Interview date constraints questions

Started by Code95
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Code95

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Hey people,

I'm submitting my 2016 AMCAS next week and now I have a question about interview dates. I have a decent application and a broad school list so I should net a handful of interviews. My problem is, I am currently working abroad and can only come back for 2 weeks. My current plan is to set that two week return trip starting January 4th to January 18th. Are there enough schools with interview dates around those times to make that a reasonable window to set-up my flights around? I can't find solid interview dates but I heard that the first monday of January is when interviews begin again after the break. Any help would be much appreciated!

P.S. had a bit of panic recently because I can't submit my application till the end of next week. There was a bit of a mix up and, being so far from home, it took some time to fix. Didn't know mid-July submission would take till August-September to be verified. How much does this change things given that I will have to wait till at least January to take on interviews anyway?
 
My friend went through the application/interview cycle last year and I saw that his interviews were fairly spread apart. On the basis of that, I would suggest that only being available for interviews in a two week period could severely hurt your chances. But, then again, I have limited direct experience on this topic.
 
Because you're trying to do your interviews later on in the season, I imagine it will be relatively easy to schedule your interviews within that block. However, a couple of things to keep in mind:

-With only two weeks, you won't be able to go to that many interviews. Not all schools interview five days a week, and you will have to keep in mind things like travel time. In a best case scenario, you'll be able to go to, at most, 10 interviews. This completely ignores the feasibility of traveling to a different city 5 days a week and doing things like cleaning your interview clothes and staying well-rested.

-At schools with rolling admissions, pushing your interviews that far back probably isn't the smartest strategy. You will likely be putting yourself at a disadvantage, particularly at schools with "aggressive" rolling admissions policies.

At the end of the day you can only do the best you can, but this really doesn't seem like the best idea. I've interviewed a few applicants that did something similar while they were studying/working abroad, but they typically set aside a month to do interviews and usually sometime earlier on in the cycle (e.g., November or December).

I don't think your verification date will have much of an impact on your cycle given what you're trying to do.
 
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Also consider that with only a limited time in early Jan you could potentially have significant weather issues (flight delays/cancellations) for interviews in certain parts of the country.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback! I will be in the country 1-2 weeks before January 4th, so that may help in some respect. I'm applying to 23 Medical schools: I would apply to more but the price point is holding me back. Every school I'm applying to, except ~4, have average matriculant gpa and mcat below my stats. I just wanted to confirm whether the 2 week window has a decent number of interview slot availability dates. The schools I am applying to are clustered in California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
 
Some schools offer students the ability to try and coordinate interviews, which I always thought was considerate. But 2 weeks isn't a lot of time, when you consider transit between schools. But I'm out West, probably back East is a different story.
 
Your whole plan hinges on being invited for an interview. If you read the school specific threads many schools are slow to issue IIs and some just let you sit until later on the cycle. Be sure you don't overload your list with schools below your stats. Some schools look at an applicant with stats above their averages as someone who is only applying as a backup. You might also want to do a search and find the thread dealing with schools who are open to "in the area" requests.
 
You also need to consider that some schools will not offer you all of the dates that they have open when they offer you an interview. Some will only offer you one date. Others will only offer you several dates. My point is that even though some of those schools might offer interviews during those two weeks, what if you get a bunch of offers that do not include those dates?
 
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Code95 said:
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback! I will be in the country 1-2 weeks before January 4th, so that may help in some respect. I'm applying to 23 Medical schools: I would apply to more but the price point is holding me back. Every school I'm applying to, except ~4, have average matriculant gpa and mcat below my stats. I just wanted to confirm whether the 2 week window has a decent number of interview slot availability dates. The schools I am applying to are clustered in California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Click to expand...

No, the two week window likely will not give you a "decent number of interview slot availability dates" for the reasons mentioned above. No two week window will give you that.
 
All right, thanks for the feedback guys. I'll try to manage somehow. I'm not saying my stats are way above the averages, just a bit. From my understanding, all schools are closed between Christmas and New Years. I was planning on just using that free week to adjust to the time zone.
 
nwts said:
You also need to consider that some schools will not offer you all of the dates that they have open when they offer you an interview. Some will only offer you one date. Others will only offer you several dates. My point is that even though some of those schools might offer interviews during those two weeks, what if you get a bunch of offers that do not include those dates?
Click to expand...
Yeah I know its not going to be pretty. Best scenario in my opinion is I get 3 interview invites within the window and maybe try to research on schools that take "in the area" requests mentioned by another poster.
 
Dr. Jan Itor said:
Keep in mind that most schools will not interview between Christmas and New Years.
Click to expand...

FTFY.

OP, as someone who did apply from abroad, you cannot expect to be successful while only allowing a two week window of availability for interviews that is already preset. Some schools are willing to let you delay and state when you are available to interview, some are not and you either interview on the date they tell you or you don't interview at all. I received 6 interview invites total. I had to come back twice to the states for about 3 1/2 weeks total and still had to turn down two interview invites as I could not reasonably attend them (they were offered when I could not make the trip back).

You will likely be a reapplicant due to logistics. You need to prioritize. Your job or medical school? I would have gladly prioritized medical school at the time, but Uncle Sam would not let me. Do you have the same restrictions?
 
Having all your interviews during January for non-rolling schools is gonna severely hurt your chances. You're fighting for waitlist spots
 
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