Interview Month

It can actually depend on you. Most programs offer interview dates in both December and January. Keep in mind that many (if not all) programs do not interview during the Christmas/New Year season so you only have a little more than half of December to interview. For me, January was definitely the busier month, and I think that was the case for most of the interviewees I met on the trail. Good luck.

I agree with the good doctor above that January was the more busy month. If I were you I would take January as my vacation month and try to schedule a coosh elective in december - ask the current fourth years who is the coolest attending out there. I lucked out and got one that said to me the first day, "You are a fourth year, you are suppose to go interview". Good luck

January was by far the busiest. I anticipated December being the busiest and I took vacation then. Fortunately, I had an outpatient elective (Rheum) during January and the attending was cool with me missing half the month (literally). I also had one interview in October. Two in November. And I know a few guys that had one in February. Just a sidenote.

December was the busiest for me. Luckily, I scheduled a "reading elective". Highly recommended if your school give the option. This way you don't have to burn a vaction month. This was wedged right between two critical care months, and I was able to do a few interviews during those ... noo sweat.

December was far the busiest for me.
Case and Mizzou-Columbia offered interviews in November and I took those dates. Then, I tried to front load December if given interview date options. By January, I was pretty wiped out (and only went on 9 interviews total) and canceled many interviews in January.
Anyway, that's just one guy's opinion. Previous posts make good arguments re: Xmas and New Year's week, making December a little more congested. But, I found more interviews during the week in December, which was advantageous to keep coveted weekend dates open

hrmmm...

Late december (the teens) and january are the busiest times.. The most conflicts will arise during January.

Schedule as many as you can early.

In order for you to do this, 1. get your app in as early as possible, and 2. get your letters in just as early.

Carry a bberry or iphone or whatever, and when you get your emails, respond quickly.

Keep a running list of all of the interview dates, you can always call up to move them around..and you never know what is going to open up.

good luck.

As usual, I back Iliiz...

I took Dec and Jan off as my months and I could not've made a better decision. I found that travel to- and from- interviews consumed more time than the actual interviews. Most of my friends burned their last month (may) to vacation early, but this is not advisable. Sure, I didn't have a great tan, however I was smiling widely all of May s/p matching to my number-one choice. I think I was 8 interviews in dec and 7 in Jan. Factor in travel days and, frankly, you don't have much chance if you have to be present for a rotation who'll care about your real name.

Yeah after looking at the calendar on orthopodmatch.com I decided to take December and January off too. Hopefully it will make interview time more flexible

I agree with all of this.

Jan was slightly busier than Dec, but I would highly recommend taking BOTH months off. Aside from your sub-Is in ortho, these are the most important months in med school. The impression you make at the interviews will make or break you. You need to be well rested, read about the programs, able to attend the socials, and not worry about scheduling conflicts from some meaningless rotation you may be on. You may finish school a month after your buddies, but this could potentialy help you land at your top choice.

Basically, you've spent thousands of bucks on tuition, aways, and apps, so this isn't a time to start half-assing it! Good luck to everyone.