SOAP 2018 Thread

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Still no calls or emails, it’s time for some much needed sleep to recharge for any hopeful contact tomorrow. We’re all in this together. Even in my own pain and devastation, I’m wishing all of you the best and sending out positivity.

If you’re having ANY thoughts of self harm, please, please reach out. Here’s a link to some phone help and chat help.
 
Are we supposed to get calls this late now? Got so far one prelim phone interview. Dang... this is really stressful. Has anyone gotten any calls/interviews?
 
I might have already asked, do the programs know that you matched (or not matched) into advance position when they review your SOAP?
 
MudPhud20XX said:
I might have already asked, do the programs know that you matched (or not matched) into advance position when they review your SOAP?
Click to expand...

I asked this before and was told by @aProgDirector that the answer is Yes. They can see you're partially matched to an Advanced spot, but don't know where. Applicants with an PGY2 slot already are more attractive to prelim programs because they don't have to take time off to interview.

Ask the Program Coordinator!

aProgDirector said:
We can see that you're matched to an Adv program, but we don't know which one. You can contact the NRMP and they will tell you what city you are in, as that might impact where you want to be for prelim.
Click to expand...

Best of luck to you all - I know this has to be extremely stressful.
 
Will you guys take day off for soap tomorrow, or still go to rotation?
 
menglee said:
Will you guys take day off for soap tomorrow, or still go to rotation?
Click to expand...
I took the day off for tomorrow. Luckily I'm on an inpatient/outpatient cardiology rotation so instead of clinic tomorrow I will work a weekend day in the hospital. I didn't think it would be a good idea to have to go in and out of patient rooms if I suddenly got a cold call. Plus I am going to be staring at my phone the whole day anyways, willing it to ring or get an email....
 
simbad8 said:
DO here. Slightly above avg steps. Was told I was a competitive applicant by many interviewers. Ranked 14 programs. Didn't match. Don't even know how to process this.
Click to expand...

Also a DO here, graduated last year, was top of my class, decent scores, yada yada, didn't match in the ACGME match, same as you. SOAPed into a prelim year, and I matched this year. PM me if you want to chat about it/ask questions. Hang in there!
 
This time last year I was in the SOAP so I know what most of you are going through right now. I didn't get any offers through SOAP, but I did land a handful of interviews at newly accredited programs between the months of March and June. In the end it didn't work out, so I just took a year to work while reapplying. Today, I found out that I matched (applied to IM). It can be done. You all have something great to offer. You all got into medical school and endured a lot to get this to point. Do not give up, even when it seems dismal. You will all make it if that's what you truly want. Good luck!
 
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Is it true that you can receive an offer from a program on Wednesday even when you didn't do a skype/phone interview with them?
 
Ogliodendrocyte said:
Is it true that you can receive an offer from a program on Wednesday even when you didn't do a skype/phone interview with them?
Click to expand...

I've heard this is possible if you are very high scoring and applied to a pre-surgical position.

I received a call at around 9:30 p.m. EST. I got an email from a different program around 8:30 EST. Just keep your phone on and charged.
 
Ogliodendrocyte said:
Is it true that you can receive an offer from a program on Wednesday even when you didn't do a skype/phone interview with them?
Click to expand...
Most likely programs will contact you one way or the other before they decide to offer a position. But I am not 100% sure
 
Quizlet04 said:
I've heard this is possible if you are very high scoring and applied to a pre-surgical position.

I received a call at around 9:30 p.m. EST. I got an email from a different program around 8:30 EST. Just keep your phone on and charged.
Click to expand...
I'm on a 6 hour time difference from East Coast time (earlier). Any idea what time they start in the AM? This is gonna be rough getting phone interviews at 2 AM
 
theosteoblasts said:
This has been my experience with my school for the 4 years. Of course, any criticism is buried under the "Be Professional" umbrella.

Not much I can do about it.
Click to expand...
Isn't that the trick....we got you now....you do want that degree don't you?.....Oh, did we mention there will not be enough slots once you claw and fight for a Residency. Sorry about that. But thanks for "being professional".
 
kntran1010 said:
Hey everyone, I made a google survey to gauge how much phone and email people have been receiving? Somebody did this last year in the SOAP 2017 post. I found this might be helpful to alleviate some anxiety (or increase). Let me know if this works

Psychiatry: Psychiatry
Transitional Year: Transitional Year
Prelim Medicine: Preliminary Medicine
Prelim Surgical: Preliminary Surgical
Anesth: Anesthesiology
Derm: Dermatology
EM: Emergency Medicine
FM: Family Medicine
Internal Medicine: Internal Medicine
Neurology: Neurology
Path: Pathology
Peds: Pediatrics
PMR: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Radiology: Radiology
Urology: Urology

Good luck everyone!!
Click to expand...
Could you re-post this one more time? I would like to know how that stat has changed overnight.
 
rokshana said:
take whatever offer you get...if you don't get an intern year position, then you will m/l have to forfeit the advanced year...any place, any program is worth the one year of being somewhere you don't care to be to make sure you ultimately get to practice in the field you want to be in for the rest of your career...now is not the time to be picky.
Click to expand...

totally agree - anybody can handle one year to get to where they want to go, you have your advanced placement on the line - take the first surgery prelim offered and dont look back
 
So SOAP is like med school where you could get multiple offers and you can just pick one right? I think I read somewhere they rank us but we don't, if so, what is the point of them ranking SOAP applicants?
 
