did you scramble?

[pipetman]

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First off, congrats to those that matched. Regardless of the school you went to, you worked hard, and my hat is off to you.

For those who scrambled, how did it end up for you? Was it as stressful as they say? If you didn't match, what are your plans?

I've heard from residents all over that scrambling always happens and it's not a reflection of anything, except maybe the system. MD/DO students scramble in greater numbers than we do (but they also have more applicants, I suppose).

Just curious how you more experienced podstars handled this situation, as it looks like most of us will be in this situation next year.

 

[347932]

First off, congrats to those that matched. Regardless of the school you went to, you worked hard, and my hat is off to you.

For those who scrambled, how did it end up for you? Was it as stressful as they say? If you didn't match, what are your plans?

I've heard from residents all over that scrambling always happens and it's not a reflection of anything, except maybe the system. MD/DO students scramble in greater numbers than we do (but they also have more applicants, I suppose).

Just curious how you more experienced podstars handled this situation, as it looks like most of us will be in this situation next year.

Way back, when I was in the scramble, it was extraordinarily stressful. The big difference between now and then was when I scrambled, it was for a non-surgical program. So I knew, even if I got a program in the scramble (which I did), I would still have to go back into the fray to get a surgical program afterwards (which I did). Now, at the very least, if you are successful in the scramble, you're done.

 

[Feli]

Just follow the old boy scout model: "everyone should prepare to scramble" (or something like that).

Even if you know 99% where you're headed and have also ranked a few backup programs, it still never hurts to take 2min to download and print off your completed PDF application from the casprweb... and be ready to fax it and hit the phones just in case. If you aren't pretty darn sure where you're going to match (ie majority of students each year), then you'd be dumb not to rank a few more programs... and surely be ready to scramble.

I would never advise ranking too few programs, "burning bridges" at your pod school or on any clerkships, or doing other things that may increase your scramble risk. With that said, you can usually do *ok* in scramble if you are VERY flexible on location of residency, you worked hard in school, passed your national boards, and you move FAST once scramble starts (so be prepared). For financial and stress level reasoning, the scramble is definitely best avoided, though... rank all programs you interviewed with - unless you truly think you would get inadequate training or be miserable as a resident there.