This info is culled from about 20 posts I made during the 2004 Match season:
How complete does my App need to be for me to apply, and when should I send it in?
Look Here!
Letters of Recommendation
I am wondering, how late can you send in letters of Reccommendation for your ERAS application? Do you send them in all at once? Can you add them as you go? (such as when interviewing and doing sub-I's)? Can you give me dates specifically? I suppose the PDs review your files once again before they make their list together?
Ok, you can send them anytime but you need to have them all in by the time applications are due. Application deadlines are set by programs.
You can apply as early as the beginning of Sept. with nothing more than your Common Application File (hereafter CAF) also known as your CV. That's right, no letters, no personal statement, nothing. Most programs also want to see your Step 1 score then. Sometimes interviews start being offered with nothing more than these two pieces of information.
I recommend to my 3rd year "Mentees" that they plan on getting 2x as many letters as they need, because you never know when you might get a really great one. Generally speaking you are pushing it to be getting letters in Sept. of your 4th year. I would begin soliciting letters about this time (March) in your 3rd year.
To solicit a letter talk to the prospective letter writer AT THE BEGINNING of the rotation. That let's them know you're interested and for them to pay extra attention/give feedback. Most faculty will be straightforward about how good a letter they can write for you.
At the end of the rotation supply them with an ERAS cover letter and make sure it is signed for waiver (there is some controversy as to whether is is good to waive or not) and filled out where to send the letter to. At some point in your third year someone at your school should tell you what your AAMC ID is, once you have it put it on there too. Otherwise don't worry, the person who handles LOR's at your school will know it.
Once letters are in you have to create them in ERAS (won't open for class of 2005 until July) and then assign them to programs. You can assign different letters to different programs, delete letters from programs, and shift them around. It's very flexible for you to be sure your programs get the best letters you have.
For More . . .
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Should I rank them higher so they rank me higher? and other ROL myths.
I know my #1 program easily.
My #2 and 3 programs I LOVE, but I was told by #3 that I was very strong in their program, even got a call and a letter.
But #2 was not so friendly, not even when I called, and I didnt feel good about the interview there either. As far as the 2, they are head in head as far as program and location.. Should I switch #3 for #2 just to be sure? Or does it matter?
It wont hurt my chances of getting #3 if I dont rank them higher? According to the process, it shouldnt, but Im just not sure.
RANK THEM IN THE ORDER YOU WANT TO GO TO THEM.
If you like #2 more than #3 then don't mess with your list. How they will rank you should have NOTHING to do with your list.
Believe the process.
Be the spoon.
How the Match Works for YOU!
Can you explain why the Match works in the applicants favor? I have the impression from reading the NRMP website that both sides have the equal weight.
The match favors the applicant because it prioritizes your rank list over the programs rank lists. For example:
I interview at 2 hospitals, Mercy and City (sound familiar?). I like Mercy better and rank them #1 and put City #2.
Mercy likes me OK and ranks me 7, they have 8 spots. City LOVED me and they rank me #1.
Now, if the systems were biased towards the programs I would get "pulled" into City even though I don't prefer them because they ranked me higher. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN.
Instead I go to Mercy, where in fact I am farther down the list, because the system PUTS ME AT THE HIGHEST PROGRAM ON MY LIST THAT HAS A PLACE FOR ME.
If the system was weighted equally it would be much more complicated. The computers would try to put you at a program as high on your list while at the same time trying to fill programs with candidates as high on THEIR lists as possible. Many many more possibilities. THIS ALSO DOES NOT HAPPEN.
More in "Is the Match Fair"
Should you tell the PD they're #1?
It just seems that so many are telling the #1 program that they are tops...and I wondered if there is any backfire in this situation. What if they dont like you as much and rank you lower..or not rank you at all?
My #1 told me that I am a 'strong applicant' and that a lot of people liked me. Still, I WANT to go here...so bad that I cannot think of going anywhere else. I am considering letting them know that they are #1, but I dont want to hurt my chances.
RESPONSE:
At worst, the PD already had you #1 on his list and now will drop you to his last guaranteed spot.
Example: You tell program A that you intend to rank #1. You were already tentatively #1 on the program's list. If program A takes 10 residents, then it behooves an intelligent PD to drop you to number 10 because you showed your hand. Now he has 9 spots to be more aggressive for candidates he may not have initially thought he could get. Remember, the programs benefit from ranking applicants that are good fits but unlikely to come there (too strong) higher than his sure shot (you) just in case they make an ROL mistake (like being too sure of themselves and short listing an ROL). Regardless, YOU would still match his program.
I.....don't think so. If program X ranks me #5 and program Y ranks me #2, I will go to the program that I rank higher. If I ranked Program X #1 then I will go there over program Y. You cannot have equality in programs because you cannot rank two programs the same so thhere will never be a "tug-of-war" between two programs. One program will always be higher on your ROL than another. That said, you always go to the highest progam you have ranked that has a spot for you. Period.
In this situation spots 1 and 10 are absolutely equal, there is a guarunteed spot for you there if you rank them first. If you rank them last and you have to go that far down your list there will still be a guarunteed spot for you there.
I don't know where this keeps coming from that a program can pull you away from one you have ranked higher by putting your higher on their ROL. It is against the match rules and would in fact be a breach of the match contract with you.
So, again, you cannot be pulled farther down your ROL by program that rank you higher than your #1 choice did. You may wind up at one of those programs by nature of the fact that your #1 filled before they got to you on their ROL, but you didn't get "pulled" down there, that's just the way the system works.
Also, this is a terrible match strategy for PD's and is absolutely not the strategy the PD's I know said they were taking. A PD does not want to get residents who "made a mistake" and ended up matching at a program they don't really like. These will be unhappy troublesome residents who will make the program look bad. The 3 PD's I know all said that they are looking for the best applicants who are excited about coming to their program. So, using this strategy it would be best to rank 1-10 the best applicants you had who were MOST LIKELY to come to your program by desire.
The Thread
See also
ROL rank effect
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Other Threads of Interest
Location Vs. Strength of Program
EM and Burnout
2004 Interviews and USMLE Step 1 Scores
How competitive is EM?
Why choose EM?