What's it like interviewing at your home school?

[chagall]

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I'm mainly just curious...I know all the residents and the program director here, but not all of the faculty. Is it still like a standard interview with similar questions, or are there differences if your home program knows and likes you? Dinner with residents would be strange too...any ideas?

 

[mlw03]

it was sorta weird for me. not at all like my other interviews. all but 1 of my interviewers knew me very well. hell, i see most of them at the gym every now and then, or at the grocery store. it was also weird because most of the faculty at my home program know i have no intention of staying here, including the PD. i didn't do a dinner with the residents, which would have been fun, but kinda pointless, since i did a rotation in the department before the interview and knew most of them quite well.

if you're serious about the program just do the best you can, but i doubt it matters. if they know you they know if they want you or not by now. the interview is likely just a formality.

 

[Blade28]

it was also weird because most of the faculty at my home program know i have no intention of staying here, including the PD.

As in, you have no intention of ranking them? Or you'll just put them far down on your list?

If it's the former, why interview at all? Politics?

 

[mlw03]

As in, you have no intention of ranking them? Or you'll just put them far down on your list?

If it's the former, why interview at all? Politics?

at the time i wasn't sure which of the above i'd do - i knew it'd be one of the two and i've since made a decision. i don't know if i'd label it politics, more like i didn't want to seem rude.

 

[Blade28]

at the time i wasn't sure which of the above i'd do - i knew it'd be one of the two and i've since made a decision. i don't know if i'd label it politics, more like i didn't want to seem rude.

I totally understand - many of my classmates did something similar.

When I applied at my home program (around the middle of my interview trail), I liked how things were so relaxed. We had a special day assigned to us, so there were no other applicants from other schools interviewing that day. I knew all the attendings, residents, etc. so it was nice. The before-interview dinner was a blast as well.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Huge party the night before -- free-flowing champagne and good times had by all

 

[Llenroc]

I didn't apply to my own institution. I just know that I don't want to be here.

I don't know if not applying will be seen as an insult. I've had to awkwardly deflect the issue of whether I applied here as I've been doing rotations in other departments ("Say, I know so and so in that department, want me to talk to put in a good word for you?") But I'm just sick of playing stupid medicine games. I don't want to go there. I don't want to waste my time applying and interviewing. And I don't like to waste other people's time either. 😴