Of the curent/former residents on this forum, how low on your rank list did you end up matching? Please respond - I think this would be very helpful when formulating our rank lists. Thanks!

Don't know how this correlates to ophtho/san fran match, but my transitional year PD had the stats for the regular match over the past many many years, and roughly 90-95% of people each year match in one of their top 3 choices. Obviously results may be a little different for ophtho as it is more competetive on average than the entire regular match, but I would be willing to bet that most people still match in one of their top 3-4 programs.

i guess the poll so far confirms that 8 is kind of a magic number...since no one so far is matching below their top 8.

Of the curent/former residents on this forum, how low on your rank list did you end up matching? Please respond - I think this would be very helpful when formulating our rank lists. Thanks!

How exactly will this help your rank list? From what I remember, just rank in the order you want to go to. Rank every program you would be willing to go to.

How exactly will this help your rank list? From what I remember, just rank in the order you want to go to. Rank every program you would be willing to go to.

For example, I'm having trouble deciding the order of the 4th through 7th spots on my list. If I know it's unlikely for me to match below my 3rd choice, I won't waste time and effort agonizing over the precise order, contacting residents at those programs, etc. Obviously this will vary from applicant to applicant, but I think having a general idea is helpful.

my advice based on 0 experience since i'm ranking this year as well is to think carefully about each spot. i wouldnt' want to match at my 7th spot and not have thought out carefully the difference between my 6th spot and 10th spot. it's tough i'm sure to make up your mind between places but i'd put the effort down to the last spot.

Seems like the experience of previous applicants shouldn't affect how you rank, but only give you some expectation how happy you'll be.

I like my top 7 choices an awful lot; I'm encouraged to see 90+% people match in that group.

I think every match list will be a little different. I would have been very happy at any one of my top four programs, five and six a little less happy and after that, I would have just been happy that I matched into ophtho, but not necessarily too happy with the program. Most people that I have talked to have a similar situation, where at some point on their list the programs definitely changed from good for them, to not so good for them.

I think that you need to make sure that you answer the question: "Can I potentially see my self going to this program?" If you can do that, you will only be ranking places where you can potentially be happy at. On the other hand, you need to answer the question: "Is it better to match into ophtho at this program I don't like or not match at all?" That will also influence if a program makes your list.

JC

This is actually a good topic. I was told that people at my school typically get in their top 5, so I figured "hey, I'll get one of my top 5 too." This didn't happen. Not a big deal but I really lucked out, because two of the programs that I ranked higher on my rank list I would rather not be attending than the program I am going to. I was offered 27 interviews and went on 13. However, when I picked the 13 I went on I generally was going to the best offers that I received. If you take my tactic and hand pick the best offers that you get then you should definitely expect to go far down your rank list. Maybe not to 7 or 8 but 4 or 5 is certainly very likely.
On a different note... I was just working with a local ophtho yesterday and he said what I think is definitely true that no matter where you go in the US you will get very good training. Are their differences? Of course, but remember 90% of what you get out of residency is what you put into it. Some of the best ophthalmologists I have ever met went to mid tier programs and some of the worst ophthos that I have met went to top ten programs(not in skill but just really bad bedside manner). So if any of you guys match at number 15 (very unlikely) just feel good that you are getting the chance to be trained at a US program that will offer you some of the best training in the world. But do think about the ones further down your rank list, you never know when you will be one of the guys at you school that got below number 8...

On a different note... I was just working with a local ophtho yesterday and he said what I think is definitely true that no matter where you go in the US you will get very good training.

I think a more accurate way to put it would be that you will get adequate training no matter where you go in the U.S. IMO there are significant differences in the caliber of programs from top to bottom. That said, remember that no program is exactly right for everybody. Also, if you are a hard worker and dedicated studyer (not a real word, I think) then you will be a good ophthalmologist almost wherever you go. I believe that you ultimately learn a lot more in your first 3 years in practice than your 3 years of residency. However, residency is essential to develop a core of knowledge and experience. Surgical volume (and more importantly, quality of surgical teaching) can be a big difference in how quickly you can get up to speed in practice. Also, where you go will definitely affect what types of fellowship you will get. Yes, you can get a very good fellowship from anywhere, but it's much easier if you're coming from a top program. This is not only due to the quality of the top programs but also because those programs will have well-known faculty who will likely be familiar to the fellowship directors.

In any case, rank things how YOU want to, but don't think that the quality (and perceived quality) of the programs is unimportant. Ophtho24 is correct in the sense that ultimately, it is you who will decide how much you get out of residency. Some programs can definitely give you a boost toward your goals though.

I think a more accurate way to put it would be that you will get adequate training no matter where you go in the U.S. IMO there are significant differences in the caliber of programs from top to bottom. That said, remember that no program is exactly right for everybody. Also, if you are a hard worker and dedicated studyer (not a real word, I think) then you will be a good ophthalmologist almost wherever you go. I believe that you ultimately learn a lot more in your first 3 years in practice than your 3 years of residency. However, residency is essential to develop a core of knowledge and experience. Surgical volume (and more importantly, quality of surgical teaching) can be a big difference in how quickly you can get up to speed in practice. Also, where you go will definitely affect what types of fellowship you will get. Yes, you can get a very good fellowship from anywhere, but it's much easier if you're coming from a top program. This is not only due to the quality of the top programs but also because those programs will have well-known faculty who will likely be familiar to the fellowship directors.

In any case, rank things how YOU want to, but don't think that the quality (and perceived quality) of the programs is unimportant. Ophtho24 is correct in the sense that ultimately, it is you who will decide how much you get out of residency. Some programs can definitely give you a boost toward your goals though.

From the poll, it looks like almost half of all people got into their top 3 choices, but I think this may be due to the fact that most SDN'ers are a proactive & highly intelligent crowd. I know many of my friends from previous yrs matched into #5 and #6 so be very careful about your rank list (these were top notch students - top10 medschool / ~250 boards / surg & med honors / etc). I actually only know of a handful of students that got their top pick. Not trying to be discouraging... my fellow classmates are just curious as to why I am concerned about rank b/w my 5th 6th and 7th programs.

Good point 7ontheline. I do agree that where you go for residency will have a big impact on where you go to for fellowship. It does seem that almost all residents from top programs get fellowships at top programs, but it seems like the less well known programs it is only the occasional great fellowship match that your hear about. And where you go will affect your surgical training, but I think there are quite a few less well known programs that offer great surgical training.

Good point 7ontheline. I do agree that where you go for residency will have a big impact on where you go to for fellowship. It does seem that almost all residents from top programs get fellowships at top programs, but it seems like the less well known programs it is the occasional great fellowship match that your hear about. And where you go will affect your surgical training, but I think there are quite a few less well known programs that offer great clinical training.