How to decode match lists

[Lebesgue]

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I was wondering how to decide the strength of a match list. What should I look for if I'm comparing lists for schools I'm accepted at? I have been looking primarily at how many competetive residency spots they get, but was wondering what else matters. I don't really know which locations are good for each specialty. Is it better if people are matching all over the country, or in one area? I just don't know.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

🙂

 

[Jim Picotte]

Honestly it's really impossible to decode as the school may have their best and brightest students going into internal medicine, family practice, or pedicatrics. The best students don't always go into the most competitive residencies. A lot of it will be up to yourself and how you do on your clinical wards and Step exams. If you do well on the Steps and clinicals, you should be able to match a spot in pretty much any specialty. Geographic trends do apply however. It's easier to get a residency in California if you're from a California school and likewise it's easier to stay at MGH if you went to Harvard but every residency program likes variety and will try to get people in from all over the country. In effect, go to the school you think will allow you to have the time to study, be a well rounded person and a city that you won't mind living in for 4 years. Forget all the match list data, forget all the average Step score data...you're in medical school and it's up to YOU to excel.

 

[md03]

There's really no "code" for match lists. There are so many more factors that play into the match than just credentials and name of the school. Students self-select when they apply to programs. What I mean by that is that someone may have the credentials to be competitive at any program in the country, but choose not to apply to big name programs for a variety of reason. The reasons may be geographic (ie the desire to live in or avoid certain areas of the country) family related (especially for married students...spouse career considerations may play a big role) or perception of the top prgram (ie a top program may be percieved, wrongly or not, by a student at a small state school as being populated by snobs and thus not an environement that the student would want to apply)

That said, I'd say that any school that regularly has a few students match in competitive specialtys (ortho, optho, ENT, derm, EM) should not hold you back when it comes to match time. Much, much more important to the whole residency application process are your grades and board scores, and the letters of recommendations you get from clinical faculty. I go to a state school in the southeast, and interivewed mostly in non-southeast areas. I definitely got the sense that some of my fellow interviewees thougth my school wasn't a very good one (and certainly i'ts not got the best curriculum). However, the residency program for my field here is pretty strong, and the chairman is very well know. So my chairmans' letter of recommendation carried a LOT of weight.

Other things to conisider if you are fortunate enough to get multiple acceptances (most applicants don't) are how well you think you fit in with the students, strength of curriculum, strength of clinical experience (ie are students mostly observers or are they active participants in patient care) and cost (don't discount cost by thinking that loans will be easy to pay off on MD salary...the interest racks up during residency and the payments can be a huge burden, and big debt can affect your credit)

 

[Lebesgue]

Hey,
Thanks a heck of a lot. I guess it's true that "common sense isn't always that common." That actually helps out and will make the decision easier I think.

Anyone else?

🙂

 

[Bonds756]

There is no easy way, and I strongly think that you should not base your med school aps largely on a school's match.
That being said, there are some things you can look at qualitatively. As you said, the number of students going into competitive specialties is one. Keep in mind, schools have different strengths and selling points. This could could be family med or it could be surgical subspecialties, and that would effect what students go into.
Also, what institutions students end up at. While Peds isn't a competitive residency and you might not be impressed if a quarter of a class went into Peds, it would be impressive if most of the quarter ended up at Harvard, Penn or JHU (while also realizing some exceptional students choose not to go to those types of programs).
The precentage getting their top choice is a very artificial number and is not really a good indication. However, if it is possible to get, the number who do not match and have to scrabble would be interesting to know.
The bottom line is that if you do well, you will be happy with your match no matter which med school you go to.