MD & DO ERAS IM Categorical Supplemental: Regional Preference vs "No preference" vs Blank(no answer)

[thegoodfella321]

Was wondering what is everyone doing in terms of this question

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[Redpancreas]

Bump...interested to hear some takes on this. I'd personally agree with the poll's current majority (regional preference) as choosing regional preferences gives you an edge at some places and neutral stance at others. Not picking regional preferences just puts you at neutral across the board

...Unless you're forced to reveal your regional preference across the board which I think is silly/restrictive. Someone correct me if that's the case. I'm not applying this cycle.

 

[Terry Toma]

Almost all the programs I'm applying to fall within three regions, so it was a pretty easy decision to go ahead and provide my regional preferences. Can't hurt, might help, but ultimately probably won't really make much of a difference in my case. "I'd like to be somewhere between DC and Boston" is basically something one could infer with a quick glance at my CV, so the preference signaling is just kind of reiterating the obvious. I don't think any program on my list would wonder if I'd really be interested in moving to their city sans signaling.

Signaling is probably more helpful for those who have a preference that isn't obvious. If you have family in Arizona and would really like to be near them for residency even though you did med school and undergrad on the east coast and have nothing on your CV to suggest a tie to the southwest, it's probably helpful to be able to let programs in the area know that you have a legitimate interest and you aren't just some guy from Philly spamming applications to every program in the country with no actual plan of moving across the country. But if you are a guy from the northeast applying to programs in the northeast, the whole thing probably doesn't make much of a difference.

 

[7331poas]

Bump...interested to hear some takes on this. I'd personally agree with the poll's current majority (regional preference) as choosing regional preferences gives you an edge at some places and neutral stance at others. Not picking regional preferences just puts you at neutral across the board

...Unless you're forced to reveal your regional preference across the board which I think is silly/restrictive. Someone correct me if that's the case. I'm not applying this cycle.

Why would it be neutral at others? Wouldnt that put you down the rank list at places you dont prefer?

 

[Redpancreas]

Why would it be neutral at others? Wouldnt that put you down the rank list at places you dont prefer?

So full disclosure...I'm not involved in this cycle so I don't have these settings in front of me but I am curious if you "signal" (that's the term M4s I supervise have been using) that let's say you're interested in the midwest and the east coast, do west coast schools see that preference as opposed to seeing that you choose have no preferences?

 

[7331poas]

So full disclosure...I'm not involved in this cycle so I don't have these settings in front of me but I am curious if you "signal" (that's the term M4s I supervise have been using) that let's say you're interested in the midwest and the east coast, do west coast schools see that preference as opposed to seeing that you choose have no preferences?

Im sure they dont see that you prefer east cost or new england. But they could definitely tell the difference between "no preference" and "you werent in their top regions".

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Signaling and regional preference are two totally different things.

Regional preference -- there are nine regions as defined by ERAS, and you can pick up to 3 to choose as a preference. For each choice, you get an optional description box where you can explain your preference. Or, you can choose "No Preference", and I think you still get a description box. Or you can not answer the question at all. If you answer the question, programs in that region will see the regional preference and related description; programs not in those region(s) will see empty space. If you choose No Preference, every program sees No Preference. If you leave it blank, it's blank for everyone.

Therefore, from a program viewpoint: If I see a regional preference you're telling me you have an interest in my region. If I see "no preference" then I know you have no preference and specifically that you have not stated a preference to other regions. If it's blank, then either you sent a preference to other regions and not mine, or you didn't answer the question at all. I'll likely assume the former.

What's the best plan? If you actually have a regional preference, you should probably state it to increase your chances of getting interviews in that area. If you don't, you should probably pick No Pref (although is it possible that some programs will only consider applicants with a clear geo pref? I guess so). Leaving it blank is almost always a losing option. If you really only have one geo pref, it's probably a good idea to pick one or two more - can't hurt since your real pref doesn't know how many other geo pref's you picked.

Signaling - These are preferences sent to specific programs. Since applicants are limited in the number of signals they can send (much more so than geo prefs), programs are likely to be influenced by them. Game theory / strategy for this is very complicated. In the ENT experiment last year with signals, 25% of programs got 50% of the signals. Top programs were very signal heavy -- making signals to those programs carry much less weight (but if you didn't signal, ? hurting your app). Less competitive programs got many less signals, hence each one means that much more.

Strategy here is much more complicated. You really need a good sense of how competitive you are. Top candidates should signal all/most top programs. Less competitive candidates are probably best limiting their signals to top programs to just 1, and using the rest for programs they are competitive at. If I don't get a signal from you, I can't tell if you signaled other programs or didn't signal anyone, so not much win (for you) for that option.

 

[Redpancreas]

Signaling and regional preference are two totally different things.

Regional preference -- there are nine regions as defined by ERAS, and you can pick up to 3 to choose as a preference. For each choice, you get an optional description box where you can explain your preference. Or, you can choose "No Preference", and I think you still get a description box. Or you can not answer the question at all. If you answer the question, programs in that region will see the regional preference and related description; programs not in those region(s) will see empty space. If you choose No Preference, every program sees No Preference. If you leave it blank, it's blank for everyone.

Therefore, from a program viewpoint: If I see a regional preference you're telling me you have an interest in my region. If I see "no preference" then I know you have no preference and specifically that you have not stated a preference to other regions. If it's blank, then either you sent a preference to other regions and not mine, or you didn't answer the question at all. I'll likely assume the former.

What's the best plan? If you actually have a regional preference, you should probably state it to increase your chances of getting interviews in that area. If you don't, you should probably pick No Pref (although is it possible that some programs will only consider applicants with a clear geo pref? I guess so). Leaving it blank is almost always a losing option. If you really only have one geo pref, it's probably a good idea to pick one or two more - can't hurt since your real pref doesn't know how many other geo pref's you picked.

Signaling - These are preferences sent to specific programs. Since applicants are limited in the number of signals they can send (much more so than geo prefs), programs are likely to be influenced by them. Game theory / strategy for this is very complicated. In the ENT experiment last year with signals, 25% of programs got 50% of the signals. Top programs were very signal heavy -- making signals to those programs carry much less weight (but if you didn't signal, ? hurting your app). Less competitive programs got many less signals, hence each one means that much more.

Strategy here is much more complicated. You really need a good sense of how competitive you are. Top candidates should signal all/most top programs. Less competitive candidates are probably best limiting their signals to top programs to just 1, and using the rest for programs they are competitive at. If I don't get a signal from you, I can't tell if you signaled other programs or didn't signal anyone, so not much win (for you) for that option.

Thanks so much!