Interviews 2005 Match!!!

[garfield]

Similar funny story. Got a letter via snail mail inviting me to interview at program X, but the letter was addressed to a classmate of mine who also went into pathology and applied to that program. The envelope, obviously, was addressed to me. Called the program just to make sure they really meant to invite me.

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[arjones100]

I've been invited for a few interviews so far including Emory and Washington University. Has anyone heard from Cornell, UPENN, Mayo, UVA, or Northwestern? If so, how long between when they downloaded your application and when you got an invite?

I'm starting to worry because UPENN, Mayo, and UVA are my top 3 and no word after several other invites.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Hi arjones, congrats on your interviews so far.

I applied to UPenn, Mayo, and UVA. The latter two downloaded everything I had to offer as of either last Friday or this past Monday. UPenn just downloaded my last LOR today. I have heard nothing from any of the 3 schools. However, one of my buddies heard from UPenn 2 weeks ago.

I hope you hear from them soon. Good luck!

 

[cytoborg]

Well, it has been a week since my app was submitted. All 4 of my LORs are in as of today. Yoo hoooooo....programs....where are those emails?

I know, I know, I should give it some time.

(Back to the obsessive email checking.)

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Well, it has been a week since my app was submitted. All 4 of my LORs are in as of today. Yoo hoooooo....programs....where are those emails?

I know, I know, I should give it some time.

(Back to the obsessive email checking.)

At this point now, ADTS becomes useless. 6 of my 8 interview invitations were via direct emails. My ADTS mailbox only has 2 messages. I don't even check ADTS anymore...maybe I'll just check once a week to see whenever UCLA will decide to download even a snippet of my application.

 

[sandyworks]

I can't believe it!!!!! It finally happened! I got a LoR in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, I guess there was the BIDMC interview offer that happened 1 hour afterward which was icing on the cake, but more importantly, there's finally a LoR in!!!!!! (Sorry, I guess I've just felt like the pressure cooker was getting way too hot...I feel much better now)

 

[Logos']

...

 

[Gut Shot]

UTSW by phone.

Let's keep the good times rollin', folks!

 

[garfield]

UTSW by phone.

Let's keep the good times rollin', folks!

Yayyy! Havarti could be comin' to Texas... welcome.

 

[vetiver]

to arjones100, i got an interview from northwestern by email mid last week and they downloaded most of my stuff on 9/7, although i recently had my transcript uploaded. hope this helps.

be alert! one of my invites came with the title "Fw:" and it didn't show up in my ERAS mailbox. it was almost like they were passive-aggressively trying to not interview me or something and hoping it would go right into my spam filter...

 

[skoller]

Congrats to all those with interviews already scheduled. I'm getting nervous because I'd hoped to have more offers by now, considering I've applied to approximately one bazillion programs (actually "only" 30).

So far, I've heard from Vermont, UNC (both by snail mail), and UH Cleveland/ Case Western Reserve (by email). Duke emailed to say they only consider applicants for interviews once two LORs are received (I've sent only one so far). My couples-match partner (also applying for path) just certified on Monday, so we're waiting for matching interview offers.

Regarding LORs, I have a dilemma. One of my LORs is pretty good, but not great (I didn't waive my right to read it). The writer made some nice statements about me, but then actually made a semi-derogatory statement about the field of pathology, implying that my clinical and interpersonal skills will be wasted. I think he was trying to be funny or ironic or something. I don't really need this letter (assuming my fourth letter writer comes through for me--she hasn't written it yet), so should I use it? What do you guys think?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Congrats to all those with interviews already scheduled. I'm getting nervous because I'd hoped to have more offers by now, considering I've applied to approximately one bazillion programs (actually "only" 30).

So far, I've heard from Vermont, UNC (both by snail mail), and UH Cleveland/ Case Western Reserve (by email). Duke emailed to say they only consider applicants for interviews once two LORs are received (I've sent only one so far). My couples-match partner (also applying for path) just certified on Monday, so we're waiting for matching interview offers.

Regarding LORs, I have a dilemma. One of my LORs is pretty good, but not great (I didn't waive my right to read it). The writer made some nice statements about me, but then actually made a semi-derogatory statement about the field of pathology, implying that my clinical and interpersonal skills will be wasted. I think he was trying to be funny or ironic or something. I don't really need this letter (assuming my fourth letter writer comes through for me--she hasn't written it yet), so should I use it? What do you guys think?

That's a tough one. Here is my thought on the matter. A letter of recommendation should be an endorsement by the attending for your application to pathology. Hence, it should say good things about YOU but also be strong and supportive about your application to PATHOLOGY. If you don't need it, I would shy away from using it. Negative comments about either yourself or your field of interest have no place in any letter of recommendation.

