Is it bad to decline an interview before you get an acceptance?

[Latteandaprayer]

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Perhaps this question is stupid because I know an interview is no guarantee of acceptance, and we should attend as many interviews as possible. However, when I applied, I definitely took an "apply everywhere" approach. While I would gladly attend any school on my list, I received more "love" than I ever expected. Most of this love so far is coming from my dream schools. As a result, I'm not sure if I should go to the interviews at the schools that aren't my priority, simply because I have to take time off from work each time. Should I attend anyway until I get an acceptance?

I'm an MSTP applicant if that helps anyone. That means interviews are over two days.

EDIT: I should probably specify that I've gotten 8 interviews, which is not an excess amount or anything, but I honestly expected 2-3.

 

[M&L]

Perhaps this question is stupid because I know an interview is no guarantee of acceptance, and we should attend as many interviews as possible. However, when I applied, I definitely took an "apply everywhere" approach. While I would gladly attend any school on my list, I received more "love" than I ever expected. Most of this love so far is coming from my dream schools. As a result, I'm not sure if I should go to the interviews at the schools that aren't my priority, simply because I have to take time off from work each time. Should I attend anyway until I get an acceptance?

I'm an MSTP applicant if that helps anyone. That means interviews are over two days.

EDIT: I should probably specify that I've gotten 8 interviews, which is not an excess amount or anything, but I honestly expected 2-3.

Yes ! You go to every single one ! Don’t forget - you really have no idea what will happen yet . You take EVERY SINGLE CHANCE. Plus , what if one of them gives you a scholarship?

 

[r2med]

Nice a position to be in, however, it will be a nicer position if you had to make such a decision after you have acceptances on the table to choose from.

 

[r2med]

Yes ! You go to every single one ! Don’t forget - you really have no idea what will happen yet . You take EVERY SINGLE CHANCE. Plus , what if one of them gives you a scholarship?

Well OP said MSTP - assuming all 8 interviews are MSTP, all of them will be full ride anyways

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Only if you are really hard pressed for time. Given that no travel required this year, you should be able to do the interviews unless dates are overlapping.

 

[mr.smile]

Go to every interview so there are no regrets in the end!

 

[Justapremedguy]

Simple solution. Donate your interviews to those less fortunate. The 3.1/476 stat people could use your MSTP interview spots

(Not my stats, I promise. Just a joke. Sue me)

 

[VaultArmitage]

I've searched the forums high and low for the post I'm looking for but somewhere in the MD/PhD thread there's a post that talks about the ratio of apps -> II -> A. IF I remember correctly the average II to A ratio is about 8 II to every 1 A. Now this varies WIDELY from school to school. Applying to University of Virginia? According to their website there's an 80% chance you'll get an acceptance if you interview with them. Most other schools I believe range from 20%-50%. Here's a handy pdf -> LINK

 

[deleted480308]

Go to all the interviews you possible can until you have an acceptance

 

[Angus Avagadro]

@gonnif says 60% of applicants are rejected. 40 percent accepted with 20% having multiple acceptances. Consider yourself rejected until the letter arrives. Attend the interview. Maybe try to to schedule your top picks first? If you had 20, you might want to consider culling a few.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

@Latteandaprayer : I declined an II for one school last cycle, since after I thought about it for multiple reasons would have rather reapplied than went there. Unless this is the scenario though don't decline

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Just to clarify, the data says on an applicant basis
100% apply
60% get rejected (AMCAS FACTS applicant data)
20% get multiple interviews and multiple acceptances (AAMC MSQ)
10% get multiple interviews and a single acceptance (AAMC MSQ)
10% get a single interview and a single acceptance (AAMC MSQ)

on a application basis (estimates)
about 950,000+ individual applications are submitted
about 150,000-175,000 interview slots total exist
At best 20% of all applications get pulled for action/interview
At least 80% of applications get rejected pre-interview in the aggregate
(which translates to 80% of applicants at any individual school get effectively rejected pre-interview)
About 75,000 to 85,000 acceptance and alternates slots total are offered through out the cycle
(this includes multiple accepted applications per applicant along with alternate/WL that can turn into acceptances that by a single applicant)
About 23,000 matriculants will be seated in 2021

Sorry, I will quote the data and not you in the future. This seems to come up frequently.

