For class of 2007 et al...about ppl that did not match

[ThinkFast007]

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As you all know, this is a wonderful day for all of us. However, I truly feel sorry for those that did not match. My hat is totally off to them, because scrabling is definitely a pain.

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Now, this is not to point fingers, but these are just the observations i made. perhaps others could add to this. but i also felt that personality was a HUGE deal. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the smartest. I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Once again. Congrats. My intentions are purely intended to HELP those below us. I truly do not want ppl to have NO spot next year, as I sadly saw a few of my colleagues had this happen to them since they had no 'backup'.

With regards

Thinkfast...future Anesthesiologist

 

[Sugar72]

I didn't match to a prelim because I don't have a personality. Thanks for bringing it up Thinkfast. I recommend that the 2007ers buy First Aid for a Personality. I took the Kaplan course and it didn't really do the job.

 

[crazyjoedavola]

As you all know, this is a wonderful day for all of us. However, I truly feel sorry for those that did not match. My hat is totally off to them, because scrabling is definitely a pain.

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Now, this is not to point fingers, but these are just the observations i made. perhaps others could add to this. but i also felt that personality was a HUGE deal. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the smartest. I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Once again. Congrats. My intentions are purely intended to HELP those below us. I truly do not want ppl to have NO spot next year, as I sadly saw a few of my colleagues had this happen to them since they had no 'backup'.

With regards

Thinkfast...future Anesthesiologist

What a jerk.

 

[chicamedica]

As you all know, this is a wonderful day for all of us. However, I truly feel sorry for those that did not match. My hat is totally off to them, because scrabling is definitely a pain.

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Now, this is not to point fingers, but these are just the observations i made. perhaps others could add to this. but i also felt that personality was a HUGE deal. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the smartest. I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Once again. Congrats. My intentions are purely intended to HELP those below us. I truly do not want ppl to have NO spot next year, as I sadly saw a few of my colleagues had this happen to them since they had no 'backup'.

With regards

Thinkfast...future Anesthesiologist

hmm i think this is generalizing. While i dont know who passed their boards 1st time vs 2nd time, etc, there were a bunch of people at my school who didn't match, and most of em are very cool, laid back peeps. Not matching is a possibility if you ranked too few and too popular programs, and i feel this is what happened to these guys. That said, I do agree that there is a certain personality/culture to anesthesia and while there is some variety to the range of personalities, they tend to be friendly and collegial. some are calm (i.e. laid-back) which is a good thing to be in potentially BP-raising field as gas I'd think. Some are animated and charismatic, which is also a good thing to be.

dont really know what you're referring to as gunner-type. If you mean unfriendly and cutthroat, well, I've had the misfortune of working with a few such residents too, so. . .no guarantees in this business. If you mean gunner as in, someone with extra accomplishments, then i completely disagree with you. It seems that going above and beyond the general medical education is gonna be somewhat necessary to increase one's chances of matching, esp if you're not AOA or have sky high board scores, if anesthesia's gonna continue to be this competitive.

 

[ThinkFast007]

sorry to ruffle feather on here.

Not really meant to generalize. I concede there are TRULY exceptions to this rule.

Another great point that someone brought up on here....rank A LOT of programs. IN this day and age, unless you are real certain you should atleast rank 10 or so programs. Yes, some of us had 'restrictions' that wouldnt allow us to do otherwise, but for the most part.

Gunnerish- I would say, cutthroat, trying to put down others (talking smack about fellow classmates,etc), not being a cordial, doesnt share information, state's they're partying when theyre actually studying in the library, etc.

I do not think that a gunner is someone with AOA that is top of his/her class.

Not trying to be a jerk. Just trying to HELP 2007ers. I'm just calling a spade a spade. If you all have any of these probs, you have PLENTY of time to fix it. This thread is meant to HELP you all. just take it at face value!

 

[Danger Man]

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Dude, I think that you better check yourself--the Match Day euphoria might be getting the best of you. Not matching is one of the most frustrating, humiliating experiences of med school. The people in my med school class who did not match had that fate forced upon them for different reasons--none of which you have mentioned. Matching involves a mix of applying to/interviewing at the right mix of programs and ranking the appropriate number (unknown in any given cycle). For example, one of my colleagues (AOA, no gunner, no personality d/o) did not match in general surgery. Most likely, couples matching in a popular city did not help him in what turned out to be a competitive year.

