When to send #1 email

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Torsades42 said:
Has anyone called and let the PD know that they are ranking them #1? I've heard this being done but I feel it is "Match Neurosis/Nonsense". Supposedly calling translates into "it is harder to lie over the phone, so I really am ranking you #1."
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I personally wouldn't do it. Speaking as an applicant last year and a participant in the ranking process this year, I have to say that we (applicants - and really - premeds, med students and even residents) as a group are pretty annoying people. You never know what will tick a PD, or even a residency coordinator, off. During our rank meeting, people got downranked for being too aggressive in their post-interview communications (beyond the standard you're great/you're #1 emails).

ETA: the corollary to this is simple: be on your A game during the interview. If you're too timid, too insufferable or otherwise aren't the right "fit" the program is looking for, no amount of emails or phone calls will get you to the matchable part of the rank list, regardless of your 260 step 1 or glowing LORs. This process is a whole lot more subjective than people realize.
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b-real said:
During our rank meeting, people got downranked for being too aggressive in their post-interview communications (beyond the standard you're great/you're #1 emails).
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This is really interesting. Are there other things that you would not expect that brought people up/down? Any funny stories?
 
I wasn't going to send a #1, but broke down and finally sent one. Got an out of the office for a few weeks reply. Owned lol. :cool:
 
I sent mine out a few days ago. I just wrote a paragraph highlighting what I liked about the program and how it would provide me with the best place to train. Then I ended it with a "As a result you are #1" sentence. I wouldn't do much more than that.
 
@Greg
Im curious to know if you got a reply to that email.(my content was similar to yours , though i stopped just short of the typical ''number 1'' message).
Anyway i got a ''you are ranked well and left a positive impression''.response.
Not so sure what that means if anything. Even looked up words ''desirable '' and ;;ranked well '' in the dictionary.
Hilarious.
 
Flukologist said:
@Greg
Im curious to know if you got a reply to that email.(my content was similar to yours , though i stopped just short of the typical ''number 1'' message).
Anyway i got a ''you are ranked well and left a positive impression''.response.
Not so sure what that means if anything. Even looked up words ''desirable '' and ;;ranked well '' in the dictionary.
Hilarious.
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Not yet. The PD did respond to my thank you note months ago. So either she is in vacation or hasn't had the chance to reply. Regardless of whether she replies or not, I will not take that as anything.
 
greg1184 said:
Not yet. The PD did respond to my thank you note months ago. So either she is in vacation or hasn't had the chance to reply. Regardless of whether she replies or not, I will not take that as anything.
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I can relate. Hoping for the best and trying to not make much of it.
 
Flukologist said:
@Greg
Im curious to know if you got a reply to that email.(my content was similar to yours , though i stopped just short of the typical ''number 1'' message).
Anyway i got a ''you are ranked well and left a positive impression''.response.
Not so sure what that means if anything. Even looked up words ''desirable '' and ;;ranked well '' in the dictionary.
Hilarious.
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I know what you mean. I sent a #1 letter and the PD responded back with 'you left a good impression and we'll be happy to have you here' email, and I've been mulling over it. She didn't say anything about ranked to match or ranked well (no mention of the word 'ranking') so does that mean they don't really want me? Is this a positive or negative response?
I know this probably doesn't mean anything, but im like paranoid about it haha
 
that is a decent email response. i got a "we'll see how the match turns out." that is as bad of a response as you can get. Hate how competitive derm is
 
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@Xranger
To be honest i don't think it means anything.
I think the only way to really make some sense (if possible) of this is when the results come out on March 15 .
This hasn't stopped me from obsessing about it though.
 
Seriously, stop trying to read their minds. Programs may very well be noncommittal simply because they are still finalizing their lists, or because they have a policy of being that way. Yeah, it's stressful now but in the long-run it doesn't make a difference--whether a program tells you they love you now or you open your envelop and find their name staring at you on 3/15, you're going to wind up at the same place.
 
the response i got to my number 1 program basically said some nice things about me in the beginning of the paragraph followed by...
"I feel you would be an excellent fit for our program. We hope to see you on our match list next month."
....which to me means that I am not ranked extremely well but if they do get to me on the list that they wouldn't be terribly sad.
 
thecampuslegend said:
the response i got to my number 1 program basically said some nice things about me in the beginning of the paragraph followed by...
"I feel you would be an excellent fit for our program. We hope to see you on our match list next month."
....which to me means that I am not ranked extremely well but if they do get to me on the list that they wouldn't be terribly sad.
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You're probably thinking too much into it!
 
I think a lot of you are seriously overthinking this and reading way too much into the wording. Put yourselves in the PDs shoes. Most of them still see patients and have other responsibilities other than obsessing over their ROLs. I doubt most of them spent more than 2-3 minutes reading your emails and then typing up a quick reply.
 