I hope that last letter comes in for ya

 

[stormjen]

I'm getting nervous too, for good reason. After submitting my application, I got four interviews. Since my school transcript was uploaded to ERAS, I've gotten three rejections. (After the first rejection, I stopped posting them on here out of humiliation.)

I knew my transcript would be the weakest part of my application, but in fact it turned out to look even weaker than I'd expected. This is because our school combines our 3rd year clerkship and shelf grades into a final grade. I did well regarding my clerkship grades but, when combined with the shelf, it looks like I did terribly. I could have gotten a whole grade lower for my clerkship grades and you wouldn't know the difference.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I knew my transcript would be the weakest part of my application, but in fact it turned out to look even weaker than I'd expected. This is because our school combines our 3rd year clerkship and shelf grades into a final grade. I did well regarding my clerkship grades but, when combined with the shelf, it looks like I did terribly. I could have gotten a whole grade lower for my clerkship grades and you wouldn't know the difference.

Our school computes clerkship grades like that as well...and I can sympathize with your frustration because that was the theme of my M3 year. Here, the clerkship directors are like, "clinical evaluations are worth 80-90% of your grade; the shelf exams comprise a small portion." So what do I do? I try to do well in the rotation...but I kinda blew off some of the shelf exams which was totally my fault. But a lot of the faculty here are very conservative with grades giving most of the students 6's and 7's (out of a highest possible score of 9). Well damn, if all the students get 6's and 7's, what ends up being the tiebreaker when only 10-15% of the students can get Honors? The damn shelf exam. Strike ONE, strike TWO, strike THREE...I'm out!

 

[Gut Shot]

Yayyy! Havarti could be comin' to Texas... welcome.

Thanks! It would actually be a "welcome back", as I did 6 years of hard time in Galveston. Some cheap Shiner would be nice again.

Oh, and MUSC and Vandy by email today. Miami also sent me a bizarre series of repetitive emails inviting me to interview on one specific day (a day when I already have a closer interview scheduled). WTF?

 

[skoller]

That's a tough one. Here is my thought on the matter. A letter of recommendation should be an endorsement by the attending for your application to pathology. Hence, it should say good things about YOU but also be strong and supportive about your application to PATHOLOGY. If you don't need it, I would shy away from using it. Negative comments about either yourself or your field of interest have no place in any letter of recommendation.

I hope that last letter comes in for ya

Thanks for the advice. I think you're right. Happily, it looks like my final LoR writer will come through after all--she promised to write it on Monday.

Bonus! I just heard from U Minnesota by phone. Yay!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Thanks for the advice. I think you're right. Happily, it looks like my final LoR writer will come through after all--she promised to write it on Monday.

Bonus! I just heard from U Minnesota by phone. Yay!

Awesome! Looks like things are workin' out for ya.

 

[Pookies]

Virginia and St. Louis University by E-mail.

 

[arjones100]

Has anyone here called a program to ask if they have evaluated your application? The ADTS service is helpful because it shows that programs have your information, but it does not guarantee that they are doing anything with it. I do not want to seem pushy but I am somewhat anxious and knowing ahead of time that I may or may not here anything for a while would help. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

 

[persephone]

columbia by email yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pookies]

Oklahoma by E-mail.

 

[Zoloft]

Columbia by email today, but still haven't heard from Cornell or Mt. Sinai. Fuss... Fuss... Fuss... Fuss

 

[stormjen]

I'm getting worried. Shouldn't I have more than four interviews by now? Chest pain, chest pain . . .

 

[QuietSylph]

I'm getting worried. Shouldn't I have more than four interviews by now? Chest pain, chest pain . . .

Don't worry, there's still time. I've had my (strong) application in for almost 3 weeks now and have only got 3 interviews. It sucks to wait, though, doesn't it?!

 

[QuietSylph]

Has anyone here called a program to ask if they have evaluated your application? The ADTS service is helpful because it shows that programs have your information, but it does not guarantee that they are doing anything with it. I do not want to seem pushy but I am somewhat anxious and knowing ahead of time that I may or may not here anything for a while would help. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

I for one would hold off on contacting them unless you had a very narrow time range in which you could interview, and wanted to see if they could fit you in then (e.g., "I will be in the Boston area from October 20-25 and was hoping I could arrange for an interview..."). Or, if you had something pertinent to add to your application, you could send an email to the program coordinator with an "addendum" and see if that somehow elicits a response. But I do think unless you phrase it carefully, you may end up sounding pushy.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Don't worry, there's still time. I've had my (strong) application in for almost 3 weeks now and have only got 3 interviews. It sucks to wait, though, doesn't it?!

