IM Post-Interview "You're My #1" Emails?

[Redpancreas]

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So I was late to the "letter of interest party" thinking early December was when it was first appropriate. Don't want to make that mistake again. I was initially planning on NOT sending no #1 emails, but tons of people are sending them now from what I've heard. What are you doing?

Feel free to comment below when you're sending it? At this point my #1 is still not clear and still a 3-way tie so I'd imagine sending one in late January if I chose to send one.

 

[Salaam]

I'm having trouble interpreting a lot of the post-interview communication policies of programs. When programs say only send objective questions, are they saying don't send #1 emails or just no thank you notes & the like? My top programs were all a little ambiguous like that.

That said, I was intending to send one after my last interview in late Jan.

 

[HoldTheCoffee]

I sent one to the PD of my #1 back in the day when I was applying for both residency and fellowship. I'm not really convinced it made a big difference but I matched at both places FWIW. If you do send a letter, keep it brief and only send it to your top place. Being on the other side now (though not necessarily serving on any admissions committees) I really get the impression that these post-interview communications don't mean that much and can actually be pretty annoying if you overdo it or have a bajillion people call on your behalf. A super eloquent love letter probably isn't probably not going to make a difference if you gave a bad impression on your interview day.

 

[GastriqueGraffin]

Being on an admissions committee I can tell you these don't mean anything for our IM residency. For fellowship I sent it to only my #1 and matched there but I don't know if it helped.

 

[W19]

Well, I told a PD straight that 'you are my #1', and he tried to find out places I interviewed at. I gave him a vague answer. It was pretty awkward.

 

[TripleOpIMXD]

I am planning on doing a second look to check out a program's unique rounding system and hopefully meet with faculty for my research.

Do you feel like doing a second look AND writing a Letter of intent that they are #1 would mean more than if I were to write a LOI alone?

I understand some applicants may write LOI to multiple programs so some program directors don't take it seriously. But would spending that time to go on a second look show that my LOI is truly serious about matching at their program?

 

[HoldTheCoffee]

Honestly I'm not sure how much second looks or LOIs or any of this matters at all. If it were me, I would only go on the second look if I wanted to get a better feel of the culture/hospital for some reason, but I probably wouldn't invest money/time to fly out for the second visit solely for the purpose of trying to move up the rank list.

 

[CatFactorial]

Consider telling your #1 that they’re your #4, so as to make them want you, savvy?

More seriously, I doubt they help one way or the other. If you don’t send a LOI you’re free to change your mind until rank list submission. If a program wants you and vice versa the match will make it happen.

 

[rokshana]

I am planning on doing a second look to check out a program's unique rounding system and hopefully meet with faculty for my research.

Do you feel like doing a second looks AND writing a Letter of intent that they are #1 than if I were to write a LOI alone?

I understand some applicants may write LOI to multiple programs so some program directors don't take it seriously. But would spending that time to go on a second look show that my LOI is truly serious about matching at their program?

did a second look a program...did not match there, so my n=1 says second looks do not help.

 

[TripleOpIMXD]

did a second look a program...did not match there, so my n=1 says second looks do not help.

Did you send them a letter saying they were #1 as well?

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Your chance of matching is unchanged whether you send a LOI or not. Residencies won't change their rank list based off of that. My advice is: if you have a #1 and want to tell them, then do so. If you don't want to, then don't.

With that being said, I also matched for residency and fellowship at institutions where I did communicate with program directors post-interview. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

[toastee]

did a second look a program...did not match there, so my n=1 says second looks do not help.

You also applied as an older IMG, I think you should state that as you were less competitive by default.

I have friends who matched last year and all who did second looks ended up matching at their respective programs (n=3), they were all allopathic grads from a top 20 school on the west coast.

If you don't have to spend much out of pocket and it really is your top choice, I'd say go to the 2nd look (of course don't do anything stupid, and just act like you did on interview day).

With that said, I've sent my #1 email to my respective program and I know for sure these letters can have a positive effect at some programs and 0 at others. I took a year off last year so I've been talking with all of my friends that are interns now, and there is no way that sending a #1 email can hurt you, but it CAN hurt you if you don't send one and the program is one that puts stock into them

TLDR; send your #1 email because it can't hurt you (assuming you're a normal, socially oriented human being and not a low-key psychopath).

 

[CatFactorial]

You also applied as an older IMG, I think you should state that as you were less competitive by default.

I have friends who matched last year and all who did second looks ended up matching at their respective programs (n=3), they were all allopathic grads from a top 20 school on the west coast.

If you don't have to spend much out of pocket and it really is your top choice, I'd say go to the 2nd look (of course don't do anything stupid, and just act like you did on interview day).

