Interviews vs. Interviews attending

I was wondering what a "safe" number was myself. I had 18 interviews, cancelled 5, and pondering cancelling 1 more for 12 total. I've heard of people going on as many as 17, though I've heard 10 is usually good.

 

I've heard 10 generally, but have also heard that even as low as 6-7 can be sufficient. But in the end, this is all statistics and we can also end up on the 1% short end of the stick even if we do 20+. I've been advised to make sure to keep a few safeties on the list of interviews, which makes sense because I've heard about people interviewing at these top programs but then not matching anywhere. Stressful... Good luck deciding. It sounds like you're already in good (statistical) standing to match...

 

I agree. Also it's more about where you got invited, rather than the absolute number. You can get a feel for how highly regarded you are, based on your invitations.

If, say, you applied to 10 of the top-ranked programs, let's go by USNWR, and got invited to all 10. You're clearly highly regarded, so going to a handful of those, and then 1 or 2 safety schools, if even that, would suffice. If you were invited to mostly "lower tier" programs, I'd say go to all the interviews you can... If you're somewhere in the middle, I was told shooting for 5 ranked, 5 middle, and 5 low tier schools (+/- 1 at each level) would make sense.

My impression is that the magical "10 interview" number comes from the idea that most program interview about 10 people for every spot that they have. I claim the odds are more in our favor, since it's not like programs only go 1/10th down their rank list before filling their spots.

 

Just wanted to chime in here as I am getting nervous about making interview cuts...I am going on 10 and have cancelled 5 already. I am glad to hear everyone agree with me on the magic number 10. Good luck to all!

 

I am going on seven myself....hopefully that is enough

 

Invited to 16, doing 13. Would do them all if I could schedule them. I'd take a program located up a cheetah's @ss if it meant being an ophthalmologist.

 

just make sure you include that in your personal statement... (i did!)

good luck.

 

Shoot for 7-10. Good luck!

 

Cheetah, eh? And why not a tabby? or a leopard...?

Totally kidding. I'm right up (in) there with ya...

 

I suppose it could be feline, canine, bovine, equine, porcine, caprine, cetacean, etc... You name it, I'd be up it.

 

Call me a masochist, but I was invited to 24 and am going on 18 (I applied to 70 programs). It happened that I got a lot of invites later in the season, after I had already interviewed at some programs that I might have cancelled if I had known about the other programs.

But truly you never know, I have been really impressed with some places that I never thought I would like and didn't like some places that I heard were great. So each interview is really valuable and I have no regrets scheduling all these interviews, since my schedule permits anyway. Incredibly, there were almost no conflicts between dates.

Interviews notwithstanding, I agree wholeheartedly with the cheetah's @ss statement above.

 

WOW.. you're spending tons of money!

I applied to 10 programs and interviewed at 7.

 

True, I'm spending about 3% of my total medical school debt on applications/interviews.

 

Shout out to DL from the interview trail. I got IDed from SDN after talking about my "cheetah's @ss" comment during interviews. Ophtho is such a small world.





...millions...

 

That's funny Monkey... actually yesterday I was sitting at Columbia and overheard someone next to me claiming they had met diopter from SDN on the interview trail... heheh...

Ended up sticking with: 6 ranked programs, 6 unranked programs with good NEI/NIH funding, and 1 program listed on the "programs that suck" thread

 

Actually, you may have this backward. I know a lot of people who were invited to numerous top ten interviews in ophtho, but ended up matching at on of the "safety" programs. This is b/c the top programs still interview a good number of people and all the while are more likely to get higher applicants on their rank list, so it's easy to fall through the cracks. Whereas, your odds of getting accepted are much higher at mid and low tier programs.

 

yes, yes, it's all a rich tapestry hehe

Don't get me wrong (and mind you, this is coming from a mere 4th year, with a good imagination and no proof ), I'm simply saying if you assume all 400-500-some of us can be ranked objectively on a list based purely on our CAS applications in early September (meaning, in an imaginary world where there is no subjectivity and randomness and "gut-feeling" involved in the application process from the programs' perspective). It would make sense to try to assess where you are on this imaginary, pre-interview rank list by looking at your interview offers.

If, say, you get 100% interview offers at all the top programs you applied to, I don't think it's a stretch to say you're near the top of that list of 500, and can be more selective about the interviews you take. If you feel you're near the middle of the pack (which is where I believe I stand) it makes sense to interview at some dream programs (where you may start off 'low-in-ranking' amongst the invited interviewees, but can hope to climb up with a stellar interview), some middle-tier programs (where you will be higher up on this imaginary pre-interview 'objective rank list' among invited interviewees) as well as low-tier programs (where you would start off much higher on this imaginary pre-interview rank list). And last, if you sincerely and objectively perceive yourself as being near the bottom of the list of 500, it makes sense to follow the business world's approach towards interviewing, where you focus more on personal connections (say, at your home program, or through away rotations with program directors/resident selection committee members, preferably with their own set of connections).

But, in reality, there's prolly a lot of randomness and subjectivity involved, especially with regard to which programs recognize and value the opinions of your ophthalmology recommenders (and if the particular person at the program, who happens to be responsible for reading your application recognizes your recommenders)... And, as applicants, we all have our own strong selling points that some programs may appreciate, and other programs... not

yup... a rich tapestry

 

Diopter you're famous! I met diopter