Match Results 2017!

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MidwestMD2015

MidwestMD2015

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Congrats to everyone who matched today.
It's a wild process and now you have the grand finale!

For me, the time between Match and day 1 of intern year was full of excitement and change. I hope it's a positive experience for al of y'all to.

Any 'post-mortem' thoughts on the match?
Did you get what you wanted? Go really far down your rank list? Have a funny story from match day? Sage advice for the class coming behind you?

From 'what are my chances', to the interview invites and reviews threads, to the rank list thread...it's been interesting to watch many of you go through the cycle. Good luck everyone, and congratulations again.
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i went down mine

like way down
 
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5.2% US grads matched into psych meaning something like 923 filled 61% of the slots. They don't divide out psych, but US grads who matched about 60% got their first choice. This is up some from last year.
 
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#1 on my ROL. I could not be more stoked. I felt like the perfect fit there and I honestly feel like no other program in the country could possibly be a better match for me. I'm incredibly excited and very proud to be starting at my new program. Best St. Patrick's Day ever.
 
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sloop said:
#1 on my ROL. I could not be more stoked. I felt like the perfect fit there and I honestly feel like no other program in the country could possibly be a better match for me. I'm incredibly excited and very proud to be starting at my new program. Best St. Patrick's Day ever.
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Agreed. US-MD, landed at my #1, truly the program that was best for me, and for my kids, and also for my wife. Like a triple-crown match result.

My school matched 9/200 in psych, or 4.5%.
 
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US DO matched at my no.1. Could not be happier with how it all worked out. It truly is the best program for me.
 
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Indiana It was a shock but in a very, very positive way! Definitely worked out for the best


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sazerac said:
Agreed. US-MD, landed at my #1, truly the program that was best for me, and for my kids, and also for my wife. Like a triple-crown match result.

My school matched 9/200 in psych, or 4.5%.
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Mine was almost identical. ~12/260, or 4.6%. Notably, this is a lot more people than my school usually sends to psych.
 
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Top choice. Cried. Laughed. Cried some more. Still in shock.
 
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I was going to be ecstatic with any of my top, like, 6, soooo today I'm ecstatic! And even though it wasn't my #1, I'm actually really happy with where I ended up; I think it will be a great fit for me and my spouse, and my new city is already home to a few old friends. Just not looking forward to moving in such a short period of time, and with two clinical rotations left. :dead: Whyyy

EDIT: for future applicants - I matched at a program where I interviewed off the waitlist! I know it's totally already been said that it doesn't matter whether you're invited on Day 1 or come off the waitlist in December, but I have to admit, I had my doubts, and was a tiny bit distracted on my interview day. While I was being interviewed by the PD, I had to bite down so hard on the question "What made you hesitate on me?" I couldn't help but wonder if they were serious about me, or just trying to make sure all their slots were filled. But now, here I am!
 
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US-IMG, and I matched at my #1. :joyful:

Congrats, everyone!
 
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I looked at this year vs. last years data. Doesn't seem like psych got incredibly more difficult over the past year. Can anyone more wise than myself comment one what the data means for competitiveness of the field at present and maybe over the next few years?
 
I matched at UAMS in Little Rock, AR! It was my second choice, so I'm very happy! Congrats to everyone else! It's been great following along with everyone on here!


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It's really interesting being on the interviewer side of match day.

I interviewed two really great people from my alma-mater who applied to my residency program. I didn't know them previously but, from what I could tell from the interview and their CV's, they were both great and could have gone anywhere, in any specialty. I can't imagine that they ended up anywhere but their #1 choices. They both ended up in programs that I'd imagine will be a great fit for each of them, but that one wouldn't typically expect for top <1% applicants.

I guess not much of a revelation, it's just interesting to see what people value.
 
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my program had an insane match list. heard same at another nyc program. is this just a local thing?


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I regret that I spent a lot of time and money on apps and interviews just to hedge against the possibility of not matching at my #1. Congrats everyone!
 
I also ended up quite a bit lower than I was expecting. Pretty shocked and still processing the whole thing. I'm grateful to have matched at a great program, just need a little time for it to sink in.
 
I matched at my #2 (Ohio State)! While I was slightly bummed I didn't get my top pick, I'm also kind of relieved. My top choice was in a city that is super expensive and far away from home. Columbus will be much easier to manage I think :) Congrats to everyone who matched!
 
