Interviews

[blazinfury]

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I was recently looking into MSTP interviews and saw that most ranged from 1-2 days. Did most of you take a yr off and have them during your leap yr. I was just thinking that if one applies to 20 schools, and gets 10 interviews, then he/she will more than likely miss close to 3 wks of school or so. Am I correct? I mean this would be bad since one may be prone to doing bad in their courses, considering if they take lab classes and such where attendance is mandatory. Any advice or suggestions.

 

[tco]

Some schools, like UNC, do their interviews over a weekend or during winter break.

 

[Brunette1981]

You will miss class days, generally Friday but most people don't take an entire year off because of this. You could avoid taking a lab class if you can, or you can try to find one that doesn't meet on Fridays. Most instructors will be understanding and it shouldn't really hurt your grades. It's really not that many days of classes.

And if you apply to 20 places and get 10 interviews but are concerned about classwork, either try to reschedule your interview dates or be more selective about accepting an interview. Statistically, you have something like a 25% chance of being accepted after interview, so doing 10 might be overkill timewise and financially.

 

[URHere]

The two day interviews were probably the most difficult part of the MD/PhD application process for me. Most of my interviews fell on Thursday/Friday or Monday/Tuesday, and the majority of them gave me absolutely no scheduling options, so you should be prepared for that.

While many schools will give you a few days to choose from, the later you are invited to interview, the fewer options you have. There are also some schools that assign you a date and are very difficult to work with if you want to reschedule. Some may be willing, but others will absolutely refuse to budge. My best advice to you would be to avoid taking classes that are held only one day per week if you can, and to let your professors know ahead of time that you will probably have to miss some class time due to your interview schedule.

 

[Furai]

What's the situation like if you are taking time off, and are working as a lab tech or research assistant? should you bring the topic up when you first begin, and make sure that your employer(s) know that you will be taking time off - and not get paid, of course - come interview season? i know that the answer to this question depends on a case by case basis, but have you guys found employers/p.i.s to be sympathetic to applicants and their need to go to interviews?

 

[ecoli]

I'm regretting signing up for a thursday night lab class now... it's the only time the class is offered though.

 

[GWD]

Once you are a full-bore applicant (MCAT taken, all apps submitted, scheduling interviews, etc), you are basically a lame-duck undergrad.

Much in the same way you were a lame-duck senior the second semester of your 12th grade year.

As long as you plan ahead with your instructors, I can't imagine any professor that wouldn't understand and work with you to make arrangements.

 

[blazinfury]

There is actually 1 physiology prof in my school who is not very understanding. I know this for a fact b/c one of my friends took his course this past Fall and she had a med school interview. However, this interview was on the day of the exam. He told her that a med school interview is an illegitimate excuse to not take an exam. He will only accept an excuse if she was terribly ill. Then again, this may also be b/c he himself is not a fan of doctors.

 

[Neuronix]

i know that the answer to this question depends on a case by case basis, but have you guys found employers/p.i.s to be sympathetic to applicants and their need to go to interviews?

I find that PIs are relatively sympathetic and have heard various stories from those working as techs in industry. The difference really comes with the fact that industry techs make a lot more than techs in academia and academia tends to be more flexible.

The institute I was at insisted on giving me earned vacation pay for my interviews, which really annoyed my PI. He was overruled by HR.

You should let them know of course you will be applying for MD/PhD and when so there are no misgivings. Nobody expects a research tech to be around forever, so you gotta do what you gotta do!

Professors at undergrads are usually sympathetic though there are nasty stories like blazinfury's. There was one prof who was notorious for giving his Orgo II exam on the Friday before the Saturday MCAT when it used to be offered in April/August. He wouldn't budge the date either.

As for GPA, most schools won't ever care about your senior year grades when applying, especially the spring ones. I would aim for straight Bs or so and take easy classes that senior year unless you really need those As for some reason. An isolated C probably wouldn't even matter.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

Professors at undergrads are usually sympathetic though there are nasty stories like blazinfury's. There was one prof who was notorious for giving his Orgo II exam on the Friday before the Saturday MCAT when it used to be offered in April/August. He wouldn't budge the date either.

 

[britishmafia]

Speaking of interviews, do you think we should start an MD/PhD interview invite thread like the one in the pre-allo forum?

 

[tiedyeddog]

Speaking of interviews, do you think we should start an MD/PhD interview invite thread like the one in the pre-allo forum?

wow, I'm applying next cycle. I think you should, it might help me decide where to apply next year! 👍

 

[britishmafia]

wow, I'm applying next cycle. I think you should, it might help me decide where to apply next year! 👍

On it!

