interviews (continued)

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digimon

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So now that our applications are complete with the Dean's letter, I hope to hear from more programs soon. I've consolidated the list of schools in the initial thread. Lets also try to keep tabs on programs that have given rejections
...here goes...

Interviews Offered

1. UAB
2. UChicago
3. Fox Chase
4. Iowa
5. ULouisville
6. Loyola
7. MD Anderson
8. Umiami
9. Umich
10. Mt. Sinai NYC
11. NCI
12. Northwestern
13. Soca la Kaiser
14. Vandy
15. WashU
16. UWisc-Mad

Rejections:

1. Uchicago

according to freida, it seems like most programs are interviewing 10-15 folks per slot. lets keep the thread legit...see ya'll on the interview trail.

-digimon
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Add Stanford to the list.

;) ,
Buckaroo
 
...just got rejected from MD Anderson.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
...geez, must be my unlucky day:rolleyes: ...
as I was typing my MD Anderson rejection, I get another from U Wisconsin...
I guess I'd rather know than not know. So much for my day off :p
 
Congrats on all the interview offers rolling in. Ive got some but nothing new to offer to the list. Do you think that it will be possible to go to all those interviews that you are getting? I would imagine that it would be tough at 12-15. Ahh....to have such problems.

I hear that there are tons of MD PhDs, like 30% which seems totally impossible to me. Any thoughts?
 
Vandy had mostly only MD/PhD group, but I think they were focusing on physician-scientist types. Not sure what other programs are looking at. Academic programs (MD Anderson, UMich, UChicago, JCRT, Stanford, UCSF, WashU, sloan-kettering) probably want this type as well. But if you have 250+ on the boards or AOA or strong letter from a prominent figure in field, this may get you in the door for an interview. Also, most programs automatically offer a courtesy interview to those who have done an externship at the program.

I figure go on at least 10-15 interviews to be safe for a chance at matching, regardless of how strong a candidate you are. Just my 2cents.

Hope this is helpful, and I hope we all match!

Regards,

Buckaroo
 
Interviews Offered

1. UAB
2. UChicago
3. Fox Chase
4. Iowa
5. ULouisville
6. Loyola
7. MD Anderson
8. Umiami
9. Umich
10. Mt. Sinai NYC
11. NCI
12. Northwestern
13. Soca la Kaiser
14. Vandy
15. WashU
16. UWisc-Mad
17. Stanford
18. Cinci
19. Cleveland Clinac ;)
20. UNC


Rejections:

1. Uchicago
2. MD Anderson
3. UWisc

Btw, I agree with Buckaroo on all of his/her points. I definitely felt like I was in the minority at Vandy without those three extra letters behind my name. However, I do have a research background, and do have a sincere interest in pursuing research in Academia, all of which is prominently reflected in both my personal statement and cv. And as a testament to doing an externship, one of my few interviews (from my top choice, no less) came from a program where I did an away rotation. I do disagree with buckaroo, however, on his/her point that 10-15 interviews may be needed in order to match. i feel like there will be a lot of redundancy in the interview pool, and while I obviously don't know the magic number, i arbitrarily assigned 7 radonc interviews as my lucky number. For you it may be 1 :)

not to make anyone more anxious, Vandy had 15 interviewees for 1 position. 1 of the 15 had done a few years of research with Dr. H (the chairman). While I valued the experience and enjoyed my visit, I wonder if the interview was ultimately in vain? And do most programs, while offering only 1-2 spots, have someone like him? but enough conspiracy theory talk. All I can do is give it my best shot....

-digimon

ps, what was up with the mri interpretation?
 
Add Emory.

How has anyone dealt with conflicting dates, and have you had success rescheduling once you have confirmed? How do you approach this with the programs?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Buckaroo
 
I did that MANY times last year with no problem. Just call the secretary and explain the situation. The programs have to understand that this will happen, particularly because there are generally only 2-3 dates per program in rad/onc. Just let them know as soon as you can, and always be nice, of course. Also, be considerate of your fellow applicants- if you know you don't want to go to a particular program for whatever reason or can't make the interview, let them know so that someone else can have that interview spot. -squash
 
Can add beamont to the list. Otherwise it was a quiet week.

