How many IM interviews?

[soccerusa]

Looking for a ballpark on number of interviews to attend. I have heard everything from 8 to 16.

I am also curious if the competitiveness of the interviews matters at all (i.e. should you attend and rank more programs if you are interviewing at highly competitive places).

Currently have about 10 programs scheduled but all within top 12 programs roughly. Thanks all for your advice during a stressful time. Good luck to everyone applying!

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[rokshana]

Looking for a ballpark on number of interviews to attend. I have heard everything from 8 to 16.

I am also curious if the competitiveness of the interviews matters at all (i.e. should you attend and rank more programs if you are interviewing at highly competitive places).

Currently have about 10 programs scheduled but all within top 12 programs roughly. Thanks all for your advice during a stressful time. Good luck to everyone applying!

you should have a range of programs...don't get suck in by just by interviewing and ranking top programs and then end up not matching...happens every year.

NRMP data shows that 10 programs for the ROL will give you something like a 90% chance of matching, 15 gives closer to 98% chance.

 

[unnumzaan]

Your particular situation depends heavily on how secure you feel about matching at your home program. If that's a lock, then conventional advice is less applicable. Otherwise 10-12 is what most people shoot for.

It'd be a different dynamic for someone applying from an unranked school and only interviewing at top 20s.

 

[275471]

you should have a range of programs...don't get suck in by just by interviewing and ranking top programs and then end up not matching...happens every year.

NRMP data shows that 10 programs for the ROL will give you something like a 90% chance of matching, 15 gives closer to 98% chance.

This is inaccurate and myth spreading. The NRMP data shows a 90% chance of matching with 4 programs and >99% matching with 10 contiguous ranks. There is no asterisk suggesting people ranking top ten programs only are not included. To OP, I am in similar shoes and feel comfortable. http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-Seniors.pdf

 

[rokshana]

This is inaccurate and myth spreading. The NRMP data shows a 90% chance of matching with 4 programs and >99% matching with 10 contiguous ranks. There is no asterisk suggesting people ranking top ten programs only are not included. To OP, I am in similar shoes and feel comfortable. http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-Seniors.pdf

It’s not but I guess you being a medical student applying in the match must know best.

 

[275471]

It’s not but I guess you being a medical student applying in the match must know best.

Please explain - simply referencing data. Only 5 out of more than 2000 applicants with 10+ ranks failed to match last year. Gotta love the ole I'm older than you so I'm right argument

 

[rokshana]

Please explain - simply referencing data. Only 5 out of more than 2000 applicants with 10+ ranks failed to match last year. Gotta love the ole I'm older than you so I'm right argument

Probably older but not reason...just more experienced...from both sides as a student applying for residency, resident applying for fellowship, and involved with selection of both as an attending...but sure, go ahead and just reach for the stars and don’t balance that ROL with a good stop program.

 

[gutonc]

Probably older but not reason...just more experienced...from both sides as a student applying for residency, resident applying for fellowship, and involved with selection of both as an attending...but sure, go ahead and just reach for the stars and don’t balance that ROL with a good stop program.

Meh...if you're a superstar applicant and have 15 interviews at "top 20" programs, there's no need to go to a safety interview or 3 just to have a couple of safeties.

 

[aafisahar]

it all depends

10 interviews off 200 applications is a lot different than 10 interviews off 25 applications

 

[gutonc]

it all depends

10 interviews off 200 applications is a lot different than 10 interviews off 25 applications

It's actually not. Math is tricky* like that.

*Math really isn't tricky. Understanding it OTOH....

 

[aafisahar]

It's actually not. Math is tricky* like that.

*Math really isn't tricky. Understanding it OTOH....

disagree. The caliber of applicant who needs to apply to 200 programs to get 10 interviews is far different than one who gets 10 off 30. That first applicant likely has poor scores, poor letters, or other red flags that make him not so attractive despite the interviews. Programs interview ~2x as many as they need to fill their class out except for the bottom of the barrel.

 

[gutonc]

disagree. The caliber of applicant who needs to apply to 200 programs to get 10 interviews is far different than one who gets 10 off 30. That first applicant likely has poor scores, poor letters, or other red flags that make him not so attractive despite the interviews.

The applicant who applies to 200 to get 10 just did a poor job of judging his/her competitiveness.

Programs interview ~2x as many as they need to fill their class out except for the bottom of the barrel.

If by 2, you mean 10, then yes, I agree.

 

[IMreshopeful]

The applicant who applies to 200 to get 10 just did a poor job of judging his/her competitiveness.

If by 2, you mean 10, then yes, I agree.

You should look at the IMG threads man... plenty of people getting single digit or teens number of interviews applying to 150+ programs. Residency apps are very competitive nowadays for the I think

 

[rokshana]

You should look at the IMG threads man... plenty of people getting single digit or teens number of interviews applying to 150+ programs. Residency apps are very competitive nowadays for the I think

Of they didn’t research the programs appropriately or simply do not meet the criteria to be even a slightly acceptable candidate.
An f/img with average or below average step scores, failed attempts on said step scores , no USCE, and graduated 10 years ago simply is not going to get a lot, of any, interviews...they can apply to 10, 100, or every single IM program and they are still going to get very little on return...but everyone there want to hear that it’s still possible for the most unqualified of applicant to get something AND match because they want it so much and they have “worked” so hard to be able to apply and get a residency...sorry those that DID actually work hard, got the scores , the USCE, the research, the publications,etc...ARE getting interviews...there are I/FMGs posting on that thread that have upward to 20+ interviews.

