Interview Invites 2020-21

[Guest]

(11-03-2020, 12:04 PM)Guest Wrote: Anyone else get a weird email from UT San Antonio saying NO ASSIGNED INTERVIEW DATE?

Yes

[Guest]

Looks like it will be another day of interview invite blue balls

[Guest]

(11-02-2020, 08:57 PM)Guest Wrote:

(11-02-2020, 07:20 PM)Guest Wrote: Resident here:
We sent out interviews this year to the same caliber of applicants we usually interview in the previous years. All of them accepted the invitations.

I am pretty sure however that most of those applicants would also accept "any" interview they get from other programs, since this year's interviews do not involve the extra costs and hassle of travel, accommodation, etc. What I fear is, how many of those applicants are accepting interviews in programs they wouldn't even consider while ranking, or in programs that they would consistently rank low in their lists, basically guaranteeing matching in programs higher up in their lists. This might leave programs with unmatched spots (something that almost never happens in Neurosurgery), and forcing them to go through SOAP.

In my opinion, the governing authorities should have put a limit to how many interviews an applicant can accept/attend, and subsequently rank. This would ensure that we don't see what we are seeing now through the posts where seemingly competitive applicants (by historical parameters) receive almost no interviews.

It is a tough and unpredictable match season, and I sincerely wish each and every one of you the best of luck!

This is very true and pretty much exactly the concern that some have expressed before this cycle, once it was decided it would be virtual. There were concerns that everyone would invite the most qualified applicants and those people would occupy a vast majority of the interview slots programs had available. With it being virtual almost no one will cancel and that leads to a much larger discrepancy between the haves and have-nots in the applicant pool.

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I imagine a lot of what happens normally is people accept any interview early on, and then cancel as better places offer. Then, those slots trickle to other applicants. This cycle no one will cancel and that’ll leave people who are hoarding the low-upper and mid-tier program positions with those interviews, and they will pretty much hold onto them since 1) they don’t have better offers to take and 2) they don't need to cancel to make room for other interviews since travel isn't involved. That prevents the people with few to no invites thus far from getting anything. I'm doing decently on invites, so I may cap myself at 20 since 15-20 seems to be the number for 90%+ chance of matching in previous years. It's unlikely I and most other US MD applicants need more than that and from what we're seeing here there are qualified people not getting offers

Resident here who's on the review committee and actively reviewing applications.

We are aware of this fact and I would say that has led us to look harder at who we invite. In the past years someone with 50+ pubs and a 270 from Hopkins/UCSF/Columbia/Harvard was an automatic invite every time almost out of principle, but not this year. We are a top 25 program per Doximity but we also know that those applicants will usually go to the same 2 or 3 programs every year and are aware that we are not one. It's made us look harder at people with connections to our area, similar research and clinical interests, similar values in the PS, etc. and I think has improved what in the past was mostly score screening and skimming letter's of recommendation.

People taking up interview spots will likely be a problem this year, but I will say at least on our end we are aware of this fact and actively taking steps to mitigate.

[Guest]

To residents at programs that have already sent out interviews, do ya'll plan to send out another wave of interviews or is it pretty much a done deal for who your program has selected to interview

[Guest]

(11-04-2020, 11:02 AM)Guest Wrote: Looks like it will be another day of interview invite blue balls

LOL

[Guest]

(11-04-2020, 01:14 PM)Guest Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 11:02 AM)Guest Wrote: Looks like it will be another day of interview invite blue balls

LOL

Me and another applicant at my program are both MD PhD from a high tier program and neither of us have gotten an interview so you’re not alone

[PD on the East Coast]

(11-04-2020, 12:30 PM)Guest Wrote: To residents at programs that have already sent out interviews, do ya'll plan to send out another wave of interviews or is it pretty much a done deal for who your program has selected to interview

This is an unusual year where applicants do not have the same hurdles, like paying for flights or hotels, as they did previously.  In prior years, these hurdles would lead applicants with low interest levels in a particular program to cancel, which opens spots for additional waves of invites.  It is difficult to predict what will happen as the interview season progresses, but I would encourage all applicants to carefully think about their true interest level and consider withdrawing from/not accepting invites to programs where they do not see themselves going. I realize this is a particularly tough suggestion since no one wants to limit their options but without some self selection I would anticipate a much bigger scramble after the match concludes.