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dope-iramate said:
I matched at my #2 (Ohio State)! While I was slightly bummed I didn't get my top pick, I'm also kind of relieved. My top choice was in a city that is super expensive and far away from home. Columbus will be much easier to manage I think :) Congrats to everyone who matched!
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Residency is pretty stressful. It's definitely worth a lot to be near your loved ones and not overly taxed financially.
 
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GlassRose said:
I also ended up quite a bit lower than I was expecting. Pretty shocked and still processing the whole thing. I'm grateful to have matched at a great program, just need a little time for it to sink in.
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It can be tough when everyone gets their #1 and you don't. I knew my 1 was a stretch and I was really bummed to not get it, but holy cow did it work out well. Ended up in a MUCH better city for me and my training ended up being superb, probably better than my #1 due to city/pt demographics. I was sorta shocked for the whole first day and had trouble celebrating initially but it kept getting better and better. I'm sure youll end up doing great!
 
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Merovinge said:
It can be tough when everyone gets their #1 and you don't. I knew my 1 was a stretch and I was really bummed to not get it, but holy cow did it work out well. Ended up in a MUCH better city for me and my training ended up being superb, probably better than my #1 due to city/pt demographics. I was sorta shocked for the whole first day and had trouble celebrating initially but it kept getting better and better. I'm sure youll end up doing great!
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Good to hear Merovinge, USMD here, first time in match; I matched low on my list, 10 out of 14, into my solid safety program. All I can say is thank god for safety options! Because I almost didn't match.

To all others, I think I did overestimate my competitiveness going into match. My application had a lot of unique strengths, but I also had some serious flaws in my application. I glossed over them since my advisors told me I was good to go for a lot of competitive programs and I got good feedback during my interviews. In the end, those flaws must have been more detrimental then I realized. Oh well, I'm still moving forward with a solid option in a cool new city where I haven't lived in before.

My advice to others with any serious flaws in your apps: be proactive and defensive with your match strategy. I think its best to overapply ie 40-50 apps and do as many interviews as you can afford. The more flaws in your apps the more interviews you should do. Not much can be a deal breaker in psych, but if you have a couple of flags on your app, programs can easily rank you lower on their rank lists or not rank you at all.
 
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DO student who Matched @ LSU-New Orleans! Congrats to all those that Matched.
 
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Can any DO's comment on their match process and experience? Hoping to go for Psych in the future and am worried about the increasing competitiveness of Psych.

I see that this year 80 more US MD's matched for Psych, but also about 100 more spots opened up! Thank Goodness for that.
 
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vitamin H said:
My advice to others with any serious flaws in your apps: be proactive and defensive with your match strategy. I think its best to overapply ie 40-50 apps and do as many interviews as you can afford. The more flaws in your apps the more interviews you should do. Not much can be a deal breaker in psych, but if you have a couple of flags on your app, programs can easily rank you lower on their rank lists or not rank you at all.
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While I know the PDs and PCs on here will cringe when I say it, I must point out that the number of psych apps per US applicant over the last four years has gone 25, 28, 34, and this year 39. If this general trend of "apply to last year's average, plus five" continues, even the average applicant will be applying to 40-50 programs next year.

I shudder to think what "overapplying to psych" will look like for 2017-2018 season.
 
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vitamin H said:
Good to hear Merovinge, USMD here, first time in match; I matched low on my list, 10 out of 14, into my solid safety program. All I can say is thank god for safety options! Because I almost didn't match.

To all others, I think I did overestimate my competitiveness going into match. My application had a lot of unique strengths, but I also had some serious flaws in my application. I glossed over them since my advisors told me I was good to go for a lot of competitive programs and I got good feedback during my interviews. In the end, those flaws must have been more detrimental then I realized. Oh well, I'm still moving forward with a solid option in a cool new city where I haven't lived in before.

My advice to others with any serious flaws in your apps: be proactive and defensive with your match strategy. I think its best to overapply ie 40-50 apps and do as many interviews as you can afford. The more flaws in your apps the more interviews you should do. Not much can be a deal breaker in psych, but if you have a couple of flags on your app, programs can easily rank you lower on their rank lists or not rank you at all.
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Hey, congrats on matching!! I hope you have an amazing experience at your new program! Thank you for sharing your advice regarding how to handle flaws in your app.