My surprise with the 30% MDPhD statistic is that I can't imagine that there are enough MDPhDs graduating a year to support that. There cant be more than 300/year and there would have to be at least a third going into Radonc to make a third of the applicants (there has to be at least 300 applicants to radonc, right?)

Also, any feel for whether these interviews are offered in mass or on a rolling basis? Maybe a little of both...


Ann
 
1) I am not sure about the 30% number, sounds a bit high? I doubt that it is even half that number.
2) I think there are somewhere around 150 or so MD/PhD grads each year.
3) Also, I am not certain there are in excess of 300 applicants this year to rad onc, as Vandy said they had over 200 applicants (not over 300), and I assume just about everyone applied to that program.
4) UMich, WashU, ULouisville, Emory use a mass distribution email to candidates; MD Anderson and Fox Chase call you; Stanford, Mt. Sinai, Wisconsin, UAB, Chicago, Vandy (whose interviews are over) email you personally, and UMiami sends a letter.
5) If you have not yet received an invite, you are still in the mix at MD Anderson, UChicago, and UWisc if you have not gotten a rejection, they are waiting to hear of cancellations from their "definite" interview group, and you may be notified if you are high enough in the "maybe" interview group.

Hope this is helpful info/thoughts!

Hang in there,

Buckaroo

P.S. any info on malignant programs to look out for?
 
i dont think you can say that just about everyone applied to vandy. i come up with the # 300 by the following. last year, i interviewed at nyu and they said they got about 270 apps. now, there may only be 150-200 4th year med students applying, but there are a lot of interns and residents in other specialties who apply.

last year miami had 1 spot. they interviewed over 30. nyu interviewed 27 for 1 spot. 10-15 people per spot would be optimal but its usually not the case.
 
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Add Indiana.

Best,

Buckaroo

P.S. thanks for the great responses in the trans/prelim thread!
 
Looks like it is difficult to reschedule at programs that only offer 2-3 days of interviews (had no success at two programs), once you choose your date you must take it or the next person on the waiting list gets the spot. So choose wisely. At places that offer many interview dates, rescheduling is not a problem, ie UMiami.

Also:

add Tufts-NEMC to the list.

Buckaroo
 
Thanks for keeping all that good info coming, buckaroo. Its very helpful to know who has been giving offers. What are you thinking about interviewing at all those places? It is even harder if you can't rearrange. I guess you can always cancel some for good if a better offer comes around but thats not really ideal. Ive been getting all my interviews in the midwest where I am from, anyone else seen this pattern?
 
Yes, and add on top of our rad onc interviews.......prelim/trans interviews! wow, $$$$$, but I think that a goal of going on about 12-15 interviews (rather than 5-7) is a good idea and gives you a very good chance at matching. This number comes from all the terrible stories I have heard about many good applicants (AOA, year of research at NIH, many interviews at top places) not matching in rad onc. Also, many slots may have been already locked up by an "insider"? i.e. student from the University or a post-grad doing research for a year or two in the department. Another thing is to make sure there is a good balance of top-tier (go to all of these.....you never know), middle-tier (go to most of these), and lower-tier programs (go to all of the ones that are within driving distance) on your interview list.

Thanks and lets keep the discussion/info/comments/agreements/disagreements flowing. I think the more out of the dark we are about the whole process the better we all will do.

Buckaroo


P.S. anyone have an idea of when UF, UPenn, JCRT, MSKCC, Duke, UCSF start sending rejection/invitations?
 
I called a couple of programs the other day to check the status of my application. One of them was the Joint Center. According to the program coordinator (and if i remember correctly), they are reviewing applications this week and next, and should extend interview offers/rejections by next week sometime. One interview date in late december (20th? i think) and then a couple more in january. apparently the interviews will be split between the mgh and longwood campuses. 7 positions total for JCRT/MGH. Hope this helps...and congrats on all the invites! Anyone else been on any more interviews?
-digimon
 
Add UPenn

The new list:

1. UAB
2. UChicago
3. Fox Chase
4. Iowa
5. ULouisville
6. Loyola
7. MD Anderson
8. Umiami
9. Umich
10. Mt. Sinai NYC
11. NCI
12. Northwestern
13. Soca la Kaiser
14. Vandy
15. WashU
16. UWisc-Mad
17. Stanford
18. Cinci
19. Cleveland Clinac
20. UNC
21. William Beaumont
22. Emory
23. Indiana
24. Tufts-NEMC
25. UPenn

Rejections:

1. Uchicago
2. MD Anderson
3. UWisc

Any others to add?

