MD & DO Co’22 ERAS Panic Thread

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NotAProgDirector said:
In case there was any question, this is true. Programs will never know where, or if, you ranked them. Only if you don't match and if the program drops below you on their rank list, they would know that you didn't rank them at all. Likewise, if a program doesn't fill and you match lower than them on your list (or don't match at all), then you know that they didn't rank you. Your school won't get any information about this at all.
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How would they find out if you don't match though? Unless you're very popular on social media and post about it. I can't see how they would know. Or maybe if the program is your home program.
 
NotAProgDirector said:
We get a list of everyone on our rank list and where they ended up, including unmatched.
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I think it's only fair that applicants get a similar list. 😉

If I DNR a program it would be good to know whether or not they filled
 
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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Don’t ask about grades or other interviews. I personally hate why this program or tell me about yourself but i understand at we need to ask them.
 
Chelsea FC said:
Don’t ask about grades or other interviews. I personally hate why this program or tell me about yourself but i understand at we need to ask them.
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Trust me I hate “tell me about yourself” too
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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Present a random patient (fake or real) and clinical scenario questions where you have to come up with DDX, assessment and plan on the spot. I haven't gotten those specifically, but I know people that did, and I would hate to be them in those situations.
 
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ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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just have at least 2-3 questions... the most painful is going straight into "what questions do you have for me"

also, if you have multiple questions prepared i really prefer you just keep going through them rather than stop after one or two and say "I have more questions for you but want to make sure i answer your questions, do you have any questions for me?" just save it for the end please and thank youuuuu. we have so many opportunities to get questions answered between socials and interview day that we will be fine, its much more awkward to keep stopping like that

other than that i think most questions i've gotten haven't been too egregious... except the one interviewer who spent the whole time grilling me about how busy the hospitals and clinics I rotated in were... it's one of the busiest medical systems in the country, not a no name place, yet she somehow seemed skeptical of how many patients i'd seen. and then quizzed me on my home PDs whole educational history - idk his whole resume why don't you interview him instead?? so don't do that i guess
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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I personally hate "Why are you interested in this field?" I wrote an entire personal statement explaining why I'm interested in this field, and it was clearly enough to get you to interview me, so I'm not really sure why I'm being asked to rehash this essay.
 
TelemarketingEnigma said:
just have at least 2-3 questions... the most painful is going straight into "what questions do you have for me"

also, if you have multiple questions prepared i really prefer you just keep going through them rather than stop after one or two and say "I have more questions for you but want to make sure i answer your questions, do you have any questions for me?" just save it for the end please and thank youuuuu. we have so many opportunities to get questions answered between socials and interview day that we will be fine, its much more awkward to keep stopping like that

other than that i think most questions i've gotten haven't been too egregious... except the one interviewer who spent the whole time grilling me about how busy the hospitals and clinics I rotated in were... it's one of the busiest medical systems in the country, not a no name place, yet she somehow seemed skeptical of how many patients i'd seen. and then quizzed me on my home PDs whole educational history - idk his whole resume why don't you interview him instead?? so don't do that i guess
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My very first interview…. that was the ONLY question the PD had. So 30 minutes of “what questions do you have?” It was brutal
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
Click to expand...

I've hated the "Are you a leader or a follower" type questions. I don't know if they want me to say "leader" and show leadership or something, but I'm truthfully just a follower that will do a good job. I never know what else to add to that.

Also, I've been asked "what's your Harry Potter house?" and "what Spongebob character are you?", and I understand they're supposed to be fun but I died inside whenever those were asked lol.
 
