Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Update
I've been on the road for the past two and a half weeks for interviews. I completed five during that time: St. Louis (Washington University), San Diego (UCSD), Chicago (Northwestern), Philadelphia (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), and Boston (Boston Children's Hospital).
First of all, I am not much of a travel person. I don't like living out of a suitcase, eating at restaurants everyday, looking up at maps every few blocks to find that "You Are Here" dot.
I did get the chance to see a few friends. Hung out with Galvez and Chris in San Diego for a few days to soak up the sun. Apparently, it does rain in southern California. And, I got to hang out with my sister-in-law in Chicago and partake in a charity flip cup tournament.
As for the interviews, they are going well. Fellowship interviews are easy yet grueling. All of them are day-long interviews. I meet with about 8-10 faculty members during that time for half-hour sessions. They usually spend the time selling their program to me. If they ask me a question, they're usually on the order of "Tell me about yourself" or "What are you looking for in a program?". By the time I'm done answering 1 or 2 questions, the half-hour is up and I move on to the next interviewer.
The most telling time during the interview process is lunch. That's usually when I meet the current fellows of the program. They have been generally honest (so far as I can tell) about their program, their likes and dislikes. I get to see how well they get along with each other. And it's free lunch, so most of them show up.
That's six interviews done. 8 more scheduled. Out of the ones that I have seen so far, the Philadelphia program is in the lead with Boston a close second. My next ones are in Cleveland (2), Cincinnati, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.
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First of all, I am not much of a travel person. I don't like living out of a suitcase, eating at restaurants everyday, looking up at maps every few blocks to find that "You Are Here" dot.
I did get the chance to see a few friends. Hung out with Galvez and Chris in San Diego for a few days to soak up the sun. Apparently, it does rain in southern California. And, I got to hang out with my sister-in-law in Chicago and partake in a charity flip cup tournament.
As for the interviews, they are going well. Fellowship interviews are easy yet grueling. All of them are day-long interviews. I meet with about 8-10 faculty members during that time for half-hour sessions. They usually spend the time selling their program to me. If they ask me a question, they're usually on the order of "Tell me about yourself" or "What are you looking for in a program?". By the time I'm done answering 1 or 2 questions, the half-hour is up and I move on to the next interviewer.
The most telling time during the interview process is lunch. That's usually when I meet the current fellows of the program. They have been generally honest (so far as I can tell) about their program, their likes and dislikes. I get to see how well they get along with each other. And it's free lunch, so most of them show up.
That's six interviews done. 8 more scheduled. Out of the ones that I have seen so far, the Philadelphia program is in the lead with Boston a close second. My next ones are in Cleveland (2), Cincinnati, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.
