Match Stats for entering class of 2014

[Gfunk6]

Match day is only 8 short days away so it's time for an annual SDN Rad Onc tradition - Who's Who and Match Stats.

Each year we request users anonymously post their match statistics (whether or not they successfully matched) in the format below. Since the impressions account is gone feel free to PM your match stats anonymously or email to gfunk6266(at)yahoo(dot)com

Cheers,

G

--Board Scores:
--AOA and class rank: if known
--GPA:
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc)
--Research: (none, some radonc with no publications, radonc publications, other pubs)
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc)
--# and where you did away rotations:
--# of programs you applied to:
--Where invited for interviews:
--Where matched:
--Matched at what number on rank list:
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call to a program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc)
--Plans if not matched:
--Prelim year:
--Matched at what number of prelim yr on list:
--Other:

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[Frazier]

Match day is only 8 short days away so it's time for an annual SDN Rad Onc tradition - Who's Who and Match Stats.

 

[Gfunk6]

*bump* for Match day.

 

[Gfunk6]

And it has begun!

--Board Scores: Step I: 249 Step 2: 240 (took after ERAS submitted)
--AOA and class rank: top 1/3rd of class
--GPA: None calculated.
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc): Not a top 50 research institution, good southern school with a decent reputation
--Research: 1 first author basic science heme-onc paper submitted during application, 2 third author basic science hem-onc papers, 1 poster/abstract at a national meeting, 2 school research days poster/abstracts, absolutely NO RadOnc research (I think anything RadOnc would have helped me enormously, heme-onc just doesn't impress radoncs looking at your application (got asked about it only on 3 interviews! WTF mate.)
--Honors in clerkships: IM-H, Peds-H, SubI Med-H, RadOnc-H-x4, Ob/Gyn-HP, Surg-HP, Psych-HP, everything else after application was in.
--# and where you did away rotations: 4
--# of programs you applied to: All of them
--Where invited for interviews: MUSC, SUNY upstate, Oklahoma, Univer of Min, UTMB, Robert Wood, NSLIJ, U of U
--Matched at what number on rank list: 4
--Anything that helped your app: I just really wanted to enter the field and did all the things that everyone tells you is necessary to get there... research, 4 aways (no home program), LORs from aways, did well on Step and worked my butt off.
--Plans if not matched: Complete Intern year, look for an opening PGY-II position, if not set up a research year and reapply through the general cycle...thank god that didn't happen.
--Prelim year: Medicine at my current medical school
--Matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--Other: For away rotation if I could do it over again I would rotate at the more famous institutions and get a LOR from someone who is very well respected in the field. I opted to rotate at mid-tire places thinking my chances were greatest there but I think the bigger name more recognized place you go to draws more attention to application reviewers and equals more interviews. I would have also done RadOnc research/publication or ASTRO presentation early on in 3rd/4th year. I feel like I am lucky to have matched and am blessed with the opportunity to enter this field. It is competitive and the process is long and grueling, I didn't have a backup specialty b/c nothing else clicked for me like it did for radonc, it makes waiting for that e-mail on Black Monday a very stressful time...but it all worked out!

 

[Gfunk6]

#2

--board scores: 260+/275+ (step 2 taken way early, reported)
--aoa and class rank: Aoa
--gpa: No gpa at my school
--reputation of medical school: Private school with no home program and no reputation
--research: Nothing radonc specific. Nothing in med school. Multiple 1st author pubs from undergrad in an extremely esoteric hard quant physics field
--honors in clerkships: All but psych
--# and where you did away rotations: 3
--# of programs you applied to: All except those in cities i couldn't tolerate living in (ny, boston, chicago) 50 total
--where invited for interviews: Penn, utah, kaiser, mayo (mn), city of hope, minnesota, georgetown, indiana, mcw, usc, cal pacific, cedars sinai, utsw, mcw, texas a+m, vcu
--where matched: A place i did an away
--matched at what number on rank list: #1!!!
--anything that helped your app: Step scores and grades were huge for me, obviously. No big wig letters or research hurt me (in a sense that is; i got an interview at and matched to my #1 so&#8230 research is obviously important, but i think numbers are coming more and more into play.
--plans if not matched: Maybe scramble into path, try to get a new disease named after me. Derm?
--prelim year: Sweet ty
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other: You can imagine how my interviews went with no research to discuss. Once or twice a brave interviewer asked about my extremely niche undergrad physics research, but i quickly learned to redirect the conversation after their eyes glazed over. Despite my good fortune at having high stats i really felt inadequate on the interview trail due to my research deficits and was very grateful to match. I know there is some lurker on this thread who wants to do rad/onc, but feels they can't apply because they came to the field too late to get any research. Don't talk yourself out of it! There is always a way! Figure out a way to package and sell yourself to the programs and focus on talking about how you will add value in a way a typical md/phd may not.

