Fellowship Match-couples?

[SickleDoc]

Hi

I have a few questions regarding the match. I am applying for hemeonc this yr and have a few interviews. I am also getting married and my fiance is applying for another specialty at the same time. He is a pretty competitive applicant and has a quite lot more interviews than me. I am not going to go through with the couples match so we have decided to try to do a regional match (but there is no guarantee we would end up in the same area)

My question is in the case where we do not match in the same state/city would I be able to withdraw and re-apply next yr? Or is this a big no-no? Should I explain my situatiion to program directors upfront?

I am trying to decide whether or not to enter the match this year and take the risk of not matching in the same state or just wait it out for a year and re-apply?

Any thoughts??

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[gutonc]

Hi

I have a few questions regarding the match. I am applying for hemeonc this yr and have a few interviews. I am also getting married and my fiance is applying for another specialty at the same time. He is a pretty competitive applicant and has a quite lot more interviews than me. I am not going to go through with the couples match so we have decided to try to do a regional match (but there is no guarantee we would end up in the same area)

My question is in the case where we do not match in the same state/city would I be able to withdraw and re-apply next yr? Or is this a big no-no? Should I explain my situatiion to program directors upfront?

I am trying to decide whether or not to enter the match this year and take the risk of not matching in the same state or just wait it out for a year and re-apply?

Any thoughts??

This is a Match violation. Do it and you will not only not have a spot next year, you will be unlikely to get one for a few years (the rules are vague and allow you to be banned from the Match for up to 5 years IIRC).

So you basically have 4 options at this point:

1. Get your fiance to talk to the PDs (email is fine) of programs where he has an interview but you don't. See if they would be willing to go to bat for you with the hem/onc PD. You have absolutely nothing to lose from this (other than a bit of ego).

2. Pull out now. No harm, no foul.

3. Wait until you finish your interviews and then have a serious discussion with your fiance about whether it's worth matching this year but being in different places.

4. Do the couples Match. You can make your list so that you have all linked/nearby programs followed by him only matching wherever (since you think he's a stronger candidate). If you're worried about "dragging him down" (which turns out to not be as big of a deal as many people think it is), make the list so that his top programs that are at/close to your interviews go first followed by him matching at that/those program(s) followed by you not matching, etc. You can honestly make a huge number of variations on this theme which would have the best chance of him matching highly and you matching, period.

I honestly think you should go with both 1 and 4. You can couples Match w/o programs being aware of it although having them know can sometimes come in handy if a program really wants him and is willing to pull some strings to help you out.

 

[Raryn]

Hi

I have a few questions regarding the match. I am applying for hemeonc this yr and have a few interviews. I am also getting married and my fiance is applying for another specialty at the same time. He is a pretty competitive applicant and has a quite lot more interviews than me. I am not going to go through with the couples match so we have decided to try to do a regional match (but there is no guarantee we would end up in the same area)

My question is in the case where we do not match in the same state/city would I be able to withdraw and re-apply next yr? Or is this a big no-no? Should I explain my situatiion to program directors upfront?

I am trying to decide whether or not to enter the match this year and take the risk of not matching in the same state or just wait it out for a year and re-apply?

Any thoughts??

Do a couples match without telling anyone if you're afraid it would be a negative. Then just rank all possible combinations that are the least bit acceptable, including all the combination of 1 person matching and the other person not matching.

Couples matching, if done right, is mathematically identical to applying on your own. As in, theres no chance you don't match as a couple if you would have matched otherwise (assuming you rank all possible combinations). If you don't rank certain combinations because you're further apart though, then one of you is giving up some odds for the purpose of the other.

 

[visari]

I agree with getting your fiance to call programs but you're a little bit late ... that should have happened at least a month ago... most hem/onc programs finished interviewing already

 

[ARB1981]

Hi, I am trying to help out a friend and his significant other who just failed to couples match in the IM fellowship match.

They were told by their IM program director (at a well known IM program) that they could ONLY rank 30 combinations (of the at least 150 possible combinations, since they had 10 and 15 interviews each).

This seems to contradict what I have read here, where people have stated that you can rank all possible combinations, Is there anyone who has gone through the couples IM fellowship match process this year who can confirm which is correct?

They are currently scrambling, but this may affect what they do next year if they are not successful in scrambling.

 

[butterfinger]

Hi, I am trying to help out a friend and his significant other who just failed to couples match in the IM fellowship match.

They were told by their IM program director (at a well known IM program) that they could ONLY rank 30 combinations (of the at least 150 possible combinations, since they had 10 and 15 interviews each).

This seems to contradict what I have read here, where people have stated that you can rank all possible combinations, Is there anyone who has gone through the couples IM fellowship match process this year who can confirm which is correct?

They are currently scrambling, but this may affect what they do next year if they are not successful in scrambling.

That is not correct. You can do all combinations, even ones where the locations do not match if you are willing to be separate. I had 50 ranks on my list but could have had more than 100.

 

[chronicidal]

They were told by their IM program director (at a well known IM program) that they could ONLY rank 30 combinations (of the at least 150 possible combinations, since they had 10 and 15 interviews each).

Where do people pull this bull from? There has never been a limitation on number of ranks in the NRMP. The Specialties Matching Service of the NRMP allows an unlimited number of program rankings for just the base fee. That couple should alert the DIO (designated institutional official) that the PD is providing false advice on the match.

Edit: Sorry for bumping. I don't know how I stumbled on this thread out of all possible forums. Didn't notice how old it was.