Thank you very much for your advice.
I think one of the biggest frustrations for us is the fact that many interviews fall on the same days forcing people to choose between programs while those who have multiple interviews within the same geographic region are unable to schedule them during the same weekend because the dates are so inflexible. I am hoping that something could be done about this. I realize that a lot of constraints are due to OR schedules, logistics of getting attendings to be present, and maybe even the desire to limit the number of programs we interview at. But, if program coordinators communicate with each other, I wonder if a few changes could be suggested:
1. Could programs in the same city / vicinity schedule interview dates in succession - for instance, it would be very convinient if the two programs in Cleveland could interview on successful days.
2. It would also be helpful if there was more flexibility in interview dates. Some programs only offer one date, and often this date is shared with several other programs. While I am ok with one date interview, I hope that some effort can be put in to making sure that that one date is not the most popular one. Perhaps program coordinators can circulate amongst them suggested dates and try to work out a schedule that limits these conflicts.
3. It seems that some programs send out more interview invites than they have available spots. I hope that a message can be passed on that this practice is somewhat unfair, and it results in us being extremely paranoid about checking email.
Anyway, thank you very much for your post. I hope these issues can be at least discussed among your fellow program coordinators, and hopefully this process will be less frustrating in the future.
