how do you know where you stand?

[Peeshee]

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If you've written thank you notes to the programs and not gotten a response, does that mean they probably do not care to rank you highly or even at all? Have others gotten responses?
I've gotten some responses, but not directly to my thank you letters, except for one program.
I've gotten verbal statements with good indications, but how seriously can those be taken?

 

[penguins]

If you've written thank you notes to the programs and not gotten a response, does that mean they probably do not care to rank you highly or even at all? Have others gotten responses?
I've gotten some responses, but not directly to my thank you letters, except for one program.
I've gotten verbal statements with good indications, but how seriously can those be taken?

For what it is worth, I matched at my #1 neuro choice and all they did was send (what I assumed to be) a generic thank you letter after my interview. The PD didn't even respond to an email I sent him.

 

[CTKN2]

If you've written thank you notes to the programs and not gotten a response, does that mean they probably do not care to rank you highly or even at all? Have others gotten responses?

I feel the same way you do, Peeshee. It seems like so many people on this forum get positive responses and unsolicited mail or e-mail. But I haven't gotten responses myself (except for one program), so it makes me feel insecure about my position. Maybe it's just a med-peds thing... At this point, there's no more point in worrying. I'm just hoping for the best. Good luck with the match. I'm sure it will all turn out for the best for everyone.

 

[Jitterbug79]

Hey there - I would not worry about it. It sounds like you wrote thank you LETTERS and those are not as easy to respond to as emails. Most of the responses I have received have been through email in response to my thank you emails. I doubt the programs would have responded to thank you letters (being a non-fan of snail mail myself I could completely understand this). 😉

 

[monkey7247]

Chill out, I did not receive anything from the programs I interviewed at and I still matched. It's not universal for them to contact you. Why worry over something you can't control? If you have the interviews, you will most likely match.

 

[EctopicFetus]

monkey how low on your ROL did you go?

 

[BKN]

If you've written thank you notes to the programs and not gotten a response, does that mean they probably do not care to rank you highly or even at all? Have others gotten responses?
I've gotten some responses, but not directly to my thank you letters, except for one program.
I've gotten verbal statements with good indications, but how seriously can those be taken?

Chill. I know it's frustrating, but almost everybody matches and how the programs feel about you should be irrelevant to your ROL. If you match, the program wanted you and you wanted them.

My residents and I never discuss how we ranked each other. It's all water under the bridge or over the dam or whatever.

p.s. PDs are busy and they feel variously about active recruiting and letter writing. Don't read anything into the response or lack of it.

 

[monkey7247]

monkey how low on your ROL did you go?

#9. I know that sounds low to some of you, but the majority of the programs I interviewed at offered 3 spots.( 😉 I'm completely psyched.) Even for those that matched at their #1, it was rare to be contacted. I just don't think it's as common as the people in these forums make it sound.

My wife commented to me that the people on SDN seem to fit into 2 categories when they are posting stats. They either rock completely or are pretty bad. There's a heck of a lot more people that fall in the in-between area.

"Hi, I'm a US grad, AOA, #2 in my class, 270 step 1, 275 step 2. 7 publications all as primary author. What are my chances of matching into IM anywhere?"

vs

"Hi, I graduated from a Caribbean school, bottom third (held back one year for failing), had to retake step 1 twice to finally get 183, left half of step 2 blank. I'm barely literate, have a drinking problem with multiple DUIs, steal my patients' pain meds, and randomly beat children and small animals. What are my chances of matching into dermatology at Harvard?"

 

[locitamd]

I'll fess up to being mediocre

 

[penguins]

#9. I know that sounds low to some of you, QUOTE]

Who cares about the #, congrats on getting matched in what you wanted. 🙂

There is quite a variety on this forum. My spouse always asks why I subject myself to it but I am an addict!

 

[CANES2006]

"Hi, I'm a US grad, AOA, #2 in my class, 270 step 1, 275 step 2. 7 publications all as primary author. What are my chances of matching into IM anywhere?"

vs

"Hi, I graduated from a Caribbean school, bottom third (held back one year for failing), had to retake step 1 twice to finally get 183, left half of step 2 blank. I'm barely literate, have a drinking problem with multiple DUIs, steal my patients pain meds, and randomly beat children and small animals. What are my chances of matching into dermatology at Harvard?"

👍

 

[monkey7247]

Who cares about the #, congrats on getting matched in what you wanted. 🙂

There is quite a variety on this forum. My spouse always asks why I subject myself to it but I am an addict!

Thanks, it was quite a weight off my shoulders. I feel like one lucky SOB, especially considering how many people don't match into fields they love.

Thankfully, I stopped at #9. The next 3 on the list would've required long johns.

