Sorry if this is a REALLY dumb question... please don't bite my cyberspace head off if it is! I was wondering if there is any kind of recommended number of interviews you should shoot for... my wife and I are kind of scraping to find money for the interviews that I have so far (4). Any insight is welcome! Thanks guys!!
How many interviews?
- Thread starter njones9
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I plan to go to every single interview that I have been offered until I get an acceptance. I'm not willing to take the risk. I have an early acceptance however, I will absolutely cancel a few as I have been offered a bunch.
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Go until you get an acceptance. Don't worry about the money now since you are about to get yourself in $150,000 more debt. What is an extra $2,000?
Once you have an acceptance somewhere, you can be a little more picky about which interviews to attend.
Once you have an acceptance somewhere, you can be a little more picky about which interviews to attend.
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^ This. I think that taking a risk and not attending and interview you have been given would be potentially the worst decision you make. That being said, if you are scraping pennies, the life many go through on your path, I think it is something to bear in mind the debt you are taking on my going to medical school.
Unless your school is paid for, you are not going to be making money for another 5 years, and even residents are not well compensated. So, if you are dedicated to the path, I suppose the reality is that the situation you are in now might not be so uncommon. The end will be incredibly rewarding, however, so keep that in mind!
Best of luck to you!
P.S. Ask for donations from family and friends. 😀
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I'm sure it depends on how strong of an applicant you feel you are. If you're likely to get an acceptance from multiple schools because your application is so strong, 4-5 might be enough. I'd feel more comfortable in the 6-10 range for the average applicant.
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I'd be ecstatic if I could get 6-10 interviews.
I agree with the previous posters that you should go to all interviews you get until you have an acceptance in hand.Congrats on the 4 interviews btw
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I think it's worth attending all your interviews, even if you go into debt. What if you attended three interviews, but the fourth school would have offered you an amazing scholarship? You would then have effectively lost more money than you saved.
This, of course, assumes that you'd be happy attending any of the schools to which you applied.
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Soooo....in the interest of full disclosure, I only applied to 3 schools (2 really - I didn't get verified until the spring semester) and interviewed at 2. Even still, not getting in to med school costs you anywhere between $250000-$600000 depending on what you specialize in. Don't cheap out now, worst financial decision you could possibly make. You are saving a few hundred or a few thousand dollars and trading whatever your final year of salary (I.e. the most you will ever make), compounding interest on your first years retirement and getting rid of a lot of stress in exchange for whatever your salary would be next year. All of that equals a huge, huge mistake. You may end up getting in with 4 interviews, you may even get 4 acceptances, but consider another few interviews as cheap insurance. Chances are that by getting 4 interviews, you are a strong applicant and should be able to get an acceptance if you have enough apps.
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I hope it works out for you. I'm attending 5 so far and like most others I will continue to attend them all until I get an acceptance. It does get pretty expensive. Good luck.
