Number of programs to rank

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So I am pretty much close to the end of my interview season. I received 11 interviews in the southeast. Went on 9 interviews. Cancelled one interview today and I still have one more interview in which I am trying to decide if I should I cancel or not. I have 2 programs I really liked. And 2 programs that I don't want to rank. So that means that if I cancel this last interview, that I probably will be ranking 7 progams. Just wanted to get others (especially those that have already been through the match) opinions on if 7 schools are enough programs to rank for Ob/Gyn. Or should I go on the last interview so that I will have 8 programs to rank. Or should I rank them all to be safe??? I can't wait until March 19th to get some closure.

Ranking depends on a lot of factors are you competitive meaning you scored in the top 25% of USMLE or COMLEX, you have greater than 3.3 GPA, you scored HONORS in your OB/Gyn and surgical rotations, you have research experience or another advanced degree, you have letters from well known published gynecologist in the field, or you have an inside edge meaning you have a connection to a program either by family or by prior work experience.

If you are competeitive ranking 7 programs is fine.

But to be safe I would go to one more interview and decide.

The worst case scenerio is you would be unmatched now in 2002-4 this was good as a lot of GOOD programs like JHU, Orlando, etc actually did not fill their rank lists and had to accept scramblers. BUT in the recent past several people in you situation were stuck they only ranked 10 or less programs were unmatched and did not match in the scramble.

So decide if the WORST happened would you be OK with a transition year (meaning you would have a 5 yrs to finish OB/GYN) or could you stand being at one of those programs you didn't really like.

The decision is hard and a finacial one missing out a year will cost you $200K in salary. You also can do an intership at one program and if you don't like it transfer out year 2 . Believe it or not it is fairly easy to do as about 5-10% of all residents who start OB/Gyn actually switch careers. You can see the open spots now at
http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_web.cfm?recno=1

click the CREOG clearing house


Good luck everyone. Please remember this is only my 2 cents!!!! You know what they say about opinions.

Feel free to PM me.

Diane

The advice I give to all applicants who interview at my program is simple. When thinking of whether or not to rank a program, I think you have to ask yourself, would you rather match at this program or would you rather not match at all (and scramble - and then place in a program you know nothing about)? I don't think that it's a specific number of first-tier programs or specific number of overall programs, it's just a matter if you have found your match, or places that you're willing to accept as your match.

I think that this is an especially important question to ask, as in the last few years, as applications have been very competitive and the match has been nearly full. Our PD says that almost every applicant we've interviewed has had phenomenal board scores (much better than mine for sure, though I don't know if I'm allowed to divulge exactly how much is phenomenal).

However, all that said, chances are you will match in one of your top 3 choices. But the reason why you rank more programs is because you don't want to regret your decision come match day (or scramble day).

Best of luck to all applicants this year!

Just to update this thread since the match is over and done with. I ended up canceling my last 2 interviews and ranked all 9 programs I interviewed at (including the 2 programs that I really didn't want to rank but I didn't want to participate in the scramble). By the grace of God and according to his plan I matched at my first choice (in which I did an away rotation there) and I am happy. My advice to future applicants is to keep all of your options open in case the worst happens. Stil shocked about match day but glad the I have some closure and that all my hard work (and worrying!!!) ended up being so successful . Best of luck to all future applicants.

I would say rank as many programs as possible. OB/GYN is becoming increasingly competitive. However, it all depends on your individual competitiveness and whether or not you are willing to wait out a year should you not match.

I concur

What's the best way to go about ranking programs?

I've found a bunch of programs that I like, but they're all really competitive. I honored my 3rd year rotation and have pretty good boards scores (Step I 247/Step II 260), but I didn't get interviews at some programs (B&W, Northwestern) - so I'm thinking I'm not as competitive as I'd like to be.

I can't tell if I should rank based on places that I like or places where they may want me. Any insight is really appreciated! Thanks

Originally Posted by obgy

What's the best way to go about ranking programs?

I've found a bunch of programs that I like, but they're all really competitive. I honored my 3rd year rotation and have pretty good boards scores (Step I 247/Step II 260), but I didn't get interviews at some programs (B&W, Northwestern) - so I'm thinking I'm not as competitive as I'd like to be.