 

[Gfunk6]

#3

board scores: Step 1 262, step 2 246 (reported)
--aoa and class rank: Junior aoa, top 5%
--gpa: Not reported
--reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc); unranked state school
--research: (none, some radonc with no publications, radonc publications, other pubs); 2 second author physics manuscripts from undergrad. 4 poster presentations during med school (non-rad onc)
--honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc) honors in all but ob/gyn and ambulatory
--# and where you did away rotations: 2
--# of programs you applied to: All but a handful that i absolutely didn't want to go to
--where invited for interviews: (in order of invitation) penn, usc, buffalo, columbia, cornell, downstate, duke, beaumont, einstein, baylor, ucsd, lij… did not attend tufts, loyola, san antonio, wayne state, mississippi, allegheny, utmb
--where matched:
--matched at what number on rank list: 1
--anything that helped your app: (ie: A phone call to a program, big-wig letter of recs, md/phd, other degree, sdn forum, etc) i think that my grades and boards scores were important. Also, i got a lor from a big wig on one of my aways. Background in physics definitely helped… but i was lacking in rad onc research, and i think that this kept me out of a fair number of places.
--plans if not matched: Prelim + reapply
--prelim year: Medicine at a local hospital
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: 1
--other: Like the above poster said, research is important, but isn't everything. I came to the field of rad onc late in my third year. I barely was able to set up aways in time, and was not able to complete any significant rad onc specific research. Obviously it would have been ideal if i knew from day 1 of medical school that i wanted to do rad onc and had first-authored several rad onc papers… but life doesn't always work out that way. While i do think that lack of research (and lack of an md/phd) kept me out of some of the top programs, i was much more successful than i thought i was going to be.

Coming from a school without a rad onc program, i depended on this forum a lot for advice on how to go about applying (props to gfunk for a very well administered forum). The downside of this is that the people who post things on here tend to be the ones who are proud of their achievements, and it can be pretty easy to erroneously assume that all applicants have 5+ first author rad onc manuscripts. I feel like research is one way to demonstrate your interest in the field… but there are others. Once i got down my personal narrative and was able to explain to interviewers sincerely how i fell in love with rad onc, my lack of rad onc research seemed less important.

 

[Gfunk6]

#4

--board scores: 260+/270+ (step 2 available midway through season)
--aoa and class rank: Top 2%, junior aoa
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: Top 15
--research: 1 onc first author accepted during season, pre-eras: 1 rad onc first author, 1 rad onc second author, 6 rad onc middle author papers. All basic science/translational research. No extra research year.
--honors in clerkships: Honors in all third and fourth year
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 at home, 2 aways (both "top 10" programs)
--# of programs you applied to: 38
--where invited for interviews: Hrop, yale, msk, columbia, nyu, mt sinai, penn, jefferson, hopkins, pitt, tufts, duke, emory, uab, vanderbilt, ohio state, case western, cleveland clinic, henry ford, beaumont, uchicago, wisconsin, mayo, washu, utsw, mda, colorado, ucla, ucsd, ucsf, stanford (did 19 interviews; couples matching)
--where matched: Hrop (did not do away here)
--matched at what number on rank list: #1
--anything that helped your app: Step scores and research were big for me. I also had a letter from a big wig from one of my away rotations. I couples matched, and my spouse's chair and pd contacted rad onc pd, as did my home institution's chair.
--plans if not matched: Prelim medicine then reapply.
--prelim year: Prelim med at bwh
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other: I'm so happy that i came upon radiation oncology and was incredibly impressed by the depth of each of the applicants i met. As every says, research is paramount here. I was fortunate to get involved in rad onc-specific research as a first year and was productive with that; because of that early productivity, i opted not to do an additional year off. Would have strongly considered it if i had not been able to be productive early on in med school. Best of luck to all of those applying in the years to come -- the match sure is a wild ride!

 

[deleted4401]

Really weak applicants this year
Yikes, if this is representative of the current applicants, I'd suggest seventh graders start studying for step 1!

