No interview invites yet - should I send letters of interest and panic?

[Shufflin]

Question for the program directors on this thread:

By October 15th, how many interview offers would you say would be a good number to get? Like, as in if we have below x number of interviews, we should start emailing programs we're interested in but have not heard from.

Also, I truly do not understand this process. I applied to a wide range of schools to include but "less competitive" and more competitive. So far, I have had only three interview invites, all from my reaches at top programs (top as ranked by like doximity). So the "less competitive" schools on my list appear to me as actually harder to impress/please. Thoughts? I'm just anxious because while i like the programs that interview me, what I care most about is becoming a psychiatrist. Not necessarily a psychiatrist from a brand name program, but just a psychiatrist that has good training. And right now, if I rank just three top programs, I have a good chance of not matching and having to scramble.

Particularly strong applicants may see this happen. Less competitive programs want to be sure you're serious about them before extending an interview.

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[ssjGGV]

Does anyone know if residencies filter by region of the medical school?

 

[rikudo]

If you get an invite from a program that uses it; they'll send you a link. It's super easy, takes just a couple minutes to get it set up and the interview scheduled

Interview Broker works the same way as well. Thalamus has a nice app for iOS too.

 

[kewlboy88]

Particularly strong applicants may see this happen. Less competitive programs want to be sure you're serious about them before extending an interview.

I mean as flattered as I am thinking that I could be a particularly strong applicant, I just don't think I am one. I've gotten interview from top programs, but not all of them (in fact most of them I haven't). So, I'm just not sure what to do at this point. I will wait until October 15th to see.

 

[mbgr2014]

Does anyone know if residencies filter by region of the medical school?

Yes, many do at least for initial screens. They can filter by just about any thing.

 

[scorpicorne]

so is now ok to send those letters of intent? and when writing one, what should the general gist be?

 

[uhmocksuhsillen]

I currently have 10 interviews...2 of which I absolutely do not want (but would prefer over not matching) and would like to cancel now as they are coming up in 4 weeks. Hopefully this allows the program enough time to get them to others who may be interested.

Based on my performance thus far, can I assume I'll have at least 2-4 more interviews trickle in over the next month, which would allow me to safely cancel these? I'm thinking going on 10 (min) - 12 (max) interviews will be enough to match.

FWIW, DO applicant here.

 

[Old&InTheWay]

I currently have 10 interviews...2 of which I absolutely do not want (but would prefer over not matching) and would like to cancel now as they are coming up in 4 weeks. Hopefully this allows the program enough time to get them to others who may be interested.

Based on my performance thus far, can I assume I'll have at least 2-4 more interviews trickle in over the next month, which would allow me to safely cancel these? I'm thinking going on 10 (min) - 12 (max) interviews will be enough to match.

FWIW, DO applicant here.

In making your decision, you should work under the assumption that you will get no more invites. Think about how you will feel if you cancel those two and you have 8 total. If you are serious that you would prefer the two non-preferred programs over not matching you should keep them for now. If other invites roll in and you can give 2 weeks notice, that should be sufficient for them to find another applicant to replace you; even a week would be ok. The point is to be courteous to programs and other applicants; but you should not disadvantage yourself in the process.

 

[ridethecliche]

I think two weeks is reasonable as well I just got an invite to a program where I was waitlisted, but may cancel another place where I was offered an interview that didn't mesh with my schedule at all.

I feel like a week is too short especially if you've been mulling it over for a bit. At that point one should on their big kid pants and make a decision instead of waffling. Waffles are for eating and they're delicious.

Edit : guess things may be different for DOs and IMGs without supportive home programs.

 

[PlasticBag]

I currently have 10 interviews...2 of which I absolutely do not want (but would prefer over not matching) and would like to cancel now as they are coming up in 4 weeks. Hopefully this allows the program enough time to get them to others who may be interested.

Based on my performance thus far, can I assume I'll have at least 2-4 more interviews trickle in over the next month, which would allow me to safely cancel these? I'm thinking going on 10 (min) - 12 (max) interviews will be enough to match.

FWIW, DO applicant here.

I wouldn't cancel until you actually have at least 10. What you can do is reschedule the unwanted ones for later in the season (late December, January) which would give you more time to cancel.

