/it will let you be near loved ones? I feel like this could get tricky...I would think that you would want to make sure that program's know that you like the program itself (not just the location); however, letting them know that you want to live in their city could help them realize that you have a sincere interest in their program. Thoughts?

 

[twright]

Premature question, but thought I'd throw it out there early. In interviews, is it smart to emphasize that the program is especially attractive to you based on location/it will let you be near loved ones? I feel like this could get tricky...I would think that you would want to make sure that program's know that you like the program itself (not just the location); however, letting them know that you want to live in their city could help them realize that you have a sincere interest in their program. Thoughts?

My sense is that this would probably work if the location were generally viewed by most applicants as undesirable, but it would probably not work if the location were generally viewed by most applicants as desirable. (Sorry if this offends the sensibilities of people who live in locations that others deem undesirable. I'm not making a value judgment that these places actually are more or less desirable. All I'm doing is describing the first moment of the distribution and saying that, on average, most applicants might find a particular location more or less desirable.)

At my training program, everyone thought we lived in the greatest city on the west coast. Why wouldn't everyone want to live there? So on occasion people would bring up the family issue during selection committee meetings (e.g., "She says that she has a family living in the city and that it is a strong draw for this reason"), but it would get instantly batted down (e.g., "Of course she would say that-- everyone says that").

On the other hand, if you are applying to the psychiatry residency program at the University of North Dakota and you say "my spouse just received a job offer here and I would really, really like to come to this program" then -- simply on the grounds that North Dakota is viewed by most applicants as an undesirable place to live -- your words are more apt to be taken at face value.

 

[NYCMS2]

At my training program, everyone thought we lived in the greatest city on the west coast. Why wouldn't everyone want to live there? So on occasion people would bring up the family issue during selection committee meetings (e.g., "She says that she has a family living in the city and that it is a strong draw for this reason"), but it would get instantly batted down (e.g., "Of course she would say that-- everyone says that").

I live on the east coast, and I am applying to west coast programs in addition to other areas of the country, and I have no ties to the west coast.

Frankly, I get a little sick of hearing about how west coast programs are only interested in native west coasters for their programs.

Why is this the case? Is it that only west coast natives deserve the privilege? Or is it because west coast programs don't want to "waste" interview slots on people who wouldn't really move out there?

If you give me an interview, and I go to the trouble and expense of flying out there, are you seriously telling us that you sit around and debate my west coast cred in the ranking meeting?

Please tell me now which program this is, and I will save my damn money...

 

[Sharpie1]

Premature question, but thought I'd throw it out there early. In interviews, is it smart to emphasize that the program is especially attractive to you based on location/it will let you be near loved ones? I feel like this could get tricky...I would think that you would want to make sure that program's know that you like the program itself (not just the location); however, letting them know that you want to live in their city could help them realize that you have a sincere interest in their program. Thoughts?

Definitely couldn't hurt and worth mentioning. Everyone that interviews at a program gushes about how much they like the program even if they don't... But having family in the area would make you more likely to actually rank the program high, although that isn't always the case

 

[billypilgrim37]

The worry I heard expressed by West Coast program directors was someone from the East Coast moving out, having family issues, and then moving back East. They seemed to have plenty of examples they could cite of this happening. Seems a little weird to me too, but I heard it expressed by several people. It sounds like it was a pretty soft factor in their selection though.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I'd mention to. I train at a city in the West Coast that is perceived as a desirable place to live by lots of people and probably in some ways our most marketable aspect, but we've still had problems with people leaving because they can't adjust to living so far away from home. Having family in the region seems protective, imo. As opposed to twiright, I also wouldn't suspect someone of lying if they say they have connections locally.

NYCM, there are still plenty of east coasters without west coast ties who match successfully out here, so while it might be considered in there somewhere, it's not a major selection factor.

 

[twright]

I live on the east coast, and I am applying to west coast programs in addition to other areas of the country, and I have no ties to the west coast.

Frankly, I get a little sick of hearing about how west coast programs are only interested in native west coasters for their programs.

Why is this the case? Is it that only west coast natives deserve the privilege? Or is it because west coast programs don't want to "waste" interview slots on people who wouldn't really move out there?

If you give me an interview, and I go to the trouble and expense of flying out there, are you seriously telling us that you sit around and debate my west coast cred in the ranking meeting?

Please tell me now which program this is, and I will save my damn money...

You misunderstand the point of my post. The point was not that my program was only interested in west coasters. The point is that they were not interested in giving bonus points to people who stated that being in the city was a huge draw for them (because they viewed such a statement as being frankly uninformative).

 

[Doctor Bagel]

The worry I heard expressed by West Coast program directors was someone from the East Coast moving out, having family issues, and then moving back East. They seemed to have plenty of examples they could cite of this happening. Seems a little weird to me too, but I heard it expressed by several people. It sounds like it was a pretty soft factor in their selection though.

You know, most people who have graduated from medical school are at a point in their life where they can move to a new city far away from family -- or to decide they don't want to do that and opt to stay close to home. Normally there's something else that adds to the conflict of being far away from home, but having an applicant with local ties remains reassuring in case this something else pops up.

 

[Bartelby]

I would mention it. I wanted to be in one of a few specific areas so that my SO could more easily find a job, and when I was at those interviews I told them that. It was often received pretty positively and I can't remember a negative reaction. Most reasonable people get that there are many great programs out there, and you can become a good doctor from many many places, so knowing that you would be happy with the program's location certainly isn't a bad thing.

I even had one Hopkins resident tell me, in almost exactly these words, that everyone just picks their program based on where they want to live and then asked me what I thought about Baltimore. I don't think that is the prevailing attitude, but when you think about it location should matter if you get to choose.

 

[splik]

i think the main thing is not to say anything bad about location in the interview. in my yale interview (to be fair i was delirious with fever at the time) i said something about used syringes in the sushi when asked if had any questions about new haven. the interviewer said 'i don't even know how to respond to that!' and that was the end of that...

i was much more tactful about location in my hopkins interviewer and told them when asked what i thought about location, that i would be fine living in baltimore given i grew up in an area with blood in the pavement and weekly murders. they seemed to like that!

luckily i ended up on the west coast without any ties to the area or a good reason of why i wanted to live there. competitive programs (which tend to cluster on the coasts) are more likely to pick the applicants they want, not the ones who most convince them they want to be there.

 

[digitlnoize]

I mentioned it if there was a specific draw to that city for me. For example, I'm from a small college town, so when I interviewed at, say, Iowa, I let them know that I was drawn to the city because it was SOOOO much like home. I think they liked that.

On the other hand, I did not make a point of telling MUSC how awesome Charleston is. I'm sure they know, hahaha. I'd usually mention off hand that I was preferring to stay in the south east, but leave it at that in that type of situation.

Just use common sense and talk like a normal person with no psychopathology. You'll be fine.