"Meet faculty" in lieu of interview??

[jp2]

MS4 from Cali currently doing an away rotation at one of the East Coast programs I applied to. I believe I have generally done well, clicked with all the faculty, gotten only good feedback, etc. I met with the program director this week and we discussed my application and he ended our discussion with "well instead of you flying back out here for an interview, why don't you just meet with some of the faculty while you are here for your rotation?" I said yes of course, but now I am not sure if this translates to "we like you so much we will be considerate of your travel expenses" vs "meh, meet some of us but you're not good enough for an interview"

Has this happened to anyone else? Does this mean I am being "interviewed"?

Thanks, I am so nervous!

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[typhoonegator]

Are there specific people you are meeting? Then yeah, you're being interviewed. If it is more like you're supposed to introduce yourself to people after grand rounds, then no, you're not.

 

[CarlosDanger]

MS4 from Cali currently doing an away rotation at one of the East Coast programs I applied to. I believe I have generally done well, clicked with all the faculty, gotten only good feedback, etc. I met with the program director this week and we discussed my application and he ended our discussion with "well instead of you flying back out here for an interview, why don't you just meet with some of the faculty while you are here for your rotation?" I said yes of course, but now I am not sure if this translates to "we like you so much we will be considerate of your travel expenses" vs "meh, meet some of us but you're not good enough for an interview"

Has this happened to anyone else? Does this mean I am being "interviewed"?

Thanks, I am so nervous!

I've thought about this situation being on an away recently, and it it sounds like you're being interviewed given they asked you to meet with multiple faculty members and specifically mentioned these meetings in place of the usual interview. If you have any doubt in your mind though, you need to clarify with them. Just be up front, it doesn't have to be weird. In the end, you have to know whether you can rank them or not. Don't let there be any doubts, you've worked too hard.

To give you another example, I also chatted informally with the program director at my away rotation. We both knew it was to get to know each other better, not to replace the interview. Just make sure you are both on the same page.

 

[jp2]

The PD said he was going to arrange for me to meet with specific faculty for 20-30 minutes each in the next week or so. So it sounded more arranged than hanging out after grand rounds. I will see how these meetings/interviews go and clarify if need be. I've just never heard of this happening before, I hope it doesn't put me at a disadvantage from applicants that go to the resident dinner, tour the facilities, and have the more traditional interview experience.

Thank you both for the advice!!