help with ranking pedo programs....

[Demeter]

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i'm looking for advice on how to rank pedo programs. Match of course says to rank the programs based on your preferences, but that may not be the smartest choice, i.e. I don't want to end up unmatched. I went on a couple of interviews and got good vibes from several programs, but it seems that interviewers are trained to be friendly becasue they want applicants to rank their program highly.
I went to one program that interviews 65-70 people for 5 spots. It is difficult to beat out 15 other people and, although I am interested in the program, I am considering ranking them beneath other programs because the odds are low that i will get in. It seems that the higher you rank a program the lower your chances are to match at that program. Should I use up a top rank ( 3rd choice) for a program that i am not confident will rank me? Would that significantly lower my chances to get into a next programs that i rank 4 and 5? thanks.

 

[TiggerJSA]

i'm looking for advice on how to rank pedo programs. Match of course says to rank the programs based on your preferences, but that may not be the smartest choice, i.e. I don't want to end up unmatched. I went on a couple of interviews and got good vibes from several programs, but it seems that interviewers are trained to be friendly becasue they want applicants to rank their program highly.
I went to one program that interviews 65-70 people for 5 spots. It is difficult to beat out 15 other people and, although I am interested in the program, I am considering ranking them beneath other programs because the odds are low that i will get in. It seems that the higher you rank a program the lower your chances are to match at that program. Should I use up a top rank ( 3rd choice) for a program that i am not confident will rank me? Would that significantly lower my chances to get into a next programs that i rank 4 and 5? thanks.

DO NOT fall into the trap of ranking based on where you think you have a better shot. I know you've probably heard this a thousand times, but MATCH is formatted in the applicants favor. Ranking someplace you prefer, but don't think you have a shot in hell for, in no way affects your chances at getting in anywhere else. For instance, let's say you have a guaranteed spot at program X, but like program Y better and rank Y ahead of X. Now, if you don't match at Y, you still have your spot at X. If you were to rank X higher than Y, you automatically match at X and never had a shot at the program you liked better which was Y. That may have sounded a bit confusing, but DO NOT QUESTION MATCH. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS RANK WHERE YOU PREFER TO GO HIGHEST. If you don't, you'll match at a place you didn't prefer. Furthermore, if you interview at let's say 8 programs and rank all 8, your chances for matching in general is exactly the same no matter what order those 8 programs ranked in. So, don't fret about not matching with regards to your rank order cuz that probability is a constant that cannot be changed at this point. Just trust the system and rank in order of preference. I can't stress that enough and hope this helps. Good luck!!

 

[OMFSCardsFan]

Your #1 choice doesn't get removed from your list until all spots at that program are filled (without getting to you on their list). At that point, choice #2 becomes #1, and doesn't change until that program is full.

Let's say Program A is your favorite place and Program C is a place you are sure will rank you at the top of their list. B is somewhere in between. If you rank C first, you'll go to C. If you rank A first, and they rank you high enough, you'll go to A. If not, then B becomes your first choice. Let's say they fill their positions as well, so C becomes your first choice. Now, C hasn't been able to move to their #2, 3, 4, 5, etc candidates until you match somewhere else. Since you didn't match before this, you now go to Program C. If you would have matched at A, then C would be able to then go to their #2 person. There is no way that Program C would match someone lower than you without you first matching at another program.

 

[Jediwendell]

You obviously don't understand how the match works. There are plenty of threads on match here on the board, so do a search. If you can't find anything, send me a message and I will try and explain it for you.

i'm looking for advice on how to rank pedo programs. Match of course says to rank the programs based on your preferences, but that may not be the smartest choice, i.e. I don't want to end up unmatched. I went on a couple of interviews and got good vibes from several programs, but it seems that interviewers are trained to be friendly becasue they want applicants to rank their program highly.
I went to one program that interviews 65-70 people for 5 spots. It is difficult to beat out 15 other people and, although I am interested in the program, I am considering ranking them beneath other programs because the odds are low that i will get in. It seems that the higher you rank a program the lower your chances are to match at that program. Should I use up a top rank ( 3rd choice) for a program that i am not confident will rank me? Would that significantly lower my chances to get into a next programs that i rank 4 and 5? thanks.

 

[DcS]

DO NOT fall into the trap of ranking based on where you think you have a better shot. I know you've probably heard this a thousand times, but MATCH is formatted in the applicants favor. Ranking someplace you prefer, but don't think you have a shot in hell for, in no way affects your chances at getting in anywhere else. For instance, let's say you have a guaranteed spot at program X, but like program Y better and rank Y ahead of X. Now, if you don't match at Y, you still have your spot at X. If you were to rank X higher than Y, you automatically match at X and never had a shot at the program you liked better which was Y. That may have sounded a bit confusing, but DO NOT QUESTION MATCH. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS RANK WHERE YOU PREFER TO GO HIGHEST. If you don't, you'll match at a place you didn't prefer. Furthermore, if you interview at let's say 8 programs and rank all 8, your chances for matching in general is exactly the same no matter what order those 8 programs ranked in. So, don't fret about not matching with regards to your rank order cuz that probability is a constant that cannot be changed at this point. Just trust the system and rank in order of preference. I can't stress that enough and hope this helps. Good luck!!

Your #1 choice doesn't get removed from your list until all spots at that program are filled (without getting to you on their list). At that point, choice #2 becomes #1, and doesn't change until that program is full.

Let's say Program A is your favorite place and Program C is a place you are sure will rank you at the top of their list. B is somewhere in between. If you rank C first, you'll go to C. If you rank A first, and they rank you high enough, you'll go to A. If not, then B becomes your first choice. Let's say they fill their positions as well, so C becomes your first choice. Now, C hasn't been able to move to their #2, 3, 4, 5, etc candidates until you match somewhere else. Since you didn't match before this, you now go to Program C. If you would have matched at A, then C would be able to then go to their #2 person. There is no way that Program C would match someone lower than you without you first matching at another program.

As always very good explanations provided by the two above. All you need to do is rank programs based on your preference, as had been said by others ad nauseum. The system is designed to favor the applicant. It's a common misconception that a "computer chooses where you go". In reality the computer just speeds up what easily could be done on paper.

Good luck in your rank list, i haven't quite narrowed mine down yet.