Ortho 2013 Question

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Orthodontosaur

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Hey ya'll-
So I was wondering... I have 4 interviews this round. 3 from Matching programs and 1 from a non-matching program. The non-matching program interview went very well and I was offered a position in the program. I would say that program is my #3 choice of the 4 schools that I was offered interviews at. But man... I would much rather go to the #2 and the #1 schools. I felt like my interviews went well enough at those schools. Does anyone have any insight as to what I should do. I have 3 days to make this decision.

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I guess I am really just wondering... If I turn down this non-match program, does having 3 ranked programs in the Match give me a good shot at getting in somewhere?
 
I recommend that you consider accepting the offer. Unfortunately Match is a game and can be challenging to win. If your desire is to become an Orthodontist than you have that opportunity in front of you. If your desire is to become an orthodontist from school X than you will have to gamble. I have practiced Orthodontics for 5 years and a patient has never asked where I attended residency.
 
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Take it, no question. It is there and guaranteed. Match is a game
 
I actually would consider not accepting the offer, clearly if you got an acceptance from this school you are highly qualified and have a good probability of matching at the program thats your first or second choice. I wouldn't accept an offer with a program if you're not 100% sure you want to go there because 3 years is a long time to be a place you don't like.
 
You should consider finances too. Whether this offer comes from a non tuition program (or even paid stipend) vs a program with a very high tuition. This is specially important once you graduate and start to pay back.

Match puts you at risk and if I were you and all other factors are not as important, I will accept the offer.

Just put all factors and pros and cons on paper and do your analysis. You will probably come up with best decision for your situation
 
I guess I am really just wondering... If I turn down this non-match program, does having 3 ranked programs in the Match give me a good shot at getting in somewhere?

Not necessarily. If the 3 programs you interviewed with don't even rank you, then you have zero chance. Just like you can choose to not rank a program, the programs can choose to not rank a candidate. If they do rank you but put you somewhere near the middle or even at the end of the list, your chances of getting in are low. Programs usually only have to go through the first 2x names on the list before the spots are all filled, with x = number of residents they accept. Really you will only match if you are the top of the program's list. You just need to be at the top of 1 program's list to get in.

I don't know the stats now with all these programs that have opened in the last few years, but it used to be only about half of the applicants who entered match actually would come out with a successful match. The other half got nothing.

If you don't take this acceptance, then be prepared with a back up plan if things don't go your way on match day.
 
Is there a number on interview invites where you have greater than a 50% chance to match? I know this is speculative and highly subjective but any stats on this?
 
Is there a number on interview invites where you have greater than a 50% chance to match? I know this is speculative and highly subjective but any stats on this?

The number falsely circulated is "7." As in "If you get 7 interviews, you have a good chance of matching." The reason this number is most cited is because 7 is the average number of programs candidates rank when they enter the match. But it means nothing. You could interview at 10 programs and have a match list 10 programs long. If each program ranks you at the bottom of their list or doesn't rank you at all, you aren't getting in anywhere. Hard to believe but I saw it happen. But what I also saw happen is that those wanted to get in eventually did, just took more than a cycle or two or three. And now with all these programs opening up everywhere, it's even easier to make it happen.

All the stats are available for interpretation on the match website.
 
I had 7 interviews with 3 non-match and 4 match and ended up choosing to accept the non-match offer at my #3 school.

After seeing the residents at all the programs I really felt I would fit in at most places but the feeling at the non-match school was as good as any of them. I identified positives during the interview and focused on those in my non-match school and now I see it as my #1 choice. If there were some glaring negatives at my non-match school I would have turned them down but I simply couldn't find any. This is probably because I was slightly selective in where I applied.

Good Luck!
 
Congratulations! Do you mind sharing where you interviewed and where you accepted?
Congratulations you are going to be an Orthodontist!!
 
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