How serious are late interview offers?

[peter7671]

Hi,

i was given an interview offer by a program last week, and given one available slot to go in for an interview. I will be able to make it to the interview, but I was just wondering, given that it is January, if the program
is serious about my application. Does anyone have any insight about
how likely a program is to actually rank someone who is given an interview
offer in January?

It's a strong program, but not like MGH or anything, and I'm a good applicant, but not anything ridiculous either.

It's important to me because i'd rank them in my top 3-4, potentially even first, if I thought I had a real chance but I've also interviewed at a few
strong programs that were a little more proactive about recruiting me,
so I don't want to unneccessarily bump them lower in my list.

I appreciate whatever input anyone may have.

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[Frugal Traveler]

I've knew a person get a late offer and match at the program.

If it is a program high on your rank list, then go there and interview if possible. You have a chance, and that is what matters. You could very well match there.

 

[verbalassasin]

Hi,

i was given an interview offer by a program last week, and given one available slot to go in for an interview. I will be able to make it to the interview, but I was just wondering, given that it is January, if the program
is serious about my application. Does anyone have any insight about
how likely a program is to actually rank someone who is given an interview
offer in January?

It's a strong program, but not like MGH or anything, and I'm a good applicant, but not anything ridiculous either.

It's important to me because i'd rank them in my top 3-4, potentially even first, if I thought I had a real chance but I've also interviewed at a few
strong programs that were a little more proactive about recruiting me,
so I don't want to unneccessarily bump them lower in my list.

I appreciate whatever input anyone may have.

Think about it this way, they didn't have to send YOU, the interview so I'm sure they are quite serious about you in their program.

 

[Phineus]

Hi,

i was given an interview offer by a program last week, and given one available slot to go in for an interview. I will be able to make it to the interview, but I was just wondering, given that it is January, if the program
is serious about my application. Does anyone have any insight about
how likely a program is to actually rank someone who is given an interview
offer in January?

It's a strong program, but not like MGH or anything, and I'm a good applicant, but not anything ridiculous either.

It's important to me because i'd rank them in my top 3-4, potentially even first, if I thought I had a real chance but I've also interviewed at a few
strong programs that were a little more proactive about recruiting me,
so I don't want to unneccessarily bump them lower in my list.

I appreciate whatever input anyone may have.

Go for the interview. You might not have been part of the first, second or third wave of applicants they sent invites, but that does not mean that you are not as qualified or desirable. If you like the program the best, rank it FIRST. Good luck.

 

[codeb1ue]

Furthermore, the way you perceive the programs to feel about you should in no way affect your rank list at all. If you like the program, rank it high.

 

[Scaredshizzles]

Hi,

i was given an interview offer by a program last week, and given one available slot to go in for an interview. I will be able to make it to the interview, but I was just wondering, given that it is January, if the program
is serious about my application. Does anyone have any insight about
how likely a program is to actually rank someone who is given an interview
offer in January?

It's a strong program, but not like MGH or anything, and I'm a good applicant, but not anything ridiculous either.

It's important to me because i'd rank them in my top 3-4, potentially even first, if I thought I had a real chance but I've also interviewed at a few
strong programs that were a little more proactive about recruiting me,
so I don't want to unneccessarily bump them lower in my list.

I appreciate whatever input anyone may have.

Outside of programs like BWH and MGH, not too many programs "over-interview" by all that much. If a programs interviews 400 people, it probably means they go down to 280-300 on their rank list. (Don't forget, just like you are picking between 4-5 programs, so are most people being interviewed. So outside of the big 4 programs who everyone ranks very highly, most programs have to go down decently low on their rank lists.) So the real question is, even if you are in the bottom 25-50 of candidates going into your interview, there is at least a small chance you can move up on the list with your interview. There probably isn't all that much difference between the 50-100 ahead of you...perhaps they had some buzzwords on their CV that were picked up on initial screening, whereas you did not..

By the way, what programs are still inviting? There are a couple of them which never got back to me, I assume they are rejects.

 

[EaglesPA]

If you are able to make the interview go.
If they offered you the interview, then it means on paper you are somebody they would potentially rank.
As far as your own ranking goes, you should not rank based on your perception of "my chances of matching" at a particular program. It should be based on which program you would prefer to be at.

If you prefer program A over program B but feel that you have a better chance of matching at program B, ranking A over B does NOT decrease your chance of matching at B if you don't match at A.

 

[tarlovcyst]

Hi,

i was given an interview offer by a program last week, and given one available slot to go in for an interview. I will be able to make it to the interview, but I was just wondering, given that it is January, if the program
is serious about my application. Does anyone have any insight about
how likely a program is to actually rank someone who is given an interview
offer in January?

It's a strong program, but not like MGH or anything, and I'm a good applicant, but not anything ridiculous either.

It's important to me because i'd rank them in my top 3-4, potentially even first, if I thought I had a real chance but I've also interviewed at a few
strong programs that were a little more proactive about recruiting me,
so I don't want to unneccessarily bump them lower in my list.

I appreciate whatever input anyone may have.

Think about it the other way. I know applicants that have received invites as early as the second week of September. Should I not be so serious because I received these invites so early?

The answer to your question is that late invites are the same as early invites. For many reasons. I can't type them all out, but I will help you think this through.

Sometimes, programs have a quota to how many invitations go out at a time. Similarly, many have only a certain number of spots. At some places, the quota of invitations is filled up very very fast. They automatically put you in a "interview hold" pile, but you just don't know it. January is the golden month when spots open up. Statistics show that for every week that passes in January, 10% of applicants will cancel their interviews. For whatever reason, applicants cancel because they ran out of money, got sick of interviewing, or already know where they want to go. This is why you're getting the invite now in January.

You should treat this interview offer serious because you're not interviewing to be a safety for the program. I know programs that rather go unmatched than interview people that they don't see as potential residents. Maybe you applied a little later in September, and the interview quota at the program already filled?

It's also very possible, in my experience, for the member of the committee to get back to the office so late with who he/she wants to select for an interview. Some faculty like to really take the time to read a file through. This is why if two qualified students apply from the same school, the students receive their invitations in different weeks. It's not that because one is more qualified than others, but more likely, that the faculty took a little longer with that student's file.

It's human nature to assume the worst, and in this case, you're assuming that you got an invite as a safety to the program. Don't be a pessimist!

 

[peter7671]

thanks for the advice

The interview went well and I think I'll rank the program among my top 3 choices.

 

[ResidentMD]

thanks for the advice

The interview went well and I think I'll rank the program among my top 3 choices.

Really happy for you! If you do match into that program, let us know, preferably on this thread. It may be helpful for those in the coming years who encounter a similar issue.