Is there a method to this madness?

[mjl34]

Somebody smarter than me needs to explain to me why these programs act the way they do. I can understand that some programs like WVU have a particular idea of what kind of resident they want (likely from the area or already has ties to the department.) But most of the programs should have roughly the same criteria for what they want (a combination of grades, class rank, board scores, research, and how many children you've rescued from burning buildings.)

Having said that, I don't understand the apparent randomness with which we're being rejected, given the silent treatment (not rejected, but not accepted), or even given interviews.

For example, I just got an interview at Iowa which makes me feel pretty good, but I got rejected by Ohio state which makes me feel crappy; all the while getting nothing from Wash U, scheie, Oregon, and Stanford and I don't know how to feel about that, so I revert to the old standby - anxiety.

Thanks to the abundance of information on this board, I see that many people are going through the same thing. Is there anyone who can explain it? If you can't do that, will you at least get these "silent" programs talking to me again?

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[Baylor_eye]

mjl

This is how I see it. There are a lot of great applicants for programs to choose from, but it is not in their best interest to interview applicants who will not matriculate at their institution. Thus, getting a rejection from Kudzu University isn't necessarily a bad thing it just means they know that you probably just applied there as an afterthought. Thus, I think a lot of programs have a certain "pool" from which they will make secondary invites from later as people begin to cancel/shuffle interviews. Whether people from that pool have as good a shot as the first wave, who knows? Probably not...but you have to try. Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part.

 

[Light]

mjl34--

So I was quite confused about this madness as well...so I called up a couple of programs and asked how they go about deciding when to select who for an interview, and it's similar to what Baylor_eye mentioned above.

Basically, they told me they invite those they believe will be a good fit for their program first...however, based on who accepts and declines the interview, they offer more applicants interviews as slots open up. Hence, invitations come in "waves."

I prodded further and asked what a "fit" meant. The answers were somewhat vague, but it seems to be that programs like to interview applicants similar to those who "historically" matched at said program and did well in the program.

Hence, what this seems to mean is that if one has not yet heard from a program, the program might still be interested in the applicant and waiting to see if interview slots become available...and once a program is confident that all interview seats are filled, only then do they issue the infamous, "we're sorry, but there are many qualified applicants..." letter. Hope this helps some.

Argh...the waiting is painful! Though it seems as though programs don't mind too much if you call to inquire about you application status.

 

[GeddyLee]

mjl34-
I feel your pain! I'm just dying to get an offer to a top 10 program, but so far I've assumed I probably won't, based on rejections/alternate-listed at a number of non top-10 programs. I want an interview at a top 10 dang it!!!!

 

[jonnyboy]

i hear ya, i'm sweatin' bullets because i only have 3 invites. i thought i was at least a decent candidate with mid 230's, a spattering of honors here and there, some research, but no pubs yet, and coming from a top 10 med school. i guess all that hype about coming from a top program isn't all that's it's cracked up to be. i knew i wasn't a Redhawk or Idoc or anything, but i thought i would get more than 3 interviews! when will this madness end!!!!!!!!

 

[nyeyes]

i've said it before, & i'll say it again - everyone needs 2 chill... we'll all match, we'll all be eye docs, & we'll all live in the burbs in the end. If a program doesnt send u an invite, do what i do: dont go calling them & bugging them about it, say "screw them", if they dont want me - i dont want them.. in recent yrs us grads have matched at above 80%, so we'll all get a spot. enjoy 4th yr & grab urselves a cold beer.