After the thank you note

[bubblegilr1]

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Hello,
I was wondering if someone could offer some advice. I recently interviewed at a program that is my number one choice.. I will go there in a heartbeat. The PD did not give us his card and asked us to email him if we had any question. Right after the interview I emailed him to thank him for the opportunity to interview and also mentioned that I will rank his program as my top choice and talked about what I love about the program etc. I did not hear back from him 🙁...... should I take this as a hint that they were not as impressed with me. If I do not hear back from them at all before the match, should I still risk it and put them as my top choice??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time

 

[fiestatrio99]

I do not think it means much if you hear nothing. Some programs specifically said they will not respond to thank-you notes unless you specifically ask a question. They just are too swamped to respond personally. You should rank the programs in the order that you want to go to them. You are not risking anything by ranking them first even if they do not rank you to match.

 

[twilightdoc]

... If I do not hear back from them at all before the match, should I still risk it and put them as my top choice???

It is mid-way through the interview season, and I suspect that most programs haven't started a formal ranking process- still interviewing applicants and gathering data. I wouldn't worry if you heard nothing from the program director; some program directors will send a "thank you for interviewing" email to interviewees, but usually nothing more substantial than that. And some send nothing. Remember that the match generally works to the advantage of the applicants, so you should rank programs in the order that you prefer. And most programs would be pleased with just about anybody that they interviewed and ranked. If a program absolutely doesn't want an applicant, they probably won't rank them. And applicants should do the same regarding programs. The good news is that most programs offer excellent training and career preparation, and many times the rank list for an applicant involves other factors (geography, personal requirements, etc.).

 

[ahd929]

You should rank the programs in the order that you want to go to them. You are not risking anything by ranking them first even if they do not rank you to match.

this point can't be overstated. it is not "risky" to rank your first choice first! it doesn't hurt your chances of matching at your lower ranked programs (unless, of course, you match at your first choice). know how the match works before you submit your rank list!

 

[bubblegilr1]

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess that is one point that is confusing to me; if someone could please shed some light on this for me I would appreciate it. I am trying to stay in a certain state for my pediatric residency and my worse nightmare is that I would rank wrong and have to scramble and go out of state. There is one program that I know I have a good chance of getting into - great program, but it is not my number one choice. What I have been told/ understood is that to increase my chances of getting into a program in this state I should rank the programs that I have the best chance of getting into first because programs tend to pick the people who have ranked them first. So if I rank my number one choice first and they end up not ranking me I would mess up my chances of getting into the program that I have a chance of getting into... because I ranked them 2nd or 3rd and they usually do not pick individuals who have ranked them low.... that is how I was thinking about it. I guess can someone tell me how people rank " wrong"... I have heard this a lot that blah person ended up scrambling because he/she ranked their programs wrong. Sorry for rambling... thank you!!!

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess that is one point that is confusing to me; if someone could please shed some light on this for me I would appreciate it. I am trying to stay in a certain state for my pediatric residency and my worse nightmare is that I would rank wrong and have to scramble and go out of state. There is one program that I know I have a good chance of getting into - great program, but it is not my number one choice. What I have been told/ understood is that to increase my chances of getting into a program in this state I should rank the programs that I have the best chance of getting into first because programs tend to pick the people who have ranked them first. So if I rank my number one choice first and they end up not ranking me I would mess up my chances of getting into the program that I have a chance of getting into... because I ranked them 2nd or 3rd and they usually do not pick individuals who have ranked them low.... that is how I was thinking about it. I guess can someone tell me how people rank " wrong"... I have heard this a lot that blah person ended up scrambling because he/she ranked their programs wrong. Sorry for rambling... thank you!!!

you have been misled by the "Blah person" (s?). Rank the programs in the order you wish to go there. The programs have no way to learn where you ranked them. Well, unless YOU tell them, which isn't a good idea. Read about applicants Ford and Hassan here and the summary at the bottom of the page.

 

[twilightdoc]

I guess can someone tell me how people rank " wrong"... I have heard this a lot that blah person ended up scrambling because he/she ranked their programs wrong. Sorry for rambling... thank you!!!

As far as I am aware, the biggest "ranking mistake" applicants make is not ranking enough of the programs at which they interviewed. At my school, I am aware of only about 5 or 6 of our students (over 3 decades) who applied in Peds who did not match. And those students either did the "suicide" match (single program) or cut a gaping hole in their safety nets by not ranking some decent programs at which they had interviewed but were told by relatives that the programs weren't prestigious enough. The "dirty match" (applicants being coerced into committing to a program before the match) isn't supposed to occur, but I suspect that there are situations in which this happens. I do think that most Peds programs abide by the letter and spirit of the match, and don't expect applicants to commit in advance. If you were my advisee, I would tell you to rank the programs in the order that you prefer, even if the "sure bet" program ends up 2nd or 3rd (or lower) on your list. But make your list out as if you are going to get your first choice, because you might. And if you are a good candidate, the "weaker" program (whatever that means) would be thrilled to have you, and may never know that they were not your first choice. This happens frequently in couples-match situations, where one member of the couple is a much stronger candidate in his/her field than is the partner, and the couple will end up at the hospital (or geographical region) that can accommodate both of them.

 

[Stitch]

I agree with the above. The 'mistake' I see causing students to scramble is not ranking enough programs.

That said, I would also say don't rank a program that you hated (if you got a really bad feeling on your interview that you couldn't live there or deal with those people). Any program you list could conceivably take you, so if you hated it there and would be seriously unhappy there, then don't rank it. Three years of your life isn't that long, but residency is hard enough without being totally unhappy wherever you end up.

 

[bubblegilr1]

Thank you very much for your replies!!! I am really glad I asked.......

 

[Powdermonkey]

Thank you very much for your replies!!! I am really glad I asked.......

That link that OBP has in his post is amazingly clear in explaining how the boards work. We just had a "match" process at school to find out our 3rd/4th year schedules and rotation sites and its amazing at how many people tried to game the system. They told us to rank it in the order that you want to go somewhere, and dont put anything down that you dont want. And the people that did just that got places they didnt want and schedules they didnt want. I ranked mine according to schedule preference and then location and I got my number 1 pick as did the majority of people in our class who ranked as they wanted. You can't trick a computer.