Interviews: How many is too many ?

[2014MD]

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[thinker]

depends on how much money you can spend traveling! if it's an issue, make sure you go to the interviews were u r mostly like to be accepted

 

[JJMrK]

Go to as many as you want. There's no limit, and other schools have no way of knowing.

 

[SN2ed]

Once you receive an acceptance, you can start being picky and decline interview offers you aren't interested in. However, before you have an acceptance, go to every interview offered.

 

[Abdullaah]

sweet, SN2ed is here. I remember reading a lot of your posts back in the MCAT section lol. Phew, glad that's over. Love your name btw.

 

[silverhorse84]

I stopped after 6, but that's because I got into a school I could see myself attending and just didn't want to spend the money to fly to the opposite end of the country, again. If a school that I was really interested in, however, sent me an invite after those 6, I would have gone - it's just the schools that did I wasn't that interested in.

Lots of people on this board have gone to many more interviews than I did. It really comes down to money, and where you are when the invite comes (i.e. do you have an acceptance in hand or not, are you interested, etc). I would imagine that if you're on the East coast it's less expensive to go to more interviews since they're closer to many of the schools (I could be wrong though, I'm from Cali and applied to a lot of schools on the opposite end of the country since that's where most of the private schools are).

 

[SN2ed]

sweet, SN2ed is here. I remember reading a lot of your posts back in the MCAT section lol. Phew, glad that's over. Love your name btw.

I only make short cameo appearances here. I mainly stick to the MCAT section. I think it's good to have at least one semi long-time poster in there that consistently posts.

 

[tangerini]

I stopped after 6, but that's because I got into a school I could see myself attending and just didn't want to spend the money to fly to the opposite end of the country, again. If a school that I was really interested in, however, sent me an invite after those 6, I would have gone - it's just the schools that did I wasn't that interested in.

Lots of people on this board have gone to many more interviews than I did. It really comes down to money, and where you are when the invite comes (i.e. do you have an acceptance in hand or not, are you interested, etc). I would imagine that if you're on the East coast it's less expensive to go to more interviews since they're closer to many of the schools (I could be wrong though, I'm from Cali and applied to a lot of schools on the opposite end of the country since that's where most of the private schools are).

silverhorse, is your avatar from The Last Unicorn? Best movie ever, and so underappreciated! 👍

My plan for interviews is to go to all of them until I've been accepted somewhere. Then I'd decline all interviews at schools I liked less than where I'd been accepted, unless they were within driving distance.

 

[Food]

No such thing as too many interviews, man. This coming from someone who only got 1 interview last cycle?

 

[TopSecret]

I applied to many schools hoping to receive a few interviews, but I have already gotten 3 interviews and I think I will get many more.


Would going to, for example, 10-15 interviews be way too many?

It depends. How much time and money do you have?

 

[Narmerguy]

People should consider taking the train more 👍

 

[Abdullaah]

I only make short cameo appearances here. I mainly stick to the MCAT section. I think it's good to have at least one semi long-time poster in there that consistently posts.

Way to sacrifice 👍 So I'm guessing your a med student then, since your not posting in this section much?

 

[Omni]

Money. If that pool runs dry, then you know you gotta tone it down. I'd just keep going until I run out of money or I get an acceptance to a school I like.

 

[Mattabet]

Money. If that pool runs dry, then you know you gotta tone it down. I'd just keep going until I run out of money or I get an acceptance to a school I like.

Agree. Unless you absolutely can't help it, I'd keep interviewing until I actually had an acceptance letter in my hand. At that point, you can afford to be picky and only interview at programs you like better (in theory... I never had that luxury - acceptances are slow 🙂).

 

[riceman04]

Go to as many as you want. There's no limit, and other schools have no way of knowing.

ha...yeah...that's what I thought

 

[Dr Lyss]

I stopped after 10 (I was sooo tired) but I only had to fly to one interview so my traveling costs were not that bad. Once the acceptances started to come in i started declining interviews. it makes no sense to interview if you aren't likely to choose that school over one you have already been accepted to... but there are never too many interviews before you've been accepted 👍

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I only make short cameo appearances here. I mainly stick to the MCAT section. I think it's good to have at least one semi long-time poster in there that consistently posts.

the thanks/help ratio there is not great..

 

[red10]

Things that don't exist:

too much money
too much fun
too good looking
and
too many interviews

 

[Jolie South]

Agree. Unless you absolutely can't help it, I'd keep interviewing until I actually had an acceptance letter in my hand. At that point, you can afford to be picky and only interview at programs you like better (in theory... I never had that luxury - acceptances are slow 🙂).

I agree with this.

It does get expensive. I would try to space out your interviews if you can or group them if they are in the same area. Generally though, I would keep going until you have an acceptance.

 

[BlueElmo]

I'm going until that first acceptance.

 

[mmmcdowe]

OP, I suggest that you start stacking your interviews in terms of your interest in them. For example, I was offered about 20 interviews last cycle. The first group of schools that I interviewed at were schools that I wanted to go to the most and also had October 15th acceptance dates. I then put those that I wanted to go to but were non-rolling later (with a few exceptions just because of the timing), and scheduled all of the schools that were less of a priority for November and December. When I got my first acceptance, I withdrew from all schools that I was not interested in attending over that school (which was fortunately a school that I really liked). If I had not gotten an acceptance by November or December, I would have gone to every interview. However, as acceptances come in, simply evaluate the other interviews you have and ask yourself if you would want to attend them over the schools that you currently have been accepted to. If you aren't sure (and there were a few schools that I ended up interviewing at because I wasn't sure), go to the interview rather than regretting it later.

 

[mvenus929]

People should consider taking the train more 👍

If I lived on the East Coast, I probably would take the train over flying to my interviews. But since right now the closest school is over 100 miles away, and the next closest I applied to is like 5 states away, trains aren't much of an option getting out of the state. If I get a bunch of interviews out East, though, I fully plan to use Amtrack. I even talked to one of my friends in DC to see if I could crash with her for a night and take the train from my interview place to DC to save some money. It would end up being like $150 less that way, and I'd get to see my friend 🙂

 

[red10]

If I lived on the East Coast, I probably would take the train over flying to my interviews. But since right now the closest school is over 100 miles away, and the next closest I applied to is like 5 states away, trains aren't much of an option getting out of the state. If I get a bunch of interviews out East, though, I fully plan to use Amtrack. I even talked to one of my friends in DC to see if I could crash with her for a night and take the train from my interview place to DC to save some money. It would end up being like $150 less that way, and I'd get to see my friend 🙂

I don't know how the trains are outside of the midwest but I've had horrible experiences with Amtrak being incredibly late or having to stop mid trip to switch out drivers only to find out that the new driver was an hour away so we just sat there on the tracks for an hour! It was awful.
If you do take Amtrak don't cut it close by any means.

 

[bakanoisha]

3 interviews by 8/4? Jesus...what do you have a 4.1/46? I didn't even know interviews came this early in the season. LOL

 

[longhorn09]

For me >10 is too many.

 

[mvenus929]

I don't know how the trains are outside of the midwest but I've had horrible experiences with Amtrak being incredibly late or having to stop mid trip to switch out drivers only to find out that the new driver was an hour away so we just sat there on the tracks for an hour! It was awful.
If you do take Amtrak don't cut it close by any means.

Duly noted. I think the only way I'd be cutting it close is getting to the train station before the time of departure. I'm way too cautious to base things on my time of arrival.

 

[Looking Glass]

Things that don't exist:

too much money
too much fun
too good looking
and
too many interviews

👍