Best,
Buckaroo

PS: thanks digimon for sharing!
PPS: I think the next interview dates for programs in general are around Nov. 22nd-ish
 
Add SUNY Brooklyn. Rejections: Duke.
 
More Rejections:
1. email from Tufts, NEMC
2. Email from Allegheny stating no spots for 2004

hmmm...if duke is sending rejection emails, i wonder if anyone has heard anything positive yet?

btw, salliemae/medloans has a $10,000 loan available for 4th year students to cover interview/travel costs. this interviewing business is definitely hurtin' the wallet:eek:
 
1) I haven't heard anything positive or negative from Duke yet. I heard it is kind of malignant with an inpatient service?
2) The loan is called MEDEX up to 10,000 bucks.
3) Seems as though some programs may have some kind of pre-ranking system even before interviews possibly? At one program, I had requested another day after confirming due to scheduling problems, but all other days were full. So I requested to be cancelled from the list to give someone else the slot, however, they email me again about 4 days later to inform me that the slot on the day I requested has opened up because someone else cancelled. But I need to respond ASAP or they will go to the list. This makes me think they have some pre-interview ranking system? Any thoughts on the subject(s)?
4) We should probably hear alot of good news from programs over the next week or two.

Hang in there!

Buckaroo

PS please add any comments or thoughts to this forum, there have been almost a thousand hits but not alot of input.
 
got an email from yale today:

"We do not have any available positions for the current match cycle and
are therefore withdrawing from the match. We do anticipate entering the
next match cycle for residents entering PGY-2 in radiation oncology in
July 2005."

Don't know if this means they filled outside the match or they didn't have a position available. Does this mean we get our money back?...probably not...

Just to comment on the "pre-ranking" comment, I've been on a few preliminary interviews (where categorical and prelim candidates interviewed together), and I definitely noticed comments from the PD's/Chairman that hinted at the idea that we were pre ranked. at one, one of my interviewers, who hadn't looked at my application asked me: "i have to fill out this form, can you help me?....AOA, board scores, class rank, Medicine grade, rec letters (i.e. good, excellent, great...)" then asked me if i had any questions about the program. He jotted one or two words and the interview was over. Unless there was a prerank present, i don't see how he could of ranked me based on the interview....it was completely bogus. Anyway, I hope radonc is different. but i wouldn't be surprised.

as for loans, there's also a loan through studentloans.com called citiassist for resident/student interiewing/relocation. it's good for up to 12k.

i too am hopeful for a productive week of emails ;) positive or negative, i just wanna know.

btw, suny-buffalo offered and interview
 
baylor rejection via email.:rolleyes:

Buckaroo
 
Just a thought: it behooves us all to keep the info flowing, because if we know when interviews are first offered, we know how programs are viewing each of us. i.e., looking at the list from a week ago I see that one school that has just offered me an interview was handing out interviews previously, and the likely reason they are now contacting me now is that some of the first group of people they wanted to interview has turned them down, thus I am next in line (not part of the initial group they wanted to interview, not highly pre-ranked). Therefore, I shall be less likely to cancel an interview I have already somewhere else (where I am wanted, before cancellations) to schedule this one. I think this makes sense? Let me know if you agree.

Best Regards,

Buckaroo

P.S. Mayo rejection email, I think.
 
is it me or is this site super slow?+pissed+

anyway, buckaroo, re: your previous post, I agree and disagree...

If you have to drop an interview altogether to schedule a new one, i agree that it may be counterproductive, especially if the one you're dropping is a program you will rank highly, and if the second program is one that you are not considering highly. On the other hand, if you would rather train at the second program and are not regarding the original program highly, it may be worth dropping the first program and taking the gamble. From the interviews you've been getting, you are likely VERY qualified, and probably have a good shot even if you are part of interviews round 2. Who knows, maybe the first round was for qualified Regional candidates, and round 2 is for others? Maybe round 1 was for those who rotated through, and round 2 is for others? I don't know if we can read too much into this process, but i agree with you that programs probably have a good idea of who they want before they even see us in person. not unlike us applicants...i'm sure we have an idea of where we want to train before we get to the interview...*i.e. the joint center :laugh:

i hope this post made sense. i'm coming off an ER shift. :sleep:

btw, when are most of ya'll interviewing? I took january off, but seems like most of mine are in december! i hope those programs that have yet to correspond with us offer january/february dates...Hope to see some of you on the interview trail...ps, i'm cut off, no more emoticons for me!
 
