Match day celebrations ?

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simha1487

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To the wise men and women who are currently enduring, oops, enjoying an EM residency :

1) How do you find out where you match? Does it differ by school? I'm hoping I get an email or something from the NRMP the morning of the match and the "go to your school to get an envelope from your advisor in front of everyone" is a ritual of the past

2) that said, for those who graduated recently, how important was match day ? graduation day ?

to put this question in context, I'm at a school where most of my close friends (except 1-2) are graduating in 5-6 years (Stanford) and are not matching this year (I am). I'm also free in March-April, so i'm planning on a trip through Spain, Morocco and Turkey. It will cost me some $$$ to come to san fran from spain and then head back. I haven't made up my mind, but I am inclined at this point to not come back for match day, and just show up for graduation in June and connect with my friends post-match over the phone.

the reason i'm posting is to get an answer to question 1).. as well as to know what considerations i'm missing, i.e. would some of you advise that match day is not to be missed for friends, family, advisors, inebriation, etc. ? and 2) how different is it from graduation?

these are hard questions to answer for anyone else, so i'm not looking for an answer, just thoughts to consider.

Thanks in advance !

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At my school, we had "super night" the night before match, with skits/movies/roasts and other fun stuff, followed by drinking. Match day involved presenting to the faculty club and all opening our envelopes together. It was fun to see where everyone ended up. And I can't remember the last time so much fear, apprehension, and excitement was packed into the 2 minutes involved in finding and opening my envelope. The rest of the afternoon was spent out on the town in New York celebrating!

Graduation was pretty awesome. As everyone crossed the stage, our names were read with "MD" after them. I got so emotional! Hard to believe those 4 years went by so fast. To answer your question, for me, they were very different, but both pretty awesome.

I guess it just depends on what matters most to you. A trip to those places would rock, but can you do it another time? If it were me, I'd hold off to really relish and appreciate the culmination of all my hard work in med school, and enjoy those last few celebratory moments with my class. However, if your priorities are different, then follow your heart!

To the wise men and women who are currently enduring, oops, enjoying an EM residency :

1) How do you find out where you match? Does it differ by school? I'm hoping I get an email or something from the NRMP the morning of the match and the "go to your school to get an envelope from your advisor in front of everyone" is a ritual of the past

2) that said, for those who graduated recently, how important was match day ? graduation day ?

to put this question in context, I'm at a school where most of my close friends (except 1-2) are graduating in 5-6 years (Stanford) and are not matching this year (I am). I'm also free in March-April, so i'm planning on a trip through Spain, Morocco and Turkey. It will cost me some $$$ to come to san fran from spain and then head back. I haven't made up my mind, but I am inclined at this point to not come back for match day, and just show up for graduation in June and connect with my friends post-match over the phone.

the reason i'm posting is to get an answer to question 1).. as well as to know what considerations i'm missing, i.e. would some of you advise that match day is not to be missed for friends, family, advisors, inebriation, etc. ? and 2) how different is it from graduation?

these are hard questions to answer for anyone else, so i'm not looking for an answer, just thoughts to consider.

Thanks in advance !
 
Yeah, I think it definitely depends on your circumstances. As I took a year out to do research/travel, most of my friends graduated last year - so i'm definitely planning on taking off around Match day (i'll be in S. Africa), and certainly don't plan on coming back for the festivities. Honestly, even if my friends *were* around, i'm not sure i'd give up this last huge block of time (no more 2-3 month vacations in residency!) just to be around for the match. But that's just me...

Q
 
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Match day is not important in the grand scheme of things.

I will say that it is important to give some long and hard thought into being able to be back in the U.S. for Match week.

If for some strange reason you don't match, you've basically flushed away the whole interview process and the entire year if you're not able to scramble into a spot.

You really need to be where you have multiple items (computers, fax machines, people, etc.) to help with the scrambling process. This can be very hard or even impossible while out of country.
 
thanks for the replies ! also, is the notification electronic or written from your dean/advisor? i.e. if you are not in school, do you know how/when you will find out?
 
thanks for the replies ! also, is the notification electronic or written from your dean/advisor? i.e. if you are not in school, do you know how/when you will find out?

You will receive an email on Monday of Match week. It will state that either you matched or did not.

On Thursday you can log onto the NRMP website (or contact your school) after 1PM Eastern time to find out where you matched to. If you did not match you begin the scramble process on Tuesday by finding out where there are slots and you will know where you are headed with a verbal commitment (and contract faxed).
 
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