 

[blazinfury]

What about a forum for about MD/PhD application essays, both secondary and the typical app ones? Also what about a forum that discusses the types of questions that you were asked at your interviews?

 

[ClarinetGeek]

Also, be aware that there are some programs that do the
4 day interview...come in on Thurs, interview Friday, activities Sat, and leave on Sunday. These weekends can be quite draining. During my senior year while I was interviewing, I made sure not to have any lab classes. I took only 12 cr. each semester. Reduced my extracurricular activities. It all helped. However, it was an incredibly demanding time. I also spread my interviewes out. Two in the fall semester. Two over winter break. Four during spring semester. My spring semester was by far my worst semester in college. But who cares about B's when you made into an MSTP. Good luck.

 

[blazinfury]

What schools particularly have these long interviews? It just seems to me that a good thing would be to take a yr off but then again what would be the point since you are in a sense wasting a yr of your life when you could be using it to further your research experience. Plus if you do not get into MSTP during your senior yr, you can always apply straight MD the following yr and have a great shot of getting in since you strived for the tougher program, also assuming that you shadowed and volunteered during your undergrad tenure.

 

[ClarinetGeek]

I would not recommend taking the year off. I can only speak from experience but Wisconsin, Iowa, and Mayo have interview schedules like the one I mentioned.

 

[galaxyhare]

I took time off (2 years), and highly recommend this route particularly if you use that time off to do research. From my experience, most PIs are rather understanding during the interview season, and there is a lot less stress when missing work compared to missing classes. More importantly, when you are engaged in at least 40 hours of research a week for at least a year (on top of whatever research you did as an undergrad), you will likely be much more equipped than the average undergrad during your interviews, as over 90% of my interview time was spent discussing my research. It is definitely not "wasted" time; you are gaining invaluable skills, knowledge, and techniques which will likely help you out during grad school, and honestly, who cares if you graduate at age 30 or 31?

I interviewed at 8 programs, and a 1 or 2 day interview schedule was fairly routine. However, when you factor in transportation time (e.g. fly in Thursday night, interview Friday and Saturday, fly out Sunday morning), you can easily turn a 2 day interview trip into a mini-vacation. Also, keep in mind that some schools (UT Southwestern and Baylor) have candidate reviews that are a bit longer than their initial interviews, and attendance isn't optional.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

I didn't take any time off, and was a little bit insane with my applications -- I applied near the deadline with almost all of my secondaries, and ended up with 6 interviews in a 5 week span. I had a couple of demanding classes that I had to take spring semester senior year, and my grades definitely suffered but I got through it. If at all possible, I would try to plan a very light semester spring of senior year. Also, get those applications in early so you might actually get a choice of when to interview instead of getting stuck with the last possible interview date. 😉 If you can spread out your interviews a little bit, it probably won't be so bad.

It's definitely not worth taking a year off just for the sake of interviewing, but not being in school would probably simplify things assuming your employer is understanding and has plenty of warning.

 

[Picklesali]

I was paranoid and applied to 23 schools. I was offered 17 md/phd interviews and I went to 11 of them (7 in the fall and 4 in the spring). Most were Thurs night - Sat morning deals, but I definitely ran into several Wed night - Sat morning and Thurs-Sun ones as well. It was basically the worst year of my life and I wanted to off myself (and so did my PI who was not especially understanding...)

 

[smoke47]

Other than taking time off or scheduling classes carefully, any tips on surviving the 2+ day interviews?

 

[mudphudwannabe]

Don't worry too much and try to enjoy yourself. The nice thing about longer interviews is that you should have some time to see the city and get to know the current students a little. Don't lock yourself in your hotel room as soon as the required activities for the day are over. 😉 If there is work you absolutely have to do, try to get it done during your layover, on the plane, etc.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Assuming I am complete with all my secondaries around august, when can I plan on doing the bulk of my interviews? I'm thinking about taking that quarter off so I can just focus on them...

 

[blazinfury]

Since most of you traveled to your interviews via airplane, where were you able to find cheap plane tickets and cheap housing?

 

[mudphudwannabe]

Most schools I interviewed at paid for lodging and airfare. There will be limits on the dollar amount, though, so it is probably good to find cheap tickets anyway. I just discovered kayak.com for plane tickets and found good prices there, but Travelocity and Orbitz have worked for me in the past. If you do have to pay for your own lodging and wouldn't mind sleeping on a stranger's couch, ask if you can stay with a student host.