I really wish people would make sure that they truly are a viable applicant before plunging into the match season and spendong so much time,effort, and money of what is potentially a pipe dream.

 

[Jinxapotato]

disagree. The caliber of applicant who needs to apply to 200 programs to get 10 interviews is far different than one who gets 10 off 30. That first applicant likely has poor scores, poor letters, or other red flags that make him not so attractive despite the interviews. Programs interview ~2x as many as they need to fill their class out except for the bottom of the barrel.

I wouldn't say this tho. I'm a VISA-requiring DO with above avg score, applied 80 programs or so in total, got 11 interviews 2 WL, however my applications are mainly mid tier universities, so the turn out rate is bound to be lower than my comrade who scored 20 pts lower than me but applied to 70 community programs (he got like 18).

 

[IMreshopeful]

Of they didn’t research the programs appropriately or simply do not meet the criteria to be even a slightly acceptable candidate.
An f/img with average or below average step scores, failed attempts on said step scores , no USCE, and graduated 10 years ago simply is not going to get a lot, of any, interviews...they can apply to 10, 100, or every single IM program and they are still going to get very little on return...but everyone there want to hear that it’s still possible for the most unqualified of applicant to get something AND match because they want it so much and they have “worked” so hard to be able to apply and get a residency...sorry those that DID actually work hard, got the scores , the USCE, the research, the publications,etc...ARE getting interviews...there are I/FMGs posting on that thread that have upward to 20+ interviews.

I really wish people would make sure that they truly are a viable applicant before plunging into the match season and spendong so much time,effort, and money of what is potentially a pipe dream.

I don’t disagree. There’s a lot of people who apply who simply don’t have the competitive stats to do so... although surprisingly there’s places which will take them anyway. That thread is definitely full of people who just want validation and pipe dreams. Despite that though there are folks on there who apply in the 100s+ number of programs with good stats. It’s a complicated system and I don’t know why some people make it through and others don’t.

One thing I think for the IMGs that sometimes gets applications thrown out is poor English (badly written personal statement or ERAS form)... I had to review one of these for a family friend applying and they basically had to redo everything because the English was so bad. I suspect that’s another factor they don’t mention that often in the thread

 

[rokshana]

I don’t disagree. There’s a lot of people who apply who simply don’t have the competitive stats to do so... although surprisingly there’s places which will take them anyway. That thread is definitely full of people who just want validation and pipe dreams. Despite that though there are folks on there who apply in the 100s+ number of programs with good stats. It’s a complicated system and I don’t know why some people make it through and others don’t.

One thing I think for the IMGs that sometimes gets applications thrown out is poor English (badly written personal statement or ERAS form)... I had to review one of these for a family friend applying and they basically had to redo everything because the English was so bad. I suspect that’s another factor they don’t mention that often in the thread

True enough, but then that again is not making the effort to make one the most competitive applicant...common sense says that you should have someone look over every aspect of your application before submission...so many people on that thread don’t seem to have made that much of an effort...there is one guy on that thread who wrote individualized PS to each program he applied to...while that may be a bit overboard, he has been rewarded with,I think, something like 20 IVs...there are people on that thread that are looking to apply now!! Really? And there are people on that thread that are saying “go for it!” And one person who tried to be realistic about the guys chances go flak because he wasn’t being supportive...Kerry peasy...people need to realize that as an I/fmg you have to be a much better candidate than the amg or even the DO student to get even lower tiered programs, but all they want on that thread is the match through rose colored glasses.

Sometimes you have to hear no you can’t even it hurts.

 

[the argus]

people need to realize that as an I/fmg you have to be a much better candidate than the amg or even the DO student to get even lower tiered programs, but all they want on that thread is the match through rose colored glasses..

I'm all for people being realistic when applying for residency, but I don't think the data actually pans out for this statement. At any individual program an IMG will have to outperform the AMG to be competitive. But overall, IMGs, especially US citizen-IMGs, don't have to be better candidates to match.
https://mk0nrmpcikgb8jxyd19h.kinsta...s/2018/04/Main-Match-Result-and-Data-2018.pdf
https://mk0nrmpcikgb8jxyd19h.kinsta...arting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-Seniors.pdf
https://mk0nrmpcikgb8jxyd19h.kinsta.../Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-IMGs.pdf

>3,100 IMGs (US and foreign) matched last year in internal medicine, which was ~43% of total categorical internal medicine spots.

matched USMD - step 1 233, step 2 246
matched US-IMG - step 1 225, step 2 234
matched F-IMG - step 1 236, step 2 241

Matched US-IMGs have much lower step scores than matched USMDs. They are no doubt matching at much less competitive and desirable programs, but this idea that to match as an IMG you have to have astronomical scores, etc is not true.