agree with Velo above. as a disclaimer, i'm a resident at UCSF. i hadn't heard that UC had invited people for second looks, but if that is the case, why would that make the program undesirable? does that really reflect something essential about the program that it makes strong attempts to recruit its top choices? particularly when it's not against match policies? i don't see how it makes the program "shady", nor does it seem to impact my experience at UC. If people are truly wanting to know about UC, you could divine more by talking with residents than by reading a lot into recruitment procedures.
when i applied, i received unsolicited calls from BWH and MGH as well, with the "ranked to match" and "you've got a spot here" comments. Does that make all of these programs shady? or only UC because it invited people for 2nd looks?
i didn't attend any second looks but wish that i had, or that i had at least talked to numerous residents from each program, so that i could have made my decision based upon as much information as possible. as it were, i did based largely on my loose perceptions of location, visceral interview day impressions, some discussion with faculty, and all of the paper and website info they threw at us. I don't know whether I would have chosen a different place, but my decision-making process would have been different.
I wouldn't have made a major life decision (or at least 3 year commitment) based on recruitment techniques, but I can understand that when you're working with limited information and making a really tough decision, every little thing counts viscerally.
best of luck to everyone. it's a difficult time.
