How many interviews needed to match?

[vtrain]

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I realize that nothing is for certain, but what is the general concensus with regards to the number of interviews that you need in order to have a high probability of matching? I have heard anywhere from 8-10, but what do you guys think? Also, if such a number does exist, how was this determined?

 

[Mye Eye]

certainly NOT the law...but I've heard the number is usually a rank list of at least 7 will get you the match

this must be taken with a grain of salt however, as someone who knows the program director personally may truly be ok just ranking 1 program...while a person aiming for only the top 15 US News ranked programs may have to rank all 15 (should they get all those interviews)

but in short, I've heard the number "7" thrown around

best of luck to you....hope to see you on the trail

 

[4424]

i felt better last year when i hit 10.

 

[FutureOph123]

I personally know someone who interviewed at over 10, ranked them all and did not match. Remember that many programs interview 20 applicants per space; I have interviewed at programs with a ratio as high as 25:1. Also, don't trap yourself! You may be a great applicant, and get 25 interview offers, and if you only take the "Top 10" you may have filtered out all of the places you had a reasonable chance of matching and just be a "backup" applicant for the "great" programs you are interviewing at. Also, this can happen unintentionally when interviews conflict and you go to the school where you would rather match at. Another point, when you go on interviews at great places and the residents say this is their top choice or second choice.... you have to remember that people that end up going to the great programs ranked them high because they are great. Other people ranked them highly also, but they just did not match there. Lastly, the people who matched highly will advertise it while those who didn't will keep their mouth shut. This is not to say that you should freak out, but just interview intelligently, and don't get caught up in some ridiculous magic number.

 

[Mye Eye]

good advice....and yikes for the horror stories... 🙂

thanks so much...good luck to everyone...and hopefully i'll get 50 interviews to make myself feel better about this whole thing hehe

 

[JMK2005]

good advice....and yikes for the horror stories... 🙂

thanks so much...good luck to everyone...and hopefully i'll get 50 interviews to make myself feel better about this whole thing hehe

You'll feel good about getting 50 interviews, but then you'll be stressing out about which ones to go to. Realistically, you can only go on about 15 ophthalmology interviews. Remember that you'll have to interview for internship as well.

The advice in the past is has been (1) about 8 inteviews will give you a good chance to match as well as (2) a range of programs from top, middle, lower tier.

So, if you're lucky enough to get 50 interviews, choose a wide range of programs to ensure a balanced match list.

 

[4424]

JMK is absolutely right about the tiers. make sure you have a good diversity of programs on your list. if everytime you had an interview conflict and you went with the better program, you may not have many middle tier program on your list.

 

[rubensan]

You'll feel good about getting 50 interviews, but then you'll be stressing out about which ones to go to. Realistically, you can only go on about 15 ophthalmology interviews. Remember that you'll have to interview for internship as well.

The advice in the past is has been (1) about 8 inteviews will give you a good chance to match as well as (2) a range of programs from top, middle, lower tier.

So, if you're lucky enough to get 50 interviews, choose a wide range of programs to ensure a balanced match list.

this is great advice ! 👍

 

[Optometric MD]

I know of one FMG that only got one interview and matched.