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What number on your rank list did you match at?

  • 1st choice

    Votes: 36 60.0%

  • 2nd choice

    Votes: 12 20.0%

  • 3rd choice

    Votes: 4 6.7%

  • 4th choice

    Votes: 3 5.0%

  • 5th choice

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 6th choice

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 7th choice

    Votes: 1 1.7%

  • 8th choice or higher

    Votes: 4 6.7%
  • Total voters
    60
Good poll. From the data I've seen, which is admittedly from 2004-2006 so a little old, just over 60% match to their top choice and over85% match into their top 3. This is for the match as a whole. I'd guess psych may be even higher, and I bet the sdn clientele is even higher still.
 
Great Thread....:thumbup:
 
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This will be a very biased poll on SDN, since those who matched lower on their lists will tend not to respond.
 
strangeglove said:
This will be a very biased poll on SDN, since those who matched lower on their lists will tend not to respond.
Click to expand...


If this is true, the poll is legitimate in the context of those who actually DO post here on SDN....which means that us (faithful) SDN posters can expect to see a similar stratification. ;)

You're right, I highly doubt we could speak for the applicant pool at large....
 
I have some doubts about the accuracy of the poll, but I hope I can trust it as a predictor of the outcome for me: My top four all rock!:D
 
classof2011 said:
If this is true, the poll is legitimate in the context of those who actually DO post here on SDN....which means that us (faithful) SDN posters can expect to see a similar stratification.
Click to expand...

well I can't argue with that logic. And I assume by posting in this thread I've guaranteed myself acceptance into one of my top 4.
 
Just to continue on with my neurosis/analyzing, It appears that a little more than 85% (of SDN posters...;)) got one of their top 2 choices, and more than 65% their first choice.

The [8 or higher] number makes very little sense and is quite and outlier, defying all the rules of a hyperbolic curve. (ex, where are all the 4, 5, 6, and 7 matchers??)

Is it safe to assume this as an (unnatural) occurrence?....and to be sure, such a phenomenon has to have very little to do with being FMG/IMG. This is a person with an opportunity to rank more than (or equal to) 8 programs.

What do you guys think?
 
The graph does appear to be skewed. I would argue that there is probably a large chunk of individuals who matched at 3-6 on their lists and are not posting. I am not yet ready to speculate whether those middle of the road individuals tend to be lurkers or tend to stay off SDN:p
 
I got into my first ranked place. A bias that worked in my favor was I did my rotation there and they liked me and I liked them. Overall it was a good experience. I do occasionally mention some problems there but every place has problems, just that sometimes people will candy coat there own program because they're trying to sell it. Overall I certainly had it better there and I knew it than at other programs.
 
whopper said:
I got into my first ranked place. A bias that worked in my favor was I did my rotation there and they liked me and I liked them. Overall it was a good experience. I do occasionally mention some problems there but every place has problems, just that sometimes people will candy coat there own program because they're trying to sell it. Overall I certainly had it better there and I knew it than at other programs.
Click to expand...

Whats funny is that as I interview I am compelled to reference my home program to everyone else (because it was where I first fell in love with psych)....I have been lucky to find several very good (mirror) images of my home program...while others have not been so similar (in VERY negative ways).....I almost had a syncopal episode at one program when the tour guide mentioned that there were no INvoluntary units on campus, GASP!.....:eek:


My first thought was how sick could your patients possibly be (and hence how are your residents confident enough to handle psychotic patients with poor insight)?

And then I realized that my reference of psychiatry would forever be tainted by my home program...smh
 
classof2011 said:
And then I realized that my reference of psychiatry would forever be tainted by my home program...smh
Click to expand...

I know what you mean! My home program (not in the US) has some fantastic clinical and research facilities pretty much only matched by MGH, WPIC, Hopkins and UCLA here. We have a neuropsychiatry ward, a therapeutic community on site, wards for eating disorders, personality disorders, self-harm (where they provide blades to the patients for 'controlled cutting'), mood disorders, psychotic disorders, there is even an inpatient OCD unit! There are clinics for pretty much all disorders imaginable - depersonalisation disorder, functional neurology, behavioral genetics, psychodermatology, hospice psychiatry, epilepsy, Huntington's, psychosexual etc.

Unfortunately the training program is so huge it is easy to get lost, there is no emphasis on training (it is service service service) and the psychotherapy training is quite limited and focusses on principles and 'when to refer' rather than 'how to do'.
 
The results of this poll are encouraging. I've interviewed at seven and plan on ranking six. I have more interviews scheduled for next month but really I'd like to cancel all of them to save money (and besides, I've already interviewed at my top choices). One thing I'm counting on is having an increased chance of matching at a couple of programs where I did away rotations. They aren't super big name programs, either, so I'm not anticipating a lot of competition. Plus, they both seemed to indicate that they really want me back as a resident. I'm hoping this is enough to sit comfortably until match day...
 
strangeglove said:
This will be a very biased poll on SDN, since those who matched lower on their lists will tend not to respond.
Click to expand...

Well just to show you, I didn't match and had to scramble. I'm probably an anomaly since I had some oddities with my application and transcript in hindsight though.

/very happy at my program now.
 
By the time I'm done with interviews, I would have probably done 16 but I am having a hard time justifying not ranking anyone of them (except this program in CT where one interviewer was downright racist to me)

How do you guys decide not to rank any program?
 
do not rank any programs that you would not be happy at. I would not feel comfortable at a program where the interviewer was racist. You have plenty of other programs to rank. I have 8 interviews and will only rank 6-7 because there is at least 1 program I would rather go unmatched than end up there even though it is a good program.
 
splik said:
do not rank any programs that you would not be happy at. I would not feel comfortable at a program where the interviewer was racist. You have plenty of other programs to rank. I have 8 interviews and will only rank 6-7 because there is at least 1 program I would rather go unmatched than end up there even though it is a good program.
Click to expand...
Good advice this ^^^. If you absolutely can't see yourself doing a residency at a particular program, don't rank it.

That in mind, keep in mind that while some folks get lucky in the scramble, many do not and end up at places much worse than what they dropped from their ROL. And if you have to go through the Match again, odds are you'll have to expand your net much wider, so decide appropriately before dropping programs.
 
Of those who (and those who did not) matched at your #1, did you tell the program they were your number 1?
 
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