How far down the rank list did you match?

[luvOB]

If any current residents don't mind sharing, I think this would really help us out! I've spoken to many applicants on the trail and the majority are applying to 12-17 programs. Our chair says > 10 is overkill and a waste of money. But I know most of us are also super-paranoid and don't want to go unmatched. So, now that i'm getting a little tired and not to mention..BROKE...maybe if you can ease our mind we can save ourselves a little trouble and feel better about canceling a few interviews.

please provide # of programs you ranked/# matched at
and throw in boards score if you're not shy!

Here's a couple that i've heard:
ranked 14/matched at #2
ranked 5/matched at #1

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[fuzzyerin]

interviewed 11/ranked 10/matched #2 - 2005 match

 

[ShambhalaRed]

Applied to 22, offered interviews at 16, interviewed at 11, ranked all 11, matched at #2

 

[mrlion]

Interviewed at 8, ranked 7, matched at #1 in 2003 match

 

[GynoDino]

Applied to 13, offered interviews at 12, cancelled 4 and went to 8, ranked 6 or 7, matched at #1.

Thoughts a year later:

a) I applied and interviewed at programs I didn't think I would like from the get-go, and they didn't get better after I visited. Dumb. Dumb and expensive. Hey, you only do this once and it's hard to know where the line is at first. But honestly, what are the chances that the first 7 would reject me and that only last 8th safety would take me and I would match there ? Pretty freakin slim. If I'm that bad, I'm going to get dinged all round. I'd be better off putting #8's $400 interview cost into lotto tickets.

b) There were other programs I didn't think I would go to, even if they were good, and I remain extremely happy that I visited them anyhow. This is pretty much the only time programs will open themselves up for inspection by you, and its nice to get tours, dinners and conversations with many interesting folks. As opposed to programs alluded to in the first paragraph, I'm quite happy to have seen these other places and passed on them. The difference between a) and b) is that the programs I regret going to were programs recommended to me but that I didn't really picture myself at. The others were big name places that I wanted to learn about, just because this is my field.

In the end, I could have predicted up front which programs were writeoffs. However, my final rank order of the remainder varied quite a bit from my initial thoughts. Of the places I though I would have liked, only about half lived up to expectations.

Among my OB friends, no one was grossly surprised on match day. So my advice is if you think an interview is pointless, can it.

 

[G2P0112]

I interviewed at 11, ranked 11 and matched at my first choice.

 

[starayamoskva]

Interviewed at 6, ranked 2, matched 1.
Step 1 216, step 2 243

Was really tired of interviews after the first 4, knew where I wanted to be after the 6th and cancelled the other 4.

It is very expensive and tiring to go to interviews especially if you can't schedule ones in same geographic area in the same time frame.

Best advice I can give is look at a programs from the standpoint of will I be happy working with these people for the next four years. You will spend more time with your fellow residents than you will with your spouse/family for the next 4 years and if you are miserable you will make everyone around you miserable.

 

[sba899]

It sounds like everyone gets their first or second choice. is this mostly true? or are the people who rank lower not posting? if u ranked lower, please post. i am considering only ranking 3 and would like to know if this is crazy. In reality I don't want to go to the other places....would rather scramble, but last year there were hardly any spots...thoughts?

 

[Spittz03]

Interviewed at 10, ranked 5, got #1. I would rank >3, I had a few friends that did not match last year, despite great Step scores, good personalities, and with rank list of 7 programs. If you know you will get your top 3, what difference does it make if you rank more?

I would also not trust anonymous websites for either Step scores or position matched ... very skewed data for one reason or another

 

[luvOB]

I had a few friends that did not match last year, despite great Step scores, good personalities, and with rank list of 7 programs.

were the 7 programs all very competitive and all academic? sounds scary to not match after ranking 7... thoughts on why they didn't match???

by the way, a huge THANK YOU to all those that replied. I ended up cancelling 3 and feel better about it.

 

[Wednesday]

In reality I don't want to go to the other places....would rather scramble

I don't think you can really say this until you're faced with the possibility of scrambling and I think that people who make this statement don't truly believe they will fall below 1 or 2. I mean, you picked the places you applied for a reason, be it reputation, location, or something else. Maybe a few of these weren't your favorite programs and you'd rather go to another program on your interview trail, but why would scrambling be better? In the scramble you basically take your chances at whatever programs no one else wanted. Its hard to believe that these left over programs will be better than the worst programs on your list. And you have to "scramble" for them with everyone else in the country, which means you might get nothing at all. Think hard. Would you rather do ob/gyn at your 12th choice or family medicine from the scramble? Although most people on the list above are saying they got their first choice, there are MANY people who didn't (why would they post? Everyone just says "well that person must be a real tool, I'm not a tool, that info doesn't apply to me"). Last year especially. Some of these people had good scores and great recommendations and excellent grades and are NOT socially inept and STILL didn't get their first choice. I imagine a lot of those people are also suprisingly happy at their matched program and thrilled not to be looking at diabetic feet all day.

 

[jlrt]

I applied to 11, interviewed at 9. Ranked all 9 and got #1.

 

[UCLAMAN]

i would take all of these posts with a grain of salt. people who match at their #10 probably aren't going to readily post that on this board. its just like people who ask for mcat scores on these forums...well...the kid who score a 14 J is not gonna be puttin up his/her scores for all to see whereas the 45T or whatever would be more inclined to do so.

 

[heech]

One surprising (to me) statistic... NRMP reports that in '98, '99, '00, around 85% of US seniors participating in the match (across all specialties) were able to match at one of their top three choices.

Maybe those numbers are biased by the huge numbers in the non-competitive fields (IM/FM), but I found that pretty striking.