How many interviews at this point?

[crash2500]

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How many interviews should one have at this point to feel confident of matching? Is it too early still to really know? My school advisors are currently pushing people who don't have too many interviews at this point to apply in a backup specialty. I don't believe in this strategy especially since I know I don't want to go into anything but anesthesiology, but it does make me wonder if I will end up getting enough interviews.

 

[Nooblet]

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[karizma098]

i'm an applicant and learning 'along the way' just as you, but i've got 4 interview invites and am expecting 2 more from programs i rotated at. I'd say anywhere from 3-5 invites is safe, and it would be 'safe' to have 10 by the end of the month.

 

[soon2b]

I am waiting for the interview fairy sprinkle some magic dust on my application too. Honestly, the whole thing seems like a crap shoot. I've got friends with nearly identical applications who are getting invites to places I've applied and haven't received anything and the reverse is also true. How does that work?...I have no idea (hence the fairy). Like the other posters said it is still early and likely many more invites are left to be sent out. Hang in there 🙂

 

[Cathyran]

i'm an applicant and learning 'along the way' just as you, but i've got 4 interview invites and am expecting 2 more from programs i rotated at. I'd say anywhere from 3-5 invites is safe, and it would be 'safe' to have 10 by the end of the month.

I agree. Looking at the charting outcomes doc, it appears that anything north of 7 or 8 is almost a sure bet. Almost. It's hard to evaluate where you are because your interview number depends on how many places you applied. I've gotten invites from probably half of the places I applied to give or take.

 

[RussianJoo]

I am waiting for the interview fairy sprinkle some magic dust on my application too. Honestly, the whole thing seems like a crap shoot. I've got friends with nearly identical applications who are getting invites to places I've applied and haven't received anything and the reverse is also true. How does that work?...I have no idea (hence the fairy). Like the other posters said it is still early and likely many more invites are left to be sent out. Hang in there 🙂

The whole thing is a total crap shoot you're 100% correct. Most places get tones of applicants compared to the number of spots. The less known programs get on average 50 applicants per spot most get 100 or more applicants per spot, programs will typically interview on average 10 applicants per spot so who gets an interview and who doesn't a lot of times is a flip of a coin or luck. The key to matching is numbers, one of the older nrmp match outcomes listed something like if you rank 7 or more programs you'll have an 80% chance of matching, 10 ranks gives you 90+% chance.


I say go to as many interviews as you can, enjoy the traveling go out to eat even if there is no interview dinner. Walk around the city, try to imagine living and working there, and have fun with it. After 2 or 3 interviews you'll see that there's really nothing stressful about them, just prepare by reading about the city the program and the hospital online, this will give you plenty of topics to ask about during the interview.

 

[Dawkter]

Two questions for you guys, how many programs did you apply to and what is the maximum number of interviews you would attend assuming all of the programs you applied to extended invites?

 

[soon2b]

I'm paranoid about not matching so I feel I over applied. I applied to 48 I believe. I would like to have about 10 interviews.

 

[Per4mer8]

The numbers say 8-9 interviews give you an almost golden chance at matching. But are you OK just going with the numbers? I feel like you go on as many interviews as you feel like (remember its NOT just about matching its about finding the right place FOR YOU) but also as many as you can afford/tolerate etc..... Well thats my strategy anyways. 👍

Oh, and it's early yet don't stress too much. October is yet to deliver many more interview invites.

 

[bcat85]

Two questions for you guys, how many programs did you apply to and what is the maximum number of interviews you would attend assuming all of the programs you applied to extended invites?

I applied to 19 programs. I think 10 is about the maximum number of interviews I would go on.

I'm paranoid about not matching so I feel I over applied. I applied to 48 I believe. I would like to have about 10 interviews.

😱😱😱

 

[karizma098]

I was super tense about matching, i'm a DO and have a decent ( 220's) step 1 and haven't taken step 2 yet, hence i applied to nearly 80 programs, haha.

 

[amidoinitrite]

From what I've heard alot of schools like to wait until the Dean's letter comes out before sending out their interviews. Ours doesn't come out until November 1st so I'm patiently waiting 🙄

 

[karizma098]

From what I've heard alot of schools like to wait until the Dean's letter comes out before sending out their interviews. Ours doesn't come out until November 1st so I'm patiently waiting 🙄

I don't think that's very many; there was some NRMP data i think, a while back that showed < 25% of anesthesia programs wait on the dean's letter.

