rescheduling interviews

[haricot]

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how bad does it look to ask for a later interview date? the program in question is tri-I, and i've been offered an october interview. while i *could* interview with them in oct (i'm even in nyc, so i can't argue that travel is an issue), november would be much better (for a number of reasons). my main concern is that i'd seem uninterested if i asked for november...i mean, it's tri-I, and there aren't a lot of schools that i'd rank above it. am i overthinking this? should i just go ahead and ask for a spot at the november interview, if that's what i want?

 

[hawkeey]

rescheduling is bad. it causes headaches for administrators. What I mean by this is don't tell people you are going to go to an interview and then tell them you cannot come.

It seems that you have just been invited. Ask them if you can come in November instead.

Generally, though I would take the earliest interview possible since other interviews may come down the road. Just make sure that you have a good reason for delaying it.

 

[gbwillner]

how bad does it look to ask for a later interview date? the program in question is tri-I, and i've been offered an october interview. while i *could* interview with them in oct (i'm even in nyc, so i can't argue that travel is an issue), november would be much better (for a number of reasons). my main concern is that i'd seem uninterested if i asked for november...i mean, it's tri-I, and there aren't a lot of schools that i'd rank above it. am i overthinking this? should i just go ahead and ask for a spot at the november interview, if that's what i want?

Rescheduling is NOT a big deal. Most schools have several interview dates to fill up. Just be smart about it- make up a good excuse as to why you can't make that date, and sound sincere.

I agree with hawkeey though, in that you SHOULD have a good reason, because you may get other offers for November and have to push this one further back. If there are no conflicts in October, just go.

Furthermore, I think its best to start interviews with a school you're not really interested in anyway, or is a low priority. There are lots of kinks to work out in the interview process, and you don't want to do that at the school you hope to matriculate in. Youd be surprised how easy it is to answer the question "Why do you want to be a MD/PhD" the third/ fourth time through.

My first interview was at Albert Einstein... which was not high on my list. But it was the first interview I got... for a few months it was the only one. My interview went horribly, horribly wrong. The details of what transpired are probably for another thread. Anyway, I was not accepted, but it made the rest of my interviews MUCH easier. 😀

 

[haricot]

thanks!

gbwillner: details?

 

[gbwillner]

thanks!

gbwillner: details?

Hehe... well, it was 8 years ago... but I don't want to get too personal... but in general I was continually putting my foot in my mouth.

I spent a year after my BS at NIH, where one of my projects involved microarrays. At the time this was NOT an accepted technology, and many of the faculty with whom I spoke were very skeptical of its use and reproducibility. More importantly, many of them wanted me to know just how useless it was. I was only peripherally involved in the project, but most faculty found this much more interesting than my primary projects, so I got stuck talking about it constantly.

Anyway, there I was, in the director's office. I noticed some of the artwork in there as being depictions of ancient greece, a subject I was very familiar with.
So I sat down, and was immediately uncomfortable. I tried to lighten the mood by asking about the greek portraits. This was a bad idea, the director thought I was trying to distract her or something, and she wanted to get to the point. She started drilling me about my research experience. This does take some getting used to. Its amazing how little you know about your own work until a PI with dozens of years of experience starts pimping you, especially when you are a novice in the field. So I stuck my foot in my mouth countless times... I remember specifically she started asking me about the microarray, which was just a minor project for me. I started by saying that it was an exciting new field with great potential, why, even Einstein had a microarray facility... She responded with "Even Einstein?". I had clearly insulted her and the program. I tried damage control, but it was way too late. I had panicked, and I continued to make things worse. She had this look of disgust on her face for the rest of the interview, and I knew that no matter how well I did on other interviews this one had killed my chances.
Funny thing is, the rest of the interviews had gone well, and I really liked the students there. It turned out that the guy who I was staying with (there were student hosts) went to the same elementary school as me and was friends with my cousin- and usually weird occurances like that (also hooking up at interviews, according to many) signify that you will inevitably be accepted to that program. But no, I had denied fate... and you may too on your first attempt.
You have to learn to read the interviewers and their intentions. You also have to learn through trial and error what (and what not) to say. What resonates well and what sounds pompous (yes, we are all excellent students).
Also, it may take a few interviews before you successfully hook-up with anyone. 😉

 

[anka24]

I think its best to start interviews with a school you're not really interested in anyway, or is a low priority. There are lots of kinks to work out in the interview process, and you don't want to do that at the school you hope to matriculate in. Youd be surprised how easy it is to answer the question "Why do you want to be a MD/PhD" the third/ fourth time through.

My first interview was at Albert Einstein... which was not high on my list. But it was the first interview I got... for a few months it was the only one. My interview went horribly, horribly wrong. The details of what transpired are probably for another thread. Anyway, I was not accepted, but it made the rest of my interviews MUCH easier. 😀

I think this is exactly the reason I asked for the November date for Case Western. It is my first choice and I got the invite two and a half weeks before the October interview date (which would have been my first). I don't think I am prepared and I certainly don't want to use that interview to test the waters. Thus, I pushed it back by six weeks which I hope doesn't kill my chances...

 

[gbwillner]

I think this is exactly the reason I asked for the November date for Case Western. It is my first choice and I got the invite two and a half weeks before the October interview date (which would have been my first). I don't think I am prepared and I certainly don't want to use that interview to test the waters. Thus, I pushed it back by six weeks which I hope doesn't kill my chances...

Another thing to consider, of course, is whether or not the school participates in rolling admissions. If you really want to go to a school, don't push the date back too far, because you may make it impossible to get accepted. 6 weeks in October is NOT a big deal though. I'm talking Jan/Feb/March you may get screwed.

 

[antinomian]

RE: TriI

You can always the office to reschedule interviews, but given that there are only two interview dates, don't be surprised if you're politely rebuffed. It depends where they are in terms of offering someone else an october interview.

antinomian
TriI Student

 

[anka24]

Another thing to consider, of course, is whether or not the school participates in rolling admissions. If you really want to go to a school, don't push the date back too far, because you may make it impossible to get accepted. 6 weeks in October is NOT a big deal though. I'm talking Jan/Feb/March you may get screwed.

Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to hear 🙂

 

[gbwillner]

Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to hear 🙂

Let me put it this way... I was a little late with the AMCAS application. Although I turned it in one month after the date they start being processed, the sheer volume of early applicants caused my application to be processed very late. My first interview notification came in October, but the interview itself (the one at Einstein) was not until November. I didn't hear from any other schools until December (Like you all I was very worried). Once in December I started hearing regularly from programs, and I had 11 other interviews scheduled from Jan-March. I attended several schools' "last" interviews- which is something you want to avoid at a rolling admission school. This is because they may have already filled 7/8 slots, and you are maybe competing with all applicants for the one remaining slot. Your odds are long at that point. Two schools had "make-up" sessions, because they had lost some applications. One program (WashU) lost my MSTP, but not regular med-school application, so I went to the "Make-up" interview. I found out they had already filled all their slots, but that they would maybe take one more. There were 12 outstanding applicants there. You don't want to be in that position. Of course, in non-rolling schools this is not a problem.
So I guess the moral here is schedule your rolling applications first, if possible.