On the topic of interview hoarding: I was under the impression that one of the big reasons no interview cap was introduced, was largely because the match stats weren’t significantly different last year compared to previous years. There was no evidence that interview hoarding actually occurred, and even if it did, match outcomes were about the same. I could be wrong, but that’s what my advisor told me.
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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I hate
"teach me something" Especially virtually, dumb question.
"If you could be any superhero, who would it be" Not everyone knows superheroes!
"if you were in a harry potter house, which one would it be" Not everyone knows harry potter either
 
Chelsea FC said:
Im okay with being selfish if that means I give these programs a shot who spent the time to read my app and believe in my application. Alot of programs that I wanted to cancel have ended up in my top 5. I worked for these interviews and I can see myself going to every one of them. And 20 interviews isnt crazy to attend when you are in a field when u need to interview for prelim/TY year spots.
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lol bro you sound like these programs are desperate to find a med student to fill their spots. If you told them youre not interested there's probably 900 other people they could interview
 
MedScat said:
I hate
"teach me something" Especially virtually, dumb question.
"If you could be any superhero, who would it be" Not everyone knows superheroes!
"if you were in a harry potter house, which one would it be" Not everyone knows harry potter either
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So sad! I live for HP 😆

Yeah, i also hate teach me something, so def not
 
ciestar said:
Random question… but, as applicants what questions do you hate to get? I’ll eventually be interviewing people and im like, hmmm what should I NOT ask?
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I'm personally not a fan of any of the behavioral situation questions. I do fine with them, I just think it's a waste of everyone's time because obviously I'm going to give you the correct scripted answer. I guess they serve their purpose though because reading reddit threads it sounds like some people give some really....strange answers?

I was asked "what is a common misconception your classmates have about you and why is it wrong?". I'm not sure if the purpose was to show introspection/self-awareness, but I thought it was a weird question.
 
stickgirl390 said:
On the topic of interview hoarding: I was under the impression that one of the big reasons no interview cap was introduced, was largely because the match stats weren’t significantly different last year compared to previous years. There was no evidence that interview hoarding actually occurred, and even if it did, match outcomes were about the same. I could be wrong, but that’s what my advisor told me.
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Anyone think there will be a lot of unfilled programs this cycle due to interview hoarding?
 
stickgirl390 said:
On the topic of interview hoarding: I was under the impression that one of the big reasons no interview cap was introduced, was largely because the match stats weren’t significantly different last year compared to previous years. There was no evidence that interview hoarding actually occurred, and even if it did, match outcomes were about the same. I could be wrong, but that’s what my advisor told me.
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Things didn't fall off a cliff, but you can see evidence of the pressure on the system. With marginal increases in both MD seniors and positions, the number of ranked positions increased considerably, the match rate fell slightly, fewer people got their first choice, and more people got their >4th choice.

Active MD seniors in the match:
2020: 19.362
2021: 19,866 (+2.6%)

Total positions (PGY-1, PGY-2) offered in the match:
2020: 37,256
2021: 38,106 (+2.3%)

MD senior ranked positions (PGY-1, PGY-2):
2020: 316,336
2021: 360,026 (+13.8%)

US Seniors matched to PGY-1 positions:
2020: 93.7%
2021: 92.8% (-1.0%)

Percent US Senior Matches by Choice (2020):
First Rank: 49.2
Second Rank: 16.4
Third Rank: 10.0
Fourth Rank: 6.8
>Fourth Rank: 17.6

Percent US Senior Matches by Choice (2021):
First Rank: 46.4 (-5.7%)
Second Rank: 15.7
Third Rank: 10.2
Fourth Rank: 7.3
>Fourth Rank: 20.4 (+15.9%)
 
CyrusHabs7695 said:
lol bro you sound like these programs are desperate to find a med student to fill their spots. If you told them youre not interested there's probably 900 other people they could interview
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Agreed, im not special but I still want to give them a shot from my experience where programs I thought about canceling short way up my rank list
 
stickgirl390 said:
On the topic of interview hoarding: I was under the impression that one of the big reasons no interview cap was introduced, was largely because the match stats weren’t significantly different last year compared to previous years. There was no evidence that interview hoarding actually occurred, and even if it did, match outcomes were about the same. I could be wrong, but that’s what my advisor told me.
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There was a study done by multiple programs (published by U of Washington) that found a decent amount of hoarding. I would need to go digging to find the article again since they posted the link to it on their program Twitter page, but here is the relevant figure.

