I definetly have thoughts on this subject. I was waitlisted for case western. I e-mailed leaving my phone number and saying I was willing to go for a last second night before cancellation even. Later I decided to call to see what my chances were of getting an interview and I wanted to tell her that "if I'm high enough on the waitlist please give me an interview instead of waiting until a night before cancellation cause I said I'd be willing to come at the last minute in my e-mail." She said, "you know what, I just had a cancellation, what are you doing Jan. 7?" Yeah, I'm inteviewing at case! Then she said "timing is everything" Don't know how hi i was on the wailist, i'd like to think I was probably fairly high for her to do that, but I'm sure i wasn't the number one person at that particular second.
And then she told me that one of their current interns was called in two nights before the interview cause someone cancelled!! So he must have been relativelly low on the waitlist too. Just cause you've been waitlisted doesn't mean you might not be at least as good as some of the 1st wave people. I was waitlisted at Indiana, but got on the 1st wave for other perhaps "more competative" programs that some of the people who were 1st wave for Indiana were waitlisted or rejected at.

Totally IMHO:
you don't need to wait until someone on this forum posts that they canceled to start begging programs for interviews. Start now. Use your judgment to push the boundary of kissing up without crossing the line to annoying. I got offered two (maybe a 3rd) interviews clearly because I wrote a couple of e-mails saying how interested I was in their program when I knew first waves of invites went out already. Both times it was the second or third e-mail I wrote to ask about my application, after a few days of not corresponding. And they replied two minutes later, that it so happened they _just_ had a cancellation and offered me a spot.

It's clear that the coordinators are given discretions with how to distribute the remaining invites. I bet some program leaves open spots and give to those who write. I also bet most programs do not rank their wait list and coordinator give those out as s/he sees fit.

Good luck.

so contact the residency coordinator and NOT the program director, or both or just the program director?

thanks!

orthodawg, it very well could be that you happen to call right after someone canceled, but those same wordings were experienced by others. My previous post specifically refers to Case Western and their 1/7 dates. (Next few sentences are my PERSONAL conclusions.) They interview their home students and rotators with their first two dates, and leave this 1/7 open, perhaps not all spots, but at least some, for those people who are qualified on paper but with less connection to Case or Cleveland. So they send out a mass e-mail saying everyone is on a wait list, essentially invites the applicants to show them love; anyone who does gets a spot. Oh I am sure interviewees from 1/7 will match, as long as the program is sure you'll go there. This is my guess and I am not saying anything controversial; it's all a game between applicants and the programs, and they play us and we play them. You can't fault the programs because each of us applies to like 50 programs, and with their limited interview spots they can't take the "best" but the 'best" who will want to go there. It's an important question that needs to be discussed amongst the residency coordinators; we can cap to, say, 10 programs per applicant, but ERAS ain't going to make that happen.

Kimball, your judgment is as good as mine. PDs like Dr. Levine from Columbia seems to be more involved with sending out invites, whereas most other coordinators seem to have a lot of say beyond a certain point.

good luck.

No harm in calling or emailing the coordinator. I wouldn't bother with the PD directly since I doubt most are sitting by their computers sending out the email invites when a spot comes open. It is basically up to me who I want to invite, although I do have a system I use. However, if someone has called and expressed sincere interest and is on the wait list (if you're not on the wait list, it's not going to happen because there are surely others on the list who have not been asked yet and have expressed interest) I might invite them. I have experienced the 'timing is everything' concept and had someone call just as I needed someone to fill. And it's less work for me if you're on the phone, I can just set it up right there and obviously you're interested in coming to our program. Don't be annoying (ie calling/emailing incessantly). But one email after you get your wait list notice saying thank you I am still very interested please let me know if a spot is available and then maybe another a week before the interview date. I will not tell a caller what our system is or the hierarchy for wait listers, but you can ask if there's anything you can do to get moved up. If they say no, leave it alone. You don't want to put them in an awkward position. But coordinators often have more say then one might think, so if you're really interested, ask.
In general, the PD and interviewers don't know the difference between those who were on the original list and those who were on the wait list. I don't note it in your file so you are on equal footing.

Definitely take the wait list interviews if offered and assume that you are on equal footing. The year that I went through the process, I got a wait list interview from Indiana and then ended up on their "ranked to match" list.

I agree boneblaster. I just wrote something about this again on the "Advice from a Residency Coordinator" post if you want to read it. Like it said, there is likely little difference between you and the guy who canceled his interview in the eyes of the PD, you may have just been edged out by something relatively insignificant (we have to make decsions somehow as hard as it is). So if you're interested in the program and able to get there in short notice, go for it. I'm fairly certain we've matched residents who were last minute drop ins. You just never know.