Is it safe to say.....Competitiveness in match

[classof2011]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys,


Now that our MSPEs have been released and some of us start to accumulate more invites/rejections, I have a very important question to ask that may influence the way some of us choose to interpret interviews that came only after programs "needed more information" versus those who may have been "no brainers to interview" even before the release of their summative med school performance.

Is it reasonable to believe that SOME interview invitations that may have relied on either the (1) MSPE or worse (2) someone canceling theirs to allow your invitation to interview is a situation that has (comparatively) placed you at a disadvantage to be viewed as favorably as other applicants who were "no brainers"? This is assuming that such programs have extended most of their interviews pre-MSPE and minus the super, AOA, honored everything, hi board score guys/gals.

In other words, realistically, how influential can an interview be in terms of making one just as competitive as everyone else despite a late or "sloppy seconds" interview invitation?

I would also appreciate any comments from past/present residency program officials.

 

[GmailQueen]

I'm a resident on a "admissions committee" and I have the following thoughts:
-It may not be that committees were waiting for the MSPE as much as they were waiting for the final application deadline to pass to review everyone applying to the program before they reconsider an applicant that wasn't a "obvious" interview.
-If you have a borderline application and are from a relatively unknown school, they may wait for your MSPE to see what your grades mean in relationship to your classmates (some schools give everyone honors, some give no one honors, so if you have no honors they might want to see if this is because you didn't shine at all or just due to your school's grading system). If this was the reason for the delay in terms of inviting you to interview, I would assume that if you get the interview you've made it through whatever they were trying to figure out.
-None of your interviewers, and likely none of the review committee, other than 1-2 people, knows that you were a "sloppy second" interviewer. Your application will be reviewed with the same consideration as everyone else's. If we didn't want you on our ranklist, we wouldn't take the time to interview you. There is no "black mark" on your application.
-If you applied late, you may end up on more waitlists than someone who applied early because interview spots have already filled up. That's just how it goes.
-I had a friend who matched into a very competitive radiology program after being invited to interview off of their "waitlist".

I say if you get an interview at a place that you're interested in and you can afford the interview, go.

 

[GmailQueen]

PS - in terms of how important the interview is - it is very important. It can certainly make or break your application, although it is much more likely to break it if you behave inappropriately, act disinterested, or are rude. If you are nice, polite, and generally pleasant to EVERYONE ALL DAY LONG, you will do yourself a big favor of not losing any points with anyone. If you have solid answers to common interview questions and can express yourself well and make yourself stand out, it can definitely help boost an otherwise less impressive application.

 

[classof2011]

great insight GmailQueen! Thanks!