This is the place to ask questions about graduate school, training programs, or general basic career topics. If you are just learning about the field and want to know if it is something you should explore, this thread is probably the correct place for those first few questions on your mind.
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I would probably email the program director and ask. The user learnt that they got rejected from UCLA that way (not saying that the user too is rejected if not interviewed)
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Yeah, the user meant this year
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Don't worry about it too much even if the user were rejected! The user is sure they'll have better opportunities come their way!!
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Depends on the program. Some accept on application alone, no interview. Some do just a phone interview. Some normally have in-person interviews but that will likely be virtual due to Covid. The user knows UW-Madison hasn't done interviews yet. It's still plenty early to have optimism.
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Is it recommended to send a thank you email after a first round residency pre-interview?
- Depends on the program. Some places don't recommend it, like Wisconsin and UCSD (iirc).
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Is failing ABR part 1 a deal-breaker for getting a residency? The user thinks they're an overall good applicant but doesn't know how well they did on this trivia-filled exam.
- No, and the application form doesn't technically require that the user disclose that they failed (unless it's recently been changed). So the only way the programs will know is to ask the user directly.
- No
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What is the MEMP program at MIT like? Is it good for a career in medical physics in general?
- That program is not CAMPEP accredited, so if the user wants to continue onto a clinical medical physics career, then they will be required to take a year-long certificate course after finishing their PhD which will be on their own dime. The list of CAMPEP accredited graduate programs is here. Of course, the user may not want to be a clinical physicist, so that may not be a problem for them, just make sure they know what they want to do next.
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The user also received an invitation! They would treat it as competitively as they would treat any other part of their application. The programs almost certainly invited more people than they have spots for. Good luck!!
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Usually an invitation to interview means the programs are interviewing several people more than the number of positions they have.
- Imaging or therapy?
- Had the same question haha!!
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Honestly, the user is just hoping to get an acceptance under their belt so that they can relax a little!
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A lot of users have good life-work balance although it can vary by clinic. Some physicists work 60 hours per week. Some work around 40. The user typically puts in 43ish and twice a year have a long weekend where they're working on the machines. More information can be found here.
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When should the users be expecting residency programs to have reached out to most candidates by? The user applied to a little over 20 programs and has yet to hear back from any whatsoever.
- From what the user saw on the sheet floating around, the interviews are starting in the next couple of weeks. The user is just wondering if it's still too soon to panic or not. They'd appreciate any input.
- It is not the time to panic quite yet, especially because a lot of programs are only now going through the applications. Some programs only call a few applicants for the quick screening interview, others call everybody. But the user suggests everybody to look at the spreadsheet that has been shared. There is a good sense of collaboration going on there, and there are a lot of updates being posted as the applicants get emails, phone calls, or smoke signals about the interviews process. That should give the users some closure from some of the programs and hope for others.
- The user applied to 43 programs, 3 outside the match. They've had only 2 invites from their match applications. Both interviews are set for February. It feels a bit odd for sure. Plus 2/40 seems hilariously low.
- The user doesn't know if the user applied for therapy or imaging. They're on imaging and got some interviews next week. They know some therapy friends who got like 1 or 2 contacts so far. There's still plenty of time, there's a lot of applicants for Therapy so it takes a while to go over, give it another week or 2. More information can be found here.
- The user is in a very similar situation and doesn't know if they should be panicking.
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Does anyone here attend UCLA’s PBM PhD program or has attended their Candidates’ Weekend? The user got an invite and was hoping to see what other people’s past experiences were. Thanks!
- Hello, has the user heard from UCLA again after they sent the interview invitation? The user got the invitation as well but hasn't received any new info about the interview time or schedule, so they are wondering whether anyone has an idea.
- Hi! The program director said he’d get back to us around tomorrow because they haven’t decided whether the Candidates’ Weekend would be conducted in-person. That’s what the original email said at least.
- Oh, the user sees. Thanks for the information! The user is an international applicant, and the mail they got said there are going to be remote interviews and poster sessions and that the interviews will not start until the end of this month or even February.
- Ah, the user sees. The user is a domestic applicant, so maybe their email was a little different. The program director only mentioned that the Candidates’ Weekend was originally planned in-person for February 25-26 and that the admissions committee was hoping to know by January 21 (today) whether in-person interviews would be safe. Nothing about posters.
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Hi! The user is currently a student in the UCLA program and is happy to answer any questions the user has!
- Thank you! Does the user mind if the user contacts over DM?
- Sure, the user is a student rep for their program so ask anything the user'd like!