HoldTheCoffee said:
I think a lot of you are seriously overthinking this and reading way too much into the wording. Put yourselves in the PDs shoes. Most of them still see patients and have other responsibilities other than obsessing over their ROLs. I doubt most of them spent more than 2-3 minutes reading your emails and then typing up a quick reply.
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Or better yet, not reply. But yeah, don't lose sleep over this!
 
XRanger said:
I know what you mean. I sent a #1 letter and the PD responded back with 'you left a good impression and we'll be happy to have you here' email, and I've been mulling over it. She didn't say anything about ranked to match or ranked well (no mention of the word 'ranking') so does that mean they don't really want me? Is this a positive or negative response?
I know this probably doesn't mean anything, but im like paranoid about it haha
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Wow, those are some really nice emails. I sent my #1 an email to let them know they are #1 and they said, "It was really nice to meet you too. Glad to hear your experience here was positive. Please let me know if you need anything else and best of luck in the match"

No mention of ranking, or that they'd like to see me next yr, or good impressions, or anything like that. I am so doomed.
 
Jessipeds said:
Wow, those are some really nice emails. I sent my #1 an email to let them know they are #1 and they said, "It was really nice to meet you too. Glad to hear your experience here was positive. Please let me know if you need anything else and best of luck in the match"

No mention of ranking, or that they'd like to see me next yr, or good impressions, or anything like that. I am so doomed.
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Don't read too deeply into it. That PD probably just doesn't like to say too much.
 
b-real said:
Last year, I sent it directly to the PD, and got a nice reply back. Doubt it changed my position on the final list, but it made me feel better. Result: matched.
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What did they say in the nice reply back? and is that where you matched?
 
Jessipeds said:
Wow, those are some really nice emails. I sent my #1 an email to let them know they are #1 and they said, "It was really nice to meet you too. Glad to hear your experience here was positive. Please let me know if you need anything else and best of luck in the match"

No mention of ranking, or that they'd like to see me next yr, or good impressions, or anything like that. I am so doomed.
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I think you're definitely reading way too much into it. My feel is that PDs will send a nice/neutral generic letter and then leave it at that most of the time just to cover their bases. Keep in mind that "Hope to see you next year" isn't really the same as "We'll see you for SURE next year".

So, if you can, try to relax and have some fun! Anything is still possible!


... says the guy browsing SDN the day after rank lists have been turned in.
 
Jessipeds said:
Wow, those are some really nice emails. I sent my #1 an email to let them know they are #1 and they said, "It was really nice to meet you too. Glad to hear your experience here was positive. Please let me know if you need anything else and best of luck in the match"

No mention of ranking, or that they'd like to see me next yr, or good impressions, or anything like that. I am so doomed.
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I hope you're simply being overly dramatic and do not actually believe that this response translates into anything meaningful.

As others have noted the lack of an effusive response means nothing. For example when I send letters, I never say "hope to see you next year" or "looking forward to working with you" or anything that may give an impression of an implied contract. My responses, even to our favorites are always noncommittal and exactly along the lines of what you received. I thank people for their interest, state that I am pleased they had a good experience and wish them well in the match.

Please do not drive yourself crazy trying to read between the lines. Just as I am noncommittal even with top candidates I have just as many friends who send wonderful flowery letters to applicants that may not be at the top of the rank list.
 
My general philosophy has been this:

Decide where I want to go, certify my ROL, not change it later (like they tell you not to change test answers on a whim). Then I tell the #1 program that they are my #1. I tell the other top 4 or 5 that I would be really excited to go there and I am ranking them highly/etc. Then I shrug, wait a few weeks, go to bed one night and wake up the next day to a match somewhere. Then I grab some coffee and look at apartments online in whatever city it is.

I do all of the communication by email. I would never call a PD unless they wrote me an email saying "omg, we had such a great time, call me on Thursday" or something. They are busy people. If I were a PD (I'm not), a pointless phone call would stand out in a bad way. Write a card if you want to do something "different" than an email.

It's amazing the extent to which people freak out about the #1 letter. Reading this thread makes me feel less neurotic than I thought I was.
 
I never sent a #1 email. I decided to be honest about things and not send anything because I wasn't 100% sure about my #1 - and didn't settle on it until an hour before the deadline (as I predicted).

Am I doomed? Starting to feel like I maybe missed a huge opportunity here because I valued honesty >> playing the game. For what it's worth, I applied into something pretty competitive, ie. very small-sized programs.
 
NorGwynCrab said:
I never sent a #1 email. I decided to be honest about things and not send anything because I wasn't 100% sure about my #1 - and didn't settle on it until an hour before the deadline (as I predicted).