Being a gunner is not the opposite of being "laid-back"--please, let's not confuse "laid-back" with "do not care about my CV, being vigilant in my clinical duties, not caring about playing well with others". Programs do not rank applicants strictly on personality. Granted, some med students do have some personality issues--but most are smart enough to manuever their way thru a one day residency interview. I find it hard to believe that programs would even interview a person who may have obvious red flags in his/her LORs.

Congrats to all who matched...to those who did not I wish you the best and tell you that the frustrations of this day will most likely not matter in a month from now...

Just my 2 cents.

 

[hotdogz]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

Dude, I think that you better check yourself--the Match Day euphoria might be getting the best of you. Not matching is one of the most frustrating, humiliating experiences of med school. The people in my med school class who did not match had that fate forced upon them for different reasons--none of which you have mentioned. Matching involves a mix of applying to/interviewing at the right mix of programs and ranking the appropriate number (unknown in any given cycle). For example, one of my colleagues (AOA, no gunner, no personality d/o) did not match in general surgery. Most likely, couples matching in a popular city did not help him in what turned out to be a competitive year.

Being a gunner is not the opposite of being "laid-back"--please, let's not confuse "laid-back" with "do not care about my CV, being vigilant in my clinical duties, not caring about playing well with others". Programs do not rank applicants strictly on personality. Granted, some med students do have some personality issues--but most are smart enough to manuever their way thru a one day residency interview. I find it hard to believe that programs would even interview a person who may have obvious red flags in his/her LORs.

Congrats to all who matched...to those who did not I wish you the best and tell you that the frustrations of this day will most likely not matter in a month from now...

Just my 2 cents.

 

[no oxygen]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

Very sorry to hear about that...my heart's with you, my friend.

 

[chicamedica]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

I think this year was an unusually hard year though. There were prob 10 ppl at my school that didn't match, which is unheard of in a normal year. So chin up! Good luck.

 

[Idiopathic]

I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Dude.

This is a problem, and if I were you, and people actually knew where I was ending up, I would refrain from posting this ridiculous nonsense. There are plenty of excellent people who, for whatever reason, didnt match, and Im sure they have plenty of solicited advice about what to do/what they should have done.

Oh, and be careful about showing off those 'personality traits', maybe that isnt what got you in.

 

[LonghornJPS]

Hotdogz, I sent you a private message.

Pouring salt on the fresh wounds of those who didn't match Thinkfast 👎 Not cool.

 

[toughlife]

I know you said you matched and I wonder if you would not mind sharing where.

 

[mms437]

hotdogz,

i assume that since you finished your intern year you have finished both step 2 and 3. If you havent, doing well on these is a way to objectively improve your app. You have to find a way to improve yourself objectively on paper. I have no clue how to do this in your situation. You may have some ideas.
THe interview/match process is an imperfect one. you know first hand that programs screen you out on scores alone. This has nothing to do with how slick of an anesthesiologist you are going to be. All this bull****e speculating on why people didnt match is garbage. Minus any huge red flags, it is scores and willingness to rank as many programs you have interviewed at that gets you in. If you can find a way to get over this hurdle (which is a huge one) you will never have to look back/answer to anyone.
You've got to brainstorm and figure out what you can do in a couple of months to make yourself stronger on paper. And then hit ERAS up come September.
DOnt know this first hand, but it seems like not matching can be taken very personally. I would venture to say that there are only a handful of people that know who you really are. Anesthesia programs are not part of this handful.
Do what you have to do. And good luck (b/c luck does play a role in this crazy process).

 

[ThinkFast007]

perhaps i was wrong to start this thread

but hey like I said these were just MY OBSERVATIONS from my med school class.

Hey hotdogz, etc who have attempted more than once at Anesthesiology. I really wish you all the best. I'll admit, that this acceptance process is multifactorial. It's hard work, grades, personality, and not to get cheesy--PRAYER.

I thought perhaps this thread could help 2007ers. Clearly, I see that it is being used contrary to why I started it.

