Regional considerations when offering interviews

Dear Dr. Levine,

I am a 4th year at one of the Northeast schools hoping to return to the west coast for residency. I did an audition rotation at one of the UC's, asked for an LOR from one of the prominent attendings, and submitted that letter to all the West Coast schools. My parents, as well as my entire extended family, all live in California, so I have considerable motivation to go back. However, aside from the audition rotation and letter, there is nothing else in my profile or personal statement that shows a connection to the west coast. When programs are offering interviews and considering whether you will consider their program, will the away rotation and letter be sufficient? Or, is the west coast so competitive that it's a moot point? I consider myself a reasonably competitive candidate, as I have received interviews from some big academic programs, but I was wondering if I needed to take additional steps by contacting the west coast programs I have applied to. Thanks, and I look forward to your input.

There's no "right" answer to this one as is so often the case with this at times frustrating process. You did one away in California (one tactical option would have been to do 2 California/west coast away rotations if you had the opportunity). If there are some California programs that you're truly interested it can't hurt to send an email to the coordinator and possibly to the residency director informing them of your interest. It frankly may not help but shouldn't hurt you unless you're too overbearing (calling the program coordinator daily, etc....)

Good luck in the match --

wnl