 

[robotsonic]

For what it is worth, I matched at my #1 neuro choice and all they did was send (what I assumed to be) a generic thank you letter after my interview. The PD didn't even respond to an email I sent him.

I think sometimes receiving no response is better than a response. I emailed the PD at my top choice and got back the absurdly neutral, "Thanks for your interest. Good luck." which I think is worse than no response. I'm almost certain that a PD would only write this if he/she were not planning on ranking an applicant highly. I guess it is better than getting my hopes up and then being shocked on match day. Still, I'm feeling very sad about it; it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter 🙁

 

[monkey7247]

I think sometimes receiving no response is better than a response. I emailed the PD at my top choice and got back the absurdly neutral, "Thanks for your interest. Good luck." which I think is worse than no response. I'm almost certain that a PD would only write this if he/she were not planning on ranking an applicant highly. I guess it is better than getting my hopes up and then being shocked on match day. Still, I'm feeling very sad about it; it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter 🙁

Wow, sounds almost like the body of the reply was left off. There's surgery for you.

 

[Solideliquid]

I think sometimes receiving no response is better than a response. I emailed the PD at my top choice and got back the absurdly neutral, "Thanks for your interest. Good luck." which I think is worse than no response. I'm almost certain that a PD would only write this if he/she were not planning on ranking an applicant highly. I guess it is better than getting my hopes up and then being shocked on match day. Still, I'm feeling very sad about it; it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter 🙁

I think this is an example of "reading too much into it". The PD just thanked you for writing him. It's a standard polite response.

 

[baddabing]

I think sometimes receiving no response is better than a response. I emailed the PD at my top choice and got back the absurdly neutral, "Thanks for your interest. Good luck." which I think is worse than no response. I'm almost certain that a PD would only write this if he/she were not planning on ranking an applicant highly. I guess it is better than getting my hopes up and then being shocked on match day. Still, I'm feeling very sad about it; it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter 🙁

Dude, come on. "it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter"? Please take a zantac and a heineken and relax. I can think of about a 1000 things that are closer to a rejection letter. Think about the PD's perspective. The PD may have a strong interest in you, high enough to be ranked in the probable area to match, but definately not guaranteed to match. Or, they may not have met yet to rank you and have no idea where you stand. They may want to save face and be as neutral as possible rather than making you think you are guaranteed to match.

Furthermore, they may not have any idea who you are. After they read your email they may not have time to run and get your file, reread your lor's and personal statement, and review your interviewers comments and then take the time to spend all day thinking about which is the best way to get back to you to give you the most reassurance regarding your standing. Instead, a simple "thank you" is quick and polite.

Last time I checked, there is no www.programdirector.net which has posts like "My favorite applicant sent me a letter saying they are going to rank me highly. What does this mean? He must not like me since he did not say 'rank #1' but then again why would he have written at all if he wasn't interested? In order to increase his chances of matching here should I email him back, write him a letter, send him a fax, call him, plan a second visit to his apartment, or tatoo his name on my butt and run naked through his medical school?" Remember, PD's have emails from tons of applicants, residents, faculty, etc in addition to their clinical responsibilities, research, family, etc. They're not living the fourth-year medical student dream of showing up late and leaving early from rounds, drinking a lot and exercising a little, video games, and logging on the nrmp site three times a day to constantly rearrange numbers 3 through 8 on your match list.


EDIT: by the way...you just sent them a letter raving about their program. I am sure the letter did not say, "I will rank you number 1 pending a reassuring response." They do not need to go on and on about how much they like you with a long response. They do not need to do anything else to increase your interest in the program. You've made it explicitly clear that they have already done enough to get your interest. She provided a simple "thank you" and moved on to the full inbox of emails from the hundred other eager applicants, many of which sent the same letter to their top ten programs, and responded similarly to them to get home by midnight.

 

[Solideliquid]

Dude, come on. "it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter"? Please take a zantac and a heineken and relax. I can think of about a 1000 things that are closer to a rejection letter. Think about the PD's perspective. The PD may have a strong interest in you, high enough to be ranked in the probable area to match, but definately not guaranteed to match. Or, they may not have met yet to rank you and have no idea where you stand. They may want to save face and be as neutral as possible rather than making you think you are guaranteed to match.

Furthermore, they may not have any idea who you are. After they read your email they may not have time to run and get your file, reread your lor's and personal statement, and review your interviewers comments and then take the time to spend all day thinking about which is the best way to get back to you to give you the most reassurance regarding your standing. Instead, a simple "thank you" is quick and polite.

