Okay, that makes sense. By the way, do you know how the admission decision is made for a fellowship program? I guess Step scores matter less than one's residency training, which probably are judged from its name prestige and the letters of recommendation?
I interview people for a very competitive Peds Anesthesia Fellowship. We look at
everything. Where you trained and our history with fellows from your program, inservice exam scores, USMLE scores, research interests and publications, career goals, medical school and how you did there, etc. Were you #2 at Harvard for undergrad? It's all part of the fluid equation. When you have the luxury of getting far more applicants than you need, you can be very selective about who you choose to interview. Often the most telling things are in the LOR. Who wrote it and what did they say, and not say? And how did they say it? Is it a run of the mill nice LOR or does it go to the next level, does the writer make a point to really sell you to us, do they say they would want you to stay there or come back as faculty? You can have a great sounding letter that's actually quite mediocre.
All that goes into the interview decision which is made solely by the Fellowship Director. The info gets packaged up and given to the faculty that interview you. How many interviews you have is program dependent. The interview will make or break you. Ultimately there is a simple one page eval for the interviewer to fill out. Research potential, faculty potential, maturity, "fit", etc. etc. The final question is "If there was only one spot remaining would you recommend offering it to this candidate?" Y/N
A "N" is very bad.
Some programs meet and discuss applicants and make a rank list others have the PD review the evals and make the decision.
Both programs I have been at were essentially the same. I can't stress the importance of the interview enough. Do I want to work with you for an entire year? Can I see you as a future partner? We recruit most of the faculty from the fellwship. If you're abrasive, overly cocky, bizarre, etc. You get an "N".
What is the most important? Where you trained, how you did there, were you selected Chief resident, research, do you already have faculty/staff experience and board certification, and your LORs. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Good luck.
