This interview process makes no sense

[jeff2005]

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I have a friend also going into path and her CV kicks my CV's ass. She is in THE TOP 10 😱 in our huge class while I am in the middle third (3rd year 👎 ) My Step 1 is higher, but only by 10 points. She has not heard from some strong programs while I have received some great invites (MGH, Wash U, Emory, etc). My Path Chairperson told me that class standing was the most important determinant for matching into a great program. So what the hell is going on? Is it because they haven't seen my Dean's letter and therefore do not realize I suck? I'm scared!

 

[garfield]

It's hard to limit the factors to just one single most important determinant for matching into programs. If I absolutely had to, I would say it's the impression that people got of you from the interview day. My med school did not rank students, so had no class standing to report. It really is a compilation of the entire application and interviews that should be how good programs rank you. The Dean's letter probably does not have that much of an impact, but maybe programs wait because they like to have all their boxes checked off on their list before inviting people. The timing of invitations has really seemed arbitrary here... they don't go in alphabetical order, they don't invite the best candidates first, it might be the timing in which they have received the materials or random picking out of a hat, I don't know. Anyway, try not to read too much into the situation.

 

[yaah]

The process doesn't make sense. I remember us talking about this last year and we couldn't figure it out then either. From what I have gathered, I believe board scores may be more important than many other factors when it comes to getting interview invites (but once you get to the interview, it becomes a more minor factor).

Some programs do seem to have different schedules in terms of when they interview MD/PhD candidates vs when they interview MD or DO candidates. So sometimes that can throw people off. But this certainly isn't universal.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

My impression of med school admissions was that it was a total crapshoot. Random things happen and sometimes what ends up happening at various stages of the application process defies reason.

I suspect residency applications will be the same way. The big difference is that there are no multiple acceptances. On Match Day, you find out where you're gonna be stuck at.