bigfoot_is_real Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 I am fortunate to have received 10 interviews to a non competitive specialty (I know, sorry for the weird flex). I already intend on turning down one of my interviews. I am wondering if it would be bad to turn down my home school's site interview as well. There is nothing wrong with the program, but it would've been near the bottom of my rank order list anyways due to geographical and personal reasons. The timing of this interview date greatly disrupts the flow of my Ontario interviews and would mean a lot of unnecessary time and financial costs for a program I don't even want to go to. They don't do skype interviews and switching dates isn't an option due to conflicts with other interviews. I have another afternoon interview the day before and I am not even fully sure if it's logistically possible for me to attend my home school's interview the next morning. Moreover, I have another interview in that province as a back up. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheeler Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 If you don't want to go, don't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakeshake Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Did you do electives at the interviews you plan to attend? Knowing the speciality in question may also be helpful in assessing risk. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people match to their top 3-4 ranked choices, and the lower down the rank list you go the more likely you are to go unmatched. 8 is not a small amount of interviews but it is also probably below average in terms of the number of interviews people attend (I'd guess it's closer to 10-12). The question you should be asking yourself is this: Would I rather go unmatched OR match to either of the two less desirable programs? If the answer is match vs not match, go to all of your interviews if you can. An extra 500-1000$ on flights is likely worth more than being forced into round two or a year of no income. Competitiveness changes year to year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heydere Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Agree with shakeshake. I say, Go to the interview! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violetta Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 To play devil's advocate, it's entirely possible that some other student who's really interested in going wherever you're contemplating turning down was denied an interview for that program. If you're so opposed that you're considering not ultimately ranking the site (since ranking it could result in being contractually bound to somewhere you'd rather not live for the next 2-5 years), foregoing it might be granting somebody else their future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qszwdxefc Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 11 hours ago, shakeshake said: Did you do electives at the interviews you plan to attend? Knowing the speciality in question may also be helpful in assessing risk. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people match to their top 3-4 ranked choices, and the lower down the rank list you go the more likely you are to go unmatched. 8 is not a small amount of interviews but it is also probably below average in terms of the number of interviews people attend (I'd guess it's closer to 10-12). The question you should be asking yourself is this: Would I rather go unmatched OR match to either of the two less desirable programs? If the answer is match vs not match, go to all of your interviews if you can. An extra 500-1000$ on flights is likely worth more than being forced into round two or a year of no income. Competitiveness changes year to year. Sorry to single you out but I just want to play devil's advocate on a few of your points to give OP more food for thought. 1. I've asked a lot of residents in FM/IM: in hindsight what's the ideal number of interviews you would you have attended? Most tell me around 8. It's a good balance of maximizing chances yet not stretching yourself out too thin. Don't forget that the more you interview the more tired you will get. Performance may subsequently go down. 2. Depending on where OP's other interview is there may be more at risk than $500-1000. What if OP misses the 1 flight that will get them back on time/the flight is cancelled? What if OP will only sleep 4-5 hours before the interview as a result of the travelling? I agree that CaRMS is not the time to cheap out but other more important factors should be considered too before taking on more interviews. Not sure if this post was helpful but ultimately the decision is up to you OP. Think about the points we've brought up here and go with your gut feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot_is_real Posted December 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Appreciate the $0.02 guys. I checked flights and it seems like it's actually possible for me to make my home school's interview. I'm going to try my best to go to it. Another added bonus of going is it will be a good warm up for my top choices. I know my odds of not matching are pretty slim but in the off chance that I don't, I will kick myself if it's because I missed my home school's interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magneto Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 It is good to hear that you will try your best to attend your home school. Good luck!!! I definitely recommend you to do as many interviews as you can (depending on logistics and finances). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakeshake Posted December 23, 2018 Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 On 12/21/2018 at 2:38 PM, qszwdxefc said: Sorry to single you out but I just want to play devil's advocate on a few of your points to give OP more food for thought. 1. I've asked a lot of residents in FM/IM: in hindsight what's the ideal number of interviews you would you have attended? Most tell me around 8. It's a good balance of maximizing chances yet not stretching yourself out too thin. Don't forget that the more you interview the more tired you will get. Performance may subsequently go down. 2. Depending on where OP's other interview is there may be more at risk than $500-1000. What if OP misses the 1 flight that will get them back on time/the flight is cancelled? What if OP will only sleep 4-5 hours before the interview as a result of the travelling? I agree that CaRMS is not the time to cheap out but other more important factors should be considered too before taking on more interviews. Not sure if this post was helpful but ultimately the decision is up to you OP. Think about the points we've brought up here and go with your gut feeling. All good points as well. I think ultimately it depends on the spread of interviews and the speciality you are applying to (arguably Family is not as competitive as others). There is always a risk you may miss an interview/interviews because of weather - with that said many programs are accommodating and will understand. I have friends who matched to a program they had to Skype interview (as a result of weather). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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