Emergency Medicine 2014-2015 Residency Cycle

[Pons Asinorum]

My school didn't release our MSPEs till 10/6.

That is something your student body need to emergently address with your school's administration prior to the next app cycle. You got ****ed by your school, unfortunately. That initial window in the first few days of Oct are when it seems programs download everything and make their piles of Absolutely, Possibly, Probably Not, and Certainly Not apps. Without MSPE, you are handicapped because you aren't "complete" to most places. I get the DO/MD thing involved there, but they need to be sensitive to your needs and help you achieve the best residency match that you can. Holding back your MSPE a week is certainly not doing that.

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[normtheniner]

By the end of last week I was at 9 interviews... this past week I only received one... I realize I may have more than the average, but the silence of last week was a little weird... Hopefully things will pick up this coming week. Once I get to around 12-14 I'll start dropping places I'm less interested in to give others a shot to interview there.

 

[RossDocGunnab]

By the end of last week I was at 9 interviews... this past week I only received one... I realize I may have more than the average, but the silence of last week was a little weird... Hopefully things will pick up this coming week. Once I get to around 12-14 I'll start dropping places I'm less interested in to give others a shot to interview there.

what's the point of this post if I may ask for an honest answer? Is it to inform us of your success? Are we supposed to be happy that you are about to throw us a couple of interviews? Such a saint u r sir, thank you for your kindness.

 

[normtheniner]

what's the point of this post if I may ask for an honest answer? Is it to inform us of your success? Are we supposed to be happy that you are about to throw us a couple of interviews? Such a saint u r sir, thank you for your kindness.

Buddy... There are people on this board holding 20+ interviews... I want to get to that magic number of 12-14 invites and then drop places that aren't exactly my top choice realizing they may be other people's first choices... I also hope others will do the same for me as I haven't heard from some places if like to go to. I wasn't saying anything to brag about my application. I realize tension is high now but that's no reason to go after someone on an anonymous board.

 

[EMdoc!!]

by dropping interviews your only doing yourself a favor, if you block someone out of interviewing at a certain school that they want to go to, that same person may interview at and block you out of the school you want to go to even though they don't want to go their and they may not have interviewed there if a spot opened for them to interview at the program you blocked them out of, every interview you drop you only increase your chances of getting into the places you want to go to

 

[Pons Asinorum]

what's the point of this post if I may ask for an honest answer? Is it to inform us of your success? Are we supposed to be happy that you are about to throw us a couple of interviews? Such a saint u r sir, thank you for your kindness.

By all means let the rest of us know what is appropriate to post into this thread so as to not offend your gentle sensibilities. Jesus.

 

[Ayybaybay]

Pons stop sounding like the sterotypical med student that people love to hate (pompous and just plain arrogant)...There are candidates frustrated here because you have people thinking its a must to go on to 14 interviews in order to match, and these are the same people acting like its the end of the world not sure which interview is the one they are going to drop...when on the other end you have people with 1 or 2 and maybe even zero praying for their livlihood to hear something. It seems pretty petty and neurotic to me that people even need to go on on 13 plus interviews, theoretically after 10 or 11 each new interview only increases your chances by a point here or there. But a jump from 2 to 3 dramatically increases your chances by almost 30 plus points or whatever the percentage is. All im saying is congrats on getting your interviews but dont be a hoarder and then make it seem like your god for giving us lower on the competitive pole a fighting chance of even matching when you do drop. Karma can be a wonderful thing or it can also bite you in the A$$. So just be a teamplayer as you would like it if you were ever in the same situation in a future incidence and relied on your peers for a little help. To those with plenty of interviews congrats you def earned them, but just put your feet in someone elses shoes who worked there behind off with great scores and zero red flags and has heard pindrops, its a scary feeling.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Pons stop sounding like the sterotypical med student that people love to hate (pompous and just plain arrogant)...There are candidates frustrated here because you have people thinking its a must to go on to 14 interviews in order to match, and these are the same people acting like its the end of the world not sure which interview is the one they are going to drop...when on the other end you have people with 1 or 2 and maybe even zero praying for their livlihood to hear something. It seems pretty petty and neurotic to me that people even need to go on on 13 plus interviews, theoretically after 10 or 11 each new interview only increases your chances by a point here or there. But a jump from 2 to 3 dramatically increases your chances by almost 30 plus points or whatever the percentage is. All im saying is congrats on getting your interviews but dont be a hoarder and then make it seem like your god for giving us lower on the competitive pole a fighting chance of even matching when you do drop. Karma can be a wonderful thing or it can also bite you in the A$$. So just be a teamplayer as you would like it if you were ever in the same situation in a future incidence and relied on your peers for a little help. To those with plenty of interviews congrats you def earned them, but just put your feet in someone elses shoes who worked there behind off with great scores and zero red flags and has heard pindrops, its a scary feeling.

