Interview invites from higher-ranked > lower-ranked programs

[gopher47]

This is a weird question, but has anyone had experience getting interview invites at the higher-ranked programs they applied to, but not the lower ones?
Obviously all the programs are extremely competitive to get into, and these days most applicants are applying to at least half of the programs. Considering the deluge of applications hitting the program directors, does anyone know if all the programs are offering interviews to the best applicants they get? Or is there some strategy among program directors/whoever reviews applications to try to assess the likelihood of an applicant ranking their program highly before giving an interview? Meaning that since program directors know that everyone applies very widely, if the program director thinks that the applicant will probably match at a school he/she would likely prefer over the program director's school, would that deter the PD from offering that applicant an interview? Or is that just crazy talk?

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[Gfunk6]

In my experience it's not crazy talk. Programs use many factors to both interview and rank appilcants and, unfortunately, the quality of your application is not an exclusive one. Factors such as who wrote your letter of recommendation(s), where you go to med school, which programs you rotated through as a med student, and even where you grew up are all considered. In addition some programs now request things like college transcripts and MCAT scores which seemingly bear little/no relevance.

The reasons for this basically boil down to two main factors. One, programs want applicants who WANT to train with them, not merely those who settle for them. Second, program directors are afraid of not matching sufficient residents. This can happen if mid/low tier programs exclusively rank super-star applicants.

When I was applying in the 2005 application cycle, I too was advised to apply broadly (which I did). I ended up interviewing at a very wierd mix of low-mid-upper tier programs that I could never have predicted. Frankly, I'm still kind of shocked at where I ended up (despite being a PGY-4) and somehow I feel I would not have matched as well competing against current applicants . . . but I digress.

When you interview you will most likely see the same co-applicants over and over again. This is mainly because whatever programs find attractive in you as a candidate, they also see in your frequently encountered co-applicants.

So in the end try not to fall into the whole "why didn't I get an interview from xxx" mentality. I admit to having my heart set on certain programs and being more than mildly upset at their eventual rejection of me. Trust the Match, bring your A game to interviews, and most importantly make a long rank list. You have a 85-90% chance of matching if you're a US Senior . . . those are pretty good odds.

 

[gopher47]

Thanks for such a full answer - really helpful and I appreciate it!