Not being invited for interview after an away rotation

[non-descript]

I'm applying in a small and competitive specialty and did an away rotation at an institution that will likely be my #1 choice. Several months later, I received an email from their program stating that they were not going to extend a formal interview invitation to me at this time, but that my application will be "strongly considered" at the time that they make their ROL. This email had a very positive tone-- "you have an outstanding application", "we already know more about you than we could ever learn in a one-day interview", etc. In speaking to some other applicants that also did a rotation at this institution, however, I've learned that at least a few of these applicants did receive a formal invitation to return for interview. Should I assume that this program is less interested in me than in these other rotators that did receive formal interview invitations?

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[Raryn]

I'm applying in a small and competitive specialty and did an away rotation at an institution that will likely be my #1 choice. Several months later, I received an email from their program stating that they were not going to extend a formal interview invitation to me at this time, but that my application will be "strongly considered" at the time that they make their ROL. This email had a very positive tone-- "you have an outstanding application", "we already know more about you than we could ever learn in a one-day interview", etc. In speaking to some other applicants that also did a rotation at this institution, however, I've learned that at least a few of these applicants did receive a formal invitation to return for interview. Should I assume that this program is less interested in me than in these other rotators that did receive formal interview invitations?

No one can really know the idiosyncrasies of this particular program. From the language that you've quoted, it sounds like they're likely going to rank you. Rank them exactly where they fall on your preference list (no higher or lower) and forget about trying to guess how much they love you.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

No one can really know the idiosyncrasies of this particular program. From the language that you've quoted, it sounds like they're likely going to rank you. Rank them exactly where they fall on your preference list (no higher or lower) and forget about trying to guess how much they love you.

Exactly. Maybe it portends something bad. Maybe it doesn't. No way to figure out exactly what the program is thinking.

So rank it where you think it belongs on your list, and wait and see what happens in March.

 

[shopsteward]

Might be worth writing back to the program to confirm your interest. You can give them back a bit of their own wording to reinforce to them that you are a good candidate - eg "happy to hear that you think I have an outstanding application and will be strongly considered". Then go on to say why you want to go there eg "my away rotation with you confirmed to me that you have a great program because of X and it would be a great fit for me because of Y". Then add a bit about how highly you will rank them/would love to join their program.

The point of writing would be that when the program sits down to consider the results of their interviews, they will also have a letter from you to talk about - so the discussion will be "we didn't interview so-and-so because we didn't feel we needed to after their rotation, but afterwards we got a letter from them which says such and such". It might make sure that your name goes into the mix at discussion stage with a bit of new substance to add, which can only be good.

 

[non-descript]

Might be worth writing back to the program to confirm your interest. You can give them back a bit of their own wording to reinforce to them that you are a good candidate - eg "happy to hear that you think I have an outstanding application and will be strongly considered". Then go on to say why you want to go there eg "my away rotation with you confirmed to me that you have a great program because of X and it would be a great fit for me because of Y". Then add a bit about how highly you will rank them/would love to join their program.

The point of writing would be that when the program sits down to consider the results of their interviews, they will also have a letter from you to talk about - so the discussion will be "we didn't interview so-and-so because we didn't feel we needed to after their rotation, but afterwards we got a letter from them which says such and such". It might make sure that your name goes into the mix at discussion stage with a bit of new substance to add, which can only be good.

Thanks for the advice. I actually already wrote a letter of interest to the PC after interview invites went out and before I received this email, stating that I enjoyed my time there and would be very happy to interview with them. Hopefully this will come up during their post-interview discussion.

 

[235009]

Sounds like they're gonna stick you toward the end of their rank list as a safety and are basically letting you know that you should rank them on your list.