interest letters sent, but no reply...

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thedman

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so i sent some interest letters to my top programs but i didn't get any responses. should i resend it or call them?
anyone else going through this issue?

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Don't resend the interest letters. You want to look interested, not desperate.
 
i would email the program coordinator and ask her if they have received your interest letter.
"Hi Jackie. Just emailing to make sure Dr. Jones received the letter/note I sent expressing my interest in your program. Please let me know whenever you get a chance. I'd be glad to re-send it if got lost in the mail. Thanks Jackie, Fred"

Something like that.
 
what did you say in your interest letters? and did you just send it to your interviewers or to the program director?
i am thinking about just sending it to the PD of my top 3 choices. the only problem is i cant decide on the top three!! i feel like by the time i decide the top three, it will be too late to send an interest letter!! oh well
 
what did you say in your interest letters? and did you just send it to your interviewers or to the program director?
i am thinking about just sending it to the PD of my top 3 choices. the only problem is i cant decide on the top three!! i feel like by the time i decide the top three, it will be too late to send an interest letter!! oh well

I said something like: "Thank you again for interviewing me at XXX. I really enjoyed my visit, and was most impressed with XXX (some aspect of program). Now that I have completed all of my interviews, I wanted you to know that XXX is one of my very top choices."
 
I am in the same boat. I emailed the PD and got a vague response. Then I emailed the chair with no response. I am not 100% sure that the email address was correct, but now I am in panic mode. This is compounded by the fact that I have gotten lots of interest from other top choices. It is tempting to change my rank list since others have expressed so much interest, but I know I am not supposed to do that. Ugh. This sucks.:(

Another person that does not understand the match-lovely. Unless I am not understanding you, however sounds like you said since your top choice (or whoever you emailed and got no response) did not respond to you-you are thinking they may not be interested in you however the other programs have showed interest. But it sounds like those other programs are not your top choice. So why would you change your rank list and put the programs who expressed interest in you first?

If I am correct I would read up on how the match works ASAP-I LOVE how many applicants, 15 days away from ROL deadline still do not know how the match works:laugh: Helps all the rest of us!
 
Another person that does not understand the match-lovely. Unless I am not understanding you, however sounds like you said since your top choice (or whoever you emailed and got no response) did not respond to you-you are thinking they may not be interested in you however the other programs have showed interest. But it sounds like those other programs are not your top choice. So why would you change your rank list and put the programs who expressed interest in you first?

If I am correct I would read up on how the match works ASAP-I LOVE how many applicants, 15 days away from ROL deadline still do not know how the match works:laugh: Helps all the rest of us!

I DO understand how the match works. I said it was TEMPTING to change my list, but I am obviously not going to do that. I know that I will rank the programs based soley on my preference. I was simply saying that I could understand how applicants can get stressed out by the process and be TEMPTED to change their ROL in the above situation.

The purpose of this thread to is share stories about getting feedback from programs and, perhaps, to vent a little. I find it comforting to know that others are feeling anxious about this process. So, no, you are NOT correct. I am SO sorry that I won't be HELPING your chances at matching. :thumbdown:
 
I DO understand how the match works. I said it was TEMPTING to change my list, but I am obviously not going to do that. I know that I will rank the programs based soley on my preference. I was simply saying that I could understand how applicants can get stressed out by the process and be TEMPTED to change their ROL in the above situation.

The purpose of this thread to is share stories about getting feedback from programs and, perhaps, to vent a little. I find it comforting to know that others are feeling anxious about this process. So, no, you are NOT correct. I am SO sorry that I won't be HELPING your chances at matching. :thumbdown:

Still makes no sense-why would you be tempted if there is no better chance of matching at your 2nd or 3rd(assuming you do not get number 1) if you rank them first or your true preference of 2nd or third-I mean there is literally no benefit to putting those lower choices first. I could see if there was a slight benefit that normally one would not care but if there is NO benefit-what could be tempting about it-to be tempted means there is some reward to be had.

I am not putting you down-I wanted to make sure people reading this understood the match as I am sure you have noticed there are constantly threads popping up with people totally not getting it.
 
Still makes no sense-why would you be tempted if there is no better chance of matching at your 2nd or 3rd(assuming you do not get number 1) if you rank them first or your true preference of 2nd or third-I mean there is literally no benefit to putting those lower choices first. I could see if there was a slight benefit that normally one would not care but if there is NO benefit-what could be tempting about it-to be tempted means there is some reward to be had.

I am not putting you down-I wanted to make sure people reading this understood the match as I am sure you have noticed there are constantly threads popping up with people totally not getting it.

Sorry if I got snotty, but you sounded sort of pompous in your previous post. It is hard to sense tone in these forums.

Yep, you are 100% right. I think I was saying that on a purely emotional level you want to go where they really want you. And I was trying to point out that I understand how people are tempted to change their ROL due to that emotional response. So to be clear, we need to fight the emotional temptation and rank based purely on preferences. I had no plans to change my ROL at all. I am just feeling anxious, you know?

I appreciate your clarification. Thanks.:)
 
don't worry bellalou, I understand your temptation. ;) just as programs want interns that are excited to be at their program, we want to go where we are wanted! i mean sometimes our #1 and #2 (and #3 for that matter) don't really differ by all that much and I would much rather show up somewhere where everyone is happy to see me b/c i was their top choice vs. going to a program where I am "not who we hoped for but good enough."
 
don't worry bellalou, I understand your temptation. ;) just as programs want interns that are excited to be at their program, we want to go where we are wanted! i mean sometimes our #1 and #2 (and #3 for that matter) don't really differ by all that much and I would much rather show up somewhere where everyone is happy to see me b/c i was their top choice vs. going to a program where I am "not who we hoped for but good enough."

You have a point there. I have that situation with my top 2 programs - not that much of a difference and I would be happy at either one, so the one that has expressed strong interest in me after the interviews is likely to be the one I rank #1. If I had a strong preference for one over the other, then it would matter whether or not they expressed an interest in me.
 
Some programs never express interest in you, but do like you and will rank you highly.
Some programs will express interest to everyone on their match list, so their interest in you may not mean much.
Its hard to tell. But I'd imagine programs aren't going to rank anyone they wouldn't want as a resident. The fact that they wanted someone else more, but got you as a resident, won't matter to either of you in the long run.
 
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