Been asking myself that question all day, and honestly will probably keep thinking of it through residency. I feel the quick answer is Yes, but perhaps with some reservations. Sorry, this is going to be a bit of a long post, but it's my first one on here and just wanted to share a bit of my thoughts and experiences of this whole process.
So some context to start off. I am an Allopathic US Med Student with some red flags on my application (rather not get into the nitty gritty of it), so even though I applied to one of less competitive specialties with Categorical IM, I was very concerned I would not match. I applied to a bunch of programs and after weeding through the rejections, I ended up with 10 interviews. There were a couple programs I was not terribly eager to match in to, but with my concern for not matching and that I may not have interviewed at enough places, I ranked all 10.
Today, I find out I got my #4 program (one of the places in Cali). I know most of the country targets California for one reason or another (weather and the beach?), but for me, I've always been eager to come back to the area after moving away many years ago. At the same time, going to Cali means I'm leaving a city that I've been living in for quite a while (before med school) and a placed I've enjoyed being in for the most part.
Beyond location, matching my #4 program hit me with some additional mixed emotions. I definitely feel grateful I matched there and not some of the other programs I ranked lower. I will say my #1 and #2 were practically reach programs (though the place I ranked #1 sent me multiple thank you cards and emails, which made me feel I had at least a puncher's chance of getting in there) so while I would've loved to go to those places, I suppose deep down I knew my chances of getting there weren't too high.
It's my #3 that stings a bit, as when I found out I actually did match, I thought it was with them. It's a hospital affiliated with my school, where I did a lot of 3rd and 4th year rotations at, and would've loved the opportunity to be a resident there. I felt I had solid evals from those rotations in addition to a strong LOR from one of the Attendings there. They wound up taking 5 students from our school, and I guess I felt a bit let down that I didn't make their cut. It kind of makes you wonder what you did wrong, as out of the places I ranked, they were the program that knew me the best, and perhaps weren't that crazy with what they saw. I had the aforementioned red flags, but it makes you think what else may have caused an issue.
All in all, I suppose my experience isn't too different from anyone else who found themselves matching outside their top 3, but still ended up on some place high on their list. Like most people who move for a job, it's mixed feelings of being excited to go someplace new (or back to a place with old memories) and some sadness to leave a place you may still like. I guess its also for the best not to dwell on my #3, and just be happy I got a program in my top 4.