People are going to go on the number of interviews they feel they need to in order to ensure they match, a number based on good data, both aggregate (Charting the Match) and anecdotal (ALiEM Google Hangouts, etc). No one is sitting on interviews to **** on those "lower on the competitive pole." You don't understand the rationale of someone scheduling 14 interviews, and that's fine. I don't understand the fear gripping someone with one or no interview invites only two weeks into a long process. And that's fine. Just do me a favor and assume that someone's actions, just because they don't hew to your wishes, aren't automatically driven out of malice or indifference. I want to go on 10 interviews. I have more invites than that. I haven't started dropping them yet, but I will very soon. You have no idea what my reasons are for doing that, but I can assure you that they are good. No one in this thread was asking for appreciation for their actions. And no one appreciates being attacked for discussing their thoughts and actions in a thread expressly designed for that purpose when they are quite obviously not attempting to hurt anybody's feelings. Not sure how defending someone from a petty attack with snark-in-kind and attempting to stake out limits on such behavior is pompous, arrogant, or typically med student, but so be it. I'm fine with that. Soapbox relinquished.


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[DrDancr]

Is it OK to just decline an interview via Interview Broker? Or should I also email the coordinator?

Also had a question about this. Anyone have any insight?

 

[DoctorJ1001]

For the 2 that I canceled, I personally emailed the program coordinator...felt it was more respectful and courteous. But that's just my own .02$ lol.

 

[SoyMilk]

I made a egregious punctuation error in the first sentence of my PS. Should I change it? I'm sure some programs haven't gotten to my application yet

 

[GTP]

I made a egregious punctuation error in the first sentence of my PS. Should I change it? I'm sure some programs haven't gotten to my application yet

Duh. Change it. Upload another one and hope they haven't already downloaded the old one

 

[ImAdoER]

QUESTION =)

I just turned in my 2nd SLOE which makes 4 total LORs on my ERAS, but I just I finished my final audition from which I expect 1 more SLOE. In all actuality I do not need it, but i've read on here if you have SLOE from a place and don't submit it it looks bad. I expect HP or Honors so I am definitely not trying to hide anything I just don't have space for it. How do I handle this? THANKS

 

[SoyMilk]

I looked at it again. It's not that bad really. I'm just missing a comma which makes the sentence a bit funny, but I think the understanding is not compromised.

 

[cavemanzz]

QUESTION =)

I just turned in my 2nd SLOE which makes 4 total LORs on my ERAS, but I just I finished my final audition from which I expect 1 more SLOE. In all actuality I do not need it, but i've read on here if you have SLOE from a place and don't submit it it looks bad. I expect HP or Honors so I am definitely not trying to hide anything I just don't have space for it. How do I handle this? THANKS

I also would like to know how programs get additional sloes outside the 4 on eras.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

You need to send all your SLOE's to all programs. Drop one of your regular LOR's.

Not how that works.

 

[hoot504]

Pons is just pointing out that if you already sent 4 letters out, you can't just drop one now and put a SLOE in its' place. Everyone knows how to upload letters. It's getting the letter to programs who already have 4 from you, that's the tricky part. No one has posted a definitive solution save for, 'email the coordinator', which may be the only way to go about this.

 

[Modafinil]

How and why do you have 4 SLOEs? That honestly seems excessive

 

[pkwraith]

Some interesting word on the street this week.
My takeaways
A. This year is noticeably different than previous ones, with regard to number and makeup of applicants.
B. Most programs will fill up their initial allotment ("first wave") by the end of this week.
C. However, the second wave due to cancellations is suspected to be bigger this year, in part due to A) and B)

 

[bluegreen89]

Interesting--I believe it. In what way is the pool of applicants different this year?

 

[DoctorJ1001]

Pkw... I'm actually very interested in your points can you go into more detail though about each one if you don't mind...thanks!

