Pre Interview Dinner

How bad is it if you can't make some of these pre-interview dinners? I am started to have interviews pile up over certain days / weekends and have almost no choice but to miss them. Is this a big deal?

Some are required (e.g. UMass) but most are just casual events with residents. Try to get a feel from the coordinator about how formal it is, who is going to be there, etc. Lots of people aren’t able to make it to them due to busy travel schedule. I think (hope) program directors understand.

That being said, they represent a nice opportunity to meet the residents in an informal setting and give you some good material to discuss during your interviews the next day.

My gut says yes.

From my experience last year, as an applicant you WANT to go to these. The are an excellent way to see how the residents and faculty interact with each other. It also shows how commited the program is to recruiting future residents. If there are only a couple residents and no faculty, that says something.

If you didn't rotate at the program I would especially try and make it.

In my opinion, having 20 half-ass interviews in not as good as having 10 fully commited ones.

My gut says yes.

From my experience last year, as an applicant you WANT to go to these. The are an excellent way to see how the residents and faculty interact with each other. It also shows how commited the program is to recruiting future residents. If there are only a couple residents and no faculty, that says something.

If you didn't rotate at the program I would especially try and make it.

In my opinion, having 20 half-ass interviews in not as good as having 10 fully commited ones.

I agree with your sentiments, but with the increasingly competitive nature of ortho residency selections I wouldn’t give up an interview to attend one of these events unless I got the feeling that it was an important part of the selection process.

I agree with your sentiments, but with the increasingly competitive nature of ortho residency selections I wouldn’t give up an interview to attend one of these events unless I got the feeling that it was an important part of the selection process.

That's the million dollar question! Given the competitiveness, isn't it all important?

I hate politics

I agree with your sentiments, but with the increasingly competitive nature of ortho residency selections I wouldn’t give up an interview to attend one of these events unless I got the feeling that it was an important part of the selection process.

That's the million dollar question! Given the competitiveness, isn't it all important?

I hate politics

True. The whole process sucks.