With that said, I've sent my #1 email to my respective program and I know for sure these letters can have a positive effect at some programs and 0 at others. I took a year off last year so I've been talking with all of my friends that are interns now, and there is no way that sending a #1 email can hurt you, but it CAN hurt you if you don't send one and the program is one that puts stock into them

TLDR; send your #1 email because it can't hurt you (assuming you're a normal, socially oriented human being and not a low-key psychopath).

Did your program specifically tell you that these overtures did anything? Otherwise your account is just as anecdotal as the next guy’s.

Regarding second looks use common sense. If a program specifically asks you to come and see the place again, then yes they are probably interested. If you are inviting yourself out there, then no, you’re probably just annoying the coordinator and chiefs because they have to take time out of the day to show you around again (even if you were to bless that program with top 20 west coast status).

For both residency AND fellowship matches, I didn’t even send a thank you letter. No letter of intent. No calls on my behalf. Both times the PDa did schedule additional interviews with other faculty (not by my request), so perhaps that can be seen as interest on their part.

Regardless it’s a pretty wacky concept. Program schedules interview. Applicant attends interview. Program and applicant rank each other highly. Match algorithm. N=31,757

 

[HoldTheCoffee]

If you're going to lose sleep because you didn't do a second look then I'd just go for it and stop asking anonymous internet people for advice. But overall I agree that if it's a second look that you're creating by inviting yourself over, it's probably more of a nuisance than anything else. The CMRs and program staff are pretty busy as is and having to create an itinerary just for you sounds like a pain. If you're INVITED for one, maybe it's be a different story.

Also my gut tells me that some of the more big name places probably don't care about any of this stuff since they already have an abundance of AOA/Step 260s/top 20 med school applicants and they'll probably just rank them how they want.

 

[rokshana]

You also applied as an older IMG, I think you should state that as you were less competitive by default.

I have friends who matched last year and all who did second looks ended up matching at their respective programs (n=3), they were all allopathic grads from a top 20 school on the west coast.

If you don't have to spend much out of pocket and it really is your top choice, I'd say go to the 2nd look (of course don't do anything stupid, and just act like you did on interview day).

With that said, I've sent my #1 email to my respective program and I know for sure these letters can have a positive effect at some programs and 0 at others. I took a year off last year so I've been talking with all of my friends that are interns now, and there is no way that sending a #1 email can hurt you, but it CAN hurt you if you don't send one and the program is one that puts stock into them

TLDR; send your #1 email because it can't hurt you (assuming you're a normal, socially oriented human being and not a low-key psychopath).

...guess there needs to be a sarcasm emoji since the n=1 didn't clue you in...

Bottom line is that the second looks, thank you letters, you are my number ones are fine if they make you feel better, but as everyone who is not a 4th year has stated (including the PDs that post here) they make little difference in giving you an advantage.

 

[toastee]

...guess there needs to be a sarcasm emoji since the n=1 didn't clue you in...

Bottom line is that the second looks, thank you letters, you are my number ones are fine if they make you feel better, but as everyone who is not a 4th year has stated (including the PDs that post here) they make little difference in giving you an advantage.

There you go again... OP when you get advice, as anecdotal as it may be, it's good to get a lot of perspectives, especially from those that took similar paths or had similar stats as you. If you're an IMG then definitely listen to IMGs that came before you, but if you're an allopathic applicant from a decent school, I wouldn't exactly care what an older IMG who has nothing in common with you actually has to say. They'd be better off giving advice on the IMG forums/threads. Let's be real, the average IMGs navigation through this process is going to be a lot different than the average US med students experience. I mean look how many of these IMGs get minimal interviews/matches with similar or even extremely high step scores. That should tell you that they are looked at a lot different than US grads and that their experiences are worth just about squat.

Like I said before OP and to anyone reading this in the future..No one has said anything about a #1 letter hurting them in this thread. Some people don't know whether it helped or not (it might have) and some PDs said it doesn't help. So there's no harm in sending a #1 email. And if you're an American grad, offered a second look at your top program, then have at it (assuming you're not socially inept and have money to spare)

Good luck everyone. March can't come soon enough

 

[CatFactorial]

There you go again... OP when you get advice, as anecdotal as it may be, it's good to get a lot of perspectives, especially from those that took similar paths or had similar stats as you. If you're an IMG then definitely listen to IMGs that came before you, but if you're an allopathic applicant from a decent school, I wouldn't exactly care what an older IMG who has nothing in common with you actually has to say. They'd be better off giving advice on the IMG forums/threads. Let's be real, the average IMGs navigation through this process is going to be a lot different than the average US med students experience. I mean look how many of these IMGs get minimal interviews/matches with similar or even extremely high step scores. That should tell you that they are looked at a lot different than US grads and that their experiences are worth just about squat.

