Hey:
I know that the match system may seem a little confusing so let me try and help. Essentially you are not penalized by ranking the schools in any particular order. In your situation, you still have the same chance of getting into school "C" whether you rank it 1 or 3. For example: you know for sure that you are getting into school "C" and you rank them above school C BUT come match date A and B reject you, you will still get into school "C". Let me post this from the TMDSAS website:
Possibilities Which May Occur as Result of February 1, Match
1. These possibilities apply only to those schools at which the applicant was interviewed.
2. The applicant is matched with the school of his/her highest choice and applications to remaining schools are automatically withdrawn.
3. The applicant is matched with his/her second, third, etc. choice school and applications to lower choice schools are automatically withdrawn, while the applications to the higher choice schools remain open.
4.The applicant is not matched with any school on February 1 and all applications remain open until further actions are taken by the schools.
Acceptance After February 1
An applicant who received an offer of acceptance on February 1 may later receive an offer of acceptance from a school ranked higher if an opening occurs and the applicant is on that school's alternate list. Should that occur, the applicant must withdraw the acceptance from the first school if he/she wishes to accept the later offer. The application is not automatically withdrawn from the school to which he/she was first matched. To retain the initial offer received, the applicant must decline the later offer. This decision must be made and transmitted to the schools no later than two weeks after receiving the later offer.
Alternate Lists
Following the match, each school establishes an alternate list and future acceptances are offered to applicants from that list as places become available.
Applicants interviewed after the deadline for the February 1 Match may be placed on a school's alternate list. It is not necessary to submit your preferences from interviews conducted after the Match deadline to the Application Service.
Acceptances from alternate lists may continue through June 1. After June 1, no medical school in Texas may offer a position to an applicant already accepted by another medical school in Texas. This is the result of an agreement between the four U.T. System Medical schools, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, and University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth College of Osteopathic Medicine.
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Conduct Of The Match
The participating schools are dedicated to conducting the activities related to the Matching Process in a true spirit of cooperation among the schools and respect for the applicants' choices of schools. Any action taken by a participating school or its representative that does not reflect this policy should be reported to the Director of the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service.
Facts About The Match
The participating schools DO NOT have access to the applicants' school rankings.
The admissions decisions at the participating schools are independent of the applicants' school rankings because the schools have no knowledge of the applicants' rankings.
All schools arrive at their rank listing by applying the criteria established by their Admissions Committee and following the procedures for the Match agreed upon by all participating schools.
No actions should be taken by a participating school or its representative to persuade applicants to rank the school high on their rank list in exchange for a promise of acceptance or other inducements.
No offer of acceptance or implication of an offer of acceptance should be made, either verbally or through correspondence, by a participating school or its representative prior to the match.
Encouraging remarks or letters from interviewers or other people representing the medical school are just that -- encouraging remarks. They should not be interpreted as an offer of acceptance or a hint to induce the applicant to rank their school high on his/her preference list.
Tips For Making Your Selections
DO NOT PANIC.
DO NOT try to "Beat the System".
DO NOT try to outguess the schools.
DO NOT base school ranking solely on "How you felt the interview went". The interview should be only one factor in your total evaluation process.
DO rank the medical schools in the order you wish to attend.