Anyone hear from:
1. MSKCC
2. Mass Gen/JCRT
3. Columbia
4. Georgetown
5. U maryland

??? Thanks
 
I haven't heard from JCRT, u maryland or georgetown which are the only of those that I applied to.

Apparently the joint center/MGH was just getting started last week.

Ann
 
Programs that have sent interview offers:

1. UAB
2. UChicago
3. Fox Chase
4. Iowa
5. ULouisville
6. Loyola
7. MD Anderson
8. Umiami
9. Umich
10. Mt. Sinai NYC
11. NCI
12. Northwestern
13. Soca la Kaiser
14. Vanderbilt
15. Wash U/MIR
16. UWisc-Mad
17. Stanford
18. Cinci
19. Cleveland Clinic
20. UNC
21. Beaumont
22. Emory
23. Indiana
24. Tufts
25. Upenn
26. Suny Brooklyn
27. Suny Buffalo
28. Mayo
29. UC Irvine

Just got a letter in the mail from Loma Linda--->rejection

JCRT/MGH, Duke, UCSF, UCLA, MSKCC, anyone? ....btw Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
 
MSKCC is out as of last week via e-mail. They only have three interview dates altogether and they tell you which one they prefer you to attend (this may or may not have something to do with pre-ranking). The Joint Center is apparently out (I didn't get an interview, but I know someone who did - the guy might have inside info though having worked there). SUNY upstate is also out via letter in the mail. UCSF has only got to the tip of the iceberg in terms of reading through applications according to an insider. Hope this helps.
 
Duke rejection via email.

:clap:

who wants to do a residency at a program with an inpatient service anyway? who are they kidding?

Regards,

Buckaroo
 
Utah Invite via Email.
3 dates, 7 per day

"greatest snow on earth"...here i come!
 
Add Columbia-phone call

How did JCRT notify? Looks like I shall be getting a rejection from them soon.:laugh:

Cheers,

Buckaroo
 
Called JCRT: they should be sending out final decisions (i.e. rejections) by Friday or next week sometime. If you haven't heard anything by now, be ready for the rejection letter in the mail in the next week or so.

Hope this clarifies the situation.:D

Hang in there,

Buckaroo
 
Add U of Minnesota via email.

Im having some serious date conflict issues. Everyone seems to like the fridays and there are only so many in dec and january. And my latest invites seem to have only one or two available dates. It looks like Ill be forced to make some hard decisions. The schools dont seem to like the trading dates idea with other applicants (i was trying everything). Anyone have any better solutions?

Ann
 
ah...the luxury of rejecting interviews ;)

along the same lines....i know it's a pain, but it would be so great if any of you could post the interview dates that are being offered so that, if by a small chance, those of us on the wait list could be prepared when/if an interview spot opens up when people reject interviews.

in particular, i would be interested in the dates that socal la kaiser, uc irvine, stanford are offering... again, i know it's a pain, but it would be really awesome!

thanks!
 
It know that it doesn't sound like a real serious problem, but its not like I have gobs of interviews so its really disapointing to have to turn them down. Stanford is the only one on your list that I know about with dates on the 12th of december, 10th and 28th of january.

Good luck to everyone. There are still quite a few programs that have yet to notify as far as i can tell. They are going to have to do it in the next week or so, I would imagine.

Ann
 
1) Add CWRU/Univ. Hosp. Cleveland.
2) Unfortunately, I am not certain that many people will be turning down Stanford (so it may be tough), and I confirm Dec. 12 as one of the days they are interviewing. I am not sure about the other two programs, they may have spaces opening up.
3) Interview days that have opened up: UWisc 1/18; Indiana sometime between 11/18-2/7; ULouisville 12/13, 1/10, or 1/24; UNC 12/6-7; Fox Chase 12/13; CWRU on 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, or 1/31.

Hope this helps.

