Attention current applicants! As you likely are already well-aware, we have begun to send out interview invitations for our 2015 admissions interviews. This year, interviews will take place on the following dates:
Saturday, February 21
Sunday, February 22
Saturday, March 7
Sunday, March 8
Saturday, April 18
We understand that there are lots of questions about interview weekends: when you might expect to receive an invite, is there any ranking attached to the invite order, what to expect on interview day, and so on. In this blog post we are going to address some of the most common interview related questions we have been receiving in our office.
1. When will interview invitations go out?
Interview invitations are typically sent out at least two weeks prior to the interview date to allow time for applicants to make appropriate travel arrangements. However, invitations may continue to go out during the week leading up to the interview date in order to ensure all interview spaces are filled. That’s what we can tell you – we cannot give specific dates beyond this estimate as our invites go out on a rolling basis.
2. Is it true that local students are typically invited to the first interview weekend, with out-of-province students invited to the second or third interview weekend?
As we state on our website, with the exception of applicants to the MD/PhD program, applicants with substantial travel distances to Toronto will be invited to attend an interview date that is later in the cycle. However, this is not true for every case. Again, we arrange interview invites on a rolling basis, so there is definitely some flexibility to this statement. Oh, and if you’re a local student, this doesn’t mean that the February interview weekend is the only option – we do invite local and Ontario students to the later interview weekends as well.
3. Are interview invitations sent out according to rank? Are students who are invited to the February interview weekend the highest ranked applicants?
No. The assignment of interview dates does not reflect any ranking in our admissions process. Interview dates are assigned at random as file reviews are completed. We know that students like to speculate about this – but trust us – these assignments do not correspond with a ranking.
4. Since interviews are sent out on a rolling basis at random, does this mean if I applied earlier via OMSAS my file would be reviewed earlier?
No. There is no advantage to applying early (other than your personal stress-level – it does feel good to get things in before the deadline, doesn’t it?) – so long as all materials are submitted by the OMSAS deadline, your file will be reviewed.
5. How are invitations sent? How can I be sure that I didn’t receive an invitation? I’m worried about it going to my spam folder.
Interview invitations will be sent by e-mail to the address that you have provided on your OMSAS application. Should you need to update your email address, you should do so through OMSAS as soon as possible. Updates cannot be made through the Admissions Office. Make sure to check your spam folders just in case, as we have had issues with certain email servers categorizing our e-mails as spam. Try not to worry about this too much though – if we send you an invitation and do not hear back from you by the deadline stated in the e-mail, we will follow up by phone, e-mail, etc. If we have invited you for an interview we really do want you to attend, so we will do our best to reach you!
6. I received an invitation and I responded through the form provided, how do I know my response was received? What if I have a conflict with another medical school admissions interview?
When you respond to an interview invitation using the survey form provided, you will receive a confirmation message as soon as you hit 'submit' (this will appear on the website where you submit – you will not get an 'submission received' email). If your survey did not submit properly – don't worry – we will contact you to follow up. Should you have a conflict with another medical school admissions interview (or for another extenuating reason) you can indicate this on the response form. We will follow up with you after the response deadline and will do our best to make alternate arrangements for any such conflicts.
7. How do I know what to expect on interview day? Where is the interview held? When should I arrive? What do I need to bring?
Your first step is to note the information included in your interview invitation email. Furthermore, for all those who confirm their attendance, we will send an additional confirmation email with more details (including your AM or PM interview time) and reminders about the interview day. Please read this; it will include everything you need to prepare for a successful interview day. Oh, and check out the links too – if we have included a link in the email, we want you to look at it, so please do.
Finally – make sure you check our interviewing page, and carefully read through all e-mail communications. If you have additional questions that we haven't covered, feel free to contact our office directly.