Last time I checked, there is no www.programdirector.net which has posts like "My favorite applicant sent me a letter saying they are going to rank me highly. What does this mean? He must not like me since he did not say 'rank #1' but then again why would he have written at all if he wasn't interested? In order to increase his chances of matching here should I email him back, write him a letter, send him a fax, call him, plan a second visit to his apartment, or tatoo his name on my butt and run naked through his medical school?" Remember, PD's have emails from tons of applicants, residents, faculty, etc in addition to their clinical responsibilities, research, family, etc. They're not living the fourth-year medical student dream of showing up late and leaving early from rounds, drinking a lot and exercising a little, video games, and logging on the nrmp site three times a day to constantly rearrange numbers 3 through 8 on your match list.


EDIT: by the way...you just sent them a letter raving about their program. I am sure the letter did not say, "I will rank you number 1 pending a reassuring response." They do not need to go on and on about how much they like you with a long response. They do not need to do anything else to increase your interest in the program. You've made it explicitly clear that they have already done enough to get your interest. She provided a simple "thank you" and moved on to the full inbox of emails from the hundred other eager applicants, many of which sent the same letter to their top ten programs, and responded similarly to them to get home by midnight.

Right ON! Best. Post. Evar. (this month). Good thing I wasn't drinking, else I would be cleaning my monitor now instead of typing this. 👍

 

[siskiyou]

Right ON! Best. Post. Evar. (this month). Good thing I wasn't drinking, else I would be cleaning my monitor now instead of typing this. 👍

Thank you. I think that many of us needed that little slap in the face!

 

[GoofyDoc]

Last time I checked, there is no www.programdirector.net which has posts like "My favorite applicant sent me a letter saying they are going to rank me highly. What does this mean? He must not like me since he did not say 'rank #1' but then again why would he have written at all if he wasn't interested? In order to increase his chances of matching here should I email him back, write him a letter, send him a fax, call him, plan a second visit to his apartment, or tatoo his name on my butt and run naked through his medical school?" Remember, PD's have emails from tons of applicants, residents, faculty, etc in addition to their clinical responsibilities, research, family, etc. They're not living the fourth-year medical student dream of showing up late and leaving early from rounds, drinking a lot and exercising a little, video games, and logging on the nrmp site three times a day to constantly rearrange numbers 3 through 8 on your match list.

Thanks for the reality check. I give you a vote for post of the month. 😀

 

[robotsonic]

Dude, come on. "it's pretty much a post-interview rejection letter"? Please take a zantac and a heineken and relax. I can think of about a 1000 things that are closer to a rejection letter. Think about the PD's perspective. The PD may have a strong interest in you, high enough to be ranked in the probable area to match, but definately not guaranteed to match...

🙂 Thanks for the laugh, but I still think my assessment is correct. The PD's comment was so neutral that I can't imagine it being positive. It's like when someone writes a letter of recommendation and puts in there: "She was a good student. She was always on time." While this statement isn't negative at face value, this is clearly a very bad recommendation. There is no reason to be so neutral unless the candidate is mediocre.

I think the odds that this PD has a strong interest in me are close to zero.

 

[enigma1800]

robot dude, you're comparing apples to oranges...recommendation letters obviously have to show alot of positivity to be considered good but with thank you letter responses...for all the examples baddaboom gave, the directors just don't have the time to appease your fragile emotions...And even if they don't like for real, you can't do anything about it now so get over it and just pray you match in a good place.

 

[CameronFrye]

robot dude, you're comparing apples to oranges...recommendation letters obviously have to show alot of positivity to be considered good but with thank you letter responses...for all the examples baddaboom gave, the directors just don't have the time to appease your fragile emotions...And even if they don't like for real, you can't do anything about it now so get over it and just pray you match in a good place.

One more point: some programs interpret the match rules very strictly and will not reveal anything to an applicant.

 

[robotsonic]

And even if they don't like for real, you can't do anything about it now so get over it and just pray you match in a good place.

This is really my point also, actually. What's done is done, and I'm getting over it. I'm always annoyed by the overly supportive people on these forums who try to comfort everyone - they are especially bad on the pre-med forums, making comments like, "Just because you have a GPA of 2.9 and an MCAT of 18, doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue your dream of being a doctor!!! Your compassion and understanding will make you an excellent physician; so what if you don't actually know the diagnosis!!" That kind of crap is ridiculous, and I would prefer if people were just honest (with themselves and others). I'm trying to be honest with myself - so that I can get over it.

 

[JKP]

Robo,

Question is, are you going to let the blurb affect how you rank the place? Likely not. And who knows you may wind up matching there... Keep us posted!

 

[Laryngospasm]

If you've written thank you notes to the programs and not gotten a response, does that mean they probably do not care to rank you highly or even at all? Have others gotten responses?
I've gotten some responses, but not directly to my thank you letters, except for one program.
I've gotten verbal statements with good indications, but how seriously can those be taken?

There is no way for you to know, now quit worrying and go enjoy yourself (easier said than done 🙂 )