 

[hoot504]

Interesting--I believe it. In what way is the pool of applicants different this year?

I'm gonna guess higher board scores, more non-trad applicants, but most importantly, even more OVER-APPLYING

Just a guess

 

[EMdoc!!]

some programs apparently haven't sent any interview out yet, (judging from the interview thread which of course is not always accurate) and i know for a fact at least one program just sent out their first wave this week, also there are at least 3 new programs in the mix which im sure changes things somehow (that like 20 more spots than last year)

 

[hoot504]

C'mon PKWraith, spill the beans

 

[DoctorJ1001]

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Lol

 

[res1cue]

Some interesting word on the street this week.
My takeaways
A. This year is noticeably different than previous ones, with regard to number and makeup of applicants.
B. Most programs will fill up their initial allotment ("first wave") by the end of this week.
C. However, the second wave due to cancellations is suspected to be bigger this year, in part due to A) and B)

Along with everyone else, I would like to more details about each one of these statements. Also I am not familiar with the term initial allotment or first wave... What is that exactly?

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Along with everyone else, I would like to more details about each one of these statements. Also I am not familiar with the term initial allotment or first wave... What is that exactly?

Not all the invites go at the same time. Say there was a posting in to the II thread that showed DrDancr getting an interview intive 10/6 at Big Program and listed dates. Those aren't all the dates that will be used for interviews, just the initial tranche to what I would assume are there highest-priority applicants. Then I get an II a week or two later with a later round of dates for interview, maybe a few of the later dates off the initial invite date list. It appears to be a multi-round process.

 

[hoot504]

Not all the invites go at the same time. Say there was a posting in to the II thread that showed DrDancr getting an interview intive 10/6 at Big Program and listed dates. Those aren't all the dates that will be used for interviews, just the initial tranche to what I would assume are there highest-priority applicants. Then I get an II a week or two later with a later round of dates for interview, maybe a few of the later dates off the initial invite date list. It appears to be a multi-round process.

I'm not sure I buy this. Aside from a few exceptions that I've noticed, I think the dates offered in the first wave from most programs are all the dates when interviews are occurring, period. The "second wave" that pkwraith mentioned, in my estimation, is solely from cancellations, NOT from new dates being added.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I'm not sure I buy this. Aside from a few exceptions that I've noticed, I think the dates offered in the first wave from most programs are all the dates when interviews are occurring, period. The "second wave" that pkwraith mentioned, in my estimation, is solely from cancellations, NOT from new dates being added.

I have first-hand seen the situation I'm describing. You don't have to buy it, but I know for a fact that for some programs, the initial offering which typically gets posted up on here is not all of the dates that they will interview.

 

[Zebra Hunter]

I have first-hand seen the situation I'm describing. You don't have to buy it, but I know for a fact that for some programs, the initial offering which typically gets posted up on here is not all of the dates that they will interview.

My advisor has told me this, as well.

 

[hoot504]

but I know for a fact that for some programs, the initial offering which typically gets posted up on here is not all of the dates that they will interview.

Don't doubt it, but is it a tiny minority of programs or a sizable chunk

 

[pandahunter]

Most invites for most programs have gone out already. Many of them have overfilled their interview dates.

 

[gutonc]

Don't doubt it, but is it a tiny minority of programs or a sizable chunk

Yes.

 

[hoot504]

That was clear

 

[pkwraith]

It doesn't matter if a program batches out interviews or send them out continuously, they have a total amount of interviews they send out, and most of them are filled after this week. Most interviews after today will likely be from cancellations or reserved spots (I assume for acep, but who knows).

That's not to see you're ****ed if you don't have enough. Cancellations will probably be greater this year and waitlists move faster. If you are someone with few interviews, you might actually get a boost soon. I'll do my own part by canceling some more on Monday.

 

[hoot504]

It doesn't matter if a program batches out interviews or send them out continuously, they have a total amount of interviews they send out, and most of them are filled after this week. Most interviews after today will likely be from cancellations or reserved spots (I assume for acep, but who knows).

That's not to see you're ****** if you don't have enough. Cancellations will probably be greater this year and waitlists move faster. If you are someone with few interviews, you might actually get a boost soon. I'll do my own part by canceling some more on Monday.

Care to elaborate on the other points you brought up

 

[EMdoc!!]

did anyone get any interview offers because of acep

 

[WolveyX]

did anyone get any interview offers because of acep

I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't giving them out this week. Some of the PD's, reps, etc are still at acep for a few more days. I think next week will be a big week based on what a lot of PDs were saying about where they are with apps right now.