 

[TortuousVein]

My stats:
240+ on Step 1
haven't taken Step 2
Honors on almost all rotations
didn't submit ERAS until 2nd week in September...

5 interviews thus far

 

[karizma098]

it's been a really really disappointing month. i got a few interviews in september, but was expecting a lot more 'love' in october. so far i've gotten 1 interview and a handful of rejections. :-/

 

[anesthesiabucky]

anyone not getting any love from TY/prelim medicine programs? thats kind of discouraging for me right now. do most normally start sending out interviews later than anesthesia, or is it just that much harder to get an interview?

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

it's been a really really disappointing month. i got a few interviews in september, but was expecting a lot more 'love' in october. so far i've gotten 1 interview and a handful of rejections. :-/

It might be time to consider making calls at the end of the month.

 

[karizma098]

It might be time to consider making calls at the end of the month.

yeah perhaps...i'm hoping i get a few more to make it to the magic '10' interview by november.
I currently have 6 interviews..just hoping for a few more before november rolls around. I would hate having to sit around calling programs :-/

 

[El Dooderino]

I think if you're not where you need to be by Friday it might be a little bit of panic time. Not that you won't get anymore after Friday, but from my experience anesthesia doesn't really have a post-Nov 1 rush like some other specialties might have

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I think if you're not where you need to be by Friday it might be a little bit of panic time. Not that you won't get anymore after Friday, but from my experience anesthesia doesn't really have a post-Nov 1 rush like some other specialties might have

This is true, as well.

To the other poster, 6 is tricky, thought you had 4. even though in my reply to your PM i said it might be okay to wait/see, you might want to just start contacting. often times a "no response" means impending rejection at this point. a quick call to get your app looked at (or re-looked at) isn't a bad idea.

 

[karizma098]

This is true, as well.

To the other poster, 6 is tricky, thought you had 4. even though in my reply to your PM i said it might be okay to wait/see, you might want to just start contacting. often times a "no response" means impending rejection at this point. a quick call to get your app looked at (or re-looked at) isn't a bad idea.

I have 4 invites from outside programs and 2 invites that just came in from the 2 places i rotated at, totaling 6. I'm just confused..i know the DO thing is a hurdle for some places, but with a step 1 score in the 220's, no red flags or failed courses, research, and great letters of rec I expected more interviews.

one possibility i can think of is that my app wasn't 'complete' at programs until this past friday, a few programs had told me they won't review until it was complete. another possibility is certain programs don't like my 'leave of absence' i had for a few weeks ( i had mono )...but neither of these strike me as likely possibilities. just a frustrating time. 😡

i'm going to give it until friday..if i don't have a few more by then i'll start contacting places on monday. I just hate being 'that guy'.
you guys have definitely got me a bit more concerned than i was , residents at my current site told me not to 'worry' unless i've got <10 interviews when november 1 rolls around...

 

[Per4mer8]

Karizma,

Fellow DO here, how many places did you apply and did you apply broadly? I do think it's maybe a bit early to go into freakout mode (then again I haven't been through this as some of the other posters have). I personally have about as many interviews as I'm prepared to go on and therefore MAY cancel 1 or 2 (especially if I get an interview or two at places that I'm hoping for) so I think calling may be a good thing as I suspect some places might start getting some cancellations of previously scheduled interviews and if you are fresh in their minds when a cancellation goes through.......

With that said I do think more interview invites are on the way in general as I know of a few programs that sent "thanks for applying but we wont start analyzing in earnest till Oct/Nov XX" etc. And there are programs from the Interview thread with no interviews confirmed yet so there is still hope.👍

 

[karizma098]

Karizma,

Fellow DO here, how many places did you apply and did you apply broadly? I do think it's maybe a bit early to go into freakout mode (then again I haven't been through this as some of the other posters have). I personally have about as many interviews as I'm prepared to go on and therefore MAY cancel 1 or 2 (especially if I get an interview or two at places that I'm hoping for) so I think calling may be a good thing as I suspect some places might start getting some cancellations of previously scheduled interviews and if you are fresh in their minds when a cancellation goes through.......

With that said I do think more interview invites are on the way in general as I know of a few programs that sent "thanks for applying but we wont start analyzing in earnest till Oct/Nov XX" etc. And there are programs from the Interview thread with no interviews confirmed yet so there is still hope.👍

hey there, thanks for the kind words. I applied to many, many programs, nearly 80, and very broadly. I submitted around september 10th, was complete october 7th. like i said earlier, 220's step score, no real red flags, taking step 2 in a few weeks..not sure why i haven't gotten more love. hopefully the next few weeks bring more interviews.

