Does not matching once negatively affect your chances in the next match?

[arielred]

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My cousin who is an IMG wants to apply to the 2013 Match. However she will not have her Step 2 CS results until late October which means that her application will not be complete until then (and she won't be ECFMG certified either) Being an IMG the Step 2 CS probably matters to programs a lot more than the average AMG.

What she wants to know is if she applied late then didn't match that year, if she reapplies for the 2014 Match will the programs look at this negatively? Her other option is to not do the 2013 Match at all and just apply with a complete application on September 1st of the 2014 Match. The negatives of that of course would be wasting a whole year and it means the gap between graduation and starting residency will be even larger.

 

[splik]

statistically yes it will, but it depends more on why someone did not match the first time, what programs they apply to second time round, and what she will be doing in the meantime. not applying for 2013 could also look suspicious, again depending on what she does instead (e.g. internship in country of medical school). Unless im missing something here she should do CS as soon as possible so the results are available in time for september 15th. there are usually cancellations so she should look out for one and hop on a plane and do the exam.