 

[hoot504]

I think next week will be a big week based on what a lot of PDs were saying about where they are with apps right now.

Oh yeah? Do tell..

 

[Zebra Hunter]

Every single PD I talked to said they were not done sending out invites. And approximately 50% said they only "sent out their first wave". This is all based off the programs I talked to, but it appears to be a significant number of programs that are not done inviting.

 

[WolveyX]

Yeah pretty much what Zebra Hunter said. Also, overall they were stressing that students who really don't want to go to XYZ program should just drop them to facilitate the process can flow better. Or someone who is very competitive who has 20 interviews doesn't need that many to match and can reduce it down to 10-15 interviews...moreso 15 though.

 

[pandahunter]

6 of the Cali programs' PDs whom I asked told me they're done with invites. So yes, some programs definitely have the interviewees they want already.

 

[MrQuinn]

Conversely, most the programs I spoke to the EMRA res fair a couple days ago said that they have not given out all of their interviews.. a couple said they've only given out a couple. I did speak with mostly midwest/ east coast programs, however.

 

[JoshDPU]

DO applicant here with 9 AOA interviews, 2 waitlists, 3 rejections, and about 12 programs I haven't heard from. Multiple publications, COMLEX 644 and 609, even mix of passes and honors for clerkship grades with honors in EM.

Problem is I still don't have a SLOE uploaded and I only auditioned at one program, so clearly I did not plan this out well.

Does anyone know how worried I should be about matching?

/freakout

 

[JuliaJulia]

DO applicant here with 9 AOA interviews, 2 waitlists, 3 rejections, and about 12 programs I haven't heard from. Multiple publications, COMLEX 644 and 609, even mix of passes and honors for clerkship grades with honors in EM.

Problem is I still don't have a SLOE uploaded and I only auditioned at one program, so clearly I did not plan this out well.

Does anyone know how worried I should be about matching?

/freakout

Are you hoping to match ACGME or AOA? And did you take the USMLE? 9 AOA interviews sounds very promising for you!

 

[normtheniner]

Seems like things wax and wane... two weeks ago I barely heard anything. Last week I got an invite from two programs and this week I've heard from two programs. I also got my first two rejections this week as well, but I'm glad those programs let me know and definitely didn't leave me wondering.

I canceled an interview today for the first time which was a weird feeling... especially since I was unsure of how we're supposed to notify the programs in our emails...

 

[Druggernaut]

Canceled an interview last night, came off the wait list somewhere I'd rather go and that fits my schedule better this morning.

Karma, baby.

 

[res1cue]

Seems like things wax and wane... two weeks ago I barely heard anything. Last week I got an invite from two programs and this week I've heard from two programs. I also got my first two rejections this week as well, but I'm glad those programs let me know and definitely didn't leave me wondering.

I canceled an interview today for the first time which was a weird feeling... especially since I was unsure of how we're supposed to notify the programs in our emails...

Congrats on having a good week. I think we are both DO's so I am wondering at what # of interviews are you feeling comfortable starting to drop interviews?

 

[normtheniner]

Congrats on having a good week. I think we are both DO's so I am wondering at what # of interviews are you feeling comfortable starting to drop interviews?

Hey, thanks hopefully you had a good week as well.

I'm actually at a small state MD school. I didn't cancel any until today when I hit 15 interview offers. I'm probably going to cancel one more because I can't afford to do this much traveling and I think its overkill after a certain point. So I'm going to aim to interview at ~12 places and at the most 14... I've heard way too many horror stories of people at my school that didn't rank many programs and ended up not having a successful match.

 

[res1cue]

Hey, thanks hopefully you had a good week as well.

I'm actually at a small state MD school. I didn't cancel any until today when I hit 15 interview offers. I'm probably going to cancel one more because I can't afford to do this much traveling and I think its overkill after a certain point. So I'm going to aim to interview at ~12 places and at the most 14... I've heard way too many horror stories of people at my school that didn't rank many programs and ended up not having a successful match.

Whoops! My mistake. 15 is quite a few, congrats on getting so many

do these horror stories include people who matched 10+? Or are we talking like 6

Sitting at 11 and looking at my schedule, 12 might be my max.. Although i would like to do more if possible