 

[evilbooyaa]

#4, you're a stud. Congrats on getting into HROP. I know beggars can't be choosers, but can we get some feed back from people without the 240+ and honors in everything? I know it's only a day out, but someone with a <230 who matched due to their research would improve my outlook.

 

[Gfunk6]

#5

--board scores: 254/262
--aoa and class rank: Not aoa
--gpa: 2nd quartile
--reputation of medical school: None
--research: No publications, some radonc research experience
--honors in clerkships: Honors in all radonc rotations. Hp in medicine, p in surgery. Rest are a mix of h/hp/p
--# and where you did away rotations: 2
--# of programs you applied to: All of them
--where invited for interviews: Kansas, upstate, lij, einstein, buffalo, iowa, emory, cleveland clinic
--where matched: Happy place.
--matched at what number on rank list: #4
--anything that helped your app: Good board scores.
--plans if not matched: Do ty and try to strengthen app and apply to off cycle spots... Then maybe reapply for match with a backup.
--prelim year: Ty near boston
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other: Obviously the main weakness of my app was research. If i had a 2nd or 3rd author radonc paper (or even a non-radonc paper) i think i would've had far more interviews and less sweating while waiting until march 11th.

 

[Gfunk6]

#6

--board scores: Step 1&2 230s-240s (step 2 after interviews)
--aoa and class rank: Unknown
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: Top 25
--research: Mostly radonc--4 papers, 3 first author; handful or so astro abstracts including first and co-authored
--honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc) half honors, half high pass
--# and where you did away rotations: 3 away rotations (home, east, west; 2 upper middle tiers, 1 top tier)
--# of programs you applied to: All but nyc
--where invited for interviews: 20 invites, went on 12 interviews&#8212;1-2 top tier, handful of middle upper tiers, handful of solid middle tier, 8 or so smaller/lower tier
--where matched: At place i rotated&#8212;"top ten" program
--matched at what number on rank list: #1
--anything that helped your app: Decent amount of research, big name letter of rec from an away, excellent letter from research mentor, connections&#8212;as has been said many times, this is a small field and connections had a big impact for me.

--plans if not matched: I felt like i was a decent applicant and decided that if i didn't match i would reapply after a year of research instead of taking a prelim medicine position and hoping to slide into an advanced position the following year. Had i felt like i was a weak applicant i would have probably chosen a back-up field.
--prelim year: Prelim medicine
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list:
--other: Excellent mentorship is probably the top reason why things worked out for me. As you can see, my stats are not breathtaking (avg step for rad onc, ok grades) but i never felt that they "held me back." my mentors helped me get a significant amount of research done (without having to take a year off), wrote strong lors, and helped me get away rotations at places i wanted. I think my research, letters, and away rotation performance made up for any &#8216;deficiencies' in numbers.

In the end, things worked out better than i ever expected. All the hard work and sacrifice has paid off. Congrats to everyone who matched yesterday!

 

[Gfunk6]

#7

--board scores: Step 1 250+, step 2 taken just last month
--aoa and class rank: 1st in my class, jaoa
--gpa: 4.0
--reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) - unranked state school, unfortunately
--research: All rad onc: 2 oral presentations, one with a travel award, the other at rsna, 4 posters, one with a travel award. 2 papers submitted in time for eras, both first author, one was basic science and was accepted a couple weeks before rank lists due.
--honors in clerkships: Honors in all of them.
--# and where you did away rotations: Did two away rotations, one at a top 3 program and one at a lower top tier, as in outside the top 10, but up there.
--# of programs you applied to: All of them (as advised with no home program)
--where invited for interviews: (random order) loyola, cinciannati, usc, kansas, iowa, uab, yale, maryland, mcw, utah, buffalo, beaumont, ohio state, oklahoma, wisconsin, indiana, northwestern, uc davis, vanderbilt, louisville, nebraska, kaiser, suny downstate, city of hope, albert einstein and tufts. (26 invites, went on 19, ranked 18)
--where matched: Amazing institution
--matched at what number on rank list: 2 (but wanted it to be number one, but ranked it number 2 for a silly reason, thankfully the match fixed that
--anything that helped your app: (ie: A phone call to a program, big-wig letter of recs, md/phd, other degree, sdn forum, etc) honestly, i think the biggest things for me were a track record of interest even if not with many publications, big wig letters from my aways, and a "perfect" gpa. Coming from a no name school with no department, i think the school performance helped people trust that i could handle rad onc, it was brought up at nearly every interview.
--plans if not matched: Ty, and reapply
--prelim year: Top choice ty near some family
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: 1
--other:i'm yet another example that having no home program and no prestigious school won't hold you back if you work hard. That said, i think you need to be realistic. I thought based on my performance i'd be competing for top 10 positions, and i felt like my school held me back from those and i ended up settling quite nicely into the lower top tier programs. My advice: I was interested early and everyone told me to "keep my mind open", i guess thats fine, but don't let them dissuade you from getting involved in the department early. This is an amazing field, and if you are lucky enough to happen across it early, dive in and reap the benefits. If you want a top tier place (top 3), and come from my situation, i feel like a year out for research is necessary. In the end, i couldn't be happier with how things worked out! Good luck to all of you next year!