[Guest]

(11-04-2020, 01:28 PM)PD on the East Coast Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 12:30 PM)Guest Wrote: To residents at programs that have already sent out interviews, do ya'll plan to send out another wave of interviews or is it pretty much a done deal for who your program has selected to interview

This is an unusual year where applicants do not have the same hurdles, like paying for flights or hotels, as they did previously.  In prior years, these hurdles would lead applicants with low interest levels in a particular program to cancel, which opens spots for additional waves of invites.  It is difficult to predict what will happen as the interview season progresses, but I would encourage all applicants to carefully think about their true interest level and consider withdrawing from/not accepting invites to programs where they do not see themselves going. I realize this is a particularly tough suggestion since no one wants to limit their options but without some self selection I would anticipate a much bigger scramble after the match concludes.

So are you interviewing more candidates to account for that?

[PD on the East Coast]

(11-04-2020, 01:39 PM)Guest Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 01:28 PM)PD on the East Coast Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 12:30 PM)Guest Wrote: To residents at programs that have already sent out interviews, do ya'll plan to send out another wave of interviews or is it pretty much a done deal for who your program has selected to interview

This is an unusual year where applicants do not have the same hurdles, like paying for flights or hotels, as they did previously.  In prior years, these hurdles would lead applicants with low interest levels in a particular program to cancel, which opens spots for additional waves of invites.  It is difficult to predict what will happen as the interview season progresses, but I would encourage all applicants to carefully think about their true interest level and consider withdrawing from/not accepting invites to programs where they do not see themselves going. I realize this is a particularly tough suggestion since no one wants to limit their options but without some self selection I would anticipate a much bigger scramble after the match concludes.

So are you interviewing more candidates to account for that?

We are interviewing the same number as we normally do but I suspect we will have fewer cancellations to allow us to offer additional invites down the line.

[Guest]

(11-04-2020, 01:46 PM)PD on the East Coast Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 01:39 PM)Guest Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 01:28 PM)PD on the East Coast Wrote:

(11-04-2020, 12:30 PM)Guest Wrote: To residents at programs that have already sent out interviews, do ya'll plan to send out another wave of interviews or is it pretty much a done deal for who your program has selected to interview

This is an unusual year where applicants do not have the same hurdles, like paying for flights or hotels, as they did previously.  In prior years, these hurdles would lead applicants with low interest levels in a particular program to cancel, which opens spots for additional waves of invites.  It is difficult to predict what will happen as the interview season progresses, but I would encourage all applicants to carefully think about their true interest level and consider withdrawing from/not accepting invites to programs where they do not see themselves going. I realize this is a particularly tough suggestion since no one wants to limit their options but without some self selection I would anticipate a much bigger scramble after the match concludes.

So are you interviewing more candidates to account for that?

We are interviewing the same number as we normally do but I suspect we will have fewer cancellations to allow us to offer additional invites down the line.

Here are my thoughts on why I think programs should interview more. I'd like to hear others opinions as well:

In past cycles it seems that upper tier applicants would normally cancel their interview at mid tier programs assuming they applied broadly, and that would introduce an opportunity for more mid tier applicants to interview that would actually match at your program. Now if those upper tier applicants don't cancel as normal, and you interview the same # of students, that leaves a large number of mid tier applicants in limbo that otherwise rely on these "second wave" invites... and now your program will go unfilled because your rank list is filled with unrealistic prospects and be forced to scramble. This seems like a lose lose to me.