How many interviews should you go on?

edit: people keep knocking my attempt to provide a quantitative aspect to this, so I'll just keep it to myself; what was here in this post was something that some people was bored by and other people thought was wrong; so I'm erasing it to not waste your time...

I'm going on 13 interviews and am happy with this number. I may be able to go to less and still match. However, I'm not ballsy enough to cancel that down to 10 or less.

The reason is that I don't necessarily agree with the earlier point that if you go on 23 interviews and match at #2 that you're necessarily wasting interview spots. If you have 23 interviews and cut down to 10, what if one of the 13 was the program that ended up #2 on the list. My point is that the interview process isn't just about numbers on your eventual rank list. It's about learning about programs, and if someone is lucky enough to get tons of interviews and wants to go spend unGodly amounts of money to learn about them all, more power to them. I guess I have more of a capitalistic view that those with lots of interviews have the right to do whatever they want with them.

Also, if one person cuts down interviews and gives them to those "less fortunate" it's not like another residency position appears. There is still the same number of spots to fill whether those less fortunate get 5 or 15 interviews. Their chances are better seemingly. But if a person gets 5 interviews on their own and 5 more as the "last one in" on someone's interview list after an applicant with many gives it up, is their chance of matching any different...probably not much. Seems that the chance of matching at a program at which you get the last couple spots that someone else gives up are less likely.

On another point if I give up my interviews and someone else gets it and matches when they wouldn't have before, then while my interview has gotten that person in, it has knocked another person out in their place. In the end, I'm not going to let all this analysis change how I do things. I'm going on all the ones I can.

As a side note, does anyone have a clue what the hell the previous post said? Not me...Statistics be damned!

rwbrhp29

First of all... ironman's statistics are not correct (the details of why would make everyone go to sleep... and see the next statement). Second use of statistics assumes that EVERYONE who interviews has an equal chance of matching, an idea which I'm sure we can all agree is also not correct.

My thoughts... go on as many interviews as you can schedule and afford. Date conflicts will limit you to a reasonable number. I went on 17. Each one gives you insight into every other. You will get to meet a lot of people that you will interact with for the rest of your orthopaedic career. More over, I think you come out of the process with a much better idea of what's going to be important for you over the next five years... and you will therefore have a "wiser" rank list.

Finally don't worry about taking anyone else's spot... if you are given the opportunity to interview, it is YOUR opportunity to USE. That being said, if you find that you can't make an interview, release the date for others as soon as you possibly can... that's the best way to look out for others

I agree with above. Go to as many interviews as possible (to a reasonable point, say 16-18 as a limit for a non-couple's match). I think most people I ran into last year who matched went to 12-16 interviews. I personally was doing the couple's match and went to like 22 or 23 interviews so it is doable to do more than 20+ interviews. Other couple's match people seemed to be doing 16-20. It really wasn't that bad doing 20+, but I have no idea how much I spent (and I don't want to know). I could have scheduled 25 or 26 without any conflicts, but had to draw the line somewhere.

I have to second another point made above, going to more interviews lets you see more programs and increases the chance of finding the best fit program for you. If I would have gone to only ten interviews, I would have ruled out the two programs that ended up being No. 1 and #2 on my ROL as neither of these were in my top 10 when I applied, but were clearly the best fit for me after interviewing.

And remember, if you don't match and only interviewed at 10 places and could have interviewed at 5-8 more places, you will definitely be kicking yourself on match day and maybe the rest of your life as it is much harder to match the second time around (damaged goods). I matched at my No. 1, but don't regret doing 20+ interviews at all. all the money/time spent was an investment in my future. and remember, 16 interviews, mean 16 socials with free beer!

Thanks for all the incite- I think there were some great points made that I had not considered before. I guess I won't get too cavalier...

edit: people keep knocking my attempt to provide a quantitative aspect to this, so I'll just keep it to myself; what was here in this post was something that some people was bored by and other people thought was wrong; so I'm erasing it to not waste your time...

We have roughly 600 spots and 1200 applicants. If each program invites 10 interviewees per position they have, that means ortho applicants average 5 interviews per person. This seems like a low number, but it just speaks to the selection bias of people posting vs. people watching this forum.

Good luck.

1200 applicants for 600 spots...is that true? Where are those number coming from?

rwbrhp29

1200 applicants for 600 spots...
forgot where exactly they came from; I think it's like 590 some spots; likely from that booklet where they list all residency positions in each specialty; it's a white booklet, probably published by AAMC
I think these numbers appeared on these forum as well...
someone else wants to corrobate?

only 16 free beer socials if you skip UVM, those cheapskates are the only ones that weren't open bar...needless to say - Cold and paying for beers = last on ROL

Two things:
1) The numbers: According Bernstein/JBJS 2002 there were 1116 applicants for 554 PGY-1 positions in 2000. This also includes FMG's, who match at a much lower rate (It didn't say how many were FMG vs. US applicants). I don't think that the statistics from which these numbers were derived is commonly available so I'm not sure what the more recent numbers are. (However, there were 610 spots last year according to the NRMP).

2) Interviews: How many do you need to go to in order to match? I would suppose that the number you are offered is more important. If you get offered 20 interviews and go to five I would imagine that you are more likely to get a spot than someone who gets offered only five and goes to them all. I've also heard the number ten thrown around as the number of interviews to be offered/go to in order to be fairly comfortable at matching but I am sure there are plenty of people with less that match and more that don't. I know that this isn't really helpful but I guess the answer is that nobody knows ... I know that I'm going to go on as many interviews as I reasonably can and pray that I don't get any phone calls on black monday, march 13!

Ironman... the statistics you offer are nowhere near accurate on an individual level. The process is not random and cannot be analyzed with the Las Vegas approach.