Also Ann, the most flexible in scheduling have been Columbia, and UMiami, UWisc emailed me back with the rescheduled date I requested after it opened up (kept me in mind).

Hang in there,

Buckaroo:)
PS should hear tons next week.
 
Hello, I have been following this forum for awhile. I decided to apply to rad/onc in the end of October and turned in my applications in early-mid November. I have a couple of questions that I would very much appreciate answers to. It sounds like MSKCC, JCT and Utah have given out all of their interview invitations. Are there any other schools like this? I applied late (but not past the deadline) to Stanford, Emory, UNC, Wash U, UC Irvine, and U Chicago; do you know if they are still offering any interviews. Also: does anyone know anything about offers at U of W, MCV, Wake Forest, U Maryland, Oregon, Georgetown, U Florida-Galveston, or U Texas-San Antonio. So far I have been rejected by MSKCC and Fox Chase and invited to interview by Baylor, USC, Loma Linda, and Duke. Obviously, I am getting very, very nervous. I would appreciate any information. I would also like to know if it is seen as bad manners if I call a program like Emory to see if they have given all of their invitations. Thank you and sorry for the long-winded message, Zoey
 
I hope that its not bad form to be calling becuase Ive been doing a lot of it. I think that there are programs that no news means bad news so thats mostly what I got calling around. As for the programs that you asked about, heres what I know.
Stanford - almost filled (altho I just turned mine down if you can believe that)
emory - rejections and offers mailed out.
U chicago - ditto.
MCV is about to mail out their acceptances. something about tue and fridays for interview dates.
Wake forest is only interviewing 12 for their two spots (makes you wonder if they dotn have a good idea already about who they are taking) They might offer more they said,
Oregon only offered about 12 interviews, 7 of which rotated there.
Maryland is planning to offer in the next couple weeks.
Georgetown will know this week.
U florida was done with their offers, i believe.
I dont know if the same rules apply to you tho since your application might not have been in when they went through the bulk of them. I think that it is always legitimate to call and find out.

Good Luck!
ann
 
Add UCSF via e-mail. I get the sense they're interviewing a decent number of people because they have four interview days (and they may expand that to six). They also have three spots to fill.

My guess is that those of us who haven't heard from the Joint Center shouldn't be holding our breaths. A friend of mine who recently spoke to Jay Loeffler said that Harvard Med has 11 rad onc candidates this year and they're may have a hard time finding spots for every one of them, given how competitive a year this is. So I imagine that a few of those spots at the Joint Center are ticketed to the Harvard kids.
 
1) Add Georgetown phone call. They offer 4 days: 12/10, 12/12, 12/17, 12/19.
2) UF is in the process of going to their secondary list as they receive turn downs of their invites. They reserved a 20 person secondary list after the primary 20 initial invites. After the 40, my friend, we are toast. May have a chance if you are on the 2nd list as UF is in.....Gainesville, even though they are a solid program.
3) UCSF is hanging on to a secondary list, however, most likely they will not have to go very far down it. So best to write this one off, if you haven't heard. Do you have to give a 15min presentation of your research there?.....what a pain.
4) JCRT/MGH: closed, seems like a good ol' boy network going on there all the way, it is likely that connections mean the most at this place.

hmmm seems like we are coming close to the end folks as interview invites should be just about finalized.

I wish everyone well and hope for a successful match for all!

Regards,

Buckaroo
 
Buckaroo:

Interesting to learn that they are asking (requiring) 15 minute presentations of research - does this mean said research experience must be in Rad Onc?

I ask this because many people don't really even know of this specialty until 3rd-4th year and research related to this field may be limited to many applicants-

In your experience (and for those who apply after you) what are your thoughts?

Is the need (expectation) for solely Rad Onc, or do they entertain other fields?

Just curious....

Airborne
 
My institution has over 160 people for one spot for 2003 (ie first radonc year 2004). So its hard to esimate numbers applying. Once the match is done that should tell the story.
 
heard back from my last program today--reject from Wake. Good luck everyone.
 
I'd say the interview season is drawing to close. Anybody want to start talking about their experiences? Maybe humorous or embarrassing stories? Any programs out there super malignant or benign?

An anxious 3rd year is getting ready to jump into the ring for next year and would like to know what to expect. Thanks!
 
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