Match/No Match?

[lockian]

I'm married, have a kid, house to sell (and work on beforehand) plan on moving far from our current digs and I'm totally cool with the delay. It's exciting. Then again, I don't have any dog and pony show awaiting me just to open an envelope on Friday. (Cool points to my school). Just need to open an email, accept the card the gods lay before me and go out for a nice early and bloodily juicy steak dinner with the wife and kid!

I'm not sure if I want to go to my school's match day ceremony for this precise reason. They're doing the whole on the stage with music shabang with Harry Potter t-shirts, and I'm not really close with many people in my class, so it's just going to be awkward. Many of those I'm friends with are not matching this year for one reason or another, and my best friend is scrambling, so she may or may not be there. I'm also on nights right now and would rather rest and sleep, plus given my new family and personal circumstances, I'm going to get immediately stressed out if I don't get my first choice, and would rather be in a private setting for that.

Will I regret it if I don't go, do y'all think?

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[clausewitz2]

I'm not sure if I want to go to my school's match day ceremony for this precise reason. They're doing the whole on the stage with music shabang with Harry Potter t-shirts, and I'm not really close with many people in my class, so it's just going to be awkward. Many of those I'm friends with are not matching this year for one reason or another, and my best friend is scrambling, so she may or may not be there. I'm also on nights right now and would rather rest and sleep, plus given my new family and personal circumstances, I'm going to get immediately stressed out if I don't get my first choice, and would rather be in a private setting for that.

Will I regret it if I don't go, do y'all think?

No power in the 'verse could compel.me to go to Match Day. My various relations will come to graduation, so I see no need to be dressed up and on edge around people I for the most part don't care for when I -could- get the same information on my couch with a beer.

 

[lockian]

No power in the 'verse could compel.me to go to Match Day. My various relations will come to graduation, so I see no need to be dressed up and on edge around people I for the most part don't care for when I -could- get the same information on my couch with a beer.

The only pro I see to going to match day is that my school lets us submit song clips to play as you walk on stage, and the one I picked it, IMHO, kind of awesome and gloriously satirical and it's been my dream for a few years now to have it playing as the soundtrack when something big and important happens to me.

 

[lockian]

Given that we've already got several unmatched people here alone, the chances that these 5 would happen to all be those particular US grads are slim. So either there's an increase in unmatched US grads, or there's a few IMGs here. That's what I'm trying to figure out- a lot of US MD or even DO grads going unmatched would be new, and quite concerning for those of us interested in psych that are being educated stateside.

Here's a radical proposition. Maybe the people who haven't matched aren't predominantly IMGs, MDs, DO's, or anything else, but people whose personal statements or bearing at interviews were not up to par. The personal X-factor is not to be discounted in psychiatry, and I've gotten numerous comments over the course of my interview trail about how my PS sounds like it was "written by an actual person wanting to do psychiatry" as opposed to just a "yay psychiatry" essay.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Here's a radical proposition. Maybe the people who haven't matched aren't predominantly IMGs, MDs, DO's, or anything else, but people whose personal statements or bearing at interviews were not up to par. The personal X-factor is not to be discounted in psychiatry, and I've gotten numerous comments over the course of my interview trail about how my PS sounds like it was "written by an actual person wanting to do psychiatry" as opposed to just a "yay psychiatry" essay.

Not a particularly kind thing to say to people here who are facing not matching.

 

[downwithDTB]

Here's a radical proposition. Maybe the people who haven't matched aren't predominantly IMGs, MDs, DO's, or anything else, but people whose personal statements or bearing at interviews were not up to par. The personal X-factor is not to be discounted in psychiatry, and I've gotten numerous comments over the course of my interview trail about how my PS sounds like it was "written by an actual person wanting to do psychiatry" as opposed to just a "yay psychiatry" essay.

