Couples match with poor stats

[blizzardwizard]

Long story short looking for others who have been in a similar situation. Partner and I are rising fourth year southeast DO students. Middle of the pack in class. I am interested in EM (comlex 54x, usmle 227) and she is interested in FM (comlex 44x). Are we screwed to end up in the middle of nowhere because of poor scores + couples match? Obviously planning on doing well on step 2, but with past performance in mind we will see. Is it even too risky to try and couples match? I haven't found too many posts on couples matching with poor scores tbh. Looking for all advice.

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[AlbinoHawk DO]

It would be mistake to do couple's match with one person being 440. Her alone doing 440 can probably land in a decent area for a community program (assuming no red flags), but the combination will be like shooting each other in the foot

 

[blizzardwizard]

It would be mistake to do couple's match with one person being 440. Her alone doing 440 can probably land in a decent area for a community program (assuming no red flags), but the combination will be like shooting each other in the foot

Thanks for the honesty. This sucks.

 

[DO2015CA]

Just see what interviews you guys can get. You can also couples match and end up across the country from each other if you put those combos into the algorithm. I think it’s still worth a shot.

 

[blizzardwizard]

Just see what interviews you guys can get. You can also couples match and end up across the country from each other if you put those combos into the algorithm. I think it’s still worth a shot.

Do you think it would be smart to inform programs we are couples matching or keep everything private? on one hand we may be able to get a few more interviews for her, but on the other programs that turn her down would simultaneously be turning me down.

 

[Schwifty]

I say go for, apply broadly and tell programs you are couples matching. You chances of matching are technically the same whether you couples match or not.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I think I would focus on applying to programs in areas that the partner with the 44x Comlex might match. Usually an ER program should be in the area. Someone might have to compromise a little so start networking now. Good luck to you both. I was offered a faculty position when my wife graduated from med school. Rather than do her residency there, she insisted on returning to our home town where I had to re enlist and do a fellowship because I couldn't find a job. It wasn't ideal, but we made it work. You are only limited by your own creativity.

 

[EctopicTarHeelDO]

My wife and I (both DOs) just matched via couples match for OB/Gyn and EM, respectively, with similar numbers (50x, 55x, no USMLE, middle class rank) (45x, 52x, no USMLE, middle class rank). We did not end up in the same hospital, but we were both very happy to match anywhere with these numbers. We pretty much stuck to traditionally Osteopathic programs and managed a decent interview yield. I would recommend telling programs you are couples matching, doing this gained a few extra interviews for us. We also ranked every possible combination; if you do this, I believe the risk of individually not matching is nearly eliminated, as DO2015CA and Schwifty alluded to above. If your partner improves on Level II, I don't think she will be too limited for FM. There should also be plenty of EM/FM combos that are still close geographically, even if they aren't the same hospital. Just my two cents. Feel free to DM me if you'd like to chat more.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

For a good discussion of the couple's match, read this thread: Couple's Match Algorithm Help for ROL | Student Doctor Network Make sure you read to the end, some of the initial posts in the thread are incorrect.

As already mentioned, using the couple's match if done correctly cannot hurt you. If you list all combinations, you cannot do any worse than you would have done individually. If someone does not match, they would not have matched had they applied individually nor would changing the order of their rank list changed the outcome.

The only reason not to use the couple's match is if you don't have enough ranks. The maximum ROL is 300 ranks, if you each have about 16+ ranks you'll run into this hard limit. In that case, you'll need to decide on a compromise couple's match list, or apply separately.

You can choose to couple or de-couple any time up until ROL deadline, so you can choose anytime you want.

At the beginning of the season, the only question you need to consider is whether you're going to put the couple match interest on your ERAS applications. There's no simple answer to the "right" option:

• Programs in large urban areas with lots of local programs probably won't care. They will assume that your partner will get interviews somewhere.
• Programs that are isolated (i.e. they are the "only show in town") may coordinate between the programs. It makes less sense to offer only one of you an interview. It's possible that if one of you has a weaker application and is rejected from their program, the other will simply decline to interview. It's also possible that one program may be very interested in one of you and convince the other program to invite. So it can work both ways.

You can put your couple status in your ERAS app. You can keep it completely private and still couple match in NRMP -- we would never know. You could also leave it out of your ERAS app, and then if one of you gets an invite and the other does not, you could reach out with the "my partner got an invite and I was hoping for one also" email. There's no right/best answer, just pick what you're most comfortable with

 

[blizzardwizard]

For a good discussion of the couple's match, read this thread: Couple's Match Algorithm Help for ROL | Student Doctor Network Make sure you read to the end, some of the initial posts in the thread are incorrect.

