Interviews 2006

[uhoh!]

brian...? quant...? beary...? anybody home? how's the interview trail treating you?

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[Brian Pavlovitz]

brian...? quant...? beary...? anybody home? how's the interview trail treating you?

Howdy! Just been enjoying my week off between electives!

Hope everyone is doing well with interviews, too.

 

[beary]

brian...? quant...? beary...? anybody home? how's the interview trail treating you?

Hey uhoh! The interview trail is going ok. I just got back from UTSW which I absolutely LOVED and am heading to Utah next week. In the meantime I am hanging out with my family and have gotten to spend a lot of time with my niece. I study for step 2 about 10 minutes a day.

Hope things are going well for everybody else as well!!

 

[quant]

brian...? quant...? beary...? anybody home? how's the interview trail treating you?

Oopsie, sorry for not replying sooner. I can see my hair turning white with a vengeance due to this nerve wracking tension. The other day i drove a car for 6 hours straight and was so sozzled at the end of it all....

Even then, I must say the interviews have been going on well. I received an invite from U Kentucky yesterday. Anyone has any thoughts about it?

How about you Uh Oh?

 

[uhoh!]

How about you Uh Oh?

As things stand right now..i'm pretty much screwed not too many calls..infact,i would be done with all the interviews i have been invited for by december!so much for the "flood"..
but, i do have my step3 coming up in 2 weeks, so am doing my usual "flip-out-before-an-exam" routine..but it does help keep my mind off the lack of interviews. anyhow, hope floats i expect to hear from more programs after the christmas holidays..fatally optimistic, i think!
and good luck to you guys for the interviews! keep 'em rolling in..

 

[path2be]

i've got eastern va next week. just got my packet today. then i've got galveston and san antonio and loma linda in january.

i am still 'on hold' from far too many programs for my sanity, but i will keep showing interest until rank list and the day after match. i only applied to programs that i am really interested in. god forbid i match somewhere that i wasn't excited about going to. i have a horrible poker face, and lying about my 'interest' would get old in about 5 minutes.

what do you say if asked,'are you interested in our program?'
fictional answer: (interviewee who applied at 146 programs) You are my top choice!
goofy answer, (interviewee who applied to 1 million programs) I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
honest answer, ' I would be excited to train here. Your program is outstanding, and etc..... (or I wouldn't have applied. unsaid, but intimated by genuine smile with Orbit gleam)

Maybe I should apply to twenty more programs, jk.
peace out

 

[drswam]

congrats quant.....i hope you get more.....goodluck....

hey beary....could you post a brief interview experience from UTSW? thanks and goodluck with Utah....

Uhoh.....goodluck with your step3......i would suggest to concentrate on it.....it is a tough one.....atleast it will make one feel stupid after sitting for it...

 

[quant]

congrats quant.....i hope you get more.....goodluck....

hey beary....could you post a brief interview experience from UTSW? thanks and goodluck with Utah....

Uhoh.....goodluck with your step3......i would suggest to concentrate on it.....it is a tough one.....atleast it will make one feel stupid after sitting for it...

Thanks Dr Swam for your wishes. It was very nice to meet you on the interview trail. Wish you all the best for UTSW.

Good luck to everyone with step 3. I need to slay this beast soon enough.

 

[beary]

hey beary....could you post a brief interview experience from UTSW?

I definitely will. I have gotten so much out of other people's interview experiences. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I want to post about what I thought about Wash U and Iowa too! Maybe I will do it tomorrow instead of studying for Step 2.

 

[beary]

Thanks Dr Swam for your wishes. It was very nice to meet you on the interview trail. Wish you all the best for UTSW.

I am jealous that quant and Dr. Swam got to meet!! I sure hope to run into some of you folks on the interview trail.

PS Dr Swam, PM me if you have specific questions about the interview day before I post my whole experience here. It was very low key and non-stress.

 

[quant]

I am jealous that quant and Dr. Swam got to meet!! I sure hope to run into some of you folks on the interview trail.

PS Dr Swam, PM me if you have specific questions about the interview day before I post my whole experience here. It was very low key and non-stress.

Id love to meet other folks of SDN Path. But i dont think i would.....My interviews are a bit out of the way kind....



Maybe the CAP meeting Beary?.....

 

[beary]

Maybe the CAP meeting Beary?.....

I'm not going this year, but maybe next year!!

