How many interviews can people have and still not get in anywhere?

[deleted103644]

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I know obviously in theory this could be any number, but if you've heard of any such horror stories, please share them. I need to get a sense of when I should start freaking out. O🙂 And I know some people have not received interviews yet, but in the end the acceptances are all that matter, so please, no flaming.

 

[byong_soo]

good question i've been wondering about this too. i read somewhere that magic number is ~6. can someone verify this?

 

[Jainraisig]

6 interviews- 1 acceptance, the rest waitlists.

 

[SweetPeaDaddy]

Had a friend with 9 interviews and no acceptances.

 

[Snichols]

I have done 3 years of research on this and I and my team of MIT blackjack counters have determined if you indeed get 6 interviews you are GUARANTEED a seat at one of those schools. There is a fundamental difference between getting rejected by 5 schools and 6. One is a prime number and one isn't! Duh! Think about it, it all makes perfect sense. Hear me now! Believe me Later! 🙄

P.S. Honestly I don't think a "magic number" really exists, there are a plethora of variables to consider with each individual candidate and each school subjectivity for acceptance that would prevent a universal magic numero of interviews/certain acceptance.

 

[cowme]

i met someone on an interview this year with 12 or 15 interviews (cant remember the exact number but it was definately 10+) the prior year and no acceptances. They were all top tier schools that he had interviewed at, so he clearly had great stats, but even with all that had to go on round 2

 

[armybound]

if you're really bad at interviews it shouldn't matter how many you get.

 

[stiffany]

So far I've gone on two interviews so far. 1 acceptance and still waiting to hear back from the other. All you need is the right one! 😍

 

[StritchMD2011]

There might be a number of interviews where getting accepted becomes statistically favorable, but if you suck at interviews or come off as incredibly arrogant, statistics don't matter.

Like people have said. There have been individuals who only had 1 interview and were accepted, and those who had 10 and didn't get in anywhere. The whole point of the interview is to make sure you don't suck and that you can communicate.

 

[melissainsd]

Do you think it matters what the caliber of school is? 6 of my interviews are with schools I consider WAY out of my league...but are the laws of probability still on my side (that I will get into one of the 6)?

 

[deleted103644]

When I calculate it by USNews' stats for # acceptances/ # interviews, I've got a ~90% chance of getting into a good school. But that's assuming the probability of getting an acceptance after an interview from one school is independent from the probability from another school - which is completely untrue. 🙂 My interviewers have all been very positive, but I'm still stressed out. Just want an acceptance under my belt already.

 

[byong_soo]

i met someone on an interview this year with 12 or 15 interviews (cant remember the exact number but it was definately 10+) the prior year and no acceptances. They were all top tier schools that he had interviewed at, so he clearly had great stats, but even with all that had to go on round 2

i am sure there are exceptions. people who absolutely suck at interviews. people who are extremely good at interviews. i was speaking for "normal" people like us.

 

[stiffany]

There's a thread where one of the adcoms (LizzyM) on this site did the statistical calculations. Assuming that each school had a 50% post-interview acceptance rate, the number of schools needed was 5 to predict a 93% chance of getting accepted. I don't remember exactly what the thread was called, but it should be back several pages asking a similar question.

 

[HumbleMD]

Way too hard to statistically analyze. Some people interviewing have 100% interview rates while others have a 0% rate. This is because each interview isn't an independent event. One brings their own inherent social skills and/or flaws (arrogance is bad, but so is social awkwardness and a lack of communication skills, warmth, or altruism) to each interview.

 

[docdude]

depends on what type of interviewee you are. if interviewing is your strength, you can get it on the first one. if interviewing is not your strength, it may take a lot more. There is no magic number, the only trend that exists (even look at mdapplicants.com), is that people who interview well, get in most places they interview, and people that don't interview well get into few/none of the places they interview at. I don't think that's necessarily right, but as a student who has below average admissions stats, i've had great luck - 4/4 that i've heard back from (waiting on 4 more) - and i think it's purely because i speak well - which as i said, isn't necessarily a fair criterea, but i'm not going to argue...

 

[Stolenspatulas]

its hard to say what ''normal'' is. im going to stab in the dark and say most people on this site aren't exactly social butterflies.

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

its hard to say what ''normal'' is. im going to stab in the dark and say most people on this site aren't exactly social butterflies.

👍

 

[IceMan0824]

its hard to say what ''normal'' is. im going to stab in the dark and say most people on this site aren't exactly social butterflies.

With all that stabbing in the dark, just watch out for me.

 

[etf]

if you're really bad at interviews it shouldn't matter how many you get.

exactly. i had 5 interviews, and none of them yielded offers of admission. it must have been something i said...

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Way too hard to statistically analyze. Some people interviewing have 100% interview rates while others have a 0% rate. This is because each interview isn't an independent event. One brings their own inherent social skills and/or flaws (arrogance is bad, but so is social awkwardness and a lack of communication skills, warmth, or altruism) to each interview.

I think you are giving too much credit for great interview performance being the major factor in getting an acceptance.

 

[Law2Doc]

I know obviously in theory this could be any number, but if you've heard of any such horror stories, please share them. I need to get a sense of when I should start freaking out. O🙂 And I know some people have not received interviews yet, but in the end the acceptances are all that matter, so please, no flaming.

You have to realize that it is not linear, the more unsuccessful interviews someone goes on, the more likely the next interview he has will be unsuccessful, because he is likely doing something wrong. So someone who is unsuccessful at a dozen interviews is almost guaranteed to be unsuccessful at the next dozen (if he got that many).
What I am saying is there is no magic number -- each person has totally different odds based on his interview strengths.

And interview success does correlate strongly with acceptance. At many places if you get to the interview stage, it becomes the single most important factor.

 

[[pj]]

but you can't count out the fact that many ppl get better as they do more interviews.

some ppl will always suck and some ppl will be naturally good at these things. but for those of us in between, the first one's generally a bit more difficult in terms of getting used to the medical interview, even though that itself varies from school to school.

 

[Law2Doc]

but you can't count out the fact that many ppl get better as they do more interviews.

some ppl will always suck and some ppl will be naturally good at these things. but for those of us in between, the first one's generally a bit more difficult in terms of getting used to the medical interview, even though that itself varies from school to school.

I would agree with that for the first couple. But once the number of unproductive interviews starts getting larger than a few, you may simply be doing it all wrong.

 

[[pj]]

I would agree with that for the first couple. But once the number of unproductive interviews starts getting larger than a few, you may simply be doing it all wrong.

i understand what you're saying. practicing bad habits only makes worse habits.

what i meant was that a lot of ppl i know are usually really nervous in the first interview in terms of getting to the school, getting around, and thinking that it's "big time."

but usually you shake it off after the first one and do a bit better (assuming you're a good interviewee who's just nervous).

 

[byong_soo]

i second this. again i think there may be some who just suck at every interview, but majority will learn from their mistake. i certainly didn't do nail my first couple interviews and am learned a whole lot as to what to do and what not to do.