the scramble

[devin2dr]

Hi, this may have been discussed already, but can someone please explain how we find out prior to match day if we didnt match? and also how the scramble works?, do we contact programs via telephone, or ERAS?

thanks,
Dev

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[Mumpu]

You can check the NRMP website on March 14 to see if you matched.

 

[lilycat]

The Monday of match week you find out if you matched -- I think as of noon EST, by logging into the NRMP website. Also, at many schools, the Dean's office will call you as well if you didn't match. At least at my school, you then come in to meet with the Dean that afternoon and strategize for the scramble. I believe the list of all unfilled programs is made available to unmatched NRMP applicants at noon EST on Tuesday, and you can then start calling programs at that time -- depending on the program, you either fax your application or you submit via ERAS, so you want to have ready access to both a computer and fax machine. Again, your Dean or the Program Director for your field should be helpful in this regard. From talking to friends who have scrambled, you should be prepared to take in an offer, if it is made, in a very short period of time. You are unlikely to have a whole day or two to mull it over.

Additionally, as mumpu pointed out, most of this info can be found on the NRMP website, under the FAQ for applicants section.

Note -- this just applies to regular match. I don't know how it works for SF Match.

 

[myrandom2003]

Does anyone know if you would need to write a new personal statement to apply in the scramble??...especially if you are applying to a variety of specialties...

 

[Solideliquid]

Does anyone know if you would need to write a new personal statement to apply in the scramble??...especially if you are applying to a variety of specialties...

That is a good question! Would anyone who scrambled care to comment on this?

I am in the match now for Psychiatry, but if I do not match I plan to scramble into either psych OR OB/GYN but I do not have any OB LOR. In the scramble do the PDs actually look over the entire application like the LOR and will not having any OB LOR hurt my chances in the scramble?

TIA

 

[rugtrousers]

You can check the NRMP website on March 14 to see if you matched.

I usually don't correct minor errors, but this one's kind of important:

Monday, 3/13/06 - find out WHETHER you matched
Tuesday, 3/14/06 - begin scramble if you didn't match
Thursday, 3/16/06 - Match Day (find out where you matched if you didn't scramble)

Here's hoping Tuesday is a quiet day for everybody!

 

[Mumpu]

My bad! Thanks!

 

[Solideliquid]

bbbbbBUMP

 

[8744]

That is a good question! Would anyone who scrambled care to comment on this?

I am in the match now for Psychiatry, but if I do not match I plan to scramble into either psych OR OB/GYN but I do not have any OB LOR. In the scramble do the PDs actually look over the entire application like the LOR and will not having any OB LOR hurt my chances in the scramble?

TIA

Do you need a new personal statement?

Yes and no.

When you scramble, most programs will upload your information through ERAS. (Selecting programs is free during the scramble.) If you are trying to scramble into the same specialty that you tried for in the match you can just designate the program and they will get the whole package including your personal statement which is presumably applicable to them.

If you are scrambling into or think you will have to scramble into a different specialty you can bang out an applicable personal statement but you only have 24 hours between the time you find out you didn't match and the scramble. I just wrote a short personal statements germane to either FP or IM and sent them accordingly. (I tried to match in to EM.)

I think the programs with open spots understand that everything is ad hoc during the scramble. The phone interview is several orders of magnitude more important than the personal statement and they're likely to want to talk to you based on your stats and letters more than the personal statement.

A good strategy if you are trying to scramble into a competitive specialty with few openings is to designate all of the open programs as soon as you find out which ones are open before you call and see if they are interested. The scramble is incredibly nerve-wracking and you will spend a lot of time on hold only to be told to send your application through ERAS.

Also, enlist some of your friends to help you. Some programs still want your CV and letters by fax so you will need to have a friend standing by with a fax machine. You do not want to spend precious time feeding sheets into the machine which you could spend making calls.

Your friend can also quickly scan the list of open programs and designate them for you.

I scrambled last year and I don't reccommend it to anyone. There were only a handful of unmatched EM spots so after about an hour of trying for them my options rapidly ran out.

 

[mig26x]

every day that passes i see myself more and more in the scramble procedure!! it sucks!!

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
Check out this thread:The Scrambling-How do I do it?

njbmd

 

[ganga]

That is a good question! Would anyone who scrambled care to comment on this?

