The period between submitting your medical school application and hearing from medical schools about interviews can be stressful. You may feel you must “hurry up and wait.” It could be because you spent so much time, effort, and care making sure your primary and secondary applications were perfect and submitted on time.
However, as the period between submission and response crawls by, you may feel as though everything comes to a complete halt. Continually checking your mailbox can seem normal. Trying to figure out when you will hear back from medical schools for interviews may take time to get a clear response.
But we are here to help!
This article will tell you when to expect invitations for med school interviews. If you want to learn more, please keep reading.
When Can You Expect Invitations for Med School Interviews?
Whether you apply via AMCAS, TMDSAS, or AACOMAS, you might have to wait a while to hear from medical schools about interviews.
A specific response to the question “When should you hear back from med schools for an interview?” may be elusive.
Still, you can check online resources to see if the schools you have applied to make their general timeline available. This is stated on the school’s admissions website.
To give you a clearer idea of when you can expect invitations for med school interviews, please continue reading the succeeding sections:
The United States
Over 50,000 prospective medical students apply annually to approximately 200 medical schools in the United States. Judging so many candidates takes time.
Consider the volume of materials you had to provide as a candidate, including your resume, transcripts, test scores, application essays, letters of recommendation, and supplementary essays for medical school.
The timeline for invitations to medical school interviews can be somewhat influenced by the U.S. rolling admissions system. That is to say, in the United States, those who submit their applications first frequently have them reviewed first.
Therefore, it is possible that you may hear back earlier in the interview if you are a highly competitive candidate, send your applications early, submit your primary and secondary applications ahead of time, and have demonstrated a clear alignment with the institution’s mission, vision, and values.
Despite this, each school has its own application review schedule. Medical schools only sometimes review applications as they come in. As a result, you should not be concerned if you submitted your application early but have yet to receive any interview invitations. It depends on the school.
AACOMAS
The earliest interviews, according to osteopathic programs using AACOMAS, often start in late August and continue through the autumn until pausing in mid to late December and starting again in January or early March.
AMCAS
By this time, applicants who have finished the primary application will receive secondary applications when AMCAS sends applicant information to schools on July 1 at the earliest.
After submitting and approving the first secondary applications, AMCAS-using schools often begin interviewing in September.
Interviews typically go until early December.
Then there is a lull over the holiday season, with interviews frequently starting up again in January and February, with a few continuing into early March.
Typically, the final list of acceptances is not made public until April 30. Suppose you have been placed on a medical school waitlist.
In that case, you will most likely find out whether you have been transferred from the waitlist to the accepted list. Applicants with multiple offers must decide which school they will attend by May 15.
TMDSAS
Schools in Texas that use TMDSAS occasionally start conducting interviews a little earlier, around July.
Again, interviews take place throughout the late summer and fall, with a break during the Christmas holiday and some starting up in early to mid-January
Summary Table of When Medical School Interviews are Conducted in the US
Medical School | Start of Interviews | Break | Resume of Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
AACOMAS | late August | mid to late December | January or early March |
AMCAS | September – December | holiday season – December | January – February March ( rarely) |
TMDSAS | July | holiday season – December | mid of January |
Canada
In Canada, most interview invitations are often sent out in January and February. Interviews typically occur between February and April.
The specific dates vary from school to school, with some conducting interviews over several months while others do all of their interviews over a few lengthy “interview weekends.”
While many Canadian medical schools adhere to this general schedule, there may be some deviation, especially in Quebec and the Maritime medical schools. You should confirm dates with specific schools to avoid confusion.
For instance, Dalhousie typically has a late-July deadline for initial applications. Medical schools in Dalhousie typically send out interview invites in October. Quebec schools have a wide range of application deadlines. These variations may affect the schedule for invitations to interviews.Medical School Interview Invitations: When to Become Concerned
You will unlikely receive a secondary application if December comes and goes without you having gotten one. On the other hand, if December comes around and you have submitted a secondary application, you can do a few things.
First, you may ask a supporter who graduated from the program you are applying to about your compatibility with the institution to make a phone call to the admissions Dean on your behalf. If they are academics or members of the academic establishment, this may be one of your letter writers.
Having someone of important contact directly on your behalf speaks well of your abilities and character, which may persuade the institution to reconsider considering your application. Writing a letter of intent or an update letter is another choice.
Even though receiving a medical school interview invitation is feasible beyond December, especially for AMCAS and AACOMAS applicants, you should start assessing your situation if you have not heard anything by then.
What Should You Do If You Have Not Heard Back for an Interview?
You will have to wait before finding out if you have been invited for an interview at a medical school, no matter where you apply. Preparing in advance and making the most of this period is crucial.
First of all, be prepared to wait. That is fantastic if you are one of the fortunate few who get an invitation immediately (particularly in the U.S.).
However, get ready to settle in and wait it out. You will save some restless nights if you convince yourself that it is improbable that you will hear anything before, say, January 1 in the U.S. or mid-February in Canada.
This is crucial because you will probably still be finishing some of your education, and you need to concentrate your efforts there.
Besides, suppose you are applying to medical school after graduating or taking a gap year before it. In that case, you probably have other responsibilities that need your attention.
Before receiving invitations for medical school interviews and within the first several weeks or months of the timeline for receiving those invites.
Since this will probably be challenging, please take advantage of it to continue honing your stress-reduction techniques. Learning to manage stress and focus your energy where you can have the most significant impact is essential.
It will help if you prioritize your personal health and self-care as a critical action. You must prioritize your physical and mental health because it improves your overall performance and stress management skills.
You can also use some time to put your mental health first while making time for your friends, family, and individual self-enrichment. This could entail going on vacation, engaging in leisure pursuits of your choice, educating yourself through reading or engaging in creative endeavors, or improving your social connections and mental wellness.
Midway through the schedule for invitations to medical school interviews.
You might consider submitting a letter of intent or update to a medical school at this stage of the application process. If you have a close connection to the institution or program or believe you would make a good fit, do so.
You can include any new information about your work and activities in this letter, such as new volunteer work, leadership opportunities, and honors or accomplishments.
You may also include awards, jobs, research activities, or anything else that has not yet been mentioned in your primary or secondary applications.
You can also send copies of your most recent transcripts and updated grades.
Explain why you are applying to this program and how your goal, vision, and values coincide with theirs. Be precise yet succinct. This may be done for U.S. applicants around December, and mid-February would suit Canadian applicants.
Late in the schedule for invitations to medical school interviews.
The only thing you can do is start damage control and prepare for the upcoming application season if the weeks and months have stretched. You have not received any interview invitations in the closing weeks of the medical school interview invitation schedule.
As was mentioned before, you should continue or increase your volunteer work, clinical encounters, research, and other work connected to your professionalization.
If you are rejected, this keeps you in contact with the medical community while also assisting you in continuing to construct your resume.
Additionally, at this late stage in the procedure, it is time to begin conducting an unbiased and in-depth assessment of your application documents and your prior training, employment, and activities.
In that case, it simply implies that your application was not as strong as it should have been or that you did not fulfill the standards for medical school.
Additional FAQs – When Can You Expect Invitations for Med School Interviews?
Are 2023 Medical School Interviews in Person?
The AAMC, which likewise forbade hybrid interviews, underlined the equity that virtual interviews offer as the primary motivator of the format in its advice on residency interviews.
How Long Do I Wait Until I Hear Back from Medical School Interview?
You should anticipate receiving an interview invitation sooner if you submit these documents earlier in the cycle than those who offer later.
Medical schools often send admissions decisions two to three weeks after the interview date, once the applicant has accepted their invitation and gone through the interview procedure.