Applying to same program in SOAP after declining interview request

[jerkey]

Hi,

Thanks in advance - I'm wondering if anybody has declined interview offers in the main match and then applied to the same program/hospital in the SOAP. Would this hinder your chance to get interviews again because you turned them down once already?

I'm a Canadian Medical Graudate applying to Family Medicine in the Canadian and US match. The thing is, I prefer to match in Canada because residency is 2 years (vs. 3 years) but the match results come out after the US Main Match. I really don't want to sit out for another year and would gladly do a 3 year Family Medicine residency anywhere (city/urban/prestige doesn't matter).

I'm wondering if I should apply to the Main Match at all or just to apply in SOAP if I don't match in Canada. I don't know where I stand in terms of competitiveness and I think the only real gauge for me is to apply broadly in the main match and see how many interviews I get. In the slim chance that I get a good number, and I turn alot of them down to try at the Canadian match, will I have screwed myself over for SOAP? Would I have a better chance of matching if I only applied in SOAP? In general, I'm thinking SOAP would be more competitive than main match because the higher tier students who didn't get their specialty are now trying to the same spots as I am (or am I wrong in this thinking?).

Thanks as always for the help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AdmiralChz]

You can’t SOAP without applying through the main US match first. If you don’t apply you cannot participate.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

You're missing the whole point.

You apply to both CaRMS and NRMP. You interview at programs in both. You submit rank lists for both. When the CaRMS match happens, if you match there you're automatically withdrawn from the NRMP. If you don't match in CaRMS, then the NRMP match proceeds. You get the best of both worlds.

 

[mvenus929]

Do you have previous post-graduate training? This is the only way I can see you being automatically in the second iteration of CaRMS rather than the first, and the first iteration matches before the US match.