 

[smoke47]

Don't worry too much and try to enjoy yourself. The nice thing about longer interviews is that you should have some time to see the city and get to know the current students a little. Don't lock yourself in your hotel room as soon as the required activities for the day are over. 😉 If there is work you absolutely have to do, try to get it done during your layover, on the plane, etc.

Thats good advice. Thanks!

 

[URHere]

Assuming I am complete with all my secondaries around august, when can I plan on doing the bulk of my interviews? I'm thinking about taking that quarter off so I can just focus on them...

That depends on how competitive you are for the schools where you are applying. Many schools will choose to interview their more competitive applicants early on, and either officially or unofficially "hold" the other applicants until more people submit. Then, once all of the most competitive applicants have interviewed, the remaining interviews (usually Spring interviews) are sent out.

Also, some schools only interview on a few specific days. University of Maryland comes to mind specifically - they have 4 interview dates, and the earliest is in December. So, I guess the point is that you can't predict when you will get interviews, and you probably shouldn't take a quarter off with the hope of filling those days with interviews.

Since most of you traveled to your interviews via airplane, where were you able to find cheap plane tickets and cheap housing?

About 50% of the schools where I interviewed reimbursed for travel expenses up to $500. The others did not. I tried to drive wherever I could (for me, any school less than 5 hours away), and searched for cheap flights on Orbitz for the rest.

As for places to stay, most schools offer student hosts. If one is not available, I know there is a thread over on pre-allo where SDNers are offering to host people in their areas. There is also couchsurfing.com, which is a little less convenient, but the price is right (free).

 

[tiedyeddog]

That depends on how competitive you are for the schools where you are applying. Many schools will choose to interview their more competitive applicants early on, and either officially or unofficially "hold" the other applicants until more people submit. Then, once all of the most competitive applicants have interviewed, the remaining interviews (usually Spring interviews) are sent out.

Also, some schools only interview on a few specific days. University of Maryland comes to mind specifically - they have 4 interview dates, and the earliest is in December. So, I guess the point is that you can't predict when you will get interviews, and you probably shouldn't take a quarter off with the hope of filling those days with interviews.
/quote]

Ok, thanks a ton. It doesn't seem like a great idea to take off the time just for interviews, thanks! 🙂

 

[Picklesali]

Since most of you traveled to your interviews via airplane, where were you able to find cheap plane tickets and cheap housing?

Practically all schools provided lodging: either hotel, host, or some combo of the two. Some schools paid for transportation (in most cases the limit I saw was $400) but many did not. Most of the schools that paid for airfare are located in the midwest.

 

[blazinfury]

Do MSTP programs care/ask about your other ECs that are not research nor physician shadowing? How important are your other ECs? Do they ask quest like what do you do for fun or on your spare time?

 

[Inuranic]

Do MSTP programs care/ask about your other ECs that are not research nor physician shadowing? How important are your other ECs? Do they ask quest like what do you do for fun or on your spare time?

I got questions regarding what I do for fun/what are my hobbies, as well as interest in my non-clinical volunteer activities. I think it's a good idea to have one or two things on your application that have nothing to do with a hospital or a lab, so you appear to have some sort of life outside of academics (key word: appear). As for importance - who knows?

 

[URHere]

Do MSTP programs care/ask about your other ECs that are not research nor physician shadowing? How important are your other ECs? Do they ask quest like what do you do for fun or on your spare time?

Some schools place more emphasis on this than others. I know that two of the schools I applied to place strong emphasis on selecting "real" or "well-rounded" applicants who have more to them than a strong research record. At those schools, I spent just as much time talking about my hobbies during interviews as I spent talking about my research. Other schools didn't seem to care at all about my hobbies, and I was never asked.

 

[xcrunner01]

Which schools in particular place more emphasis on extracurricular activities like clubs, volunteering, etc, and which schools don't seem to care about activities other than research?

 

[Neuronix]

Which schools in particular place more emphasis on extracurricular activities like clubs, volunteering, etc, and which schools don't seem to care about activities other than research?

It's impossible to answer this question unless you are an adcom yourself answering for your own school, and no adcom is probably going to give you a clearcut answer one way or another. If at one school you are asked more about your extracirriculars than another school it probably has to do with whoever is interviewing you, which may or may not actually translate into your acceptance/rejection.