Student Expenses in Residency Interviewing

The student costs of residency interviewing are of increasing concern but limited current information is available. Updated, more detailed information would assist students and residency programs in decisions about residency selection. The study objective was to measure the expenses and time spent in residency interviewing by the 2016 graduating class of the University of Kansas School of Medicine and assess the impact of gender, regional campus location, and primary care application.

All 195 students who participated in the 2016 National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) received a 33 item questionnaire addressing interviewing activity, expenses incurred, time invested and related factors. Main measures were self-reported estimates of expenses and time spent interviewing. Descriptive analyses were applied to participant characteristics and responses. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and chi-square tests compared students by gender, campus (main/regional), and primary care/other specialties. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) on the dependent variables provided follow-up tests on significant MANOVA results.

A total of 163 students (84%) completed the survey. The average student reported 38 (1-124) applications, 16 (1-54) invitations, 11 (1-28) completed interviews, and spent $3,500 ($20-$12,000) and 26 (1-90) days interviewing. No significant differences were found by gender. After MANOVA and ANOVA analyses, non-primary care applicants reported significantly more applications, interviews, and expenditures, but less program financial support. Regional campus students reported significantly fewer invitations, interviews, and days interviewing, but equivalent costs when controlled for primary care application. Cost was a limiting factor in accepting interviews for 63% and time for 53% of study respondents.

Students reported investing significant time and money in interviewing. After controlling for other variables, primary care was associated with significantly lowered expenses. Regional campus location was associated with fewer interviews and less time interviewing. Gender had no significant impact on any aspect studied.