NYU date switch - p.s. contacting programs works!

[sisyphus22]

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So, even though their residency coordinator told me that Scheie has already sent out all their invites, I sent a short email to their program director, letting him know I was interested in their program - figuring I might at least get wait-listed. Within two hours, I got an interview! - awesome! - except it's for DECEMBER 1! &*%^! Of course I already have an interview scheduled for that date...So does anyone with an NYU interview scheduled for December 2 want to take my Dec 1? Pretty please? I'll let you stay in my apartment so you don't have to pay for a hotel...

 

[xaelia]

Directly e-mailing the program director at Pittsburgh, saying I'd love to fill any openings from cancellations, is what got me my interview there earlier this week.

 

[kulkarka]

that is amazing...i can't believe that actually happened to both of you. has anyone else tried this??

 

[sisyphus22]

So, not surprisingly, it doesn't look like I'll be able to switch my NYU interview date...So I have to choose between Scheie and NYU. I realize this seems like a no-brainer, but my chances of matching at NYU seem significantly higher than at Scheie - I did a rotation there, they offered me an interview early, and they have taken students from my school in the past. Scheie seems to match a lot of Penn students, and I only got an interview there after I expressed interest. Any ideas about which choice would ultimately be in my best interests? I have a preference for New York over Philly, but that's a minor consideration. (And don't worry, I don't intend to hold onto my double-booking indefinitely - I will release an interview as soon as I decide)

 

[Haptic]

dude ask to be put on their wait list for the other days. I can attest that their is movement since I got another date after waiting a week. otherwise I wouldn't risk it...I have the exact situation..interview where did away on the 1st...with scheie it's not worth the risk unless you are top 10 med school, 260 AOA with bigwig recs.

 

[xaelia]

that is amazing...i can't believe that actually happened to both of you. has anyone else tried this??

I just had noticed there were a lot of Pittsburgh cancellations, interview switch postings, etc., so I thought there would be a chance that I could get an interview if I expressed interest. I had a pretty good idea I met their standards, and it was a better program than any other interviews I would have been invited to that weekend, so I went for it. I wouldn't have expected it to work at Scheie....

 

[kkumar99]

so I thought contacting programs only worked for the top heavy people...but I was proven wrong today 😀. I called programs about a week and a half ago, and just got the "your application is under review/we can't offer you a spot this year" response for the most part. At one of the programs, the lady looked at my application and scores and said..."there's nothing written on here by the committee, i'll ask them what's going on"...I mentioned that I was interested in the program as I had family in the area and she said she'd send of the director and email and mention that...I didn't hear back for a few days, and got tired of getting no responses/rejections over the phone, so I stopped calling. I assumed my app was read and discarded, but today I received an invite from the afformentioned program. 😀. The nice thing about it is, even though it's a late invite, I feel like I have a chance at the program b/c it seems their decision to hold my application was at least partly based on regional issues (they even gave me a choice on interview dates). I didn't realize how much region would play a part in this process, but from my interview invites and the posts on here, it seems like it plays a very big role, especially for the mid tier programs/applicants. So showing a willingness to travel can definitely help your cause (though not your pocketbook ;-))...A warning though, if you decide to call programs, you definitely have to be prepared to deal with receiving a number of rejections over the phone