Do you happen to be coming to interview at Iowa?

 

[miko2005]

I know this has been mentioned before -- but I am just not sure how much correspondence to have with programs that you are highly interested in and have already interviewed at. One of the programs I absolutely love told me to stay in touch as the interviewing season moved on. But I am not sure how to do that -- do I just e-mail to them every month and just say "I am still interested"?? That sounds kind of lame and cheesy. On the other hand, I don't want them to forget me.

 

[AngryTesticle]

I know this has been mentioned before -- but I am just not sure how much correspondence to have with programs that you are highly interested in and have already interviewed at. One of the programs I absolutely love told me to stay in touch as the interviewing season moved on. But I am not sure how to do that -- do I just e-mail to them every month and just say "I am still interested"?? That sounds kind of lame and cheesy. On the other hand, I don't want them to forget me.

They will remember you. Excessive correspondence is not necessarily. I assume that you written them a thank you correspondence after the interview.

After you complete your interviews and around late January or early February, write the program director another letter expressing your interest. If you have decided to rank them #1 and feel that you want to commit, you can let them know that they are at the top of your rank list. Just don't expect anything in return but best case scenario is that they tell you that you are ranked to match. But even given all this stuff, don't count on anything. Just try to be patient and wait to see what happens on Match Day.

 

[cytoborg]

I know this has been mentioned before -- but I am just not sure how much correspondence to have with programs that you are highly interested in and have already interviewed at. One of the programs I absolutely love told me to stay in touch as the interviewing season moved on. But I am not sure how to do that -- do I just e-mail to them every month and just say "I am still interested"?? That sounds kind of lame and cheesy. On the other hand, I don't want them to forget me.

Kinda related, I answered your question on the other thread in the General Residency issues forum...but anyways, definitely don't email them every month, that's overkill. You don't want to be annoying. They definitely won't forget you - but they are looking to see how interested you are.

I sent one batch of emails in mid-January letting my #1 know they were #1 and letting my top few know I was very interested. A flurry of phonecalls occured just prior to ROL time, mostly initiated by the programs, though.

 

[quant]

I'm not going this year, but maybe next year!!

Do you happen to be coming to interview at Iowa?

Nooooo... I called them to find out what was going on with my application....they never got back to me. I should probably call again on Monday.

Ill let you know how that goes.

 

[LADoc00]

Interviewing for the dream job at the end of this week. The details include a yearly partner salary of 500k+, 12 weeks of vacation, full benefits etc etc.

Wish me luck

FINALLY, got this job offer today. Interestingly, I got another one last week that was also partnership track and 6 months of vacation/year (!), hmmmm I guess I was overcalling the "dream job" in my previous post. Luck to all you.

 

[drPLUM]

FINALLY, got this job offer today. Interestingly, I got another one last week that was also partnership track and 6 months of vacation/year (!), hmmmm I guess I was overcalling the "dream job" in my previous post. Luck to all you.

Yeah but my cousin got the same deal graduating from a online radiology training program.

Seriously though, congratz!

 

[malpighi]

Hi!

I don't post on this very much, but I was just wondering what people think about this - is receiving a phone call and letter from a program stating that they will be ranking you in the top "n" (smaller than class size) in any way meaningful?

Thanks!

 

[LADoc00]

Yeah but my cousin got the same deal graduating from a online radiology training program.

Seriously though, congratz!

Fool, I AM your cousin, this is Lou from Queens. Keep a lid on the rads thing, that was a family secret.

 

[yaah]

Hi!

I don't post on this very much, but I was just wondering what people think about this - is receiving a phone call and letter from a program stating that they will be ranking you in the top "n" (smaller than class size) in any way meaningful?

Thanks!

It is unless you have a reason to think they are lying. It shouldn't impact YOUR ranking at all though, unless you have a strange desire to match at your #1, even if it isn't actually your top choice. Believe it or not there are people who think this way - "Yeah, I matched at my #1!!"

It should be comforting though. My #2 and #4 told me I would match there when I was going through this, and it was nice, as I knew I would either be at my top choice or #2.

Where you have to be careful is if they say "We will rank you in our top n if you rank us #1." This is illegal but variations on this are still done in some areas. We have all posted about this in the past if you want to look for it.

 

[drswam]

Rejection from Iowa......Dr. Dee doesnt like me looks like......i can live with that though......

