How Many Programs to Apply To?

[Harrison486]

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Hey guys. I'm a current 3rd year medical student who is extremely interested in anesthesiology. As the 3rd year of medical school is winding down, I am starting to think about and figure out the whole application process. My question is: About how many schools should I be applying to for residency? I know that the fine details depend on a person's individual stats, but I'm looking for an estimate. I know that for fields like ortho and rads, some people apply to as many as 40-50 programs. Are these type of numbers necessary for anesthesiology? What's the average/recommendation?

 

[xbulletin]

For a field like anesthesiology, there isn't a some golden number of programs to apply to. Its highly based on the individual (in fields like derm, ortho, people will almost always apply to 40-50+ programs).

For a stellar candidate in anesthesiology, you could feel very safe applying to as little as 10-12 (or less) programs. Most probably apply to 20-30. People from caribbean schools usually apply to 50+.

It really depends on you, what school you come from, your step 1 scores.

 

[geogil]

For a field like anesthesiology, there isn't a some golden number of programs to apply to. Its highly based on the individual (in fields like derm, ortho, people will almost always apply to 40-50+ programs).

For a stellar candidate in anesthesiology, you could feel very safe applying to as little as 10-12 (or less) programs. Most probably apply to 20-30. People from caribbean schools usually apply to 50+.

It really depends on you, what school you come from, your step 1 scores.

I applied to 16, got 12 interviews, and went on 11. If you look at the charting the outcomes data, the probability of matching after ranking 11 programs is about 99%. Apply to as many programs as you think you will need to in order to get about a dozen interviews. I have a classmate who applied to 90 (!) programs, but still only went on a dozen interviews.

If your step I is in the 240+ range with good grades and letters, you probably will get invites at almost all the schools you apply to. There is no rhyme or reason to which schools will invite you. I got interviews at places I thought were reaches, and was rejected by "safety" schools. There is no telling where you will get interviews, so apply to schools that you would like to go to. That may seem obvious, but there are plenty of Big Names out there that aren't great fits for everyone.

 

[ZzzPlz]

I applied to 16, got 12 interviews, and went on 11. If you look at the charting the outcomes data, the probability of matching after ranking 11 programs is about 99%. Apply to as many programs as you think you will need to in order to get about a dozen interviews. I have a classmate who applied to 90 (!) programs, but still only went on a dozen interviews.

If your step I is in the 240+ range with good grades and letters, you probably will get invites at almost all the schools you apply to. There is no rhyme or reason to which schools will invite you. I got interviews at places I thought were reaches, and was rejected by "safety" schools. There is no telling where you will get interviews, so apply to schools that you would like to go to. That may seem obvious, but there are plenty of Big Names out there that aren't great fits for everyone.

I applied to 20, got 18 interviews, interviewed at 8, step 1: 228, step 2 233. All depends on where you want to go

 

[lord_jeebus]

It really depends on your stats and goals, anywhere from 10 to 100. Submitting applications is relatively inexpensive until you get into the 40-50 range, so it makes sense to apply somewhat widely and then have the luxury of declining interviews, rather than to apply to too few and worry about having enough interviews.

 

[Code Brown]

It really depends on your stats and goals, anywhere from 10 to 100. Submitting applications is relatively inexpensive until you get into the 40-50 range, so it makes sense to apply somewhat widely and then have the luxury of declining interviews, rather than to apply to too few and worry about having enough interviews.

Agree here, apply to the 30 for $290 (or whatever it is now and will be in Sept) and add more if you need to only if your Step I <220, DO, or carib. The extra $240 to go from 10 to 30 probably won't be necessary but it'll give you peace of mind. Call it cheap anxiety insurance. That said, going over 30 if you don't fall into the above categories is way too much for the $25 a pop. Save this for the interview season which will really whack the credit cards.