 

[Gfunk6]

#8

--board scores: 240s/240s (submitted ck score after interviews but before rank lists due)
--aoa and class rank: Junior aoa
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: Top 25
--research: : All basic science pubs from md/phd program; none radonc-specific but with indirect ties to cancer. 2 first authors (one in high impact journal) published, 1 first author and 1 middle author in review during interviews.
--honors in clerkships: : Honors in all 3rd and 4th year clerkships (including medicine, surgery), except hp in 2.
--# and where you did away rotations: None
--# of programs you applied to: 50
--where invited for interviews: Invites listed, attended 13. Baylor, case, duke, emory, iowa, hopkins, jefferson, mayo fl, tufts, umich, stanford, uab, ucla, ucsd, ucsf, uf, unc, utah, utsw, vandy, washu, yale
--where matched: "top 10" program
--matched at what number on rank list: #1
--anything that helped your app: Research background with md/phd probably most helpful for getting interviews at research-heavy institutions. Ability to explain how my non-radonc research ties into motivation for doing radonc helped in essay and on interview days. Having independent pre-doctoral nih fellowship grant during md/phd probably somewhat unique. I would guess my radonc letters were probably very good, but not outstanding. I think overall positive attitude, enthusiasm, and ability to get along well with others goes a long way on interview days.
--plans if not matched: Did not rank prelim programs independently, so likely would have done a research year and re-entered match.
--prelim year: Ty program close to family
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other: Felt fairly confident going into the process, but still applied broadly to feel that all my bases were covered. I was most impressed with how much i liked all of the programs i visited for interviews. Each program is unique and they all have some pluses and minuses, but mostly pluses. Once i found out that i matched, i knew i would enjoy myself wherever it was going to be.

 

[Gfunk6]

#9

--board scores: Step 1: 230's
--aoa and class rank: Not aoa, no class rank available
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) top 10
--research: (some radonc some non-rad onc, 17 pubs), md-phd
--honors in clerkships: (surgery)
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 aways
--# of programs you applied to: 50
--where invited for interviews: Mdacc, hrop, mskcc, u mich, columbia, u florida, emory, ucla, ucsf, w wisc, nyu, utsw, u rochester, albert einstein, thomas jefferson, wash u, yale.
--where matched: #1
--matched at what number on rank list: #1
--anything that helped your app: Letters from home and away rotations and research pubs
--plans if not matched: Become a beach bum
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other: Research and letters were the most helpful.

 

[Gfunk6]

#10

--board scores: 230s step 1, 240s step 2
--aoa and class rank: If known: Not aoa
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc): None
--research: (none, some radonc with no publications, radonc publications, other pubs):
--honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc): Hp surgery, honor medicine, honor rad onc
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 away, fox chase/umd
--# of programs you applied to: 42
--where invited for interviews: 7
--where matched: Awesome place
--matched at what number on rank list: #3
--anything that helped your app: (ie: A phone call to a program, big-wig letter of recs, md/phd, other degree, sdn forum, etc): Here are couple things i think that helped: 1) having a big-wig letter 2) having extra circular that were not directly related to medicine but important in rad onc 3) talking about prospective research plans i had during the interview
--plans if not matched: Research for a year and then reapply
--prelim year: Categorical program
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1 i guess
--other: I think i stressed a lot about my step 1 score. As long as you do above the average, you will be fine. Research trumps a low step 1 score.

