Interviews and how they affect classes

[Cantal]

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Since I think everyone is finished with all the interviewing and just on the waiting list process, here are a few questions..

What period of time were most of your interviews held?

If you turn in an early AMCAS and early secondaries, can you hope for an interview during the winter recess when no classes are going on?

should you take a light spring semester (or fall sem?) since you will be using some time to fly around the country for interviews?

and finally.. do med schools generally interview on weekends if you have important labs on friday or something?

-Cantal

 

[kidsmd]

Hi Cantal,
Well, I think that most interviews are held between January and March. There are some who get early interviews in October, November, and such. I would say that the heaviest activity is during Jan-March though. I don't know if I would count on having interviews during break since ad coms tend to take breaks during that time too. I myself had one right at the end of winter break but I wouldn't count on having all of them at that time. I would probably take a light Winter quarter if I were you so I wouldn't miss too much at school. And finally, I think most interview are held Monday thru Fridays only! (I have yet to see anyone with a Saturday interview... I may be wrong). What I usually did was to get a Friday or Monday interview if I could. That way I could spend more time where the school was at and get a feel for the place and if I could live there or not without feeling too guilty about missing all the work I have back home.

HOpe that's helpful! 🙂

 

[tBw]

interviews being slowly in August for April MCATers and trickle through till now. The bulk are in the Sept-March range. There are few during winter recess as the med schools are also on vacation then, besides which its a really bad time to go as you will not be able to meet many med students (a very important part of getting to know a school is to get their feedback on it) or get hosted by one, saving you $$. A few med schools do weekend interviews but not many and not often. If they did we'de all want them.

 

[chewawa]

Some schools can do regional interviews, and I know that maybe some are willingy to try to setup a schedule that may fit your needs b/c of personal reasons. So, it will not hurt to ask. But, If you do get a chance to interivew try to stick with the date, If you cannot see if it is possible to interivew earlier than the date they scheduled for you. In addition, talk to your prof. a your current school and explain to them your situation. But, definately try to stick to the date they gave you and no later. Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[loyen]

Most schools i interviewed at had three interview days per week - Monday, Friday and one other weekday. They would try schedule out of state applicants on Mondays and Fridays to allow for travel time, but in staters would get the middle of the week. And few schools that I interviewed at had interviews when school was not in session - they want you to be able to go to classes, etc.

 

[Entei]

med school interviews >>>>>>>>>>>>> class

No professor should give you a hard time about skipping class for a med school interview. Just let them know ahead of time, and don't worry about it. If you get into med school, senior year classes don't matter much. 😀

 

[badgergirl]

some words of advice... make friends in your classes so that you can get notes from them if you have to leave for an interview. one of my professors wouldn't let me take my exam more than 12 hours before or after the exam itself, so check with profs beforehand to see how willing they are to be flexible if an interview comes up. also, i set up both semesters so that i had a day or two during the week completely off from classes so that i could make the drive without missing too much. it'll all work out, so just don't stress out!

 

[spumoni620]

this is a really good question from the op and something i was thinking about as well. i have a very lab-intensive fall semester, but tried to schedule my classes so that friday is almost free. i sort of made friday "interview day"...but do most med schools actually give you some choice in your interview date, or do the majority just assign you a date--no negotiations?

thanks everyone for your replies!

 

[Horseradish99]

Spumoni---

again, this varies. some schools will send you a letter that says, "Congrats! You've received an interview @ 9:00AM on November 14th!" Other schools will say, "congrats, please call us and schedule an interview." Some will be in between and say, please schedule your interview for either X, Y, or Z.

Like previously posted, most schools have specific days. Of the 6 interviews I went on, I ended up interviewing two Mondays, a Tuesday, a Wed, a Thursday, and a Friday...so it varies and there's no guarantee that having free Fridays will benefit you all the time. It certainly will help some.

Definitely don't stress about this, though. Schedule the interviews and miss class or lab or exams or whatever. It isn't a big deal. You can make it up and your profs SHOULD be excited for you. Mine always got excited and asked me where I was interviewing at and one actually asked me to bring him back a tshirt from the med school. You certainly don't want to fail out or do really poorly your senior year, but interviews are much more important than showing up to class!

scott