I apologize I had forgotten to check this thread and want to reply to some of you:
Unfortunately, your concerns are valid.
But do take some comfort in knowing that, unless there's a red flag or poison pill in your file, you'll be able to SOAP into prelim GS if the absolute worst happens. If you're competitive for I6 Thoracic, you'll be one of those standouts in the SOAP and be snapped up quickly.
I'd suggest you take stock of your positive and negative points and what networking and safeguards you can bring to bear. First, your safety nets: What about your home program? Do they offer I6 Thoracic? Will your program's categorical GS take you, even knowing they're a fallback? Can you fined out? Where did you do your aways and did you rock them? Who are your mentors and who do your mentors know? Where do they have connections, and are they willing to go to bat for you? How strong are your credentials relative to a very strong average for the field? How big a 'name' is your med school? (Enough to tip the scales between two otherwise relatively equal applicants?) And what kind of first impression do you generally make?
I'd prioritize all of your I6 interviews over GS interviews, since GS (via a SOAP prelim) is the worst that will happen for you. You can SOAP into GS if needed, but I6 is a one-shot (or postpone graduation) deal. The toughest calls will be 'dream' I6 versus 'good' I6. (I don't envy you those calls.)
Best of luck to you --
Thank you so much for your kind reply. I agree somewhat with your point regarding the prelim year, but the SOAP process is very difficult both emotionally and financially. Even after overcoming the disappointment and embarrassment of not matching, you have to reapply the next year all over again. Most categorical programs that consider you will require you to "redo" your intern year, turning 5-7 years into 6-8 just for GS. As a whole, I hope the I6 pathway continues to evolve so that otherwise qualified candidates don't have to go through a struggle like that.
I agree with all of your other points as well regarding networking. An additional barrier I am encountering is that if I ask my home program to "go to bat" for me at another program, I am very unlikely to be ranked highly by them (my home program). Though the match process was designed to ignore reciprocity, it is always inherent. I am just going to wait to see how things shake out. Best of luck to all.
As someone who doesn’t have an I6 program at their home institution, I’ve done a lot of research in what programs have a heavy number of internal applicants. I’m concerned about how many spots are “actually available” in the match, and what programs already have a locked in home applicant.
From what I’ve heard:
UVA: 1 internal who may be doing general surgery
Columbia: 1 strong internal, another taking a gap year to strengthen their.
Stanford: 0 internals
Brigham: 1 internal
Northwestern: 2 internals
Michigan: 2 internals
Mt. Sinai: 1 internal who took a gap year and spent over 4 months on the cardiac service.
Brigham: 1 internal
Emory: 0 internal
Maryland: 2 internals, with ties to Pittsburgh, Michigan, Stanford, and NYU
Upenn: 1 internal at least, possibly more
USC: 2 internals, maybe more. Also heard the volume has been pouched by UCLA and Cedars-Sinai since the sexual harassment scandal has put all residencies there on probation.
Yale: 1 internal
In addition, there are 2 big legacy applicants this year. One associated with Upenn and one with michigan.
It’s just a hard year to be an I6 applicant. I hope this info will help you choose what interviews to prioritize. Good luck everyone!
Thanks so much for this very helpful post. Initially I thought "how can I trust this stranger?", but I have actually corroborated 3-4 from your list with others. It is a shame that programs will continue to interview others even when they know they have their seat locked by an internal.
After doing some stalking online, I will also add Cleveland Clinic to your list for having 1-2, as they historically always have.
Thanks again.
So, if I can ask a candid question—how many interviews do applicants have at this point? I’m having a hard time figuring out what’s average for I6 applicants and where I realistically stand in the lineup. Since so little is published about our cohort I’m trying to figure out what my chances of matching into I6 will be.
I think we are all going through a similar struggle of uncertainty. I am not sure our # interviews vs. match % will produce as smooth a curve as for other specialties given the relatively small sample size and numerous confounding factors. March is definitely going to be a very stressful time period.
To answer your question, I have had 15 interview invites but have to drop 3 due to scheduling (attending 12). However, the composition of these 15 invites is completely erratic...I have had some invites at top programs that I never thought would consider me. Conversely, I have targeted several mid-to-low-tier programs I think would be a good fit and was rejected/not offered an interview.
I do also hope programs consider interviewing fewer applicants in the future. Interviewing 40+ applicants for a single position does not seem appropriate to me given the time, money, etc we sacrifice to attend. I would rather suffer disappointment from not receiving an interview than attend an interview where I know my probability to match is around 3-5%.
