No interview dinner

Not that strange... I've had a mix of some with, some without. Any one coming up that's bafflingly on a Monday for a Wednesday interview. I'm local so it's not a problem, but I guess they think we all are?

 

i've only been invited to one pre-interview dinner out of 12 interviews. i'm assuming the rest arent having any dinners.

why would they invite you to the interview and not the dinner the night before? hmm, now i am paranoid too...

 

psych. no free hotels either. i did get a pen at one place though

 

Some programs don't have this. When I interviewed for IM, almost every place had a free dinner the night before. For medicine subspecialties, it was at least 50% that had nothing the night before. Also, I never got my hotel paid for during fellowship interviews, but for a small number of IM residencies (the less competitive ones) I got a free hotel room. I think it does have to do with level of competitiveness, particularly for the free hotel rooms. Why would Harvard dermatology program pay for someone to come stay in a hotel in Boston when they have people beating down the doors to get a spot? On the other had, if you are regional branch U of the Midwest family practice program, you are going to do whatever you possibly can to recruit qualified applicants.

 

I think it also has a lot to do with the money the program has, although I think many of us secretly worry that a lack of exposure to socializing residents means the program is hiding something.

Many of my prelim interviews are half days, and only half of them have dinners. (How can we get to know a program in half a day without dinner? Drives me nuts.)

All of my anesthesia interviews except one have dinner. They are all full days (so far.) Ranges from not-as-much-as-a-nametag to "have a pen, folder, and free t-shirt." Only one has offered a hotel, and its a private hospital.