Number of Interviews/Ranks to Feel Safe to Match for OMFS nowadays

[hoosiers2009]

I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseam but what do you guys think now that the field has gotten even more competitive? Is it 8? Is it 10? 12+?

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[whothat0]

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[hoosiers2009]

In 2023, out of the 231 candidates that matched, 216 matched at their top 6 choices (93.5%).

However, candidates submitted an average of 7.6 ranks.

231 candidates matched out of the 408 Applicants ranking at least 1 OMFS program.

Please correct me if my logic is flawed but that means if you submit around ~8 ranks (average candidate) you have only a 57% chance of matching.

https://natmatch.com/dentres/stats/2023applstats.pdf

 

[nade0016]

In 2023, out of the 231 candidates that matched, 216 matched at their top 6 choices (93.5%).

However, candidates submitted an average of 7.6 ranks.

231 candidates matched out of the 408 Applicants ranking at least 1 OMFS program.

Please correct me if my logic is flawed but that means if you submit around ~8 ranks (average candidate) you have only a 57% chance of matching.

https://natmatch.com/dentres/stats/2023applstats.pdf

I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseam but what do you guys think now that the field has gotten even more competitive? Is it 8? Is it 10? 12+?

The general rule of thumb is rank 6-7 programs and that has a very high match rate for the applicant. I would shoot for that. There are always exceptions but that is the common thinking.

 

[carabelliscusp]

In 2023, out of the 231 candidates that matched, 216 matched at their top 6 choices (93.5%).

However, candidates submitted an average of 7.6 ranks.

231 candidates matched out of the 408 Applicants ranking at least 1 OMFS program.

Please correct me if my logic is flawed but that means if you submit around ~8 ranks (average candidate) you have only a 57% chance of matching.

https://natmatch.com/dentres/stats/2023applstats.pdf

My understanding is that 7.6 ranks were submitted by each candidate that matched, not each candidate in the match

 

[hoosiers2009]

My understanding is that 7.6 ranks were submitted by each candidate that matched, not each candidate in the match

oh really? it says "Average Number of Ranks per Applicant Who Ranked the Program Type At Least Once" is 7.6

 

[Ivy.ch]

Most programs are interviewing ~10x the number of spots. So statistically, ~10 would be the answer. But people are not statistics. Acting normal and being personable goes a long way in an interview.

 

[deleted1047421]

The more the merrier. Generally candidates improve their interview skills the more times they’ve gone on interviews.
Also you’ll meet a lot of friends along the way - even though you didn’t necessarily match at the same program you’ll stay in touch for years.

I’ve also seen candidates who interviewed at 12 or more programs and still didn’t match.

My advice to you is to goon as many interviews as possible. But I wouldn’t do more than 12-13.