 

[KnightDoc]

@gonnif says 60% of applicants are rejected. 40 percent accepted with 20% having multiple acceptances. Consider yourself rejected until the letter arrives. Attend the interview. Maybe try to to schedule your top picks first? If you had 20, you might want to consider culling a few.

With all due respect, 60% of all applicants with 8 IIs are not rejected!!! 😎 I would take all the interviews because if I liked the school enough to apply, I'd want to let the process play out, but the generic stats about applications are irrelevant to this situation. OP has already established he is a MSTP applicant with 8 IIs on 9/17. He is waaaay above average.

 

[Goro]

NP I just want to make sure that most numbers I do not pull out of my ass and that estimates are clearly listed as such. On the other hand on many occasions I have had people argue with me when I provide links to my statement, evening statements directly that come from med schools websites directly as opinion

There are people in this world who seem to be inoculated against reality.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

With all due respect, 60% of all applicants with 8 IIs are not rejected!!! 😎 I would take all the interviews because if I liked the school enough to apply, I'd want to let the process play out, but the generic stats about applications are irrelevant to this situation. OP has already established he is a MSTP applicant with 8 IIs on 9/17. He is waaaay above average.

No worries, but he would still be gambling. You might think your odds are good, and they probably are. Its still a gamble. Life is full of choices.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Take every single one of them until you have an acceptance in your hand. The odds are on your side but it would be devastating if you were that one person with the most rotten luck.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[PigsHaveWings]

Just to clarify, the data says on an applicant basis
100% apply
60% get rejected (AMCAS FACTS applicant data)
20% get multiple interviews and multiple acceptances (AAMC MSQ)
10% get multiple interviews and a single acceptance (AAMC MSQ)
10% get a single interview and a single acceptance (AAMC MSQ)

on a application basis (estimates)
about 950,000+ individual applications are submitted (2019 had just shy of 900,000 application)
about 150,000-175,000 interview slots total exist
At best 20% of all applications get pulled for action/interview
At least 80% of applications get rejected pre-interview in the aggregate
(which translates to 80% of applicants at any individual school get effectively rejected pre-interview)
About 75,000 to 85,000 acceptance and alternates slots total are offered through out the cycle
(this includes multiple accepted applications per applicant along with alternate/WL that can turn into acceptances that by a single applicant)
About 23,000 matriculants will be seated in 2021

Is there a big difference in acceptance rates for first time applicants versus reapplicants ?

I know that of the total acceptances, 40% come straight from college and 60% who get accepted have taken a gap year. My question is of the 60% who get accepted after taking a gap year, do we know how many are first time applicants versus reapplicants ?

 

[ciestar]

I learned while interviewing that I am not great at interviews. I had TEN interviews for med school and had one acceptance. Don’t risk it as you won’t actually know until you know.

 

[KnightDoc]

I do not have data on that but from one point of view it doesnt matter. Whether an applicant chose to take a gap year or was forced to by being a reapplicant clearly demonstrating they needed one, the 60%+ doesnt change. Additionally schools report a lower acceptance rate for reapplicants which only makes sense. These group didnt get In for weaknesses in their application. Certainly a sizable fraction will still have some weaknesses on reapplication

This^^^. We had a spirited thread on this very topic a few months back. AAMC does not publish data, so there is no number to give you (they do publish number on how many are first time vs. reapplicants, but they don't break out acceptances accordingly, so we don't know by how much the accept rate differs for reapplicants) but it is clear from UGs that do break it out that the reapplicant admit rate is lower, certainly for the reason @gonnif gives.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

The only two situations where you decline or cancel interviews are: 1. you were already accepted at a school you like more 2. You do not have the time and/or money to feasibly attend more interviews

 

[KnightDoc]

Additionally, I have had applicants with interviews at multiple schools who considered dropping invitations from places they perceived that they didnt like only to find it a great place at interview day.