I am in the match now for Psychiatry, but if I do not match I plan to scramble into either psych OR OB/GYN but I do not have any OB LOR. In the scramble do the PDs actually look over the entire application like the LOR and will not having any OB LOR hurt my chances in the scramble?

TIA

I am on the same boat. My chances of matching into the program I initially applied for are slim. I do not have LoR's for my backup program. How possible is it to enter the scramble without LoRs to the specific program?

 

[BKN]

Does anyone know if you would need to write a new personal statement to apply in the scramble??...especially if you are applying to a variety of specialties...

This is in answer to both the personal statement and LOR questions.

Happily, I've never had my program not fill. Doesn't happen much in EM.

But I think if I were in the position of having to fill from the scramble and now was flooded with applicants, I would use evidence of interest in the field as a major criterion.

 

[DadofDr2B]

My daughter is a MS2. Could she sit out a year and go through the match process again next year, if she does not like the choices left after the match process has been completed? Is there a waiting list?

 

[DrMom]

My daughter is a MS2. Could she sit out a year and go through the match process again next year, if she does not like the choices left after the match process has been completed? Is there a waiting list?

She could, but she'd be stuck for a year with nowhere to do any training. Since she wouldn't be in training her loans would come due...but she wouldn't be able to do any work in medicine because she's not licenseable without at least 1 year of residency done (some states require more).

Basically, if you don't match you're going to scramble for a spot somewhere. If it isn't what you want you can re-apply through the match again the next year.

 

[medlaw06]

I am SO hoping that Tuesday is quiet for me.

Anyways, I thought of something while I was reading this and I wanted to know what you guys think about it:

What if you did not maych anywhere and have to scramble, and you are looking at the programs that have not filled and you see that one of the programs that hasn't filled you had applied to....do you still apply to them once again? How would the situation differ (if at all) if you had interviewed there and hadn't matched vs. straight out rejection?

Just some things that make you go hmmm (I'm feelin' retro today )

 

[BKN]

I am SO hoping that Tuesday is quiet for me.

Anyways, I thought of something while I was reading this and I wanted to know what you guys think about it:

What if you did not maych anywhere and have to scramble, and you are looking at the programs that have not filled and you see that one of the programs that hasn't filled you had applied to....do you still apply to them once again? How would the situation differ (if at all) if you had interviewed there and hadn't matched vs. straight out rejection?

Just some things that make you go hmmm (I'm feelin' retro today )

Well, I guess there would be a bit of awkwardness on both sides. I hope I'm never in this situation. The PD in essence made a statement that he'd rather scramble than take the rejected applicant. Depending on what the scramble brought to him, he might be willing to reconsider and write a contract.

 

[locitamd]

Isn't this the essence of the scramble? PDs must choose applicants rejected either by that PD or by another program's?

 

[BKN]

Isn't this the essence of the scramble? PDs must choose applicants rejected either by that PD or by another program's?

Not exactly. Most folks who don't match in competitive specialties were in fact ranked, but not highly enough. For the situation described, the PD made an explicit decision that he thought the individual bad enough that he rather try to find almost anybody else. Now, since he didn't fill his program he has to think about whether he really meant it.

The reverse situation has been known to happen also. A PD ranks a candidate who fails to match anywhere. The program fails to fill. The candidate made a decision not to rank the program because he thinks that being there would be worse than being unempoyed. Now has to reconsider.

I sincerely hope that we never fail to fill and that all of you match at your first choice.

 

[locitamd]

I sincerely hope that we never fail to fill and that all of you match at your first choice.

Thanks for the well wishes, BKN, and the clarification.

 

[8744]

I am SO hoping that Tuesday is quiet for me.

Anyways, I thought of something while I was reading this and I wanted to know what you guys think about it:

What if you did not maych anywhere and have to scramble, and you are looking at the programs that have not filled and you see that one of the programs that hasn't filled you had applied to....do you still apply to them once again? How would the situation differ (if at all) if you had interviewed there and hadn't matched vs. straight out rejection?

Just some things that make you go hmmm (I'm feelin' retro today )

I interviewed at a program where the Program Director explicitely told me that out of the ninety or so people they interview, they only rank 20 because they consistently fill all of their spots from their top 20 applicants.

With this in mind, it is possible that if a program that only ranks a small portion of their applicants they might reconsider you if they have to scramble for a spot especially if they liked you but you just barely didn't make the cut.