A Second Look

[Bacterium]

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I am currently toward the end of my interview trail, and I recently had that famed "gut feeling" when I visited a program. It had everything I wanted and the city and residents did seem to be a good fit for me. There is almost no doubt in my mind that I will be ranking this program #1 on my list.

So, at the end of the interview, the assistant program director told us that if we wanted to do a 2nd look that we were certainly welcome, but that it would not have any bearing on how we are ranked for the Match. If we were to do a second look, it should be for our benefit and to get a better feeling for how things are done and the city in general. I'm just going to admit that I want to do a second look because I want to look more interested. I would like to see the city again, but I am already certain that I want to rank the program very high. My anxiety comes from the fact that I am from a program that is not very familiar to their program. I come from a very good program that always does very well in the Match, but the program I am hoping for has not had a resident from that program in many years.

So am I being overly paranoid, or is there benefit to doing a 2nd look in my situation?

 

[twilightdoc]

So am I being overly paranoid, or is there benefit to doing a 2nd look in my situation?

It sounds like you have gotten some good information from the program in which you are interested. "Second visits" are not necessary from the programs' standpoint, but are for the benefit of the applicant. They can be helpful in situations where you might have a program in which you are interested but want to re-visit the program, hospital, city, etc. to reinforce your choice. But if you make a second visit, it should be "on you", without expectations that the program will wine and dine you like they may have during your official interview. If you make a second visit, it is a good idea to let the program know that you are coming, and even ask permission to go on rounds, sit in on a conference, etc. But don't be high maintenance, and try to be unobtrusive. Making a second visit is a way to indicate your sincere interest in a program, and that might actually work to your advantage when the program creates its rank list- "all things being equal", most programs would prefer an applicant who is genuinely interested in their program. This is one reason to make sure the program knows you are coming for the second visit; if you sneak in and out without notice, they won't know you were there and you lose the "demonstration of interest" value of the visit. But most successful applicants have not made second visits to their respective programs of choice.

 

[CrazyPeds527]

For perspective - the residency I matched at had never taken a student from my med school (to my knowledge) and I did not do a 2nd look, nor an away rotation. I still matched and was thrilled about it.

Do the 2nd look if you want to feel certain about the city and the program, if it will help firm your decision, it certainly won't hurt you. However, if you are truly interested and are interested in saving money on the cost of travel (if it is a big trek) you can probably get away without it and you can still let them know via email how you enjoyed the program, will be ranking it highly, etc, etc.

In the end, you aren't going to know where you stand until match day, so do things for you and try to avoid the paranoia - however easier said than done!

 

[Bacterium]

Thanks so much for the good feedback. The paranoia is pretty though to quiet sometimes, but maybe your advice can keep it at bay for like a day or two.