how bad is it to not go to the interview dinner?

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Basically I got off a waitlist for a program interview that is happening very soon. No cheap or reasonable flights available to get me there for the dinner.

will this negatively impact me enough to hurt my chances for matching there? or is it not that big of a deal?



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[clausewitz2]

Basically I got off a waitlist for a program interview that is happening very soon. No cheap or reasonable flights available to get me there for the dinner.

will this negatively impact me enough to hurt my chances for matching there? or is it not that big of a deal?



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It's not ideal but I think it hurts you more than your chances with the program, as you miss the chance to talk informally with residents and get a better sense of the vibe of the place.

 

[Old&InTheWay]

I have heard residents talk badly about people who didn't come because "they wanted to hang out with a friend in town" or something. I think it was mostly that it gave the impression of a lack of interest. But in your case, you have a really good reason not to go and I can't imagine anyone holding that against you.

 

[whopper]

It's a loss of opportunity. Will it make the difference between getting it or not? Possibly, but you can only do what you can do.

What usually happens in programs is when deciding the rank order people that stick in the mind of the committee will stand out. If you made a good impression at the dinner your odds of sticking out go up. Not showing up could also be interpreted as a lack of interest in the program. Will it? I can't answer cause it really depends on the committee and their preferences in ranking candidates. That will vary from program to program.

 

[psychattending]

It's not ideal but I think it hurts you more than your chances with the program, as you miss the chance to talk informally with residents and get a better sense of the vibe of the place.

I agree with clausewitz2. I don't really care if an applicant comes to dinner or not. I provide the opportunity so that the applicants can meet the residents and get more info about the program. It is not an interview; thus unless I hear from residents that the applicant was acting inappropriately (e.g. getting drunk), then it has no impact on their ranking. While not showing up for an interview might be interpreted as an applicant not having interest, such information has minimal to no impact on my ranking of the applicant as I am focused more on how well do I think the person would perform in the program.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Just give the program a call and let them know you really want to attend but can't because of the problem finding a flight.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I have heard residents talk badly about people who didn't come because "they wanted to hang out with a friend in town" or something. I think it was mostly that it gave the impression of a lack of interest. But in your case, you have a really good reason not to go and I can't imagine anyone holding that against you.

Yah, I emailed the coordinator earlier today basically saying I'm only able to make it into town a solid 5 hours after the dinner ends lol.

 

[tellme_areyoufree]

I didn't attend the dinner where I matched (#2) and did attend the dinner where I didn't match (#1).

Now that I'm on the other side of things, all I can say is... as an intern that dinner might be the only time I meet you, and they ask us if anybody stood out. I won't have any impression of you if I never met you, so I don't think that would hurt you but I do think it could be a missed opportunity. That said, I'm going to assume you're an awesome applicant and you'll make an excellent impression on the interview day itself, and somebody will remember you and be like "oh yeah, they're cool."

If you can't go you can't go. Can't control the flights. Worrying over it won't help you.

 

[Mass Effect]

I missed the interview dinner at the place I ended up matching. Anecdotal, but there you go.

 

[whopper]

This standing out this BTW is largely BS.

I've noticed some candidates stand out and then when we had them as residents I learned why. Cause they were histrionic in the bad sense. Just that during that one dinner you didn't see the full personality but the histrionic qualities that were attractive.

Data shows that things like dinners and such really aren't good predictors of good employees yet residencies tend to pretty much ignore all of the evidenced-based data out there with the job application/acceptance process.

So while it's BS, most programs don't know that and will continue to use things such as a dinner. I will say that things like that usually are at least fun.

 

[nexus73]

Definitely go to the dinner and buy a round of drinks for everyone. Make it a big joke, like you're trying to buy your way in to the program, ha ha.

But in reality you actually are trying to bribe these broke ass residents with free booze so they'll remember you and give you good reviews.