 

[dream living]

#11

--Board Scores: Step 1 237/99, Step 2 231/81 (submitted after match, thank goodness!)
--AOA and class rank: Upper half
--GPA: n/a
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) top 15 in Northeast
--Research: 2 middle author basic science papers, 2 first author radonc papers submitted at application, one accepted during interview trail, 1 first author radonc abstract accepted, 2 first author radonc abstracts submitted before application submitted, 2 first author non-radonc abstract
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc) Honors in medicine and surgery, HP in everything else but Neurology (pass)
--# and where you did away rotations: one at a mid-tier west coast and one at a mid-upper tier midwest program
--# of programs you applied to: 70
--Where invited for interviews: Invited to 21, but went to 14. OHSU, Kaiser, USC, City of Hope, CPMC, Utah, Baylor, Wisconsin, Beaumont, Ohio State, Mayo Jacksonville, Maryland, UPenn, NYU, Albert Einstein, Mount Sinai, Cornell, LIJ, SUNY-downstate, MSKCC
--Where matched: Solid mid-upper tier program (did not rotate there)
--Matched at what number on rank list: #2
--Anything that helped your app: I was a late comer to the process, deciding to apply at the end of 3rd year. My stats weren't off the charts but my program director at my home institution was awesome and he just basically said I could do it but I'd have to go to work. I think showing that I can be very productive in a short amount of time, while doing rotations, helped. Also, I was able to start a project with a "big wig" that resulted in a first author radonc pub within a month or two. I'm sure that his letter helped, too. I would have most likely received more prestigious interviews had I taken a year off, but that wasn't an option and I don't think I would've been any happier with where I ended up than I am now!
--Plans if not matched: start a band, move to the beach, run a hot-dog stand, etc.
--Prelim year: pre-lim medicine at same institution I matched for radonc
--Matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--Other: If you want something bad enough, you'll work hard and you'll be enthusiastic about it. In the end, things will work out. Build good relationships with everyone around you (residents, attendings, etc.) and seek out their advice, while being humble enough to follow it.

 

[Gfunk6]

#12

--board scores: Step i and ii - 240s
--aoa and class rank: Senior aoa, ? Class rank
--gpa: ?
--reputation of medical school: Lower-top 25
--research: 7 basic science peer-reviewed publications (3 first author) indirectly cancer-related. No radonc research.
--honors in clerkships: Honors in all rotations except family medicine (near honors)
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 away rotation (mdacc)
--# of programs you applied to: 35
--where invited for interviews: Utsa, utsw, mdacc, u. Chicago, u. Washington, mskcc, ohsu, stanford, ucla, usc, ucsd, colorado, vanderbilt, musc, hopkins
--where matched: Top 3 spot
--matched at what number on rank list: 1
--anything that helped your app: I think that the md/phd and publication record really helped make up for my late interest in radonc and lack of radonc experience. Big wig letter from away rotation likely opened some doors. I think the real trump card for me was a pretty good track record for getting funded. I was completely grant funded for the final 6 years of my md/phd and was able to write a patent based off my phd work.
--plans if not matched: Considered either reapplying in pathology or going into research post doc.
--prelim year: Internal medicine @ private hospital
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: 1
--other: The competitiveness of this field really raises the bar for standing out. I was surrounded by very smart, talented, and interesting people at all of my interviews. My strategy has always been to follow my folly wholeheartedly, and that left me with some unique qualifications and lots of stories to tell. I think that programs really like to see that there is an interesting person behind all the stats - someone easy to spend time with who will add to the intellectual and personality diversity of a department.

 

[Gfunk6]

#13

--board scores: 210s step 1, 250s step 2
--aoa and class rank: Middle 1/3
--gpa: ?
--reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) top 50
--research: (none, some radonc with no publications, radonc publications, other pubs) phd, low 10s publications
--honors in clerkships: (especially surgery, medicine and radonc) 1
--# and where you did away rotations: 3 at solid but not "top" programs
--# of programs you applied to: All
--where invited for interviews: 20, went to 15, mostly at solid but not "top" programs
--where matched: A fantastic program where i did not do an away rotation
--matched at what number on rank list: Only rank the programs you would go to
--anything that helped your app: (ie: A phone call to a program, big-wig letter of recs, md/phd, other degree, sdn forum, etc) phd, letters from both big names and small names who know me well, and an early start at my home program probably helped me.
--plans if not matched: Look for pgy-2 openings during intern year. This may actually be a violation of the new "all in" rule.
--prelim year: Ty at a program where i did not do an away rotation
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list:
--other: Deficiencies can be overcome in different ways. If you're a mere mortal without a perfect application but have other strengths, you can still match well. Apply broadly and hope for the best but have a backup plan.

