Applicant numbers

[landon]

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These are documented data directly from ERAS on numbers of applicants:

http://www.aamc.org/programs/eras/programs/statistics/residency/radonco.htm

 

[radoncnewbie]

update: confirmed about 1200 applications so far this year for 126 spots I believe.
Steph

If you were to believe this, then you would have to say that there is a 300% increase in applicants in one year (bucking a trend of an increase of about 10-15% per year).

I have a feeling this is a post that is meant to incite panic, OR it is merely someone repeating what they heard without examining the facts for themselves (creating urban legend).

Could the numbers be true? Perhaps, but unlikely. In the true spirit of any intellectual, if it sounds too outrageous to be true, it probably is. I think anyone interested in rad/onc at this point knows that to believe anything is to be shown the evidence first.

 

[deleted4401]

No way is there 1200 applicants. There was ~250-300 last year. I'll eat my hat if it's true.

S

 

[humblzzz]

I think this may have simply been an accidental error...to begin with the message says applications not applicants. There have been close to 10,000 applications the past couple of years (# applicants x # applications per applicant). Now if the number of applications was 12000 that would make perfect sense...a 20-25% increase in large part to an increase in the number of programs applied to by applicants, due to the obscene number of programs we are all applying to not only in the number of people applying....just my guess.

 

[fettucine]

update: confirmed about 1200 applications so far this year for 126 spots I believe.
Steph

I think this makes sense if you think in terms of spot to applicants ratio. Consider this: when I interviewed there were between 10-12 interviewers per spot, and in some name places as many as 15 interviewers per spot. Now there were only 127 spots or so for pgy2 which would mean that there are roughly 1200-1300 applications for all of the spots (127 x 10), so it is more of a calculated (hence non tangible) number, in reality the same people interview for multiple multiple spots, and therefore this way of looking at the data is pretty inaccurate.

However just talking to a few people who are already pgy2 it appears that the trend is about the same number of applicants to each institution as before. Which is about 100-150 for the no name private ones, and 150-300 for big names. I don't think anybody should panic, as you will see, you run into the same applicants over and over again. I think the level of competition remains unchanged. In my school there are only 1-2 applicants which is about 1%, down from last years 3-4%. Good luck. 😉

 

[stephew]

i made this into a separate thread. And yes Anthony D'amico the Assisstant PD repeated at our Tae Kwon Do lesson last night. I recalled him reporting that number before; it was up from last year but not that much. i'll double check.

Panic incitingly,
Steph

 

[CNphair]

I don't get the 1200 number. The ERAS link above says there are 386 applicants for 2005, right? Wouldn't that be the last word on the matter?

 

[stephew]

i just had an email volley w/PD; after you folks raised the question it didnt make sense (this would average 10 applicants per school which makes no sence). after we hammered it out for a few mins, youre right. applicants are in the hundreds.

 

[radonculus]

I am currently PGY-3 resident and when I applied a prominent PD told me that he had received over 450 application that year. Specifically, 250-300 4th-year US med student, approximately 50-100 repeat application from people who previously had not matched and approximately 100 foriegn med grads. My institution has received approximately 180 applications thus far same as last year for one position. However, the current PD states that the quality of applications is at an all-time best. Good luck to everyone.

 

[MSTP boy]

I would believe the ERAS numbers listed (386), until proven otherwise. Interestingly, 41 of them had AOA status. That's only 10%. I would have expected that % to be higher.