Going with gut feeling in the match

[happyresearcher]

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In light of the many discussions on rank lists...how much has gut feeling affected your rank list? I have found that the "mood" of a place- i.e. how the day is run, how the administrators are treated, how the interviews are conducted, how much the PD and others sought to place you with interviewers that share your interests, how easy it is to talk to the residents, and how stuffy/unstuffy the program administration/intern selection committee is...happens to play a much bigger role in my current rank list than I think it should...I do think it speaks somewhat to the true colors of a residency program, but not necessarily how well you will be trained, what your future opportunities will look like, or even how happy you will be training there...
I guess some people care about how strong the fellowship match is, or how competitive the residency is itself...I wonder if there are other good objective criteria that would help in making the rank list

 

[Frugal Traveler]

It is helping me choose between programs in the same tier.

Location also can help or hurt a program.

I felt the sense of the day is really important, but remember to take it in the context of the spirit of the place because programs (just like applicants) can put on a great show that means absolutely nothing. You can at least pick out the spirit of the place most of the time.

Best wishes

 

[gold&black2005]

It is helping me choose between programs in the same tier.

Location also can help or hurt a program.

I felt the sense of the day is really important, but remember to take it in the context of the spirit of the place because programs (just like applicants) can put on a great show that means absolutely nothing. You can at least pick out the spirit of the place most of the time.

Best wishes

Completely agree - some places put on quite an interview day, while others don't at all. Take an immediate gut reaction with a grain of salt...I've seen mine change during the day itself (from positive --> negative and negative --> resoundingly positive).

Still, I feel that interacting with the residents as much as possible, talking to faculty and PDs/program leadership and just observing during rounds and such can really give you a sense of the program itself. That's what I've been trying to do, anyway - and it's what allows me to make a "gut instinct" judgment after the day ends.

 

[jdh71]

The gut feeling goes to how well you will thrive in the environment. Look, lets say you manage a match at Hopkins but you HATE every single day of youir life while you are there. This will rub off on everything you do, making harder to get good evals, which are largely what your PD letter will be made of, and obtaining good letters of rec from staff for areas of interest for fellowship match. You will also be less motivated to get inviolved in the kind of scholarly activities that will help with fellowship placement. The name of a place will only take you so far, and that are just some of the practical aspects of academic career and fellowship chances. You will also likely learn less, and have clinical skills less than you would otherwise where you are enjoying yoru training. Simple human behavior.

 

[pedronavaja2005]

The gut feeling goes to how well you will thrive in the environment. Look, lets say you manage a match at Hopkins but you HATE every single day of youir life while you are there. This will rub off on everything you do, making harder to get good evals, which are largely what your PD letter will be made of, and obtaining good letters of rec from staff for areas of interest for fellowship match. You will also be less motivated to get inviolved in the kind of scholarly activities that will help with fellowship placement. The name of a place will only take you so far, and that are just some of the practical aspects of academic career and fellowship chances. You will also likely learn less, and have clinical skills less than you would otherwise where you are enjoying yoru training. Simple human behavior.

Very well said!!