2022MD Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 Hi everyone, I am applying to Carms this year to a small competitive program with about 10 interviewees for 1 spot. I recently have found myself reflecting a lot on the interview I just completed at my top choice school. The PD knows me already and had provided me a reference letter. He was present at the panel interview and it seemed like they barely interviewed me and were not really paying attention. Compared to interviews for the same program at other schools (lasting about 1 hour), this one lasted about 15 minutes although it was planned for 40 minutes. I only got 4-5 extremely generic questions and absolutely none about my CV, career plans, myself. I am truly unsure about how to interpret this. It made me wonder about how much the interview really counts in the process. Do programs generally already know their pick and are only interviewing to rule-out flags? Maybe I am overthinking this. Thank you for your insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramelpanic Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 Hey, fellow CaRMS applicant here. I think it's impossible for any of us to really answer you, as I imagine (like with anything CaRMS related), it depends on the program and specialty. It seems reasonable that if they know you pretty well and that you've worked with them, the interview might feel like more of a formality since they've already made their mind up about you, especially if the PD knows you well enough to write you a letter. I had a similar experience with interviewing at my home school, it felt a lot like "eh, we already know you, but we gotta run through the questions anyways" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 It is difficult to tell. You may have been preselected prior to interview and the interview is yours to lose. I was 1 of 40 interviewees for 3 spots for a surgical residency. The interview was scheduled for 40-45 minutes and lasted only 10 minutes. The interview was simple. There were 6 interviewers, some I knew, others not. Interview is important but not necessarily the end all. May The Force Be With You! 2022MD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2022MD Posted March 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 1 minute ago, Bambi said: It is difficult to tell. You may have been preselected prior to interview and the interview is yours to lose. I was 1 of 40 interviewees for 3 spots for a surgical residency. The interview was scheduled for 40-45 minutes and lasted only 10 minutes. The interview was simple. There were 6 interviewers, some I knew, others not. Interview is important but not necessarily the end all. May The Force Be With You! Thank you! Did you end up getting into the program that interviewed you for 10 min ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilyflowers Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 I feel the same way. I felt surprised that my interview at my home school seemed impersonal and asked me generic questions with no follow-ups even though I knew the interviewers well. I was expecting this interview to at least be more conversational. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgu12 Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 My feeling is that schools also have an unpublished mandate to retain some of their own students as well as ensure diversity in their incoming class to reflect the populations they serve. Of course, for smaller programs, this may not always work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearded frog Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Interviews can certainly make a difference. That quick and short interview could mean that you either had a high pre-interview score and wanted to make sure you were a normal person and they could call that in 10 minutes, or it could mean that you had a low pre-interview score and they've already had a rank list that should fill their spots and so they're going through the motions. Or something entirely different. But yes for normal interviews it does matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 22 hours ago, 2022MD said: Thank you! Did you end up getting into the program that interviewed you for 10 min ? Yes, I did! Truth is stranger than fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 10 hours ago, bearded frog said: Interviews can certainly make a difference. That quick and short interview could mean that you either had a high pre-interview score and wanted to make sure you were a normal person and they could call that in 10 minutes, or it could mean that you had a low pre-interview score and they've already had a rank list that should fill their spots and so they're going through the motions. Or something entirely different. But yes for normal interviews it does matter. I believe that is what happened in my case. Moreover, the resident with whom I worked was on the Interview Panel, not only did he find me a collaborative, hard worker, but he also knew the attending wanted me selected. When I left the interview, I was somewhat confused at the shortness, but in retrospect, they had all made their mind up, so why interview me further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBA Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 @Bambido you mind me asking what specialty it was you ended up matching into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemPetE Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 Interviews matter a tonne. They’re 50% of our selection weighting (file being the other 50%). I just finished interviewing a lot of medical physics applicants for their residency (similar process). You could be top file but if you interview poorly end you on the bottom. Imo most students come underprepared for interviews, but that is just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooogs Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 5 hours ago, ChemPetE said: Interviews matter a tonne. They’re 50% of our selection weighting (file being the other 50%). I just finished interviewing a lot of medical physics applicants for their residency (similar process). You could be top file but if you interview poorly end you on the bottom. Imo most students come underprepared for interviews, but that is just my opinion. Do you have any tips or things that stand out to do or not do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakoon Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 From what I heard, some smaller programs do have a pre interview rank list. They edit it following interviews moving People up and down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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