Also, it can be disheartening/intimidating (for future applicants) to see so many other people match into their top #1-2, so I think it's important to be able to share with each other when this happens and how to still be very positive about it. We're not all perfect, and life doesn't always give you what you want (or thought you wanted), and that's normal! As long as you put in the effort, you'll become the best physician you could be. And as long as you stay positive, you'll have a great time in the process!
 
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sazerac said:
While I know the PDs and PCs on here will cringe when I say it, I must point out that the number of psych apps per US applicant over the last four years has gone 25, 28, 34, and this year 39. If this general trend of "apply to last year's average, plus five" continues, even the average applicant will be applying to 40-50 programs next year.

I shudder to think what "overapplying to psych" will look like for 2017-2018 season.
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Is it time to consider a cap on applications? Maybe that will make people more sensible about places to which they are applying.
 
US MD applicant with multiple red flags (notably 2 LOAs). Matched at my number one and I'm ecstatic!
 
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aberrydulldoc said:
US MD applicant with multiple red flags (notably 2 LOAs). Matched at my number one and I'm ecstatic!
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LOL, strong work! How many were psych LORs? I only had one psychiatrist vouch for me, from a 10 day rotation :-/
 
sazerac said:
LOL, strong work! How many were psych LORs? I only had one psychiatrist vouch for me, from a 10 day rotation :-/
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Two -- one from a research mentor and another from an attending who knew me well. That was probably my only saving grace.
 
sazerac said:
While I know the PDs and PCs on here will cringe when I say it, I must point out that the number of psych apps per US applicant over the last four years has gone 25, 28, 34, and this year 39. If this general trend of "apply to last year's average, plus five" continues, even the average applicant will be applying to 40-50 programs next year.

I shudder to think what "overapplying to psych" will look like for 2017-2018 season.
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That is insane! In 2009, I applied to 23 programs which was at the time huge overkill for any USMD without red flags.

Congrats everyone who matched! Take advantage of your last few months of freedom.
 
Hi All,

I thought I would add my perspective. I fell to #9 on my rank list. I was initially surprised, shocked, and upset when I saw my match. I hadn't even thought of the possibility of matching there as 2 programs higher on my list had told me I was "ranked highly." (Side note: "ranked highly" truly means nothing). Then I got over myself and began to see the positives in the situation.

1. I matched. I get to continue to towards my goal to become a psychiatrist! 2. I matched at a program that actually wanted me despite my flaws and is not malignant in any way. (I wouldn't have wanted to be in a place where I wasn't wanted). 3. The city and geographical location of the program means I can drive home to see family/friends in less than 10 hours and the flights are ~1 hour away. The weather is great and the cost of living is inexpensive.

All in all, this program is probably where I needed to be for a lot of reasons. My career goals will not be out of reach by matching lower on my list, and I'm happy to think about finding housing in my new home for the next 4 years! :)
 
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I also, unfortunately, fell down my list. I felt blindsided by it. My program is excellent, but in a city that is very expensive and far from my family (thus the reason I ranked it lower). I'm so happy that I matched, and am looking forward to starting residency this summer, but my mind is plagued with all these "what ifs" now. I sent a "love letter" to my top program, but no others -- I wonder if this was the wrong call. I guess I will never know what went wrong.

Congratulations, everyone!
 
Yeah this "arms race" of applying to more and more places is disconcerting for everyone. And it's all fueled by medschool deans who are terrified of having someone go unmatched.

I met a couple of applicants who were 15+ interviews in and obviously had no genuine interest in my specific program except to get another place on their rank list, ends up a huge waste of their time bc they are going to be ranked too low to match, so tacking a program they had no unique interest in on as an extra interview didn't actually help them at all. Huge waste of time and resources for everyone involved. Guess more free dinners for the residents is a plus.
 
Armadillos said:
Yeah this "arms race" of applying to more and more places is disconcerting for everyone. And it's all fueled by medschool deans who are terrified of having someone go unmatched.