Good luck ya'll. I wish you all the best. But seriously, 2007ers, etc....I encourage you all to find those seniors out that matched this year at your schools. See what they did. how they did it.

Good luck!

 

[Laryngospasm]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe try one more time, as there may be a decrease in applicants next year due to the perceived level of difficulty. Also, as someone on the opposite side of the fence who has seen the rank list from the programs point of view, along with board scores and interview evaluations I can tell you that it is TOTALLY FREAKING RANDOM WHO GETS IT WHERE. I met several people with what I consisdered poor board scores and crappy personalities, but upon reading what some staff said about them..things like very strong applicant, should rank high etc, as well as some great applicants who were ranked low, I realized just how crazy this all was. Your just a leaf on the breeze to a large extent, except at you home program, and maybe where you did your away rotations. Keep your head up, you never know when things are going to take a turn for the better. 👍

 

[sevoflurane]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

I feel you sister, and I'm very sorry. So long as the sun comes up tomorrow, you can look forward to a brighter day- 2pac 👍

 

[Idiopathic]

Good luck ya'll. I wish you all the best. But seriously, 2007ers, etc....I encourage you all to find those seniors out that matched this year at your schools. See what they did. how they did it.

Good luck!

This would have been the perfect 'advice' post.

 

[Idiopathic]

I know you said you matched and I wonder if you would not mind sharing where.

its around here if you just look for it 😉

 

[bullard]

This would have been the perfect 'advice' post.

Ok, ok, the dude had good intentions but it came out wrong. He apologized. Can we move on?

 

[Idiopathic]

Ok, ok, the dude had good intentions but it came out wrong. He apologized. Can we move on?

I suppose. I intended my last post to be helpful.

 

[bullard]

I suppose. I intended my last post to be helpful.

Cool.

Nice avatar!

 

[ThinkFast007]

Ok, ok, the dude had good intentions but it came out wrong. He apologized. Can we move on?

right on...

lol it coulda been teh intoxication

 

[Eyes Taped]

This is my second attempt at matching and this is my second failure. I did pass the boards, but barely so I'm stuck with my score. I'm a good guy, very chill/laid back, but worked and learned as much as I could during my anesthesia elective. Now i'm finishing internship and have nowhere to go come July. I can't settle for internal medicine, and that's why I didn't rank them. I like anesthesia, but for how much longer I should pursue it, I don't know. I have to think about family, marriage, and start taking care of my loved ones. There are so many loans and family contributions I can take. I know I'm capable just as everyone of you. The fact of the matter is I don't have an awesome 3 digit score. Funny thing is I received more interviews this year (3 total) and thought I kicked ass in all of them, basically showing them I'm eager, determined, and that I'm committed to the field. I was more optimistic this year than last year and still I got screwed. I'm just gonna crawl into that little hole after my call is finished tonight.

VERY sorry to hear hotdogz... Not to beat a dead horse, BUT my advice is:
Just as for med school, there are too many variables for not matching (or not getting in to med school) to name. There are no "right ways" to ensure success. Obviously, having AOA status and great board scores are a tremendous help, but (also obviously) not everyone has both (or either).

When I interviewed for gas, I got many great interviews (at "name brand" academic programs) that my friends did not get (and they had higher board scores than I). I am not necessarily "nicer" than they are. (Though I HAVE been able to talk to random women at bars for more than 30 minutes...HA! What a stupid benchmark). Incidentally, those same friends got a few interviews from small community programs that I did not get. Point is, this process often has NO logic. Sometimes programs have minimal criteria (Step scores) for offering interviews. Other programs (I know for a fact) have their secretaries do screenings. And just as others have mentioned, the match is very random--friends with tremendous scores and personalities do not match at their top choices...whereas people like me somehow get lucky; I somehow "beat out" people with better scores with better personalities, to get my top program in Cali. Example of how random this process is, and how some can get lucky, and how there is hope for anyone--even those with imperfect CVs. Thus it is a little silly to generalize what NOT to do (ie gunner), and not helpful AT ALL to say to get AOA and have 280s (duh).

All I can say is try and boost your CV by doing things like research, and try to meet the right people to write strong letters of rec (ie program directors at an academic program). Some hospitals are looking to improve their anesthesia research, and even asked me if I would be willing to do a year of research before my CA1 yr. Work hard, don't complain, and don't lose faith. I say try again, but do something to IMPROVE your CV before you do! I wish you luck.