 

[Gfunk6]

#14

--board scores: 230s/260s
--aoa and class rank: Aoa eligible (not selected), top 25%
--reputation of medical school: Mid-tier school with no rad onc program
--research: 1 rad onc publication, 1 rad onc abstract
--honors in clerkships: Honors in everything except high pass in surgery
--# and where you did away rotations: 3, in different regions
--# of programs you applied to: 70
--where invited for interviews: Utmb, cincinnati, case, minnesota, wayne st, beaumont, kentucky, uc-davis, utah, wake forest, kansas, buffalo, hofstra-lij, cedars sinai, virginia, nebraska
--where matched: A strong program in my hometown (where i did not rotate)
--matched at what number on rank list: 3
--anything that helped your app: No phone calls, no big-wig letters... Not sure i had anything that particularly helped me.
--plans if not matched: Prelim year, try again next year
--prelim year: Transitional
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: 1
--other: I came very late to the rad onc game. If you're an m3 thinking it's too late for you to decide on rad onc, it's not! (even with my not stellar step 1.) arrange away rotations, ask about research at your school/on your aways, kill step 2, and work hard. It can be done.

 

[Gfunk6]

#15

--board scores: 260s/260s (step 2 released late in february)
--aoa and class rank: No aoa at my school
--gpa: N/a
--reputation of medical school: Top 25
--research: No advanced degrees or time off, but i was very productive... 4 first author rad onc pubs accepted/published by interviews, 3 second and third author rad onc and non rad onc pubs, one oral astro presentation, several posters, and a couple small grants.*
--honors in clerkships: Honors in all except ob/gyn (high pass).
--# and where you did away rotations: One on the east coast and one on the west coast, both top 10. Coming from the midwest, i did this intentionally to reduce regional bias. Also rotated at my very strong home program.
--# of programs you applied to: ~60
--where invited for interviews: ~40 total. Attended 16: Minnesota, mayo (rochester), wisconsin, colorado, utah, u washington, iowa, mcw, ucsf, md anderson, duke, harvard, yale, washu, vanderbilt, and stanford.
--where matched: Fantastic midwest program
--matched at what number on rank list: #4
--anything that helped your app: It's hard to say. I think the main reasons i fell to #4 (which is still awesome) are my lack of a phd, no away rotation at any of my top 3, and i never had any phone calls made. In retrospect, i probably could have chosen my rotations differently and could have asked mentors to make phone calls. That said, i did receive many favorable comments regarding one of my 'big wig' letters and many interviewers were impressed with my list of publications considering i did not take any time off. I think being a normal person helps also, as i generally get along with others quite well and tend to stay very calm in stressful situations.
--plans if not matched: I felt this was unlikely based on feedback i received from my home department, but i would have done a ty and reapply. Rad onc is too awesome to give up after just one cycle.
--prelim year: Awesome ty
--matched at what number of prelim yr on list: #1
--other:*
1. I received at least one question/comment regarding my hobbies during each interview day. This is because i have fairly interesting hobbies and used intriguing descriptions on eras. I would strongly advise every applicant to do this. Instead of listing "cooking" which is generic, be more specific! If you like experimenting with homemade pasta, say "creating novel varieties of homemade pasta" for example. Have fun with it. Interviewers tend to like it when you give them plenty of low-hanging fruit that can easily be picked.
2. I would echo what has been said before about creating a narrative. When asked about career goals, be ambitious but have a plan in mind. Don't say "uhhh i don't know" because that's lame.
3. Away rotations were a great way to broaden my exposure to other departments around the country. However, my second away was scheduled in late september, which was too late to secure a letter of recommendation. Consequently, no programs knew that i did a second away rotation (wasn't on eras) and many were surprised to hear about it when interviewed. Because of this, i still experienced significant regional bias. So i would suggest scheduling your always early and/or get letters from each away!
4. Southwest airlines doesn't charge change fees, which is awesome. Unfortunately, i primarily flew delta and wasted a large amount of money on changing flights. Also, book direct flights if they are available. I spent a little more doing this but life is far less stressful without layovers.
5. I did not encounter a single bad program on the interview trail. There are pros and cons to each program, but the quality of clinical training seemed very similar between programs and you can become a great radiation oncologist by doing residency pretty much anywhere.