Some Q's about Interviews - please advise me!

[GonnaBeAnMD]

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If I have applied to 3 different states and received one interview so far... do I call/email the program back out of courtesy and say please wait for my other programs out there to come through? I don't want to make more than 1 trip across the country so I'd like to wait for other interviews. This first one I got came within 2 days of applying. Is there such thing as a phone interview? What's the proper etiquette in handling this situation? Thanks!

 

[2oRadio]

I would take the interview and make it as late as possible.

When the time comes to interview at that program, you can always call the other programs in that state and request an interview since you will be in the area (if they haven't already offered you an interview)

I would err on the side of being proactive and asking programs for possible interviews (can't hurt) rather than slighting the one program that has actually offered you one.

 

[GonnaBeAnMD]

Sorry I forgot to ask my other question 🙁 Is an interview invite like it was for medical school "If you're interviewed, you're pretty much in" if you rank a program #1?

 

[patsfan2]

Sorry I forgot to ask my other question 🙁 Is an interview invite like it was for medical school "If you're interviewed, you're pretty much in" if you rank a program #1?

Granted I haven't interviewed yet but...

I don't see how this is possible (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't for med school either... an interview invite certainly didn't mean an automatic in... at least for me...). Most programs rank a fraction of those who are interviewed. I sincerely doubt that an interview = you're in... in fact I would assume an interview doesn't even mean you'll be ranked...

 

[Law2Doc]

Sorry I forgot to ask my other question 🙁 Is an interview invite like it was for medical school "If you're interviewed, you're pretty much in" if you rank a program #1?

No way. (and actually med school wasn't like that for most either --Except for a few state schools, med schools tended to only accept a third to a half of those interviewed). For residency, they tend to interview some multiple times more people than they will actually take. And while how you rank a program is quite important, you also have to be ranked highly by that program compared to the others they saw. (Hence its a "match").

 

[Winged Scapula]

Most programs interview multiple students for each position they have.

They have to...in the past programs have been caught with their pants down and didn't interview and rank enough students and have gone with positions unfilled. Not desirable for obvious reasons.

Getting an interview means you have the academic qualifications a program is looking for. But you can definitely F up your chances on interview. In fact, I would deem it THE most important part of your application (once you've been chosen)...If you're a complete tool, I don't care how high your Step 1 score is or how many publications you've got. If I can't imagine you calling me in the middle of the night or spending hours standing next to you in the OR, you're not getting ranked.