Ogliodendrocyte said:
Is it true that you can receive an offer from a program on Wednesday even when you didn't do a skype/phone interview with them?
Click to expand...

Theoretically, yes. And I think there have been some people here on SDN who reported it happening. But it's not very common.
 
Hi again everyone! We have an entire, fun filled day of waiting for phone calls and emails. Keep that chin up!

Asking for a quick opinion: I originally tried for EM (didn’t match) and am now trying for IM, medicine and surgical prelim and TRI. Thoughts about needing to change my personal statement and how much weight it holds in the SOAP process? To be honest, it would take a little bit of time to change since it’s so EM directed, but if I need to then I will. Thanks everyone!!
 
MudPhud20XX said:
So SOAP is like med school where you could get multiple offers and you can just pick one right? I think I read somewhere they rank us but we don't, if so, what is the point of them ranking SOAP applicants?
Click to expand...

You are correct. You get offers, and you can pick any one of them (or none of them, but that's not a strategic move). Programs create lists but they are honestly not that helpful -- all it does is prepare the program for the next round. The one benefit to programs is that if someone pulls out of SOAP, then the next person on their list is automatically bumped up a notch.
 
mirzakhanihz said:
Hi again everyone! We have an entire, fun filled day of waiting for phone calls and emails. Keep that chin up!

Asking for a quick opinion: I originally tried for EM (didn’t match) and am now trying for IM, medicine and surgical prelim and TRI. Thoughts about needing to change my personal statement and how much weight it holds in the SOAP process? To be honest, it would take a little bit of time to change since it’s so EM directed, but if I need to then I will. Thanks everyone!!
Click to expand...

My advice would have been to change it. Although I'm not in SOAP, if I were looking at apps and an app had a PS talking about how great it would be to be a dermatologist, I'd think "Hmm, if this person can't be bothered to change their PS, they clearly are not really interested in IM". It's somewhat petty / minor, but I need some way to sort through the applications. At this point, it's most important that you've actually applied.
 
aProgDirector said:
You are correct. You get offers, and you can pick any one of them (or none of them, but that's not a strategic move). Programs create lists but they are honestly not that helpful -- all it does is prepare the program for the next round. The one benefit to programs is that if someone pulls out of SOAP, then the next person on their list is automatically bumped up a notch.
Click to expand...
Sir/Ma'am, so should we be prepared to get phone calls anytime today right? Or is it mainly today's AM?
 
MudPhud20XX said:
Sir/Ma'am, so should we be prepared to get phone calls anytime today right? Or is it mainly today's AM?
Click to expand...

All day.

I took calls from like 7am (mountain standard time) until about 9pm; maybe even a few closer to 10.

Tomorrow will be similarly busy, but programs will be cozying up to the people they plan to offer to; so you may hear again from places you already spoke to, and that will be a good thing.
 
DO student. Applied EM. COMLEX 1 of 546, COMLEX 2 of 522. No red flags that I know of.
Did 6 auditions and got "positive feedback"
8 interviews (applied broadly to 45 spots) with one program telling me I was one of their "top applicants"
Trying to scramble into IM now (probably should have applied as a back up second specialty)
Thinking maybe that APD who told me I would not match without USMLE was right 🙁
Only one IM phone interview scheduled for 1PM today
 
MudPhud20XX said:
Could you re-post this one more time? I would like to know how that stat has changed overnight.
Click to expand...

I edited the forms so that you don't have to choose an answer choice. You can just click submit and should able to see the previous response

Hey everyone, I made a google survey to gauge how much phone and email people have been receiving? Somebody did this last year in the SOAP 2017 post. I found this might be helpful to alleviate some anxiety (or increase). Let me know if this works

Psychiatry: Psychiatry
Transitional Year: Transitional Year
Prelim Medicine: Preliminary Medicine
Prelim Surgical: Preliminary Surgical
Anesth: Anesthesiology
Derm: Dermatology
EM: Emergency Medicine
FM: Family Medicine
Internal Medicine: Internal Medicine
Neurology: Neurology
Path: Pathology
Peds: Pediatrics
PMR: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Radiology: Radiology
Urology: Urology
 
kntran1010 said:
I edited the forms so that you don't have to choose an answer choice. You can just click submit and should able to see the previous response

