Best of Luck in the Match?!

[Jessipeds]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Did anyone else receive this as a response to letters of interest that you sent out? I sent a super long, heartfelt email to my #1 and received this very discouraging email back saying "It was our pleasure to meet you as well. I am glad that you think so highly of our program. Please let me know if you need anything else. Best of luck in the match"???????

Meanwhile, I know people are getting responses like "We'd love to see you next year, you left a good impression" etc.....this is so frustrating.....

I did not let any of this influence my decision, and I ranked every program exactly as to where I wanted to go next year. But it still frustrates me that they hate me so much.

I keep wondering if there was something wrong I did during the interview......I feel like my application and scores were competitive, but I know I'm not a good interviewer, and after the interview, everyone is on a level playing field.....sigh🙁

 

[kindasorta]

^everyone isn't on a level playing field come interview time so far as I've heard. So your high scores aren't gone to waste. But whatever, it doesn't matter. Use this time between ranking and matching to forget every place you applied, zen out, and convince yourself that you will be happy with whatever name pops up on 3/15. There's no healthier alternative.

 

[Jessipeds]

^everyone isn't on a level playing field come interview time so far as I've heard. So your high scores aren't gone to waste. But whatever, it doesn't matter. Use this time between ranking and matching to forget every place you applied, zen out, and convince yourself that you will be happy with whatever name pops up on 3/15. There's no healthier alternative.

Thank you for the advice, and I will be happy with any of the choices on my ROL.

But I'm still curious if anyone else in the Peds community got responses like these "I am glad you think well of us/thank you for the compliment/best of luck in the match"

Do any program directors/attendings/residents have any opinion on what "best of luck in the match" means? Honestly? Does that mean they didn't like me? I just need to know.....

 

[pooh86]

Every school responds differently. The fact that you even got a response is a good thing. For all you know your program could have sent the same email to everyone regardless of where you are on their list. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[fpd1987]

Doesn't sound that bad, either you're on their list, or maybe they are not that interested and this is their nice way of being honest with you. No worries, Chicago has plenty programs

 

[GoSpursGo]

As others have said, it means exactly what it says: "good luck." I don't think many programs go over-the-top in their communication to applicants: between actually conducting interviews, responding to run-of-the-mill thank you letters, clinical responsibilities, and you know, actually directing a residency program (not to mention personal life), there just can't be that many hours in the day. Some programs may use the words you got, others may use the words that you've heard about from others, but honestly I wouldn't see any of those responses as a clear-cut "we're definitely taking you" kind of message.

In any case, all the worrying in the world won't do you any good anyways--you're going to match where you're going to match 🙂

 

[chemta2006]

Thank you for the advice, and I will be happy with any of the choices on my ROL.

But I'm still curious if anyone else in the Peds community got responses like these "I am glad you think well of us/thank you for the compliment/best of luck in the match"

Do any program directors/attendings/residents have any opinion on what "best of luck in the match" means? Honestly? Does that mean they didn't like me? I just need to know.....

You'll go crazy trying to decipher if there are any "codes" to a PD's email or wording compared to any other. Take it as a sign that if they respond to your letter, it means they thought it was nice enough to spend time writing a response, which counts a lot for busy people.

I wouldn't put much stock into it beyond that. PDs don't know how the match will turn out so they couldn't tell you more even if you wanted. (ie. the infamous "ranked to match" emails which then disappoint hopeful applicants when it doesn't come true.) I'm sure plenty of people get no emails at all and they still match. Not sure that helps, but it's what I keep in mind to prevent from descending into paranoia. It'll all come clear in a few weeks anyway 👍