B25F1992-69A9-41B9-BB9C-D91A96208399.jpeg



Edit: this is for DR only
 
I got an in-person interview! The program sent a message via ERAS with questions. I answered and asked questions about the IV duration but did not receive a reply! I called and sent several emails to PC and GME, no reply yet! IV in a week!
 
Steve_Zissou said:
There was a study done by multiple programs (published by U of Washington) that found a decent amount of hoarding. I would need to go digging to find the article again since they posted the link to it on their program Twitter page, but here is the relevant figure.

View attachment 346594


Edit: this is for DR only
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Somebody actually interviewed at 50 programs. Unbelievable! I can see them saying: "A pRoGrAm ThAt UsEd To Be At ThE bOtToM mOvEd To My tOp 20, So I gOtTa GiVe AlL oF tHeM a ShOt."‍
 
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Lol at people saying they wouldn’t want to be coresidents with someone who doesn’t give up interviews for their fellow students while simultaneously harshly judging people they have never met and whose situations they don’t know.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Lol at people saying they wouldn’t want to be coresidents with someone who doesn’t give up interviews for their fellow students while simultaneously harshly judging people they have never met and whose situations they don’t know.
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Well now it wouldn't be medical school if we didn't harshly judge each other, would it?
 
DrStephenStrange said:
You're supposed to only send a LOI to your number 1 program. Telling other programs (2 or lower on your ROL) that you are ranking them highly is like telling them "you're not my number 1."

Edit: Sorry I replied before reading the post above.
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Aren't there certain NRMP rules about what you can say in a letter of intent? Can you explicitly tell a program you are for sure ranking them #1?
 
Jackaleauxpe said:
Aren't there certain NRMP rules about what you can say in a letter of intent? Can you explicitly tell a program you are for sure ranking them #1?
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I think the rule is only the other way, the program cant asks us our ranking of them. But we can tell them they are our number 1

"""
  1. A program director asks an applicant about ranking preferences or for any information about other programs where the applicant has applied or interviewed. Although applicants may volunteer such information, it is a violation of the Agreement if program staff requests that information.
  2. A medical school official asks, requires, or pressures an applicant to disclose his/her rank order list. School officials can offer to review rank order lists to support students in the Match process, and applicants can voluntarily share their rank order lists with advisors."""
 
Steve_Zissou said:
There was a study done by multiple programs (published by U of Washington) that found a decent amount of hoarding. I would need to go digging to find the article again since they posted the link to it on their program Twitter page, but here is the relevant figure.

View attachment 346594


Edit: this is for DR only
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My comment wasn’t saying that hoarding doesn’t happen: it’s that hoarding didn’t impact the match outcomes significantly, thus no pressure on the higher-ups to institute and interview cap
 
ciestar said:
So sad! I live for HP 😆

Yeah, i also hate teach me something, so def not
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I have to disagree. The “teach me something” is so common to get asked, you should be expecting it and prepare something ahead of time that works virtually. It’s not a matter of if you get asked this question; it’s when.
 
Steve_Zissou said:
It’s not idealism, it’s recognizing that the system is ****ed right now and making a principled decision to not hoard. After 15, you really don’t gain much other than attending interviews for the ego boost.

Do whatever you want, I just know that many of us would rather be co-residents with the dude who dropped programs they didn’t want to pass on a solid opportunity to others rather than the person who has the “**** everyone else, I’ve got mine” mindset. There was someone last year who attended 40 advanced interviews and matched their number one. Would not want to be their co-resident.
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"There was someone last year who attended 40 advanced interviews and matched their number one. Would not want to be their co-resident. "

That is such a ridiculous statement you just made that you would not want to be their co-resident, give me a break! I'm not giving an opinion on someone who attends more interviews then you suggest are ok, I'm just saying that, because the applicant attended 40 advanced interviews(if true), certainly does not make him/her a potential "bad resident."
 