 

[Steel_City]

As you all know, this is a wonderful day for all of us. However, I truly feel sorry for those that did not match. My hat is totally off to them, because scrabling is definitely a pain.

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Now, this is not to point fingers, but these are just the observations i made. perhaps others could add to this. but i also felt that personality was a HUGE deal. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the smartest. I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Once again. Congrats. My intentions are purely intended to HELP those below us. I truly do not want ppl to have NO spot next year, as I sadly saw a few of my colleagues had this happen to them since they had no 'backup'.

Listen man,

Although expected from you, I am very disappointed that you made this worthless post. I very much doubt it was your personality that got your spot. Match euphoria has definately gotten the best of you. There is a good chance that those chicks at the bar you were referring to, are actually part of your computer screen...cuz I can tell you don't get much lovin. Seriously dude, why put yourself above those who didn't match and talk down to them? It just makes your poor character traits stand-out.

There were some awesome people who didn't match this year. Some applied regionally to only a few places, others decided anesthesia at the last minute and didn't have great letters/anesthesia rotations, and others had it all but just didn't make it for whatever reason.

For those of you who didn't match this year, I would probably start by going to an advisor/someone you trust and ask them to review your application to find weaknesses. One thing that I've heard from reliable sources, is that doing an internship alone will not significally boost your chances of matching. Although you can't improve all aspects of the application such as grades and board scores, there are some you can improve on, so make it happen.

I am a STRONG believer in the saying "If there is a will, there is a way," just look at the 2006 Superbowl Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers (even if they did get a little help from the refs) 😀 .

 

[ThinkFast007]

[...
Although expected from you, I am very disappointed that you made this worthless post. I very much doubt it was your personality that got your spot. Match euphoria has definately gotten the best of you. There is a good chance that those chicks at the bar you were referring to, are actually part of your computer screen... .

righhhhhhhhhht 👍

 

[MDin2006]

As you all know, this is a wonderful day for all of us. However, I truly feel sorry for those that did not match. My hat is totally off to them, because scrabling is definitely a pain.

We have all these threads on here, about 'how to match' and what are the stats, but I just wanted to share with you all PRAGMATICCALLY the reasons why I found that students DID NOT MATCH this year. As you all know Anesthesiology has become increasingly competitive, and unfortunately a lot of my classmates had no contingency plan. I found that students that:

-Did not pass the boards on teh first time.
-students that were very gunnerish/hyper.

Now, this is not to point fingers, but these are just the observations i made. perhaps others could add to this. but i also felt that personality was a HUGE deal. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the smartest. I think though, that it was certainly my personality traits that got me in. Guys/gals how culd you know if you all have a good personality? here's a simple 'test'. go to a bar tonight or whenever, see if you could hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex for atleast 10 min. If you can...it's a go.

Once again. Congrats. My intentions are purely intended to HELP those below us. I truly do not want ppl to have NO spot next year, as I sadly saw a few of my colleagues had this happen to them since they had no 'backup'.

With regards

Thinkfast...future Anesthesiologist

thank goodness ThinkFast007, you are not going to the same place as me with that attitude of yours. it's people like you who made me love the best programs in the country that also happen to be programs without pretense. and, not surprisingly, your future residency program has just a touch of pretense (note sarcasm). humility will help you during your residency, i suspect.

 

[ThinkFast007]

thank goodness ThinkFast007, you are not going to the same place as me with that attitude of yours. it's people like you who made me love the best programs in the country that also happen to be programs without pretense. and, not surprisingly, your future residency program has just a touch of pretense (note sarcasm). humility will help you during your residency, i suspect.

are u really that stupi d?

seriously. try going back and reREADING the reason for my post. dude, dont try speed-reading...do it reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllly slowly.

you will then notice that my INTENTIONS were to help 2007ers. I mean good grief. WTF do i have to gain from putting down or mking fun of 2007ers? I got my residency bud. Instead of being such a pompous, ignoramus, try reading ppl's posts. This doesnt just go to MDin2006...but to all thsoe that jumped to conclusions about this thread.

 

[tkim]

yeah this dance is over.