I met a couple of applicants who were 15+ interviews in and obviously had no genuine interest in my specific program except to get another place on their rank list, ends up a huge waste of their time bc they are going to be ranked too low to match, so tacking a program they had no unique interest in on as an extra interview didn't actually help them at all. Huge waste of time and resources for everyone involved. Guess more free dinners for the residents is a plus.
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On the flip side of this, some places that I interviewed at seemed to assume I wasn't interested in them / was a suspiciously too-good applicant for their program. It was strange because it made me feel like the program lacked confidence in what they had to offer. Meanwhile, I actually was interested in their program or I wouldn't have been there.....

At the same time the medschool dean factor is real and caused me to stress apply to a few more last minute places.
 
Couples matched to our #3, at a program that I absolutely loved and that I am so lucky to be going to. Not a "big-name" sort of place, but definitely a solid program and a perfect fit for me.
 
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Dr. Harambe said:
On the flip side of this, some places that I interviewed at seemed to assume I wasn't interested in them / was a suspiciously too-good applicant for their program. It was strange because it made me feel like the program lacked confidence in what they had to offer. Meanwhile, I actually was interested in their program or I wouldn't have been there.....
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I was referring to applicants who can't even come up with an answer to why they are interested in the program. Our program is well known so really nobody is overqualified, so can't comment if that is a real phenomena elsewhere.
 
I'm super happy with the program that took me. Originally I went into ranking with the notion that any one of my top picks I think would work great for me and anyone below that I would still just be thankful. I got one of my top picks ( and I was having a hard time ordering those anyways and frankly had no idea the best fit for me out of those programs) so I'm happy.

Side note, there are people in my class that ranked close to 10 places and didn't match in psych. And there's another who got stuck at what I'm pretty sure is a malignant do residency. So yeah definitely count your blessings!
 
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grapefruit17 said:
I'm super happy with the program that took me. Originally I went into ranking with the notion that any one of my top picks I think would work great for me and anyone below that I would still just be thankful. I got one of my top picks ( and I was having a hard time ordering those anyways and frankly had no idea the best fit for me out of those programs) so I'm happy.

Side note, there are people in my class that ranked close to 10 places and didn't match in psych. And there's another who got stuck at what I'm pretty sure is a malignant do residency. So yeah definitely count your blessings!
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DO school?
 
Congrats to everyone for matching into the best specialty! I matched at Hennepin-Regions, my top choice, and couldn't be more excited!!!!
 
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Absolutely ecstatic. Congrats to everyone, we did it! I matched at my first choice, a top ranked program at a major academic center. As a FMG and Canadian citizen , just want to say that there's hope out there to those who think the odds are against them. Thanks to everyone on this forum for the support.
 
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Matched!!! Thank you everyone for your support! :)
 
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Matched at my #1, UF Gainesville!!! Super stoked!!
 
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Matched at my #2!! Overall I'm pleased but still somewhat bummed out that I didn't match at my #1 (which was UCLA NPI). Overall I thought I was a pretty strong applicant metric wise - 247/249 steps, mostly honors in 3rd year, 97% percentile on psych shelf, strong LORs from home program - however didn't have AOA, come from a relatively middle of the road state MD school, and no psych research, or away rotations. I think my two biggest negatives were lack of demonstrated commitment to psych early on and my resident interviewer and I didn't really seem to connect that well, at least not like with my other two interviewers (PD interview seemed to go very well, went 15min over, told me that he thought I "would be very happy here." Also at the post interview reception, there weren't a ton of residents that showed up and I ended up getting cornered into a conversation with another applicant for a while and didn't talk as much as possible with the residents as I would have liked. Thinking that I missed out on showing them more of my personality. Also, I was interested in dermatology earlier in medical school and my experiences reflected that on my CV, but my application and EC's also showed that I have a very humanistic bent and seemed to "gel" with a lot of the other residents varied interests. But worried that maybe the program thought I was just back-up applying?

Not sure why I'm posting. Was thinking of emailing my resident interviewer and asking if I came across poorly? Is that just like asking an unrequited love for closure that will never come and a horrible idea? Anything else that might have been obvious for not matching at my #1? (Lack of AOA? Not coming from a top 20 med school?).

Again, super grateful to have matched where I did and am determined to be the best psychiatrist possible, but just looking for some answers to those terrible "what if's" that seem to like to linger.
 
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