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stickgirl390 said:
I have to disagree. The “teach me something” is so common to get asked, you should be expecting it and prepare something ahead of time that works virtually. It’s not a matter of if you get asked this question; it’s when.
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interestingly i have not yet been asked this in any interview and I'm over 2/3 of the way done with my season
 
stickgirl390 said:
I have to disagree. The “teach me something” is so common to get asked, you should be expecting it and prepare something ahead of time that works virtually. It’s not a matter of if you get asked this question; it’s when.
Click to expand...

They were saying they wouldn't ask it because they don't like it. It is a stupid question, common or not.
 
stickgirl390 said:
I have to disagree. The “teach me something” is so common to get asked, you should be expecting it and prepare something ahead of time that works virtually. It’s not a matter of if you get asked this question; it’s when.
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By disagreeing you're just saying you LIKE the question, I'm saying i strongly dislike that question and was advising a future interviewed to kindly not ask it to spare some future applicants. If you like it thats cool, to each their own
 
MedScat said:
By disagreeing you're just saying you LIKE the question, I'm saying i strongly dislike that question and was advising a future interviewed to kindly not ask it to spare some future applicants. If you like it thats cool, to each their own
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Ahh, I think I missed the original part of the thread
 
stickgirl390 said:
I have to disagree. The “teach me something” is so common to get asked, you should be expecting it and prepare something ahead of time that works virtually. It’s not a matter of if you get asked this question; it’s when.
Click to expand...
I was never asked this question. Still dont know what my answer would be two years later
 
ciestar said:
I was never asked this question. Still dont know what my answer would be two years later
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I think I would panic and then attempt to teach them how to juggle or something

Idk what they actually want to be taught since it has yet to happen to me
 
“I’m going to teach you the Konami Code, it’s basically the only way to beat OG Contra”

>_>
 
Ganon said:
“I’m going to teach you the Konami Code, it’s basically the only way to beat OG Contra”

>_>
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Lol I'm only familiar with this in regards to fantasy football. I've always been curious what it means. In fantasy football, Konami code refers to when you have a quarterback who also runs with the ball a lot. How does this relate?
 
hebrewBAMmer said:
Try teaching them how pass interference penalties SHOULD be called in football vs how they actually are. Should buy you a lot of time lol
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reading this mad my head hurt! I was thinking about offside in soccer which is more straight forward.
 
Browns99 said:
"There was someone last year who attended 40 advanced interviews and matched their number one. Would not want to be their co-resident. "

That is such a ridiculous statement you just made that you would not want to be their co-resident, give me a break! I'm not giving an opinion on someone who attends more interviews then you suggest are ok, I'm just saying that, because the applicant attended 40 advanced interviews(if true), certainly does not make him/her a potential "bad resident."
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Cool, that’s a perfectly find opinion to have. Someone going on 40-50 either doesn’t care or doesn’t have the presence of mind to realize the effect this has on others, and while that doesn’t make them a “bad resident,” that likely reflects some characteristic traits that I would find to be undesirable in a co-resident.

I’ve got close friends who have gotten 25+ for IM, EM, and psych who have dropped a ton because they felt it wrong to attend a bunch of interviews for programs that were “safeties” (well a few were high-ranked) and that they didn’t really want to attend. How do I know this? Because we all share emails and have a group text and have access to each other’s ERAS.

@Matthew9Thirtyfive you don’t have to say “people.” You can tag me directly if you have a disagreement with me or an issue with what I say.
 
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Jackaleauxpe said:
Aren't there certain NRMP rules about what you can say in a letter of intent? Can you explicitly tell a program you are for sure ranking them #1?
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You can tell them you're ranking them #1, and they can respond saying they're ranking you highly or "see you in July!" or something like that. The rule is that neither party (program or applicant) can directly ask the other where they're ranked.
 
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