Likelihood of Matching

[eyeapp]

Hey guys,
I wanted to ask any of those out there who are either current residents or faculty what my odds of matching are with 8 interviews. I know it only takes "1 interview" to match, but realistically speaking how do things look? Normal, run of the mill applicant here. Wishing everyone the best of luck in a month!

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[MAYOphtho]

Hey guys,
I wanted to ask any of those out there who are either current residents or faculty what my odds of matching are with 8 interviews. I know it only takes "1 interview" to match, but realistically speaking how do things look? Normal, run of the mill applicant here. Wishing everyone the best of luck in a month!

I would say you have a good shot. Some of the factors to consider are:

(1a) where did you interview? If your 8 programs are all "Top 10" type programs then statistically that makes it a lot harder than landing a spot at a program if your 8 programs are average to weak
(1b) how big are these programs? if your 8 programs average 6 spots, that's 48 positions TOTAL, versus if your 8 programs average 3 spots (24 positions)

(2) How did your interviews go? You can generally tell how well an interview goes...but sometimes people are so cocky, rude, or just weird and have no idea they totally tanked an interview. If you got along well with your interviewers, you tend to get a pretty good feeling about that...so go with your gut feeling on this

(3) Did you show interest in a program? Sometimes in the end if it's an average program and comparing similar applicants, maybe the benefit of the doubt will go to someone with a tie to the program (or heavy interest). Again, speculation only.

So yes, you do have a pretty good chance...but someone with 20 interviews who is rude and condescending will do much worse matching than someone with 3 interviews who really just gets along great with their interviewers

best of luck to you...again, this is just one person's opinion, so take it with a grain of salt...but I currently interview people, and pretty quickly I forget board scores (cuz they're all so similar) and just go with the vibe I get from the applicant in general

 

[Iladelphia]

I've received eight interviews as well, so definitely interested in any responses. This will definitely be a stressful holiday season! Should we be doing anything to bump our chances?

 

[macro0rchidism]

I have heard 7-8 interviews is the magic number, but as MAYOphtho mentioned, there are many factors that go into this.

I would recommend sending emails/thank you cards to your top 1 or 2 programs and reiterating your interest in their program. Who knows if this will truly do any good, but it definitely won't hurt.

 

[FutureOph123]

It depends... on the above factors and so much more. How many places did you apply to? If you applied to 100 and received 8 interviews, your odds of matching are probably fairly low. If you applied to 8 and received 8, they are probably very good. There are so many factors it is impossible to answer. The interview step is not completely independent; your ranking is also highly dependent on the factors that got you the interview in the first place. This is why I feel like the widely circulated magic number of 8 is misleading at best. However, you probably have a fair chance of matching without knowing any of the other factors