 

[Per4mer8]

hey there, thanks for the kind words. I applied to many, many programs, nearly 80, and very broadly. I submitted around september 10th, was complete october 7th. like i said earlier, 220's step score, no real red flags, taking step 2 in a few weeks..not sure why i haven't gotten more love. hopefully the next few weeks bring more interviews.

This is just a guess but it may be the timing of your application "completeness". Did you have any letters in prior to that? An anesthesia letter before that? If not I would definitely call some places and just say "hey I'm very interested in your program and would just like you to know that I got an Anesthesia LOR submitted for your consideration" etc....

Your Step 2 isn't going to be in in time to call and say "hey check out my 260" but if they originally reviewed your app missing LORs and have sent out interviews it may be good to remind them of your interest and have them check the rest of your app and see if that nets you a few.

 

[karizma098]

This is just a guess but it may be the timing of your application "completeness". Did you have any letters in prior to that? An anesthesia letter before that? If not I would definitely call some places and just say "hey I'm very interested in your program and would just like you to know that I got an Anesthesia LOR submitted for your consideration" etc....

Your Step 2 isn't going to be in in time to call and say "hey check out my 260" but if they originally reviewed your app missing LORs and have sent out interviews it may be good to remind them of your interest and have them check the rest of your app and see if that nets you a few.

actually...there was a hangup in my school's deans office and literally all 3 of my letters went in last week. before than i just had board scores/transcripts/personal statement. good call, i'll start shooting out emails throughout the week. thanks!

 

[Per4mer8]

actually...there was a hangup in my school's deans office and literally all 3 of my letters went in last week. before than i just had board scores/transcripts/personal statement. good call, i'll start shooting out emails throughout the week. thanks!

Unreal, based on that statement and your Chicago location I'm guessing Midwestern......(I may or may not have some inside experience with a closely related school so that doesn't surprise me in the least)

Good luck

 

[Harrison486]

I really think we have to give it a week or two before going into real panic mode. Granted, at this point, a lot of programs have sent out at least some invites so if you haven't heard from many/any, you may want to start thinking about contacting some programs. But remember, some programs haven't even sent out any interviews yet, so there is always hope.

 

[Harrison486]

What are you guys saying to these programs when you contact them about your application and interview status? What about programs that haven't necessarily even sent out invites yet?

 

[karizma098]

I talked to my advisor this morning and he told me not to start 'calling' or emailing programs about interviews until november 1st..Supposedly there are still 25-30% of interview offers made after november, and also a lot of cancellations take place in late october. I've emailed a few places i'm interested in but otherwise am going to sit tight for another week or two.

 

[karizma098]

What are you guys saying to these programs when you contact them about your application and interview status? What about programs that haven't necessarily even sent out invites yet?

i didn't bother places that haven't sent out interviews yet. to the programs i'm specifically interested in, just a basic 'hi, i'm so and so, i'm interested in interviewing with you, blah blah, have a good day' email is what i did.

 

[TheMilkyWay]

Ideally, with how many anesthesia programs do you plan to interview? According to Charting the outcomes (2011), people who match on average rank 13.2 programs. I must anticipate there may be one or two unfit programs that I would not rank. Therefore, I was thinking about scheduling around 15-20. I understand there is an element of personal competitive vs. comfort level, but am I off here? What have you all been advised and plan? Thanks for your insights.

 

[Cathyran]

Ideally, with how many anesthesia programs do you plan to interview? According to Charting the outcomes (2011), people who match on average rank 13.2 programs. I must anticipate there may be one or two unfit programs that I would not rank. Therefore, I was thinking about scheduling around 15-20. I understand there is an element of personal competitive vs. comfort level, but am I off here? What have you all been advised and plan? Thanks for your insights.

I'm going to 10. Maybe 11. It's really a question of how certain you want to be that you're going to match vs. How much are you willing to interview. Looking at charting outcomes, 10 interviews is like 98%. That's was enough for me.

 

[karizma098]

I'm going to 10. Maybe 11. It's really a question of how certain you want to be that you're going to match vs. How much are you willing to interview. Looking at charting outcomes, 10 interviews is like 98%. That's was enough for me.

I concur. I've got 7 at this point, and I can't really see myself ranking more than 10 or 11 either..7-8 is near certainty of matching, and most people end
Up matching in their top 5. But hey, if I get 15 interviews all at places I like a lot, I'd rank all 15, why not.