 

[quant]

Rejection from Iowa......Dr. Dee doesnt like me looks like......i can live with that though......

Same here...sorry Beary, looks like we won't be meeting after all,

Sorry about the reject drswam..

 

[beary]

Same here...sorry Beary, looks like we won't be meeting after all,

I am sorry quant and drswam.

I am disappointed to not get a chance to meet you.

 

[miko2005]

I just cancelled a bunch of interviews in southern California and one in Seatle. I just hope its not a mistake.

 

[beary]

I just cancelled a bunch of interviews in southern California and one in Seatle. I just hope its not a mistake.

I experienced post-interview cancellation anxiety as well.

You've probably gone on a few at this point, and I bet as long as you liked a few of them you're golden.

 

[CameronFrye]

I just finished up my interviews, but I was wondering if anyone ever heard from Wake Forest? Before applying, if I had to guess which program wouldn't offer me an interview, I never would've guessed Wake.

 

[deschutes]

I had some programs that were like that, but I thought it might have been because of my flagrant IMGness.

Stupid question, but did you call them?

 

[beary]

I just finished up my interviews,

Wow! Congrats!!

I just had interview #5 today. I am going to do two more before Christmas and then may start cancelling some.

 

[drPLUM]

I just finished up my interviews, but I was wondering if anyone ever heard from Wake Forest? Before applying, if I had to guess which program wouldn't offer me an interview, I never would've guessed Wake.

Whoa! You've finished interviewing already? Wow, that makes me feel weird because I haven't even started yet. Well, I went to my home program but that is it so far. All the others are in January.

I never heard from Wake either. Now that I have the interviews that I do, I don't think I would go there anyway, but it is weird that I never even heard from them.

 

[beary]

but it is weird that I never even heard from them.

I applied to some little hospital in Philadelphia by accident because I thought it was UPenn. I got interviews everywhere I applied except for that little hospital.

 

[dlc6]

I heard from Wake Forest but only because I contacted them. I had tried emailing them at first to see what the status of my application was but their address was invalid so I just called and spoke directly with Dr. Simpson, the vice chair of the department. He told me to give him about a day to locate my file and he would get back in touch with me. The next day I had an interview invitation waiting in my email. I probably would never have heard from them if I hadn't taken action but since I am sincerely interested in their program I did. If you are still interested in them, try calling them with the number listed in eras!
dlc

 

[CameronFrye]

Well, I'm only finished b/c I ended up only interviewing at 6 places. I turned down a bunch of interviews (especially on the West coast) b/c of money/time. I also had to cancel a couple other interviews at the last minute b/c of transportation issues (=my car got T-boned, days before I was supposed to drive to those interviews. You gotta love DC/NOVA traffic). I'm actually glad that I don't have anymore to go on. I really liked everywhere I visited, so I don't need anymore options thrown on the table.

As for Wake, I was just curious if anyone actually got an interview from them without personally contacting them. I guess that's a good way to see which candidates are most interested in your program.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

I just finished up my interviews

Congratulations! It does feel good to be finished, doesn't it?

Sorry to hear about your car, though.

 

[AngryTesticle]

Whoa! You've finished interviewing already? Wow, that makes me feel weird because I haven't even started yet. Well, I went to my home program but that is it so far. All the others are in January.

You have mail. This post answers one of the questions I had for you

 

[drPLUM]

You have mail. This post answers one of the questions I had for you

Thanks for the timely and candid reply. You were quite helpful.

 

[BamaAlum]

I heard from Wake Forest but only because I contacted them. I had tried emailing them at first to see what the status of my application was but their address was invalid so I just called and spoke directly with Dr. Simpson, the vice chair of the department. He told me to give him about a day to locate my file and he would get back in touch with me. The next day I had an interview invitation waiting in my email. I probably would never have heard from them if I hadn't taken action but since I am sincerely interested in their program I did. If you are still interested in them, try calling them with the number listed in eras!
dlc

I actually called them today to check on the status of my application and the secretary told me that they have reached their limit for interviews. Sort of an odd way to handle it if you ask me. I haven't heard of a program that only grants interviews to those that call and inquire about their app. Oh well, I don't think I could have fit it into my schedule anyway.

 

[beary]

I have to get on another plane tomorrow for another interview and would rather do just about anything.

