Hi everyone I’m applying for IM this year and there was one particular program I was interested in. I felt good after my interview and have emailed the PD a few times and always got a response back. I sent a letter of intent last week expressing interest in the program and all. Have not received a response for over a week now. I’m not sure what to take of that. Does that imply the program is not going to rank me or changed their minds. I’m just confused because I did get a response every time prior to that. Any thoughts/advice?
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Letters of intent don't really mean a whole lot and I'm sure they get lots of them from various candidates. Don't read anything into it.
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People get busy. And there's quite literally nothing to do about it. During my interview season I had my #1 already picked out (based on location and a good reputation) before interviewing there. Had the interview, it went well, and later the program had an event where interviewees were invited to attend (can't remember how I found out) . I did not get an invitation. I was crushed. I emailed the PD. No response. I gave it a few weeks and emailed again about something else. This time she responded and also asked if I was coming to the event. I let her know I did not get an invitation. She apologized and sent it right away. I ended up matching there.
Don't get anxious about this just yet. You have emailed and made them aware of your intentions. It's a busy time of yea for everyone. Nothing more to do about it.
Don't get anxious about this just yet. You have emailed and made them aware of your intentions. It's a busy time of yea for everyone. Nothing more to do about it.
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Honestly there is no reason to reach out repeatedly after your interview. They know you're interested. I would not read anything into the PD not replying other than he is busy.
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I hate to feed your neuroticism, but there's a pretty easy way to figure out if this is a concern. Post anonymously or refer to the Reddit spreadsheet. If the program you're interested in has reached out to candidates, that likely means you're a second thought. It doesn't mean you won't match, but it stratifies your chances which it sounds like you want. OTOH, if it didn't maybe the program director is just consistently avoiding replies to LOIs applicants are sending.
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You will never know if that was purely oversight or if the PD was re-scanning the interview pool and made a calculated decision to contact you. Regardless, it's great things worked out!
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Advice: Ignore. You're driving yourself crazy over nothing.
Rank the program wherever you want on your rank list. Rank it #1 if you want. If you don't match there, the NRMP will try just as hard to get you into your #2. You can't "lose" a spot by ranking other programs higher. You could rank 100 programs you didn't apply to at all on your list, and then the rest of your programs from 101 - whatever. You'll still match at exactly the same place. And if you don't match, you would not have matched no matter what order your list was in.
There are lots of reasons the PD may not have responded. Maybe they are on service? Maybe they are on vacation? Its very unlikely they have "changed their mind about you", unless you've recently been featured in the news claiming the earth is flat, COVID isn't real, or some other nonsense.
You're being a little neurotic to be honest. Rank your list in order of where you want to go...period.
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You are way, way overanalyzing this. You can't read the tea leaves. Just submit your ROL and wait for match day.
