Will a late MD/PhD interview impact my chances for acceptance?

[WalWat]

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Hello All,

I apologize if this has been addressed by prior posters-- I did a search both on google and sdn and couldn't locate a thread that spoke to my specific question.

I was fortunate to receive an MD/PhD interview invitation for one of my top choice schools, however, will be interviewing on the last available date. I understand that for MD's, this might pose an issue since many students have already been accepted at this late stage, however, I'm less familiar with the impact this will have on my MD/PhD application. Will I be at a disadvantage attending the very last interview date of the cycle?

Thank you very much for any opinions and assistance.

W

 

[youououa]

I was accepted fairly early at a program where I interviewed on their 2nd-to-last interview date. Anecdotally, interviewing late seems less harmful for MD/PhD than MD.

 

[Neuronix]

It depends on the program.

 

[StIGMA]

It depends on the school. If they make decisions after they interview everyone, it may not matter (although they may have interviewed you late because you werent one of their top choices). If the school has rolling admissions, they may have already given out all of their acceptance offers and you could be competing for a waitlist spot (or for just a few remaining spots). All of my interviews were in January and February (I applied late), and I received multiple acceptances.

 

[WalWat]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I looked on their site to see if I could find any information pertaining to their decision time frame, but couldn't find much. They actually offered me a choice of dates and, unfortunately, I responded too late to get my first choice date. Is there any resource, outside of contacting the school directly, that might provide this information?

 

[StIGMA]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I looked on their site to see if I could find any information pertaining to their decision time frame, but couldn't find much. They actually offered me a choice of dates and, unfortunately, I responded too late to get my first choice date. Is there any resource, outside of contacting the school directly, that might provide this information?

Your best bet would be to ask someone who matriculated last year or who knows the school's policy as an applicant from this year. You could ask this board and someone may know, but you would have to mention the school.

Still, you are either interested in the interview or not. It does not matter what the school's policy is. It could hurt your chances to ask the school directly because they may think you are not very interested in their program (or are just too nosy). Even if a resource existed, it may not be correct and would likely be out of date.

 

[gutonc]

I've never quite understood this kind of question. Do you want to go to that school or not? You've been offered an interview. You are absolutely not getting in there if you don't interview. You've already gone through all the hassle of the application process. Just go interview and see what happens.

 

[WalWat]

Thanks for the advice and responses guys. I feel like my original post might have been misinterpreted a bit. This is hands down one of my top choice schools and there is absolutley no question of whether or not I will attend the interview. I was simply trying to gauge if my late interview would negatively impact my chances of acceptance because I was unsure if MD/PhD programs act in the same manner as MD programs in terms of rolling admissions.

I agree with Stigma that calling the school might not be the best plan, I will simply wait and see what they say at the interview. Thanks again, much appreciated.