William Balanoff

Creating friction in the discovery phase from a potential student to a program has no place in today's marketplace.  Competition, variety and the cost associated with education allow students to be demanding (in a healthy way) of programs to compete for their business and attention.

Making the application process frictional benefits no one...especially the prospective student.  An institution needs certain information about a prospective student to help guide the student, but the institution needs to be sensitive to the arduous nature of some requests. 

Transparency and honest with perspectives residence wanting to attend a two-year postdoctoral fellowship is critical.  The time commitment and academic and clinical rigors need to be discussed openly and honestly.  Moreover, no guarantees of post-attendance employment should ever be implied.  This is not to say you should not talk about employment opportunities...you should.  I think the education of why your program is "decidedly and distinctly different" is appropriate and market responsive.

The interview should be a discovery session between you and the prospective candidate to your institution.