I am pretty sure my strong fit and applying across the country to places that are an amazing fit helped me. and i worked hard to make sure that my app was less 4 500 wd essays and a 750 wd cover letter but one 2750 word essay in 5 parts, if that makes sense. overall I got rejections from more generalist places. I also took a gamble, in addition to communicating the fit consistently throughout all of my materials, I also went personal and really showed who I am, in my essay 1 especially. I was afraid doing so, since I was applying to many amc's and VA's, but I really wanted to know if sites wanted "me". Like i said it was a gamble, but it paid off. it makes me feel better ging into my interviews that i can really be myself, and since i have done well for invites, it makes me feel better about rejections, because i really want to go to places that want "me". I also applied to a large number of sites. I may have gotten too many interviews, but my goodness how can you know how this will turn out? I was applying to mostly sites no one in my program had ever applied to, and have a unique interest/specialization that i don't think others in my program had before, and went personal. like coloradocutter said, i also consulted with my partner and family, and we agreed this is my decision, in terms of number of places. it is a shame i felt like i was playing roulette in vegas when i sent my appi out after 5 years of training. at this point i have lucked out, and i use that word luck consciously.
