Am I in limbo? What's the deal?

[iradi8u]

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There are several programs others have listed as interview offers and rejections, and I've received neither. Do I assume I'm on a wait list? Or would I have been notified? Limbo sucks!

 

[ONCinferno]

I am in the same boat....I have no clue what is going on. The only thing that is for sure the "Wait" 😴

 

[Gfunk6]

Tough question. I guess I can only really answer based on personal experience. 9 times out of 10 if I had not heard a week or so after a offer was posted online it meant rejection. I was surprised on one or two occasions however.

I guess my only suggestion would be to expect the worst but hope for the best.

 

[napoleondynamite]

My experience was, if I didn't get an offer with the first go round, it generally meant rejection (with only one exception out of the 70 I applied to). But remember, it only takes ONE to get ine. Just make the best of each interview you have and keep your head up. The fat lady hasn't even put her dress on yet, much less is she ready to break any windows. 😎

 

[Pewl]

My experience was, if I didn't get an offer with the first go round, it generally meant rejection (with only one exception out of the 70 I applied to). But remember, it only takes ONE to get ine. Just make the best of each interview you have and keep your head up. The fat lady hasn't even put her dress on yet, much less is she ready to break any windows. 😎

I wonder how tough it is really to just match into "a" program. I think what's really stressin' me out is I really, really want to match into a particular region. I'm investing all of this effort into rotating, doing research, and getting to know a bunch of programs with a region. But, with so few positions available it's always tough. =P

 

[stephew]

its touch to match in "a" program.

 

[iradi8u]

Evidently, at least one of my unknowns must've been a waitlist/limbo situation because I just received an interview offer.

So there's still hope if you've heard nothing!🙂

 

[ONCinferno]

I agree with iradi8u. I have received 3 late invites from schools I had not heard from that had already offered interviews previously. I think the interviews came partially due to programs adding extra interview dates, but in one instance it was because I never received the email for the initial invite (I guess it got lost in cyberspace....I hope that doesn't invoke paranoia, but it all worked out) There is always hope and then there is always the scramble.. I am already prepping for the madness

 

[Flobber]

Just to add to the optimism here, I've had 2 interview invites from programs where I missed the initial wave. Both came within 2 weeks of the first posting of invites on this board.

So, it appears that it does happen but the vast majority have meant an ultimate rejection for me.

As a side note, does anyone have any thought as to whether or not the unusually high volume of qualified candidates this year will affect the likelihood of matching for a given number of interviews? Like, if someone has 10 interviews this year, do you think that they would have the same likelihood of matching as they would have in previous years? I'm hoping that the hard part this year is getting the interviews...

Good luck to everyone.

 

[achybrachy]

As a side note, does anyone have any thought as to whether or not the unusually high volume of qualified candidates this year will affect the likelihood of matching for a given number of interviews? Like, if someone has 10 interviews this year, do you think that they would have the same likelihood of matching as they would have in previous years? I'm hoping that the hard part this year is getting the interviews...

That's the way I've been looking at it. I don't think it should make a big difference how many applicants there are once you have a good number of interviews, but the high number of applicants makes landing the interview that much harder. There should either be a larger number of people with few or no interviews, or everyone will have fewer on average, but I think if you can get 10 you should be fine. According to "charting outcomes in the match," the magic number last year actually looked like it was closer to seven ranks to really feel pretty sure about matching, although there were lots of people with 15+.

 

[achybrachy]

Here's a different question: What do you folks think about the number of applicants in future years? Will the trend continue up? Has the number been climbing for many years now? The fact remains, most students just don't get a lot of exposure to rad-onc in med school unless they seek it out, but it seems the word is getting out and more students are doing so.

 

[BraggPeak]

Are the number of applicants really even up? It seems like this year there are about ~170 applicants for about ~130 spots (last year there were 147 spots). I remember a few years ago the ratio used to be 2:1, so this year and last year, the odds were much better. Granted, this pool is self-selected. The thing that is changing is probably more and more people are doing research before they apply, so the research is not enough to stand out anymore!

Bottom line-- rad onc is competitive and will probably continue to be so for the next few years. After that, who knows? Our health care system is likely to change in the next few years and this may affect what fields medical students choose to go into. Go into a field because you like it and you'll be happy in the end!

 

[iradi8u]

One program, I believe it was MD, included in their rejection letter that they had received 180 applications this year. Since everyone is not applying to every program, I suspect the overall number is a bit higher than 180 this year.

 

[mikedc813]

Maryland said that they received around 200 applications...

 

[Pewl]

Are the number of applicants really even up? It seems like this year there are about ~170 applicants for about ~130 spots (last year there were 147 spots). I remember a few years ago the ratio used to be 2:1, so this year and last year, the odds were much better. Granted, this pool is self-selected. The thing that is changing is probably more and more people are doing research before they apply, so the research is not enough to stand out anymore!

Bottom line-- rad onc is competitive and will probably continue to be so for the next few years. After that, who knows? Our health care system is likely to change in the next few years and this may affect what fields medical students choose to go into. Go into a field because you like it and you'll be happy in the end!

Are there any new programs opening up? Is the number of spots likely to hit 150-160 in the next couple years?