interview invitations

[ecf1975do]

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After reading some old postings here and speaking with people that just matched into anesthesia, to me, it seems like the way
interviews are given out is quite a farce. i wonder if this is universal across the board for other specialties. I have heard of many who have gotten interviews just on the basis of their step 1, ERAS CV, personal statement and 1 LOR. It seems the programs could give a **** about the deans letter which isnt released till nov 1 (though some do wait) and same for step 2 (they assume you will just pass). I do think this only applies to US allopathic and DO students. Of course this is very good for the student who did well on step 1. I did above average. Dont know how important the transcript is or if programs even wait on that.. I have a bunch of passes my 3rd year- only have honors in anesth, radiology, IM, and MICU. should I be worried? If you look at johns hopkins anesth page.. they even say you just need step 1, and 1 LOR to be considered...
it kind of makes me wonder what is the point of doing an elective at a place?? i guess it can only hurt but if you do it in oct or nov when you already have an interview offer in hand.. i guess that can only help to bust your ass and work hard..

just my 2 cents.. anyone agree??

 

[UTSouthwestern]

We had several rotators from other programs this past year and three were accepted in large part due to the strong recommendations they received from attendings and residents alike. Also, our final rankings for the match aren't submitted until everyone has been reviewed at least twice by committee through January and February. Additional letters, deans' letters, etc. are added to the files and reviewed.

If you really want to get into a program, I do believe it is worth the time and effort to do an elective at the program. Just don't do it with half a heart, in which case you WILL hurt yourself.

 

[palmtreemd2b]

...when, roughly speaking, are the majority of interviews given out and how understanding are the powers that be who write your evaluations for missed days during the electives. Let's say you get 30 interviews then technically those days are going to be missed, unless they give interviews on weekends. I know this question has probably been asked before, but any thoughts?

 

[CaliGirlDO]

I did notice there were several programs I applied to that rejected me immediately after ERAS was turned into them which just told me they didn't care about my dean's letter and other supporting material. They were pretty top notch programs. It was very discouraging at first, but I suppose they just want to be the first to invite what they deem stellar applicants out first and early in the interview season.

The majority of the programs waited until all the material was turned in and most of the interview invitations started coming in by october and november, as late as december even.

My advice....keep a list of all the programs and which ones have contacted you. Don't bug start bugging them until about late november as to the status of your application. If you still haven't heard a peep from the program, that's the time to start calling. I personally secured an extra interview from a program that still had my application on hold and the day I called had just received a cancellation from someone for an interview so they gave the interview to me.

So stay on top of things and most of all, turn your application in early. Timing is key just as it was with med school applications!

 

[drgas]

Great post CaliGirl. Quick question. What is considered "early" for submitting your application? September? Early October? Thanks!

 

[CaliGirlDO]

From the 4th year students I've talked to, I hear that the dates for first submission of ERAS are in September. I know ERAS is already open to start inputting your information now.

I would suggest you know what programs you're applying to by now and have your information inputted now too. You definitely want to have things submitted by September.