Hey guys,
I have to say that it is so different reading these boards now that I'm not going through that crazy Match process. I really feel for you guys!
I was your average applicant in last year's match....good clinical grades, good LORs, ok board scores and preclinical grades. Because I'm a DO and I never really could find reliable objective data on which programs are DO-friendly and wasn't sure how it would make a difference in last year's match...I decided to use a little strategy.
I applied to 52 programs for Advanced positions (PGY2-4). Sounds like a lot at first, but the cost of checking off a few more boxes (52 programs only was $800) was better than wondering in April "what if I had just applied there?" and better than stressing during a scramble. Just remember you can always decline interviews and start to pick and choose if you get too many flooding in.
For me, I ended up getting an interview at a great program that I never would have expected to offer me an interview if I hadn't applied to a lot of programs and if I was playing the odds game of guessing which places would take me. And the moral of the story....I matched there in the end!
Good luck everyone!
😛