As already mentioned, using the couple's match if done correctly cannot hurt you. If you list all combinations, you cannot do any worse than you would have done individually. If someone does not match, they would not have matched had they applied individually nor would changing the order of their rank list changed the outcome.

The only reason not to use the couple's match is if you don't have enough ranks. The maximum ROL is 300 ranks, if you each have about 16+ ranks you'll run into this hard limit. In that case, you'll need to decide on a compromise couple's match list, or apply separately.

You can choose to couple or de-couple any time up until ROL deadline, so you can choose anytime you want.

At the beginning of the season, the only question you need to consider is whether you're going to put the couple match interest on your ERAS applications. There's no simple answer to the "right" option:

• Programs in large urban areas with lots of local programs probably won't care. They will assume that your partner will get interviews somewhere.
• Programs that are isolated (i.e. they are the "only show in town") may coordinate between the programs. It makes less sense to offer only one of you an interview. It's possible that if one of you has a weaker application and is rejected from their program, the other will simply decline to interview. It's also possible that one program may be very interested in one of you and convince the other program to invite. So it can work both ways.

You can put your couple status in your ERAS app. You can keep it completely private and still couple match in NRMP -- we would never know. You could also leave it out of your ERAS app, and then if one of you gets an invite and the other does not, you could reach out with the "my partner got an invite and I was hoping for one also" email. There's no right/best answer, just pick what you're most comfortable with

Thank you i appreciate the detailed response! I apologize for the repetitive questions and I know many of this has been answered on previous posts. Just scary when you're up next.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

For a good discussion of the couple's match, read this thread: Couple's Match Algorithm Help for ROL | Student Doctor Network Make sure you read to the end, some of the initial posts in the thread are incorrect.

As already mentioned, using the couple's match if done correctly cannot hurt you. If you list all combinations, you cannot do any worse than you would have done individually. If someone does not match, they would not have matched had they applied individually nor would changing the order of their rank list changed the outcome.

The only reason not to use the couple's match is if you don't have enough ranks. The maximum ROL is 300 ranks, if you each have about 16+ ranks you'll run into this hard limit. In that case, you'll need to decide on a compromise couple's match list, or apply separately.

You can choose to couple or de-couple any time up until ROL deadline, so you can choose anytime you want.

At the beginning of the season, the only question you need to consider is whether you're going to put the couple match interest on your ERAS applications. There's no simple answer to the "right" option:

• Programs in large urban areas with lots of local programs probably won't care. They will assume that your partner will get interviews somewhere.
• Programs that are isolated (i.e. they are the "only show in town") may coordinate between the programs. It makes less sense to offer only one of you an interview. It's possible that if one of you has a weaker application and is rejected from their program, the other will simply decline to interview. It's also possible that one program may be very interested in one of you and convince the other program to invite. So it can work both ways.

You can put your couple status in your ERAS app. You can keep it completely private and still couple match in NRMP -- we would never know. You could also leave it out of your ERAS app, and then if one of you gets an invite and the other does not, you could reach out with the "my partner got an invite and I was hoping for one also" email. There's no right/best answer, just pick what you're most comfortable with

What usually hurts is not the match itself with how you rank but rather when you announce to programs that you're trying to match with someone else and they start to doubt your commitment to that program or your partner's ability to match

 

[Schwifty]

What usually hurts is not the match itself with how you rank but rather when you announce to programs that you're trying to match with someone else and they start to doubt your commitment to that program or your partner's ability to match

But what evidence supports that? Couples match at the same rate as everyone else, so there must be people in there with low stats that match as a couple. If programs were doubting a couples commitment wouldn’t couples end up going unmatched more often?

 

[Dr.Bruh]

I matched EM with those same scores at a major academic program in one of the biggest cities in the US. I also know multiple people in my class with <500 comlex who landed university FM in decent sized Midwest cities. I think you could easily end up in places like that.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

But what evidence supports that? Couples match at the same rate as everyone else, so there must be people in there with low stats that match as a couple. If programs were doubting a couples commitment wouldn’t couples end up going unmatched more often?

I don't think anyone collects this kind of evidence. Most of it is stories you hear. I would also venture to say that people that couple match are self-selecting, and considering 96% of people match anyway, it's not surprising that it isn't a huge unmatched rate