I can't tell if I should rank based on places that I like or places where they may want me. Any insight is really appreciated! Thanks

I haven't read anything else in this thread, but I'm going to just go by whatever I liked most to least. Of course, I like a place more if they show me they like me
(cuz who doesn't want to go somewhere knowing they really like you from the start?), whether my interviewer tells me that or a resident does or whatever... but this rank list is YOUR rank list, from your fav to least fav. It's not supposed to be a list of places that liked you most to least.

As mentioned in the above post, and as recommended by the NRMP, you should rank the programs in order of your preference and liking. Attempting to rank based on how you think the program views you may land you with a less desirable result.

As an example, when I went through the residency and fellowship matches, I ranked all programs I was willing to go to from "most favorite" to "least favorite." I did not rank programs I was not willing to train at based on interview experience.

Nonetheless, you should do fine based on the numbers alone.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with the match.

What are everyone's thoughts on the number of programs to rank as a DO student? I plan to rank every program that offers me an interview and is a place I'd be willing to go to for residency, but at what point would you say a DO student is safe to only rank ACGME programs and match? 5 programs? 10? 15? More? I know things change based on personal info, stats, etc., and I already looked at that charting outcomes information for 2011, but I'm looking for opinions from people as well. I'm applying to both AOA and ACGME programs, but I'd prefer ACGME by a long shot. Thanks.

I am a DO applying to ACGME programs as well. I had this conversation with my advisor, who keeps thorough records of where each person from my school interviews, their board scores, gpa, etc, and she recommends interviewing with and ranking at least 12-15 programs if you are doing the allopathic match only.

Originally Posted by OBdreamer

I am a DO applying to ACGME programs as well. I had this conversation with my advisor, who keeps thorough records of where each person from my school interviews, their board scores, gpa, etc, and she recommends interviewing with and ranking at least 12-15 programs if you are doing the allopathic match only.

Thanks for letting me know! We have nothing in the way of advisors at my school, so I appreciate hearing what such a person would have to say about this situation.

Any other opinions would also be welcome!

Originally Posted by OBdreamer

I am a DO applying to ACGME programs as well. I had this conversation with my advisor, who keeps thorough records of where each person from my school interviews, their board scores, gpa, etc, and she recommends interviewing with and ranking at least 12-15 programs if you are doing the allopathic match only.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm also a DO applying only to ACGME programs. My school doesn't offer much guidance for those applying to allopathic programs. I was lucky enough to find someone who is a year ahead of me with similar stats and similar interests so I'm following in her footsteps. I'm planning to interview at 10-15 places and I'll probably rank all of them unless I get a really bad feeling from the interview.

Originally Posted by Diane L. Evans

Ranking depends on a lot of factors are you competitive meaning you scored in the top 25% of USMLE or COMLEX, you have greater than 3.3 GPA, you scored HONORS in your OB/Gyn and surgical rotations, you have research experience or another advanced degree, you have letters from well known published gynecologist in the field, or you have an inside edge meaning you have a connection to a program either by family or by prior work experience.

If you are competeitive ranking 7 programs is fine.

But to be safe I would go to one more interview and decide.

The worst case scenerio is you would be unmatched now in 2002-4 this was good as a lot of GOOD programs like JHU, Orlando, etc actually did not fill their rank lists and had to accept scramblers. BUT in the recent past several people in you situation were stuck they only ranked 10 or less programs were unmatched and did not match in the scramble.

So decide if the WORST happened would you be OK with a transition year (meaning you would have a 5 yrs to finish OB/GYN) or could you stand being at one of those programs you didn't really like.

The decision is hard and a finacial one missing out a year will cost you $200K in salary. You also can do an intership at one program and if you don't like it transfer out year 2 . Believe it or not it is fairly easy to do as about 5-10% of all residents who start OB/Gyn actually switch careers. You can see the open spots now at
http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_web.cfm?recno=1

click the CREOG clearing house


Good luck everyone. Please remember this is only my 2 cents!!!! You know what they say about opinions.

Feel free to PM me.

Diane

This may be a stupid question, but how do you know what percentage you earned on the USMLE (to know if you made top 25%)?

thanks,

Originally Posted by NYC2012OB

This may be a stupid question, but how do you know what percentage you earned on the USMLE (to know if you made top 25%)?

thanks,

I think the NBME provides a mean and standard deviation of both Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores. With those in hand, work a Z-score and you have your top 25%. If you were asking specific to a specialty, download the latest NRMP Charting Outcomes and it'll give your quartiles for matched applicants in each specialty.