DO Couples Match

[yogaGirl323]

Hey guys, been looking for advice on this at my school through administration and previous students and we’ve been SOL, so I was hoping I could get some insight on here! We both are DO students planning to enter the ACGME match as a couple this year & I would love some guidance. We are both going for relatively non competitive fields (neurology & IM) and had a lot of questions while trying to make our lists of programs to apply to.

My stats (neurology)
Step 1 & 2: 260+, 265+
Level 1 & 2: 850+, 900+
Class rank: top 1-2%
Some extracurriculars
Minimal research (2 experiences)

His stats (IM)
Step 1 & 2: 235+, 245+
Level 1 & 2: 650+, 650+
Class rank: top 10%
Some extracurriculars
Research as an undergrad

We both have 4 audition rotations in our desired location, which is pretty competitive. We are planning to only apply east coast & west coast because thats where our families are. Right now we are doing Bay Area, SoCal, NYC, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, & KC. Debating adding more cities to the list. I think we both are easy to get along with and would interview well?

My biggest questions are:
1. Is this overkill? I want to be very judicious with how many programs I apply to because I will have to apply to IM prelims as well which (I think) will double my costs.
2. How many programs should we apply to given our stats and desired locations?
3. How many interviews should we go on each to guarantee that we match?
4. How much money should we allocate to apps & interviews to be safe (since we’ll prob be flying between the coasts)?
5. Some of the programs we are applying to are historically DO-unfriendly, should these not count towards our final “number” as far as how many places we need to rank in order to match?

Honestly, any insight or advice on here is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post, ERAS is approaching and I’m feeling pretty lost.

tl;dr - how many programs should we apply to & interview at with the stats above, and how much will it all cost?

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[Dr. Death]

Hey guys, been looking for advice on this at my school through administration and previous students and we’ve been SOL, so I was hoping I could get some insight on here! We both are DO students planning to enter the ACGME match as a couple this year & I would love some guidance. We are both going for relatively non competitive fields (neurology & IM) and had a lot of questions while trying to make our lists of programs to apply to.

My stats (neurology)
Step 1 & 2: 260+, 265+
Level 1 & 2: 850+, 900+
Class rank: top 1-2%
Some extracurriculars
Minimal research (2 experiences)

His stats (IM)
Step 1 & 2: 235+, 245+
Level 1 & 2: 650+, 650+
Class rank: top 10%
Some extracurriculars
Research as an undergrad

We both have 4 audition rotations in our desired location, which is pretty competitive. We are planning to only apply east coast & west coast because thats where our families are. Right now we are doing Bay Area, SoCal, NYC, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, & KC. Debating adding more cities to the list. I think we both are easy to get along with and would interview well?

My biggest questions are:
1. Is this overkill? I want to be very judicious with how many programs I apply to because I will have to apply to IM prelims as well which (I think) will double my costs.
2. How many programs should we apply to given our stats and desired locations?
3. How many interviews should we go on each to guarantee that we match?
4. How much money should we allocate to apps & interviews to be safe (since we’ll prob be flying between the coasts)?
5. Some of the programs we are applying to are historically DO-unfriendly, should these not count towards our final “number” as far as how many places we need to rank in order to match?

Honestly, any insight or advice on here is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post, ERAS is approaching and I’m feeling pretty lost.

tl;dr - how many programs should we apply to & interview at with the stats above, and how much will it all cost?

1. 4 auditions isn't overkill, it's a good strategy if you have geographic limitations and are couples matching
2. Hard to say, probably 40ish
3. See osteopathic charting outcomes
4. IIRC, ERAS gives you 10 free apps, the next 10 are $14 each, the next 10 are $18 each and every program after that is $26, So 40 apps would be like $580
5. You can only rank programs that interview you. So if you get an interview at a historically DO unfriendly place, you should rank them if it was a program you wanted to be at.

 

[yogaGirl323]

1. 4 auditions isn't overkill, it's a good strategy if you have geographic limitations and are couples matching
2. Hard to say, probably 40ish
3. See osteopathic charting outcomes
4. IIRC, ERAS gives you 10 free apps, the next 10 are $14 each, the next 10 are $18 each and every program after that is $26, So 40 apps would be like $580
5. You can only rank programs that interview you. So if you get an interview at a historically DO unfriendly place, you should rank them if it was a program you wanted to be at.

Thank you so much this is very helpful!!

 

[drpulmcritdo]

Hey guys, been looking for advice on this at my school through administration and previous students and we’ve been SOL, so I was hoping I could get some insight on here! We both are DO students planning to enter the ACGME match as a couple this year & I would love some guidance. We are both going for relatively non competitive fields (neurology & IM) and had a lot of questions while trying to make our lists of programs to apply to.

My stats (neurology)
Step 1 & 2: 260+, 265+
Level 1 & 2: 850+, 900+
Class rank: top 1-2%
Some extracurriculars
Minimal research (2 experiences)

His stats (IM)
Step 1 & 2: 235+, 245+
Level 1 & 2: 650+, 650+
Class rank: top 10%
Some extracurriculars
Research as an undergrad

We both have 4 audition rotations in our desired location, which is pretty competitive. We are planning to only apply east coast & west coast because thats where our families are. Right now we are doing Bay Area, SoCal, NYC, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, & KC. Debating adding more cities to the list. I think we both are easy to get along with and would interview well?