Consider this... do you really think that everyone that goes to an interview has the same probability of matching? Absolutely not... your statistics suggest that they are. Calculating odds of matching in this scenario is like calculating the odds of a number coming up in craps when the dice are loaded... you can't go by the non-loaded prediction.

Suffice it to say, however, that the overal point you try to make is true... the more places you interview, the less likely you are to not match

This is because:

1) The more interviews offers you have, the more likely you are to be a strong candidate (as stated above)

2) The better you get at presenting yourself during an interview (practice does make perfect... try to save the ones you most want to impress until you've gone on a few that you don't anticipate to rank as highly)

3) It is fundamentaly true... the more times you roll the dice, loaded or not, the more chances your number will come up... and it only takes one

I have no idea how you guys can go on so many interviews. All the programs I applied to have interviews on the same dates, so it's just substituting one for the other at this point (for example, 3 of the UC's are interviewing on jan 20/21 - and that's just in the same state). I don't think I can go on more than 10, and I assumed it was the same for everyone else.

Also, the match isn't about statistics. It's about politics. Play your cards wisely.

TheGreatCornholio

I'm right there with you GC...10 will be the most I can go on (assuming I get interviews from a couple schools I'm waiting for). I've already declined 3 and that might go up to 5 because of all the scheduling conflicts. You're not alone.

I think that the more place you can see the better. My pre-interviewing rank list and post interview rank list differed DRASTICALLY. People are saying they dont see how others are able to interview at so many spots b/c of conflicts. It was my experience that people in that boat often are only applying to one region (say, only in the west or northeast), but thats not always the case. Also, some places do have flexible schedules (Akron General is an example) and basically allow you to pick a time. Take advantage of that and utilize programs that interview during the week since the ones that only offer a few dates usually are all on the weekends.
While it is true that sometimes you just can't be two places at once, sometimes you have to workout crazy traveling. I went to 7 places in a 2 week period. That was freakin crazy. You just gotta figure that every weekend in dec/jan you are gonna be traveling a lot. The expense of it all is a pretty darn good investment in your future, I think.
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I personally am scheduled for 9 interviews, with one more program that I probably will get an interview and another I am hopefull for. My thinking was this:

If you look at past rank lists on Orthogate (posted on match day each year) you will very rarely see anybody match below their 6th choice. That's why I feel safe at a number of 9-11.

Also, the statistics presented earlier in the post is wrong. While a program interviews 40 people for 4 spots, most programs go about 3 times the number of spots on their rank list. So 12 people out of the 40 have a chance of matching their rather than 4 out of 40. So you have a 30% chance of matching at each program(personal example, I just met a guy who is a MUCH better aplicant than I am at a program and could have the spot if he wanted it. But he hated the place, so I move up)

Also, figure out what your chances at your home school is. I know that I stand a good chance at my home school, so I am pretty comfortable knowing that my odds there are are a lot higher there. Adding that in with the other info, I am quite fine only interviewing at places that I know I might possible consider over my home program.

I'd like to revisit this topic that I started awhile ago for the sake of the MS3's coming up behind us. It's amazing how little you know about this process before you start. Demystifying different aspects to the "ortho application game" can only help.

I started this thread with the following question:

Many (but not all) felt that to limit the number of interviews that you go on is folly for a number of reasons (you never know where you're going to like, it's not going to help out "less fortunate applicants" too much, etc). Do people still feel this way after interviewing? I personally did limit my interviewing to 10 interviews. While my expected rank list did change quite a bit, I am completely happy with the programs that I saw and have no regret about passing over some. In the end, I found that the differences between programs is smaller than I expected and because of that QOL issues, location, etc ended up playing a larger role than I had anticipated. Furthermore, I was exhausted after 10 interviews. In canceling interviews, I had many coordinators thank me for being honest and canceling early so that they could offer the interview to someone else since the qualified applicant group is always bigger than the group that can be interviewed. Obviously, we haven't matched yet, so I may regret this strategy later (I doubt it though). For the non couples match applicant getting enough interviews to entertain the idea of being choosy (getting 15+ interviews I would say), do all of you still think more is better? Personally I'm glad to have the extra dough to spend on a vacation this spring. Just my opinion- clearly there is no right answer. People should do what they want. What I am questioning is the necessity and true utility of interviewing so broadly. Does doing so really make a difference in the end? Thoughts?

JPS also would not pay for alcohol. Still liked the program.

My 2 cents...Of course more is better. I had to cancel 3 because of conflicts and only cancelled 1 without a conflict. I had heard that the program was maybe shutting down and at that point I had 15-16 interviews. But I ended up going on 20 and would have went on more given the opportunity. A few places that I knew nothing about beforehand ended up high on my ROL after interviewing so I would hate to have missed those opportunities. And compared to the amount of money one spends on undergrad and med school the cost of interviewing is fairly insignificant. And as far as giving up interview spots so others can have a shot...I don't feel anybody is obligated to do that. I was rejected by many many many programs that I would have loved to interview at but I do not feel at all like some of the "better applicants" were obligated to cut me a break. I mean..they earned the interview..they probably studied harder, did more research, got better step 1 scores etc than me.. good for them. Anyway....just my retarded ramblings.

I think a good advisor at your school can help out a great deal in this matter. If you have someone at your school who advises applicants in ortho each year take the time to go over your application and goals with them. They should be able to give you a good idea of the number and types of programs you should apply to. Obviously if you plan on shooting big, or your application is weak in an area, you'll need to apply to a large number of programs. For me, I wanted to stay close to home (married w/kids) and I only applied to four programs that are within driving distance of family. I wouldn't have done this without my advisor reassuring me, but in the end this whole process cost me less than $500 and I'm confident I'll land a spot.