Depending on the programs you apply to, I think there are a handful of programs that will invite you soon after you apply. Then there will probably be a lull period. I'm sure that's what we (who applied in early to mid-September) are experiencing now. I haven't gotten an invite in a week or little over that...and I think I'll be waiting quite a bit longer.

Perhaps the second rush of invites will happen after our Dean's letters / MSPEs are uploaded to ERAS.

 

[yaah]

Deep breath.


It is still early.

 

[2005]

Deep breath.


It is still early.

So, at what point is it time to start getting concerned? When do I need to think about adding more programs to my application list?

 

[stormjen]

So, at what point is it time to start getting concerned? When do I need to think about adding more programs to my application list?

Yes, that's what I'm wondering.

Hold us, yaah. Waaaah.

 

[psammoma]

Columbia by email today, but still haven't heard from Cornell or Mt. Sinai. Fuss... Fuss... Fuss... Fuss

I'm with 'ya Zoloft! Columbia by e-mail today as well, but no other Manhattan programs yet. I should add Penn, BU, and Cedars-Sinai from last week in case anyway is waiting to hear from these places. Penn apparently is filling its calendar FAST b/c I had a hard time scheduling there.

SOOO many programs have still not responded with anything.....I don't think there's much to worry about yet. But FUSS FUSS FUSS just the same!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Penn apparently is filling its calendar FAST b/c I had a hard time scheduling there.

Yeah, I know one friend here and two friends at other schools who applied to Penn path. They got interviews relatively quickly so if a lot of ppl applied to Penn, I can see how this would be the case.

Penn hasn't gotten back to me yet and all my letters are in...and I applied a long time ago. Perhaps this is a sign. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel on this one (as Andy scratches that one off the list...down to 19 now).

 

[jeff2005]

MGH has offered ME an interview! Why would they do this? Honestly I'm not that hot an applicant. How do I prevent them from realizing this?

 

[Zoloft]

I'm with 'ya Zoloft! Columbia by e-mail today as well, but no other Manhattan programs yet. I should add Penn, BU, and Cedars-Sinai from last week in case anyway is waiting to hear from these places. Penn apparently is filling its calendar FAST b/c I had a hard time scheduling there.

SOOO many programs have still not responded with anything.....I don't think there's much to worry about yet. But FUSS FUSS FUSS just the same!

I'm not going to fuss so much anymore, because I just discovered that Mt. Sinai usually doesn't send out interviews until late October. Needless to say I am very relieved, because I would seriously cry if I don't get an interview there. I still don't know about Cornell yet either, but they emailed me to say that they had received my application and will be in touch shortly.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Has anyone gotten any invites from Duke by any chance? Just wondering cuz I got a UNC interview on a Monday and I got the Wednesday after that nice and open in my schedule (clearly, my hope is for the Duke interview to happen on that Wednesday).

Congrats to all of you who are continuing to hear about interviews! Rock on!

 

[cytoborg]

Nope, but got an email from them Friday saying my app is being reviewed.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Nope, but got an email from them Friday saying my app is being reviewed.

Hey man, howz it going? Thanks for the info...I haven't gotten any emails of that sort from them so far. Uh oh...may have to scratch one off my list too

 

[RNA]

I'm right there with you, Andy. I have an interview at UNC on a Tuesday in Jan and have the rest of the week open for Duke but, as of yet, no word from them. I did get an interview invite from Penn today by e-mail. What month are you going to UNC?

 

[RNA]

Oh - did anyone apply to eastern virginia medical school? They are in an awful nice location.....

 

[stormjen]

MGH has offered ME an interview! Why would they do this? Honestly I'm not that hot an applicant. How do I prevent them from realizing this?

First of all, REMAIN CALM! I cannot emphasize this enough.

I experienced something very similar when I applied to med school. It seems that I somehow managed to get accepted, on the first try no less, despite having an abysmal application.

What worked for me was acting like an absolute studmuffin.

You are a badass. Your application may not look so good, but it obviously can't be trusted. I mean, look at you, look how badass you are! *strut*

At the interview, acknowledge any imperfections, but brush them off as being in the past and not representative of your current and future level of studliness. Then they will bow before you and rank you highly.

Go Jeff, go! You stud you!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I'm right there with you, Andy. I have an interview at UNC on a Tuesday in Jan and have the rest of the week open for Duke but, as of yet, no word from them. I did get an interview invite from Penn today by e-mail. What month are you going to UNC?

