The Not-Enough-Interviews Thread

[KlineFogelman]

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Gunners, this thread is not for you. (Although I guess we're all gunners to a certain degree.)

So far, and its Oct. 31st, I only have received 5 interview offers. I only applied to about 40 schools, mostly because I genuinely was only interested in going to the programs to which I applied. I never wanted to be one of those people that applied all over just to do so. I've also received rejections from 8 schools, leaving about 27 from which I have not heard back.

I am a US Senior with a Step score below the average matched applicant, but above the national average for medical students.

I really like the 5 schools I've gotten offers from, but after reading the numbers on this board, it seems like I would need far more than the 5 I have to be sure about matching.

I was just curious if anyone else who frequents this board had a similar number of interviews, if past residents have matched with this level, and if I should call or e-mail programs I'm very much interested in to check on my application.

Thank you all very much for any information you can provide.

 

[RestoreSight]

It doesn't sound like you are in that bad of shape. Statistics say that the sum of the individual odds of matching at each program equal your overall percent chance at matching. Assuming then, that a program with 5 residency positions interviews 10 - 20 x that number of applicants (50-100), you would need to interview between 10 - 20 programs to have a "guaranteed" 100% statistical chance of matching. I think most would agree 10+ interviews gives you a solid chance of matching, although there are many factors other than raw statistics that go into a program ranking their applicants (how well you interview, records, if your psychotic in person, etc).

I have received more than 10 interviews, but I applied to more than 40 programs. My STEP 1 is not stellar, but I have a lot of published research and community service/awards/honors etc. So far I have interviewed at 3 places and not a single one brought up my STEP 1, so although I think it is a major factor in screening, it is not so important for the interview.

It doesn't hurt to call or email programs, although it is a good idea to check ahead of time to see if they allow correspondence on their websites. A few programs in NY (NYEEI for one) make it clear that correspondence is not really appreciated. Others are more open. I called one program to inquire about my status and it turns out the program coordinator had not even bothered to forward my letters to the PD. I got an interview later that day. woohoo!

Final thoughts.. I have no data to back this up, but I attended the AAO meeting in Orlando and spoke to a few program directors who mentioned things were basically put on hold for the annual meeting and to wait for the release of the Dean's Letter on Nov 1. So although its been quiet, things may pick up in the coming days/weeks.

Best of luck!

 

[Eggsettera]

6 here thus far. really want to hit 10. hopefully there will be some cancellations and additional invitations when some of these last programs in new york and philly start to offer interviews like wills and NYU etc. Good luck to all with low numbers thus far.

 

[paboi101]

well, i'm glad to here that other's are feeling a little less than flush with interviews, though, not surprisingly the first reply is a person with more than 10. i'm on the lean side as well, with 4 invites (can only attend 3) not counting a couple that I'm counting on (home program, very good away rotation). other than that, not feeling to confident based on the rest of the places yet to release invites. i did hear rumors from a friend who matched last year that he was hearing about invitations as late as the end of November as places started to shuffle around due to cancelations. one can hope, i seem to deal worse with rejection than i thought i would!

 

[Visionary]

Final thoughts.. I have no data to back this up, but I attended the AAO meeting in Orlando and spoke to a few program directors who mentioned things were basically put on hold for the annual meeting and to wait for the release of the Dean's Letter on Nov 1. So although its been quiet, things may pick up in the coming days/weeks.

True. Keep your chins up, folks!

 

[mudphudstud]

As long as you are flexible and willing to spend the time and money to fly to places on short term notice, a lot of opportunities will open up at the end of nov through the third week in december

 

[ophthalorbust]

still at 7 interviews... is it time to freak out yet?

 

[gatormanade]

still at 7 interviews... is it time to freak out yet?

Uh no...7 is pretty good, in fact I think you should be just fine...think about those with only 1 or 2

 

[ISuckAtLife]

.

 

[golfman]

Why is that? Wouldn't the spots open up about now as almost all invites are out? Are you talking about last minute cancellations apart from new invites?

You would think spots would open up now, but some people cancel late, which will open spots for others later. Some people may burn out, and decide to not go on their last interviews.

There is hope for more interviews.

 

[Svmophtho]

I'm going to be a 4th year medical student applying into ophtho... just curious, did you all fare okay with interviews and matching?

 

[taco bell]

I ended up with 8 interview invites, and could only attend 7 of them -- matched at my number 1.

In my opinion, I think there are 2 factors that are better indicators of matching than # of interviews. The first is how many residency spots you are competing for -- I was worried bc if you combine the number of spots for each program that I had an interview for it was 32 spots (2 of the programs I interviewed at only had 2 residency spots).

The other factor of more importance than number of interview invites is the ratio of residency spots for particular program vs how many applicants they interview for those stats.

For what its worth, my step 1 was at the average of this past cycle's applicants. Good luck