Hey everyone, I made a google survey to gauge how much phone and email people have been receiving? Somebody did this last year in the SOAP 2017 post. I found this might be helpful to alleviate some anxiety (or increase). Let me know if this works

Psychiatry: Psychiatry
Transitional Year: Transitional Year
Prelim Medicine: Preliminary Medicine
Prelim Surgical: Preliminary Surgical
Anesth: Anesthesiology
Derm: Dermatology
EM: Emergency Medicine
FM: Family Medicine
Internal Medicine: Internal Medicine
Neurology: Neurology
Path: Pathology
Peds: Pediatrics
PMR: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Radiology: Radiology
Urology: Urology
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for doing this. Looks like other than prelim surgery, few programs have reached out to us so far.
 
Is it true that most prelim surg spots go to the unmatched applicants from those institutions? If so, I guess I’m totally screwed.
 
simbad8 said:
Is it true that most prelim surg spots go to the unmatched applicants from those institutions? If so, I guess I’m totally screwed.
Click to expand...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. I've heard that the prelim surgery spots go to people who were applying to surgical positions or surgical subspecialities (like uro, ortho, optho or plastics). I think they take those people.

Then in the prelim year, they use the ABSITE exam scores to see who gets to stay on vs who doesn't along with clinical evaluations and feedback from the house staff as well as the opinion of the Program director.
 
Is it a violation of match rules to say how many slots were open in different specialties? I can’t remember if the numbers I’ve heard in years past were before or after match day. I don’t particularly care where the open spots were, just curious about trends.
 
mvenus929 said:
Is it a violation of match rules to say how many slots were open in different specialties? I can’t remember if the numbers I’ve heard in years past were before or after match day. I don’t particularly care where the open spots were, just curious about trends.
Click to expand...

Not a violation. Just to make specific programs.
 
Hey guys! Keep your hopes up! I didn’t match 2015 in OB, received an email Tuesday night saying my application was being considered. I matched into a surgery prelim in round 3.

Long story short I’m almost done with my pgy2 year in OB and very happy!
 
simbad8 said:
Is it true that most prelim surg spots go to the unmatched applicants from those institutions? If so, I guess I’m totally screwed.
Click to expand...
I matched surgery prelim at a different program, however in the same state.
 
Sxp9353 said:
Hey guys! Keep your hopes up! I didn’t match 2015 in OB, received an email Tuesday night saying my application was being considered. I matched into a surgery prelim in round 3.

Long story short I’m almost done with my pgy2 year in OB and very happy!
Click to expand...

Congrats on the great turn-around!

Update: still just one interview offer...
hoping for more!
 
Sxp9353 said:
Hey guys! Keep your hopes up! I didn’t match 2015 in OB, received an email Tuesday night saying my application was being considered. I matched into a surgery prelim in round 3.

Long story short I’m almost done with my pgy2 year in OB and very happy!
Click to expand...
Inspiring!!!! I also applied Surgery Prelim, hoping for some chances.
Can you please add your credential? Are you an AMG? Thanks!
 
simbad8 said:
Is it true that most prelim surg spots go to the unmatched applicants from those institutions? If so, I guess I’m totally screwed.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. If a student who is unmatched wants a SOAP prelim GS spot at their home institution, they might have an advantage because they are a known quantity. But, being a "known quantity" can hurt them too, depending on what they are known for. Plus, there are more prelim GS spots than students at those schools who actually want a prelim GS spot.

Psych_hopeful said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. I've heard that the prelim surgery spots go to people who were applying to surgical positions or surgical subspecialities (like uro, ortho, optho or plastics). I think they take those people.

Then in the prelim year, they use the ABSITE exam scores to see who gets to stay on vs who doesn't along with clinical evaluations and feedback from the house staff as well as the opinion of the Program director.
Click to expand...

Sometimes. Some people who are unsuccessful at categorical gen surg or one of the subs decide to apply to prelim GS and then battle for a categorical spot. But there are few spots that open, so it's a meat grinder. Many people are just looking for a year of experience, and then apply into something else. But yes, I agree that a resident's performance in their prelim GS spot will greatly affect whether they get taken as a categorical GS resident.
 
I haven't heard ANYTHING yet. That can't be normal, right?

DO, slightly above national average COMLEX 1, approximately average COMLEX 2
Applied to all prelim positions (holding out hope for an advanced position in my dream field next year): transitional, internal medicine, prelim surgery
 
Same here other than the call I got from for prelim surgery spot. Applied to whole bunch of TY and medicine prelim. I matched into my advanced position, but other than one call I got yesterday, nothing today so far.
 
MD loading... said:
Got a call finally! From the resident, but he seemed to like me and gave me his cell phone number if I had questions. Is that a good sign that he will tell his superiors to call me?

Come on SOAP!
Click to expand...
R u an AMG
 
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