How many interviews did you attend/plan to attend

[wizedw]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Just wondering, some people are applying to 25+ schools... how many interviews would you attend if offered a ton? Interview season will be expensive and exhausting, but also exciting! If I get an earlier acceptance, I know that I will most likely cancel a few.. any thoughts?

 

[BecksTriad]

it all depends on how soon i get in. until i get in somewhere I imagine myself going to as many interviews i am offered. getting an early acceptance for me would definitely change the way I approach interview season.

 

[wizedw]

I agree, I plan to go to every one until I'm accepted, hopefully one just accepts me early so I can slow down!

 

[Doctor Strange]

I feel like if a school is going to invite me, then I should oblige them by showing up. Until I get accepted at a place I'm comfortable at, I'll continue going to my interviews until the cows come home.

 

[jhuskp]

Until I get one acceptance, I'm going to every interview. I really hope I get an early acceptance; I love the schools at which I have invites currently, and I'm dreading missing so many days of class to attend interviews.

 

[Croc]

Interview is the third and the last stage of your application to medical school. If you are given an opportunity to jump over the final hurdle, why not do it? Besides, I don't think you can be admitted to medical schools without an interview.

 

[theamazingbil]

I think you should go to all that you can afford because you never know which school you will really fall in love with until you visit or which one will end up offering scholarships etc 😉

 

[Tots]

I am hoping to be able to go to as many as possible because there are so many awesome schools out there but finances will probably not make that possible. Also the thought of turning down an interview before I have an acceptance is terrifying....

 

[WhizoMD]

if you find yourself with a lot of interviews you can use previous year app. threads to figure out which ones are worth attending early. If you schedule strategically, you can maximize your chances of getting a ~10/15 acceptance while attending only a few of your pre 10/15 invites. If 10/15 goes well you can cancel/withdraw from most of your remaining invites.

 

[iforget2]

If you took time off from school to attend interviews, wouldn't this affect your grades? Orcan they be exempt from exams or take make-up exams?

 

[IncognitoGuy]

It would be really cool to be able to travel and see a ton of different places in a condensed amount of time, even though a majority of it will be spent interviewing/walking on tours.

I would personally go to as many as I could, maybe even all of them if my schedule permitted - alas, I don't think classes will let that happen if the opportunity presents itself.

If you took time off from school to attend interviews, wouldn't this affect your grades? Orcan they be exempt from exams or take make-up exams?

This pretty much is reliant on each individual class - some professors (science ones and the like) are more receptive since they usually deal with students being in and out for interviews. I'm not sure about humanities, but I'm sure that if you're proactive about letting your profs know, they will be understand.

 

[wizedw]

I'm really excited to travel! Just worried about the huge expense! I guess we will see where interview season takes me. As for grades, I emailed my professors and only 2 got back to me, but both were incredibly receptive to the idea of me missing class for medical school interviews as long as I make up my work in a timely manner. One does want proof that I am in fact skipping for an interview tho.

 

[NickNaylor]

I am hoping to be able to go to as many as possible because there are so many awesome schools out there but finances will probably not make that possible. Also the thought of turning down an interview before I have an acceptance is terrifying....

Totally agree. I refused to reject interview invitations as visiting schools is EXTREMELY important when getting a feel for whether you'd like it or not. It really is impossible to tell what the school is like without going.

 

[Law2Doc]

Just wondering, some people are applying to 25+ schools... how many interviews would you attend if offered a ton? Interview season will be expensive and exhausting, but also exciting! If I get an earlier acceptance, I know that I will most likely cancel a few.. any thoughts?

The question is usually moot. Most people apply to a certain number of schools based on their perceived level of competitiveness, and advising based on that fact. So the borderline applicant will apply to a lot if schools, while the superstar will apply to fewer. The borderline guy will cast his line into the ponds at the lower end of the US News ranking, while the superstar will ficus higher up the list. So self selection is going to limit interviews. The person who applies to 25+ schools is generally the guy who won't be getting as many interviews, which is why he applied so broadly. If you have a 4.0/40 and amazing ECs you either apply to a smaller group of schools or are only applying to the super competitive ones and again won't have as many interviews. So it's not an issue. You apply appropriately and attend every interview you get until you have an acceptance you are happy with or time runs out. It's really the very very small minority that has a crazy number of interviews offered.

 

[music2doc]

My approach was to go to all interviews until I had an acceptance and then go based upon whether I felt the next interview offer was for a school I would consider attending instead of the one(s) to which I had been admitted. I kept my threshold fairly low for accepting an interview, however, for the same reasons nicknaylor mentioned.

 

[robertch8]

I applied to a lot of schools last year and the process sort of takes care of itself. I went to all of my interviews early on but after I got into a couple of schools in October and November, I turned down a couple of interview invites at places I knew for sure that I would not pick over my other acceptances. I probably could've turned down more but I did go to interviews at places that I came in thinking I might not go to over my current top acceptances but could be swayed. As for classes, I was able to figure out when all my exams were and scheduled my interviews right after my exams when I knew the studying would be less while getting notes for any lectures missed from classmates.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I feel like if a school is going to invite me, then I should oblige them by showing up. Until I get accepted at a place I'm comfortable at, I'll continue going to my interviews until the cows come home.

See, I kind of feel that if you have no intention of matriculating at a school, it is unfair to the other applicants to attend the interview. If you are still interested in that school, it's one thing, but if you are only attending because you can, I think you are being unethical. I withdrew from two interviews because I knew I wanted to attend a school closer to home. Of course you should give up your spot as soon as possible once you know so that the school can fill the space.

 

[Law2Doc]

See, I kind of feel that if you have no intention of matriculating at a school, it is unfair to the other applicants to attend the interview. If you are still interested in that school, it's one thing, but if you are only attending because you can, I think you are being unethical. I withdrew from two interviews because I knew I wanted to attend a school closer to home. Of course you should give up your spot as soon as possible once you know so that the school can fill the space.

Most of the time it comes down to $ though. A place may not be one you have any interest in matriculating initially, but then you see what kind of financial aid package they offer as compared to the place you were leaning towards and suddenly you don't want to be too quick to judge. because of all these moving part, I have no problem with people holding spots up to the date they must choose. If it's just collecting feathers in your cap then sure, you should withdraw, but if there's a $ amount that could make a place in the running, then by all means it on the spot until that gets sorted out. Nothing "unethical" about this. And no, it's not "unfair" to anyone because the person next on the wait list is still next, whether you relinquish the spot early, or in May. That person my not be happy sitting on the wait list longer, but he doesn't get harmed by waiting.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Most of the time it comes down to $ though. A place may not be one you have any interest in matriculating initially, but then you see what kind of financial aid package they offer as compared to the place you were leaning towards and suddenly you don't want to be too quick to judge. because of all these moving part, I have no problem with people holding spots up to the date they must choose. If it's just collecting feathers in your cap then sure, you should withdraw, but if there's a $ amount that could make a place in the running, then by all means it on the spot until that gets sorted out. Nothing "unethical" about this. And no, it's not "unfair" to anyone because the person next on the wait list is still next, whether you relinquish the spot early, or in May. That person my not be happy sitting on the wait list longer, but he doesn't get harmed by waiting.

Depends if money is your top priority. It wasn't mine. Important, yes, but my first priority was staying close to my family. And I agree you should attend all interviews if you think you ,ay have interest. My point was that you shouldn't feel obligated to attend an interview just because it was offered to you.

 

[Haislip]

Take out a loan if you have to but make sure you at least have one acceptance to a school you will go to before you start canceling. Once you have one or two in your backpocket, it would make more sense to pick and choose. Good luck!