In 2014, 26 of the unmatched unsoaped people were us MD ms4, and 630 were IMGs/FMGs/DOs/MD non-srs. 9/26 MD ms4 not match to preferred specialty only had 1 contiguous psych rank (4 ranked 2 specialties meaning they may have landed at their #2 over all as a triple board program). 13 had step 1 < 200, and everyone AOA or PhD and us ms4 MD matched. These suggest strongly that almost everyone who doesn't match in recent years is 1) not a US MD ms4 or 2) has a low step 1.

I'm sure non-stat things factor in... But when you look at who hasn't matched in recent years, it's mostly people who are not us MD ms4 or have bad stats objectively, or ranked very few programs. It is also true that weak applicants match, perhaps due in part to eloquent statements... But not matching isn't just boring PS/interview.

 

[deleted736562]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I think the PS is almost worthless. I could swear I had the most boring PS ever, and I was getting bored reading it the 2nd or 3rd time.

 

[J ROD]

I think the interview is very important. I believe that is what got my most attention after going for an interview.

Always be closing...........

 

[Pursuitofsanity]

I'm married, have a kid, house to sell (and work on beforehand) plan on moving far from our current digs and I'm totally cool with the delay. It's exciting. Then again, I don't have any dog and pony show awaiting me just to open an envelope on Friday. (Cool points to my school). Just need to open an email, accept the card the gods lay before me and go out for a nice early and bloodily juicy steak dinner with the wife and kid!

So I'm older, married, living apart from my spouse, and hoping (Please Match Gods!) to end up not living apart from my spouse anymore. I find the delay only mildly annoying overall. I find it borderline offensive that the program directors get the information before we do. To me that's the part that reflects the manipulative, commodification of my professional life that the match is far more than just the match week delay. I can understand social reasons to have the SOAP before match day, but there is no reason to tell program directors before applicants about the results.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

So I'm older, married, living apart from my spouse, and hoping (Please Match Gods!) to end up not living apart from my spouse anymore. I find the delay only mildly annoying overall. I find it borderline offensive that the program directors get the information before we do. To me that's the part that reflects the manipulative, commodification of my professional life that the match is far more than just the match week delay. I can understand social reasons to have the SOAP before match day, but there is no reason to tell program directors before applicants about the results.

It's a whopping 22 hours advance notice, ostensibly so that we can begin contract paperwork, etc and get it sent out in an expeditious manner.
There is no reason to start this process in an adversarial frame of mind.

 

[Pursuitofsanity]

It's a whopping 22 hours advance notice, ostensibly so that we can begin contract paperwork, etc and get it sent out in an expeditious manner.
There is no reason to start this process in an adversarial frame of mind.

So I don't hold it against the program directors themselves, and I don't feel adversarial toward my future boss. I do feel a little disrespected by the process. I guess I just feel like there's not a great reason for a difference in notifications, aside from a power differential and a general lack of transparency. My impression is that program directors and applicants find very similar aspects of the process frustrating, although the stakes are much higher for us applicants.

 

[lockian]

Not a particularly kind thing to say to people here who are facing not matching.

I realize that, and I'm sorry -- touche, the impulse to write the post came when I was in a snippy mood.

But it does bug me that many people on this forum seem to be preoccupied with numbers and stats, and that's just not all there is to it.

Yes, I realize that a great PS can only in rare cases overcomes poor scores, but it's also important to remember that when you've got two people who are about equally qualified stats-wise, the preference will probably go to the one who came off as more genuine and a better fit in the PS and during the interview. And in a similar way, a poor PS or awkward interview performance can sink otherwise impressive grades and scores. I'm not saying this will happen all the time, but it *can*.

 

[ExcaliburPrime1]

You go to the Match Day event for the drama!

We're all adults and (theoretically) emotionally stable enough to handle not getting in to a dream program, so why not have some free food, chat with classmates you haven't seen in a while, maybe some faculty too, and get to see where you're going at noon. Grab a list of where everyone matched for later amusement (oh that poor gunner ended up not getting into ortho, shucks!), and when all is said and done, you could probably still be home before the 1 pm (probably later as the website will be jammed) reveal were you to have stayed at home.

