Canceling Scheduled Interviews
Are you considering canceling some interviews? It is fine to cancel some of your accepted interviews. Perhaps you have scored an interview at your top programs(s) and are less enthusiastic about a program or two where you have already scheduled an interview. Or you may have over-accepted and are looking to unload a few.
You may have had a schedule change or had a conflict arise. Sickness and emergencies also happen. In truth, programs expect some cancellations and rescheduling. There is an etiquette for canceling. To cancel or reschedule in a professional manner, defer to the program’s interview policies and instructions.
If a program provides no instruction, follow these general guidelines:
- Amount of notice. Cancel the interview as soon as you know you need to change plans, preferably, at least two weeks in advance. The virtual interview process does make scheduling a new candidate easier than in years past, but programs still appreciate advanced notice. Canceling with less than a week’s notice should be limited to cases of a true emergency, such as an illness.
- Communication method. If the interview is scheduled in Thalamus, you can cancel in there. Regardless of how far in advance your cancellation occurs, contact the program coordinator by email or phone. If you call and leave a message, consider emailing to confirm the cancellation.
- Explanation. If you’re canceling at least one week in advance, an explanation is unnecessary. If you’re canceling because of an emergency, provide an explanation that indicates the nature of the emergency (e.g., a death in your family, you’re sick with the flu) but without too much detail (e.g., “I’m vomiting every hour”).
If you remain interested in the program, provide an explanation and supporting documentation, if possible, and affirm your continued interest. It is ok to ask if it’s possible to reschedule. Under no circumstances should you be a no-show, that is, fail to attend a scheduled interview without prior notice to the program.
Academic medicine is a small community. Canceling at the last minute with no explanation and no-showing can negatively affect your reputation and future opportunities. Be a good citizen of the Match!
Accepting an interview slot you later cancel following the proper protocol is fine. Canceling with little or no notice means holding or wasting a slot another candidate could have filled. If you already know that you are unlikely to rank the program, then cancel your interview.
See the previous edition of Match on My Mind to see if you have over-accepted and should consider canceling some of your interviews. You can also speak with your lead advisor or career mentor, Debra Rusk, MD
Interview Tracking
Remember to let us follow along with your interview offer progress! Please keep your lead advisors updated with your interview numbers and respond to the surveys coming out on Dec 2 and Jan 6.
To help us assist you, and to help gather data for future IU students in the Match, we also encourage you to turn on the feature in MyERAS that enables you to share all your interview information automatically with Dr. Debra Rusk in the Office of Career Mentoring. Please choose to participate!