Like I said before OP and to anyone reading this in the future..No one has said anything about a #1 letter hurting them in this thread. Some people don't know whether it helped or not (it might have) and some PDs said it doesn't help. So there's no harm in sending a #1 email. And if you're an American grad, offered a second look at your top program, then have at it (assuming you're not socially inept and have money to spare)

Good luck everyone. March can't come soon enough

 

[rokshana]

There you go again... OP when you get advice, as anecdotal as it may be, it's good to get a lot of perspectives, especially from those that took similar paths or had similar stats as you. If you're an IMG then definitely listen to IMGs that came before you, but if you're an allopathic applicant from a decent school, I wouldn't exactly care what an older IMG who has nothing in common with you actually has to say. They'd be better off giving advice on the IMG forums/threads. Let's be real, the average IMGs navigation through this process is going to be a lot different than the average US med students experience. I mean look how many of these IMGs get minimal interviews/matches with similar or even extremely high step scores. That should tell you that they are looked at a lot different than US grads and that their experiences are worth just about squat.

Like I said before OP and to anyone reading this in the future..No one has said anything about a #1 letter hurting them in this thread. Some people don't know whether it helped or not (it might have) and some PDs said it doesn't help. So there's no harm in sending a #1 email. And if you're an American grad, offered a second look at your top program, then have at it (assuming you're not socially inept and have money to spare)

Good luck everyone. March can't come soon enough

yes, please listen to the 4th year that has not been involved in the residency application process from the other side.

no one has said it would hurt, but don't get peoples' hope up that somehow it has sone sort of benefit and will edge you up on the ROL.

As a good Southern girl, I wrote thank you notes to everyone I interviewed with, did the second look at a program that was a toss up between 1 and 2 and had interviewed with early in the season, and wrote a letter thanking them for the second look and most likely stated that they were my #1 and did my ROL based on the very comprehensive rating scale in Iserson's Guide to Residency and matched...both for residency and fellowship...Do I think my letters made a difference? No...they were not meant to do anything of the sort.

 

[toastee]

yes, please listen to the 4th year that has not been involved in the residency application process from the other side.

no one has said it would hurt, but don't get peoples' hope up that somehow it has sone sort of benefit and will edge you up on the ROL.

As a good Southern girl, I wrote thank you notes to everyone I interviewed with, did the second look at a program that was a toss up between 1 and 2 and had interviewed with early in the season, and wrote a letter thanking them for the second look and most likely stated that they were my #1 and did my ROL based on the very comprehensive rating scale in Iserson's Guide to Residency and matched...both for residency and fellowship...Do I think my letters made a difference? No...they were not meant to do anything of the sort.

I think your interpretation skills are terrible. Read what I wrote again...

Sent from my [device_name] using SDN mobile

 

[rokshana]

I think your interpretation skills are terrible. Read what I wrote again...

Sent from my [device_name] using SDN mobile

yes, well we can see that you think quite highly of yourself...

please refer to post # 17 as to how others here perceive you.

will be interesting to see what advice you give in this year's SOAP thread.

 

[toastee]

yes, well we can see that you think quite highly of yourself...

please refer to post # 17 as to how others here perceive you.

will be interesting to see what advice you give in this year's SOAP thread.

Lmao. Wishing me to fail are we?

Unlike your IMG self, the SOAP is something I don't have to think twice about. As an allopathic grad attending a top school on the west coast, i feel for you. But for now, I'll continue giving my thoughts on the matters that pertain to me.

I don't see how this isn't obvious that your experience doesn't align with half the posters in these threads. You're an older IMG that went to the carribean for medical school and had to apply to 1000 programs and settle for whoever accepted you. The rest of us on the other hand are US grads that don't have to worry about their school, language barriers, and social IQ as you did , which is why I said your advice is almost meaningless. Since you swear your wisdom is so great as an attending, might do you well to stick to the IMG thread a few threads down.

I'll reiterate what I said, since your comprehension is lacking: no one is this thread has indicated that sending a #1 email has hurt them, so send it off because at worst it means nothing, and at best it just might give you the boost you need.

SOAP? Lol...

Sent from my [device_name] using SDN mobile

 

[CatFactorial]

Lmao. Wishing me to fail are we?

Unlike your IMG self, the SOAP is something I don't have to think twice about. As an allopathic grad attending a top school on the west coast, i feel for you. But for now, I'll continue giving my thoughts on the matters that pertain to me.

I don't see how this isn't obvious that your experience doesn't align with half the posters in these threads. You're an older IMG that went to the carribean for medical school and had to apply to 1000 programs and settle for whoever accepted you. The rest of us on the other hand are US grads that don't have to worry about their school, language barriers, and social IQ as you did , which is why I said your advice is almost meaningless. Since you swear your wisdom is so great as an attending, might do you well to stick to the IMG thread a few threads down.

I'll reiterate what I said, since your comprehension is lacking: no one is this thread has indicated that sending a #1 email has hurt them, so send it off because at worst it means nothing, and at best it just might give you the boost you need.

SOAP? Lol...

Sent from my [device_name] using SDN mobile

The rest of us don’t have to worry about our social IQ, eh?