I'm being somewhat flippant, of course, but if y

So I don't hold it against the program directors themselves, and I don't feel adversarial toward my future boss. I do feel a little disrespected by the process. I guess I just feel like there's not a great reason for a difference in notifications, aside from a power differential and a general lack of transparency. My impression is that program directors and applicants find very similar aspects of the process frustrating, although the stakes are much higher for us applicants.

It's time to relax, friend. I hope you get top match. Let's be positive as these slights, assuming they are real, are quite minor.

 

[lockian]

You go to the Match Day event for the drama!

We're all adults and (theoretically) emotionally stable enough to handle not getting in to a dream program, so why not have some free food, chat with classmates you haven't seen in a while, maybe some faculty too, and get to see where you're going at noon.

Speak for yourself. I actually have a cr*p ton of drama in my personal/family life right now -- legal disputes (with a court date happening on the exact same day as match day, oh the irony), life-threatening health problems, people moving thousands of miles away and me inheriting various affairs belonging to them including but not limited to a cat with advanced stage cancer, not to mention the monetary factor in all this. So I don't really care for more. Match day is just the day I'm going to find out whether my life will be comparatively easier or exponentially harder in the next few months -- nothing more, nothing less.

Sorry, still snippy.

 

[eli20]

Well I'm young, single, childless and so are the majority of my friends.... so I'm excited... but more for the Post-Match Party

 

[vanfanal]

Matched

 

[lockian]

Well I'm young, single, childless and so are the majority of my friends.... so I'm excited... but more for the Post-Match Party

And I'm excited for you. A few months ago, I thought I would be excited for Match day as well because I'm also young, childless, and though not single my spouse has a mobile job. However, the **** has hit the fan in my life only a few months ago, and has unfortunately deprived me of that opportunity. Now it just feels like I have bigger fish to fry.

 

[jamfan90]

I'm married, have a kid, house to sell (and work on beforehand) plan on moving far from our current digs and I'm totally cool with the delay. It's exciting. Then again, I don't have any dog and pony show awaiting me just to open an envelope on Friday. (Cool points to my school). Just need to open an email, accept the card the gods lay before me and go out for a nice early and bloodily juicy steak dinner with the wife and kid!

All my DO friends don't have match day ceremonies like the MD schools do--I think it's because there is a DO match and an MD match. Instead they just have a party!

 

[takeeacy]

Sorry to necro this thread. For posterity, I wanted to state that I feel the PS can lend a lot. At multiple competitive schools, I received a lot of positive comments about how I had a very well written PS/a standout PS which seemed to have helped a lot. I think it may have scored me some interviews and certainly gave me a wealth of talking points during the interviews. My PS was strictly about 3rd year experiences too (did not require any particularly interesting life events). The program that I matched to (my favorite program!) also really valued my PS. It's a fairly well-regarded program but they do openly say that they take a more holistic stance to reviewing applications.

 

[Leo Aquarius]

All my DO friends don't have match day ceremonies like the MD schools do--I think it's because there is a DO match and an MD match. Instead they just have a party!

My MD match day was a party! Ceremony was held in a restaurant we took over on the roof of a hotel!

 

[Freddie Mercury]

Sorry to necro this thread. For posterity, I wanted to state that I feel the PS can lend a lot. At multiple competitive schools, I received a lot of positive comments about how I had a very well written PS/a standout PS which seemed to have helped a lot. I think it may have scored me some interviews and certainly gave me a wealth of talking points during the interviews. My PS was strictly about 3rd year experiences too (did not require any particularly interesting life events). The program that I matched to (my favorite program!) also really valued my PS. It's a fairly well-regarded program but they do openly say that they take a more holistic stance to reviewing applications.

I forgot who said it but it was on this forum. Basically, 90% of PS's are average, nothing to shout about but nothing that labels your application for the trash pile. About 5% are stellar, and boost the application to a degree (maybe even pushing a few otherwise borderline applicants into the interview category). About 5% are terrible and its clear the person isn't very interested in psych or in it just for the money or just not a good fit. So spend some time on a personal statement, have a few people read it but don't get too crazy about it.