This^^^^. I would never turn down an II unless I couldn't afford to attend. You never know, plus, even if you are not in love with the place, you never know if you be able to leverage an offer into something better somewhere else ($$$).

 

[Latteandaprayer]

This^^^^. I would never turn down an II unless I couldn't afford to attend. You never know, plus, even if you are not in love with the place, you never know if you be able to leverage an offer into something better somewhere else ($$$).

MSTPs are pretty uniform, I haven’t heard of one MSTP giving more money than another.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Speaking from personal experience, don't turn down an interview until you have an acceptance in hand.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Perhaps this question is stupid because I know an interview is no guarantee of acceptance, and we should attend as many interviews as possible. However, when I applied, I definitely took an "apply everywhere" approach. While I would gladly attend any school on my list, I received more "love" than I ever expected. Most of this love so far is coming from my dream schools. As a result, I'm not sure if I should go to the interviews at the schools that aren't my priority, simply because I have to take time off from work each time. Should I attend anyway until I get an acceptance?

I'm an MSTP applicant if that helps anyone. That means interviews are over two days.

EDIT: I should probably specify that I've gotten 8 interviews, which is not an excess amount or anything, but I honestly expected 2-3.

Go until you have an acceptance at a school that you would prefer to attend over the school inviting you to interview.

 

[jhmmd]

Perhaps this question is stupid because I know an interview is no guarantee of acceptance, and we should attend as many interviews as possible. However, when I applied, I definitely took an "apply everywhere" approach. While I would gladly attend any school on my list, I received more "love" than I ever expected. Most of this love so far is coming from my dream schools. As a result, I'm not sure if I should go to the interviews at the schools that aren't my priority, simply because I have to take time off from work each time. Should I attend anyway until I get an acceptance?

I'm an MSTP applicant if that helps anyone. That means interviews are over two days.

EDIT: I should probably specify that I've gotten 8 interviews, which is not an excess amount or anything, but I honestly expected 2-3.

Like has been said already, go to every.SINGLE.INTERVIEW. Which means all of them. Consider the interviews at the places you don't like practice for the interviews at the places that you DO like. And if you have an acceptance, f**k the rest.

Med school is a crapshoot and beggars can't be choosers.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Perhaps this question is stupid because I know an interview is no guarantee of acceptance, and we should attend as many interviews as possible. However, when I applied, I definitely took an "apply everywhere" approach. While I would gladly attend any school on my list, I received more "love" than I ever expected. Most of this love so far is coming from my dream schools. As a result, I'm not sure if I should go to the interviews at the schools that aren't my priority, simply because I have to take time off from work each time. Should I attend anyway until I get an acceptance?

I'm an MSTP applicant if that helps anyone. That means interviews are over two days.

EDIT: I should probably specify that I've gotten 8 interviews, which is not an excess amount or anything, but I honestly expected 2-3.

It's almost 4 months since the original post. OP, how are you doing with the interviews?

 

[Latteandaprayer]

It's almost 4 months since the original post. OP, how are you doing with the interviews?

I got accepted to my top choice, canceled the rest, all is well 🙂 I don’t want to delete this post because when someone else googles it I hope it comes up and they can see the advice.

 

[DNAJB6]

I would attend all of the interviews. Fun fact: There is attrition from every MSTP program in the country every year. Many people, including those with heavy research experience decide that the Ph.D. isn't for them after all and convert to the MD only program. Some MSTP programs require you to repay the MSTP funding you received for M1 and M2, but others do not. I would make sure to attend at least all of the ones with a no payback policy in case you change your mind.