My biggest questions are:
1. Is this overkill? I want to be very judicious with how many programs I apply to because I will have to apply to IM prelims as well which (I think) will double my costs.
2. How many programs should we apply to given our stats and desired locations?
3. How many interviews should we go on each to guarantee that we match?
4. How much money should we allocate to apps & interviews to be safe (since we’ll prob be flying between the coasts)?
5. Some of the programs we are applying to are historically DO-unfriendly, should these not count towards our final “number” as far as how many places we need to rank in order to match?

Honestly, any insight or advice on here is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post, ERAS is approaching and I’m feeling pretty lost.

tl;dr - how many programs should we apply to & interview at with the stats above, and how much will it all cost?

My wife and I went through couples match and unfortunately matched at the bottom of our list to backup TRI spots. Later we tried again and only she matched. But I was trying for something hella competitive and her somewhat less.

Given your ranks and ambitions, I think you're pretty well positioned right now for success. ACGME makes it a bit more challenging. I would tell you to consider AOA programs that are university based and probably already have their ACGME Initial accreditation.

To answer your questions:
1. Not overkill
2. Apply to as many programs as you'd actually care to go to. IE, the areas you described in the said specialties. If it's 60 each, then it's 60 each.
3. Matching is never guaranteed, but like I said you're in a good place with the scores, etc. When it comes time to make the list as a couple, you'll see that there's going to be multiple permutations possible (if I go to place A, he can go to place B or C cause they're close, so I put 1. A and 2. A and he puts 1. B and 2. C, etc). Interviews get very expensive and time consuming, but obviously the more you go to the better, so the more you apply to the better the chance. Can't get an interview to a place you don't apply to.
4. This is tricky. Honestly if you both had say 12 interviews each that match up to each other (it may happen you get an interview in say Miami and he never does. Then you may be faced with turning down the interview later which happened to us. Or, you take it anyway thinking maybe the other will eventually get one and never does), I'd say that's easily $3-6k each for the season. Flight, lodging, transportation adds up quick. Personally I got a american express card, racked up points all med school, and used the points both for uber and flights during interview season. I also drove a lot versus flying, as in 19k extra miles on my lease by the time I turned it in. So total might easily be $6-12k total. Might be +/-$1-2 for apps and rank list but I could see it being in that range particularly given the opposing coasts.
5. Like was said above, if you interview you can get in. And if you want to be there, you rank it. As a couple you'll have to balance each other though and decide what's more important (program vs location etc etc). Areas like the northeast have a bunch of programs, so you may have 3-4 programs that are close enough to his 3-4 and you'll have to decide whether to rank the permutations all at once together for the location or prioritize based on the program (some of this will make more sense when you see how inputting the match list is in a few months).

Feel free to reach out to me for any other questions. I'm currently an IM Chief at a DO program with ACGME accreditation. Best of luck to you! This will honestly be the toughest time you'll ever face together. I think having kids is easier lol. If you make it through it speaks a lot to your relationship. Trust me.

 

[yogaGirl323]

My wife and I went through couples match and unfortunately matched at the bottom of our list to backup TRI spots. Later we tried again and only she matched. But I was trying for something hella competitive and her somewhat less.

Given your ranks and ambitions, I think you're pretty well positioned right now for success. ACGME makes it a bit more challenging. I would tell you to consider AOA programs that are university based and probably already have their ACGME Initial accreditation.

To answer your questions:
1. Not overkill
2. Apply to as many programs as you'd actually care to go to. IE, the areas you described in the said specialties. If it's 60 each, then it's 60 each.
3. Matching is never guaranteed, but like I said you're in a good place with the scores, etc. When it comes time to make the list as a couple, you'll see that there's going to be multiple permutations possible (if I go to place A, he can go to place B or C cause they're close, so I put 1. A and 2. A and he puts 1. B and 2. C, etc). Interviews get very expensive and time consuming, but obviously the more you go to the better, so the more you apply to the better the chance. Can't get an interview to a place you don't apply to.
4. This is tricky. Honestly if you both had say 12 interviews each that match up to each other (it may happen you get an interview in say Miami and he never does. Then you may be faced with turning down the interview later which happened to us. Or, you take it anyway thinking maybe the other will eventually get one and never does), I'd say that's easily $3-6k each for the season. Flight, lodging, transportation adds up quick. Personally I got a american express card, racked up points all med school, and used the points both for uber and flights during interview season. I also drove a lot versus flying, as in 19k extra miles on my lease by the time I turned it in. So total might easily be $6-12k total. Might be +/-$1-2 for apps and rank list but I could see it being in that range particularly given the opposing coasts.
5. Like was said above, if you interview you can get in. And if you want to be there, you rank it. As a couple you'll have to balance each other though and decide what's more important (program vs location etc etc). Areas like the northeast have a bunch of programs, so you may have 3-4 programs that are close enough to his 3-4 and you'll have to decide whether to rank the permutations all at once together for the location or prioritize based on the program (some of this will make more sense when you see how inputting the match list is in a few months).

Feel free to reach out to me for any other questions. I'm currently an IM Chief at a DO program with ACGME accreditation. Best of luck to you! This will honestly be the toughest time you'll ever face together. I think having kids is easier lol. If you make it through it speaks a lot to your relationship. Trust me.

wow, thank you so much! We are currently going through and making our list of programs now, I will definitely be reaching out at some point down the line!