I've been very curious about this question and was hoping to get some enlightenment. Let's say you receive an interview invite from a residency program, is it more or less an equal playing field from that point?
Interview = equal playing field?
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I'm sure it varies from specialty to specialty and program to program. Some programs use the interviews to just confirm that applicants are as awesome in person as they are on paper. Some programs conduct blinded interviews to reduce the role of confirmation bias. I think it's most helpful for applicants to assume an even playing field and concentrate on being their best possible self from the moment they arrive in the city of their interview until the moment they arrive at the next destination. You'll drive yourself crazy if you are worried about what programs are looking for, what they're thinking, and where they're likely to rank you. You've been invited, so you're in the running. Make the most of the opportunity, then rank programs in the order that you liked them.
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Realistically, it's probably not a completely even playing field. The program wants to rank enough people to match into all their slots. They're going to select the best fits to interview, and then some that would be good fits. That will stratify their rank list. Some programs put more weight on the interview than others.
But, practically, you don't know which batch you're in. You don't know how programs decide to rank people. And you don't know how far down the rank list the program will need to go to fill. So you have a non-zero chance of matching at that program once you get to the interview--whereas if you don't interview, you're extremely unlikely to match there (there could be one or two programs that rank people they don't interview, but I imagine if they exist, they are few and far between).
So, walk in to the interview with the goal of figuring out if it will be a good match for you, and sell yourself.
But, practically, you don't know which batch you're in. You don't know how programs decide to rank people. And you don't know how far down the rank list the program will need to go to fill. So you have a non-zero chance of matching at that program once you get to the interview--whereas if you don't interview, you're extremely unlikely to match there (there could be one or two programs that rank people they don't interview, but I imagine if they exist, they are few and far between).
So, walk in to the interview with the goal of figuring out if it will be a good match for you, and sell yourself.
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