Also, I'm a fellow DO applicant and I'll be going to well over 10 interviews to feel "safe" to match.

 

[uhmocksuhsillen]

I wouldn't cancel until you actually have at least 10. What you can do is reschedule the unwanted ones for later in the season (late December, January) which would give you more time to cancel.

Also, I'm a fellow DO applicant and I'll be going to well over 10 interviews to feel "safe" to match.

My goal is 11-12 interviews. I think that should be a good number to match.

Are you anticipating at least a couple more interviews trickling in over the next month, month and a half?

 

[ridethecliche]

Stats I've seen show 15-20% go out in Sept, 50-60% in October, and the rest in Nov onwards.

Some programs I've spoken to have no slots left but are already seeing waitlist spot movement.

Tldr: it's still early

 

[PlasticBag]

My goal is 11-12 interviews. I think that should be a good number to match.

Are you anticipating at least a couple more interviews trickling in over the next month, month and a half?

I got a few last week, one yesterday, and one today, so I would say they are still coming? I have a lot of invites at this point (15+) but only a few that I actually want (but still very thankful for every invite!). So I’m hoping to get a couple more in my top locations and I’ll cancel some other ones that are lower on my list.

 

[24blue8]

I got a few last week, one yesterday, and one today, so I would say they are still coming? I have a lot of invites at this point (15+) but only a few that I actually want (but still very thankful for every invite!). So I’m hoping to get a couple more in my top locations and I’ll cancel some other ones that are lower on my list.

Maybe a silly question but why do people have interviews for programs they don't want to go to? Why did you apply there in the first place if you already feel strongly about it? That seems like a waste of money?

 

[ridethecliche]

Maybe a silly question but why do people have interviews for programs they don't want to go to? Why did you apply there in the first place if you already feel strongly about it? That seems like a waste of money?

Because the question is: would I rather go to this program than potentially not match?

 

[PlasticBag]

Maybe a silly question but why do people have interviews for programs they don't want to go to? Why did you apply there in the first place if you already feel strongly about it? That seems like a waste of money?

As stated above, I would much rather go to any of the programs that offered me an interview than not match at all. If I only applied to my dream programs (within a "dreamable" reason), I would have just a couple of interviews right now. There is only one program out of the ones that sent me an invite that I would be devastated about matching into. The other ones I consider less desirable mostly due to my partner's limited career opportunities in these locations. Unfortunately, my top locations are also the most desirable locations for a lot of other people, so I naturally had to venture out geographically, more than I wanted to. As a DO applicant, I cannot afford not to apply broadly.

But now that I received a good number of interviews and my anxiety about not matching is slightly down (with still an occasional nightmare here and there about scrambling into a prelim surgery spot), I will likely cancel a few interviews at the bottom of my geographical list.

 

[ridethecliche]

Honestly, I applied to over 60 places and have about 8-10 interviews lined up, at least 3 of which came after an email... At this point, I'm not really under the impression that I'm going to get a whole lot more. Of these programs, I think I'd be pretty happy at 4 or 5 of them so I'm really not complaining... it's just strange to have so much up in the air.

So add me to the list of waitlist hopefuls!

Also, @PlasticBag , I had a nightmare that the PD at my home institution (which I love) got very mad at me about something and decided not to rank me at all. And that was after the interview lol.

This process is weird...

 

[PlasticBag]

Honestly, I applied to over 60 places and have about 8-10 interviews lined up, at least 3 of which came after an email... At this point, I'm not really under the impression that I'm going to get a whole lot more. Of these programs, I think I'd be pretty happy at 4 or 5 of them so I'm really not complaining... it's just strange to have so much up in the air.

So add me to the list of waitlist hopefuls!

Also, @PlasticBag , I had a nightmare that the PD at my home institution (which I love) got very mad at me about something and decided not to rank me at all. And that was after the interview lol.

This process is weird...

You have a home program where you interviewed? Then it can’t be a nightmare! Hashtag DO struggles

 

[ridethecliche]

You have a home program where you interviewed? Then it can’t be a nightmare! Hashtag DO struggles

You do realize that I was talking about an... actual nightmare right?