Thoughts/feelings on not matching #1

[Babycatcher2B]

I agree, however, for me, I'd rather just not match and scramble then go to a program I HATE seems like some of these people ranked some programs that they really really really didn't want - I was following up on some posts and they even said that they wanted to switch out!

This is a great thread to bump and it's got me thinking.

I have been on quite a few interviews. Got a really good feel about 2 programs. 2 programs I really could not see myself going to. And the rest just fall in the middle, meaning they all seemed like good programs, but for one reason or another after the interview I wasn't super excited about the program nor hated it. So initially, the 2 programs I hated I put in my "Do Not Rank" list. Then later due to fears of not matching and having to sit out a year if I didn't do well in the scramble, I decided to rank them at the very bottom. However now after reading this thread and for fears of matching at these programs that I couldn't see myself being at, and being totally unhappy, I might take them off again. This process is so confusing.

Also after reading this thread it seems that programs try to cover their butts by reassuring those farther down on their list that they are desired and have a good chance of ranking, just so they can be safe. So I'm guessing if you don't get any feedback is that better than getting feedback ???

Also, I totally agree that games are played on both sides. Do applicants care about the programs lower on their list (that they may or may not have told they would rank very highly) after that have matched in their #1, #2, or #3 choice? No, they've got what they wanted and they don't think twice about the other programs. So do programs feel guilty after matching with applicants higher on their list after telling lower-ranked applicants that they are really interested in them and will have no problems getting into their program? No, they've got what they wanted and filled their spots.

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[dragonfly99]

You should take anything the programs say to you with a grain of salt. They may not be totally lying, but remember they might be expressing strong interest in a number of candidates and you can't really trust what they say to you.

You should just rank programs in the order YOU would like to go there, and not let what they say affect you much, if at all.

You should rank every program you would rather go to vs. having to scramble, and think twice about ranking even the ones you aren't sure if you want to rank (because the scramble sucks).

You can check the NRMP web site to ballpark how many places the average candidate has to rank (in a particular specialty) in order to have a high chance of matching.