Residency interview scheduling timing

[howieh]

In anticipation of interview invites, I have a question about scheduling for interviews.

For programs that participate in the NRMP, does it matter if you interview at these places early (Oct) or late (Jan) in the interview season? I would actually imagine that it would be advantageous to interview late at places higher on the list because:
1. You have more experience with previous interviews and thus better prepared for this one
2. Fresher impression with the interviewers during ranking

What do you guys think? Appreciate any input. Thank you!

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[Ismet]

In terms of #1, I've been told by several people to schedule highly desired programs later so that you have 2-3 interviews under your belt beforehand. I don't think it's necessary to push them to January, but late Nov/early Dec after having a few interviews in Oct/early Nov should be sufficient interview "practice." That's my hope at least...

 

[FlowLimited]

The most important factor when scheduling interviews is how the date fits in among your already scheduled interviews in terms of ease of travel, allowable time off, etc. The date you interview should not have any measurable effect on your likelihood of matching. That said, interview season can be grueling and is a balance between your inexperience and the onset of burnout. Based on that, you may perform better earlier on in the season but after you've gotten a few practice interviews out of the way.

 

[JJMrK]

IMO, best strategy is to schedule interviews to maximize the number you go on, and to ensure you get to the ones you are most interested in. If it came to choosing, I think it would be a mistake to trade interview volume for specific dates.

 

[BarcaBest23]

I'd schedule more desired interviews as they come in towards the front, that way you can cancel interviews at programs you aren't too interested in (safeties) and give those spots to folks who actually want to go there. Also, this is assuming you have enough interviews at places you are interested in to rank so that you are sure to match.

 

[NickNaylor]

I don't think either factor is particularly important. I think you should schedule interviews when you are able. If you'll be reassured that doing an interview at a "top choice" later might be beneficial, then do that. I don't think there's any merit to the "do an interview later so that you're 'on the minds' of the program" idea. At least in psychiatry, many programs score applicants shortly after the interview and are simply added to the running list, so this kind of gamesmanship would have nil impact on your ranking.

 

[Psai]

People alternatively theorize that there is a recency/on the mind bias, or that there is a "first girlfriend" phenomenon early in the year (Ie it's easier to get "infatuated" with a candidate early on before you've seen what the whole field has to offer).

We track year to year what interview day we match our interns from and it's usually pretty random.

I don't miss my first girlfriend anymore though

 

[howieh]

Thank you guys!

 

[mvenus929]

We track year to year what interview day we match our interns from and it's usually pretty random.

This is probably fairly true across the board, but there are three people in my class who interviewed on the same day (out of 22). Two of us happen to have driven to the interview from the same school, and the other was a student from the program's home school. Interesting how things work out sometimes.

 

[Long Way to Go]

This is probably fairly true across the board, but there are three people in my class who interviewed on the same day (out of 22). Two of us happen to have driven to the interview from the same school, and the other was a student from the program's home school. Interesting how things work out sometimes.

Wouldn't you expect something like this to have happened because of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem

 

[synecdoche]

What's the best way to schedule interviews when you need to do both advanced programs and prelims/TYs?

 

[Slack3r]

I don't miss my first girlfriend anymore though

Perfection.