Am I doomed? Starting to feel like I maybe missed a huge opportunity here because I valued honesty >> playing the game. For what it's worth, I applied into something pretty competitive, ie. very small-sized programs.
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Well if you truly value honesty over playing the game, then whether it would have helped you or not is really relevant to you, is it?
 
Well, if I don't match then it is. I'll probably lie like crazy next year, which is kind of sad.
 
Jessipeds said:
Wow, those are some really nice emails. I sent my #1 an email to let them know they are #1 and they said, "It was really nice to meet you too. Glad to hear your experience here was positive. Please let me know if you need anything else and best of luck in the match"

No mention of ranking, or that they'd like to see me next yr, or good impressions, or anything like that. I am so doomed.
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Did anyone else receive emails like this "Best of luck in the match" or "It was nice meeting you, glad to hear your experience was positive", etc in the past? Any current residents/attendings care to comment? Did you match to those programs that sent you emails like this?

I just want some honest honest answers, no sugar-coating....if it means they didn't like me, I'd prefer to know now....
 
Winged Scapula said:
I hope you're simply being overly dramatic and do not actually believe that this response translates into anything meaningful.

As others have noted the lack of an effusive response means nothing. For example when I send letters, I never say "hope to see you next year" or "looking forward to working with you" or anything that may give an impression of an implied contract. My responses, even to our favorites are always noncommittal and exactly along the lines of what you received. I thank people for their interest, state that I am pleased they had a good experience and wish them well in the match.

Please do not drive yourself crazy trying to read between the lines. Just as I am noncommittal even with top candidates I have just as many friends who send wonderful flowery letters to applicants that may not be at the top of the rank list.
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Thanks for calming me down (for now). I got a "glad to hear that" response to after notifying my #1. Hopefully they have the same train of though with these things as you do.
 
Jessipeds said:
Did anyone else receive emails like this "Best of luck in the match" or "It was nice meeting you, glad to hear your experience was positive", etc in the past? Any current residents/attendings care to comment? Did you match to those programs that sent you emails like this?

I just want some honest honest answers, no sugar-coating....if it means they didn't like me, I'd prefer to know now....
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Several residents and attendings (in multiple threads, on multiple forums) have already told you this is not something to freak out about. If you are intent on worrying about it until match day I'm not sure there's anything more we can tell you. In any case, even if 10 people were to come along and say they did (or did not) match at programs after getting a response like that, you still would have no way of knowing what this particular PD at this particular program meant in this particular email.
 
GoSpursGo said:
Several residents and attendings (in multiple threads, on multiple forums) have already told you this is not something to freak out about. If you are intent on worrying about it until match day I'm not sure there's anything more we can tell you. In any case, even if 10 people were to come along and say they did (or did not) match at programs after getting a response like that, you still would have no way of knowing what this particular PD at this particular program meant in this particular email.
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I've noticed you're on a one-man mission to make sure people stop caring about these things, and that's fine, but you could back down a little and let people vent. It's a high-stress time and getting some reassurance for your particular situation is always appreciated. If you aren't at least a little nervous about this stuff, you just don't care enough! (not YOU personally, just in general)
 
LovelyBRass said:
I've noticed you're on a one-man mission to make sure people stop caring about these things, and that's fine, but you could back down a little and let people vent. It's a high-stress time and getting some reassurance for your particular situation is always appreciated. If you aren't at least a little nervous about this stuff, you just don't care enough! (not YOU personally, just in general)
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If it makes you feel any better, I was going to say the same thing. Spurs just beat me to it.

It's fine to be a little nervous. But the neuroticism on display in this thread (and myriad others) is just so over the top that it makes me glad I'm bailing out of academic medicine and won't have to work with most of you for 4 or more years when you finally have your s**t together.
 
gutonc said:
If it makes you feel any better, I was going to say the same thing. Spurs just beat me to it.

It's fine to be a little nervous. But the neuroticism on display in this thread (and myriad others) is just so over the top that it makes me glad I'm bailing out of academic medicine and won't have to work with most of you for 4 or more years when you finally have your s**t together.
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When the Friday March 8 SOAP eligibility email comes, I bet there will be 3 new threads.
 
LovelyBRass said:
I've noticed you're on a one-man mission to make sure people stop caring about these things, and that's fine, but you could back down a little and let people vent. It's a high-stress time and getting some reassurance for your particular situation is always appreciated. If you aren't at least a little nervous about this stuff, you just don't care enough! (not YOU personally, just in general)
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Haha OF COURSE I get nervous about all this nonsense; about the only thing that keeps me sane is when my friends remind me I'm being ridiculous and to stop worrying about it, so I'm trying to pass that along :laugh:
 
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