UNC is one of the interviews on my November tour. I got a friend down there and a research collaborator down there as well. I wanted to spend like 5 days there to interview at the 2 programs and then chill the other 3 days.

 

[yaah]

So, at what point is it time to start getting concerned? When do I need to think about adding more programs to my application list?

I simply cannot answer that question because I don't know. There are lots of programs who just don't offer the bulk of their interviews until late october, early november, if not even later. Of course, I think november 1 is the latest date you can apply, right?

I wish I could help you more but alas, no. Every applicant is different. I would say though that you shouldn't worry too much yet. Give it another couple of weeks. But don't sue me for bad advice, because I am not in the know here.

 

[jeff2005]

First of all, REMAIN CALM! I cannot emphasize this enough.

I experienced something very similar when I applied to med school. It seems that I somehow managed to get accepted, on the first try no less, despite having an abysmal application.

What worked for me was acting like an absolute studmuffin.

You are a badass. Your application may not look so good, but it obviously can't be trusted. I mean, look at you, look how badass you are! *strut*

At the interview, acknowledge any imperfections, but brush them off as being in the past and not representative of your current and future level of studliness. Then they will bow before you and rank you highly.

Go Jeff, go! You stud you!

Thanks Stormjen! I am going to do Mass General A FAVOR by appearing on their premises and showing my *strut* and, if their nice, maybe I'll shake my booty.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Got the Upenn interview via email today as well.

Took the afternoon off to buy my interview clothes...goddamn, suits are f'n expensive!

 

[deschutes]

Got an email from a program that didn't understand why I asked if they sponsored J-1 work visas and then proceeded to apply to them with my current B-1 visitor's visa.

If THIS is the reason I'm not hearing back from proggies, it'll be a miracle if I don't stroke before the year is out.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Got an email from a program that didn't understand why I asked if they sponsored J-1 work visas and then proceeded to apply to them with my current B-1 visitor's visa.

If THIS is the reason I'm not hearing back from proggies, it'll be a miracle if I don't stroke before the year is out.

Especially if you're banging your head repeatedly like it appears on the avatar.

I bet you were a headbanger in your earlier days.

 

[deschutes]

The primary reason for headbanging:

The biggie programs where I don't really expect to view, much less match - they have IMGs, but the question is - have they already decided they don't want me.

The smaller academic programs who don't attract as many of the stunningly-qualified IMG's have no idea what to do with an IMG.

Conclusion: My app may even be on its way to the bin if I don't catch it in time.

Looks like I should start thinking about how to match with only 2 interviews. Yaargh!

Especially if you're banging your head repeatedly like it appears on the avatar. I bet you were a headbanger in your earlier days.

Yeah I was a headbanger. I enjoyed banging people's heads together.

Hey, what colour is the suit?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Yeah I was a headbanger. I enjoyed banging people's heads together.

Hey, what colour is the suit?

The suit itself is black with very subtle pinstripes. Also bought a navy blue sportcoat; I may not need them for interviews but the sportcoat caught my eye (of course, the fact that it was on sale helped too). Several shirts that would work with either jacket and a couple of fresh slacks too. Some other accessory items too...total cost = ripped a new dingus in my wallet.

 

[deschutes]

- Derailment warning -

With this question I'm advertising the fact that I've never shopped for a guy -but what's the difference between a suit jacket, a sportcoat and a blazer?

I take it a sportcoat is NOT for sports.

And there I thought only women's stores had multiple names for a single item of clothing...

 

[garfield]

More of a pain to shop for female interview clothes. Skirt or pants? Then there's all these freakin styles (long, dress-like suit jackets; single row buttons; double-breasted buttons). Then countless blouses. Then complicated by an array of color. Plus deciding on purses/attache bags, etc. Shoes-can't stress it enough: must have comfortable shoes. Most places: lots and lots of walking. And deciding on the hairstyle (for longer haired people): tie, bun, loose, etc.

 

[deschutes]

We had a skirt vs. pants thread a while back. But everything finds its way into the Interview thread anyway

My problem is almost never trying to decide what I want. My problem is finding it.

How hard can it be to find a suit or a wool coat in classic lines and subdued colours?
Apparently, very.

Anything classic is not "hot".
Anything classic won't be snapped up by a gullible public with the change of the seasons.
Pink, green, yellow tweeds and florals - that is what's hanging on the racks. Woohoo.

End rant.

~
Re: skirt vs. pants - the best advice I was given is to buy/bring both - and decide which to wear depending on weather/comfort.

And the top one thing to shop for? Unwrinkle-ables.