For those of you who interviewed at MGH they send these letters that are very personal and obviously took some thought to write. They make you feel like you are really wanted by them. After you get this letter, you are like this is so personal and I am sure they did not send this out to everyone. Well, they did!! Remember, rank a place on how well you like it, not by what they do and say with phone calls and letters because you are not the only one getting them. Good luck you guys.
Personal letters from MGH (don't be fooled)
- Thread starter truth
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That pretty much goes for all the programs. Unless they send you a copy of their ROL, make a sound business decision for yourself and not the program.
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Don't forget the phone calls most of you will receive the night before your list is due...these will come from either program directors or attendings who are involved in the interview process. Once again, as already stated, go w/ your list and don't be influenced. Good luck.
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drlard, it is common.
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Unless you buy into the notion that the match is skewed toward the interests of programs, which it's not (*see below), all this nonsense over ranking a program that sends you a letter of interest is irrelevant. Go ahead and rank MGH #1 because they fedexed you a letter of interest sealed with a big wet kiss. I doubt many of us are making our ranking decisions based on how much "love" a program has given us. Anyone shallow enough to be swayed to rank a program #1 just because they sent a letter of interest deserves the disappointment when they don' t match there. The NRMP allows 15 ranks at no extra charge. Plenty to ensure that you do match SOMEWHERE if your #1 doesn't give you a slot. Anyone dumb enough to only rank a single program on the basis of a letter of interest also deserves to be disappointed. Sheesh.
*Years ago the match DID in fact favor the desires of programs over applicants, but when they re-ran the matches in favor of the applicants, only 9 students (out of tens of thousands) would have matched a higher-ranked choice. At least this is what our dean told us at a meeting last week.
*Years ago the match DID in fact favor the desires of programs over applicants, but when they re-ran the matches in favor of the applicants, only 9 students (out of tens of thousands) would have matched a higher-ranked choice. At least this is what our dean told us at a meeting last week.
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Can anyone personally confirm this? My letter arrived by regular mail. How sad. I guess no etherdome for me!
Thyroid Ablation
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It's possible that the program really wants the applicant they fedexed the letter to. However it's also possible that applicant is ranked anywhere on their list and they just sent it out fedex to ensure timely delivery prior to rank list deadline because it was in the last group of letters they sent out. Or the secretary could have sent it out wrong. Who knows, the point is we won't ever know with certainty.
Writing those letters takes time. I received a very personal one from Zapol when I interviewed last year. I interviewed there fairly early in the season and my letter came shortly afterwards. Based on the content it was definitely written by Zapol. I find it extremely unlikely that he would waste time writing all these letters for applicants that they weren't going to rank. And if they're ranking you, there's a chance you could go there if you rank them. Remember that programs want to get the best residents they possibly can, and the match favors the applicants preference so programs do things to lure you and tip the balance however they can. MGH is a great place and program, but many people are intimidated by the name. A presonal letter from the chair can go a long way to sway someone about the program and they know this!!
It's really difficult, yet important to rank programs in the order that you want and is best for you overall. When you are looking at top programs really ask yourself if you are getting sucked in by the name of a place and if it is truely a good fit for you. Certainly top programs will give you great training, and there's all different styles in programs, but programs aren't one size fits all. I almost got sucked in by the name of a place and it would have been a big mistake for me. Luckily I made the right decision in the end, but it could have very easily gone the other way.
Writing those letters takes time. I received a very personal one from Zapol when I interviewed last year. I interviewed there fairly early in the season and my letter came shortly afterwards. Based on the content it was definitely written by Zapol. I find it extremely unlikely that he would waste time writing all these letters for applicants that they weren't going to rank. And if they're ranking you, there's a chance you could go there if you rank them. Remember that programs want to get the best residents they possibly can, and the match favors the applicants preference so programs do things to lure you and tip the balance however they can. MGH is a great place and program, but many people are intimidated by the name. A presonal letter from the chair can go a long way to sway someone about the program and they know this!!
It's really difficult, yet important to rank programs in the order that you want and is best for you overall. When you are looking at top programs really ask yourself if you are getting sucked in by the name of a place and if it is truely a good fit for you. Certainly top programs will give you great training, and there's all different styles in programs, but programs aren't one size fits all. I almost got sucked in by the name of a place and it would have been a big mistake for me. Luckily I made the right decision in the end, but it could have very easily gone the other way.
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No way to tell. Guess you'll have to wait till march 18th like the rest of us schlubs.🙂
During the interview presentation at MGH, Dr. Zapol mentioned that last year they didn't drop below 50-55 on their list for their 25 slots.
You have to figure they send out at least 75-100 letters of jibberish to stroke applicants' egos.
This whole process is a joke.
You have to figure they send out at least 75-100 letters of jibberish to stroke applicants' egos.
This whole process is a joke.
