how to interpret match lists

[stifler]

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how to interpret match lists?

i was reading another thread and ppl mentioned match list as their priorities in selecting a med school. but how do you interpret it if you dont even go to med school? maybe im just not informed.

i mean i see the specialty or residency and the name of the hospital and number of people matched. ive never heard of most of these hospitals. in fact i dont know names of most hospitals that arent around boston.

how do you people know? ppl seem very obsessed with match lists. how can you even interpret match lists if you havent gone through med school, or havent even selected a specialty. more over how can you interpret if the med school will serve your goals. some residencies are ultra selective just because you go to a certain school doesnt mean youll be intelligent enough to get it. so why would that number matter much except that you know someone at your school can get it.

i just dont understand the value of match lists for premeds because at this point, i think its naive to say i am giong to be a neurosurgeon and pick a school based on how your school matches up with neurosurgery residency programs because chances are you wont get in because most people dont.

(sorry if this is confusing for my to describe i am confused by match lists)

 

[DrBowtie]

The fact of the matter is most pre-meds can't interpret match lists. here is my other post from the other thread:

Yes. The match list at Stanford probably will have more high powered matches. However, the match list is very much affected by the students interests. For example, if you look at a match list and don't see a derm or rad onc does that mean people didn't match in those fields or does it mean people didn't try to match into it.

With regards to residency, All that is necessary is to make sure that your home school had a residency in your specialty. This gives you a PD as an advisor and a good opportunity to match there. Overall, match lists go hand in hand with the prestige of the school.

 

[frostynorthwind]

What I find most useful about Match Lists:

1.) What percentage of the class matches?

2.) Location tendencies of resident matches... not terribly important, but knowing I don't want to live the rest of my life in Kansas or the Midwest makes me leary of schools' lists that match primarily in-state or in neighboring states. Generally, I've noticed that mid-tier Midwest Match lists tend to have a majority of matches in the Midwest. (I really want out of Kansas)!

3.) Specialty matches... some specialties are very difficult to Match with (i.e. Derm, plastics, urology, neurosurgery...) Considering my in-state med school hasn't matched anyone in Derm or Plastics in the past 4 years, I can't help but wonder why not? Also, my state's med school emphasizes rural medicine and primary care. I think these areas of medicine are extremely important, yet right now, I'm not considering practicing in rural Kansas or going into primary care in Kansas. Speaking with a few friends at my in-state school, I've discovered that although each year, a few students do Match on the coasts, as many as 50% match primary care and in my state or a neighboring one). count me out!

4.) Do the matches include a lot of med school-affiliated hospitals? Again, not terribly important but considering research is important to me, I would prefer to match at a hospital with the facilities and funding to enable me to continue research...

Honestly, I don't think Match lists are terribly important, yet I think they can offer some interesting information/statistics that med schools might not publicize freely...

 

[Gut Shot]

State schools simply tend to attract homebodies who are more interested in primary care, and this confouds interpreting matchlists. I would be surprised if the less competitive private schools did not also reflect this phenomenon.

In every class in every med school in the country there are students who can match in derm, ENT, optho, ortho, urology, etc. The question is whether, in any given class, the folks who can do this actually want to do this.

That's not to say that prestige of a school is irrelevant, but if you're considering a cheaper state school vs. and expensive private one with a bigger name, you just gotta be damn sure that the name is worth the price.

 

[AxlxA]

Where can i find a compilation of most med schools and their match list stats?

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Where can i find a compilation of most med schools and their match list stats?

In my signature link below 🙂

 

[AxlxA]

Super!