*considers cancelling most January interviews*

 

[ChipLeader]

I feel your pain Beary. I'm happy to report that I have only one interview left, and that one is not until mid-January so I finally have some time to chill at home and watch the maximum amount of football humanly possible over the next three weeks or so. Not being on an airplane or in transit to/from an airport feels really good. Anyway happy holidays to everyone...

 

[JaneDough]

I have to get on another plane tomorrow for another interview and would rather do just about anything.

*considers cancelling most January interviews*

I have something like 12 interviews left. Brutal. Maybe my christmas gift to myself will be to cancel some of those interviews

 

[beary]

I have something like 12 interviews left. Brutal. Maybe my christmas gift to myself will be to cancel some of those interviews

Whoa!! I only scheduled 11 total and will probably cancel 2 of these.

I have Step 2 CK in 10 days so I am starting to freak out about that.

 

[drPLUM]

Whoa!! I only scheduled 11 total and will probably cancel 2 of these.

I have Step 2 CK in 10 days so I am starting to freak out about that.

I have Step II CK in 12 days, so that has been preoccupying me as well. I'm hoping Qbank serves me as well as it did for Step I.
I'm wondering if it will end up a bad idea to take it the week between Christmas and New Year's (given the distractions and general lack of concentration on my part).

 

[beary]

I have Step II CK in 12 days, so that has been preoccupying me as well. I'm hoping Qbank serves me as well as it did for Step I.
I'm wondering if it will end up a bad idea to take it the week between Christmas and New Year's (given the distractions and general lack of concentration on my part).

Wow, we are in exactly the same boat! I am using Qbank almost exclusively as well. I spend some time in airports flipping through First Aid, but Qbank is definitely the bulk of my effort. I don't think I will even make it through all the questions.

Good luck!

 

[CameronFrye]

I have Step II CK in 12 days, so that has been preoccupying me as well. I'm hoping Qbank serves me as well as it did for Step I.
I'm wondering if it will end up a bad idea to take it the week between Christmas and New Year's (given the distractions and general lack of concentration on my part).

I thought Qbank was better for Step II than step I. There seems to be a limited amount of clinical scenarios that can be asked about on this thing, so Qbank seemed to hit most of them.

 

[drPLUM]

I thought Qbank was better for Step II than step I. There seems to be a limited amount of clinical scenarios that can be asked about on this thing, so Qbank seemed to hit most of them.

In your opinion, if you are scoring the same on Qbank for Step II as you did for Step I Qbank will you score the same on the actual test? In other words, are the Qbank difficulty levels equivalent? What do you think?

 

[CameronFrye]

In your opinion, if you are scoring the same on Qbank for Step II as you did for Step I Qbank will you score the same on the actual test? In other words, are the Qbank difficulty levels equivalent? What do you think?

It's hard to say, but you'll probably be close (or maybe even improve). These exams are scored on a curve. A lot of people blow off Step II, whereas no one blows off Step I. Therefore, even if you don't know the Step II material as well as the Step I material, you can score well. If you're really worried, you can purchase one of the 40 dollar tests on the NBME website. Although you aren't supposed to use them to predict your score, I found them to be pretty close.

 

[Aubrey]

[dredges up repressed memories of CK from March]

I prepared almost exclusively with Qbank, and thought that it was sufficient in just about everything except derm.. every other question seemed to be "3 year old male presents with the innocent looking rash pictured." Try and relax, you'll do fine. Stay hydrated!

 

[JaneDough]

I did Q bank for step one and 2... I actually didn't like it for step 2. The best thing I did was memorize step 2 secrets. I highly reccomend it.

 

[drPLUM]

So I took Step 2 yesterday. Man, does it feel good to have that over with!
Looking back on it, First Aid pretty much hit on every topic although not as detailed as you would like in some areas. I actually had less derm than any other subject. I had lots of OB, trauma, and a lot of vague stuff like "pt presents with fatigue and general malaise. Which of the following is most likely..." I'm like, come on, give me something to go on here. But as usual with standardized tests, the answer choices were easier to distinguish than on stuff like qbank/usmleworld. All in all I'm just glad to be done.

Time to kill a few brain cells this weekend before some interviews next week.

 

[Aubrey]

Congrats DrPlum on slaying the hideous Step 2 beast! I too have an interview next week (JHU) and that is it for me.. I wonder which of us will be the last to finish??