weak matchlist

[sdnstud]

Every school i've interviewed at talks about how strong their matchlists are. It makes me wonder, are there any schools out there that have relatively weaker matchlists?

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[virilep]

good Q... anyone? I would think maybe osteopathic schools do less into more competitive residencies (maybe i'm wrong). but yeah... i'm dumbfounded. hmmm

 

[superdevil]

its all semantics.

first of all, "strong" does not equate to "competitive". let's say a med school focuses on primary care. now, let's say that school's grads match at a 75% rate to one of their top 3 family practice residency choices at area hospitals. bam! that's a 'strong' matchlist. are they matching lots of people at yale or the mayo clinic? doubt it. are they matching lots into neurosurgery? doubt it. but that doesn't really matter to them--they're meeting their goals, so everything's cool.

if you have harvard dreams, the matchlist at, say, mississippi may not look too strong, but that won't stop their administration from saying so if their students are happy with where they match.

 

[Wiggy73]

Thanks superdevil! I was wondering this too. It's kind of like how every school says they do great on boards.

 

[njbmd]

Hey Folks,
Where you match and how well you do on boards is an individual thing. It really doesn't help you too much if 90% of your med school class scores above 240 and you fail the boards. Any medical school in this country can prepare you to match well if you do well in your studies. It is great to brag about your match lists but a better question to ask is " How many people do NOT match and what resouces do you have in place to assist them?" You don't want to be in this group but if you do find yourself there, you need to know that your school has the resources to get you somewhere great in the scramble.

Good luck but look at things like location, curriculum, faculty and administrative support, ease of transportation, safe and modern facilities in choosing your school. If you have the basic needs to do well, then you will be the master of your fate.

njbmd

 

[GuyLaroche]

Thanks superdevil! I was wondering this too. It's kind of like how every school says they do great on boards.

Vanderbilt has the highest board score average in the nation. This is the gospel truth as told to me by a lot of medical students from several schools. In terms of hardcore schools if you really, really want a great match, there are only a handful. Hopkins, WashU and UPenn are the hardcore, well-respected schools. Harvard is ranked #1 by residency directors because it's Harvard, but word on the street is that everyone knows that Harvard is breathing on legacy now, and not much else. Duke is ranked #2, and even though it is my top choice, I wouldn't necessarily include it in my hardcore group of schools. Again, those are, to me, the holy trinity: Hopkins, WashU and UPenn. Ask current med students, they'll likely agree with me.

PS: This is the second day in a row that I've had unripe tomatoes for lunch. What is it with Americans and their inability to pick and serve tomatoes of the right consistency: not too soggy and definitely not unripe!

 

[Neuronix]

Again, those are, to me, the holy trinity: Hopkins, WashU and UPenn. Ask current med students, they'll likely agree with me.

Indeed. When you're done taking out all those loans to go to Hopkins, WashU, or Penn, you'll definately need to go into Radiology, Derm, ENT, Ortho, or Ophtho if you ever want to pay them off. In all seriousness, I don't really believe that the name of the school has that much to do with how well you match. The top med schools select the students with the biggest numbers and those students tend to continue to put up big numbers and choose the residencies that like those big numbers. Therefore, it's more about selection bias than school name. Why would someone choose to come to Penn over their state school if it wasn't because they were gunning for a big name residency?

Anyways, all schools can spin their "good matchlists" because of selection bias. Students won't apply to specialties they don't have the scores for. They will also tend to rank programs they're fairly certain they'll get into towards the top. Hence, 90%+ of everyone gets one of their top-3 picks just about everywhere. Big surprise? Not really.

Oh, and I agree about the tomatoes. One of the best things about living in Philly are the markets (Reading Terminal and Italian) where I can actually find good reasonably priced produce.

 

[ajt2003]

Vanderbilt has the highest board score average in the nation.

I thought Penn was definitely holding that honor - the Dean even showed us a graph and everything! Perhaps that was only for Step 1.

 

[Neuronix]

I thought Penn was definitely holding that honor - the Dean even showed us a graph and everything! Perhaps that was only for Step 1.

My understanding was that we were third behind Mayo and tied with Baylor, but that's a few years old now. Who knows or cares anymore. If your school is averaging above 220, what's the point of splitting hairs? It's unfortunate that the NBME doesn't release the score statistics to really back up the med school's claims. Then again, they're the ones who say that the boards shouldn't be used to hold people back from third year if they fail AND that the boards shouldn't be used to evaluate residency candidates . I wonder how many schools are claiming to have the highest board scores? Does anyone else think those schools are pretentious?

 

[GuyLaroche]

Indeed. When you're done taking out all those loans to go to Hopkins, WashU, or Penn, you'll definately need to go into Radiology, Derm, ENT, Ortho, or Ophtho if you ever want to pay them off. In all seriousness, I don't really believe that the name of the school has that much to do with how well you match. The top med schools select the students with the biggest numbers and those students tend to continue to put up big numbers and choose the residencies that like those big numbers. Therefore, it's more about selection bias than school name. Why would someone choose to come to Penn over their state school if it wasn't because they were gunning for a big name residency?

Anyways, all schools can spin their "good matchlists" because of selection bias. Students won't apply to specialties they don't have the scores for. They will also tend to rank programs they're fairly certain they'll get into towards the top. Hence, 90%+ of everyone gets one of their top-3 picks just about everywhere. Big surprise? Not really.

Oh, and I agree about the tomatoes. One of the best things about living in Philly are the markets (Reading Terminal and Italian) where I can actually find good reasonably priced produce.

Oh but this is all easy for you to say, dearest Neuronix. You're an MSTP at UPenn. You will DEFINITELY match into any residency of your choice. It is easy to then wave your hand in dismissal of these dark, cold and deep truths about residency match.

 

[Neuronix]

Oh but this is all easy for you to sear, dearest Neuronix. You're an MSTP at UPenn. You will DEFINITELY match into any residency of your choice. It is easy to then wave your hand in dismissal of these dark, cold and deep truths about residency match.

I'm not one to dismiss the truth--just to try to explain it. Maybe I'm wrong. Within my school there's a wide difference in opinion about just how much the Penn name matters. It is true though--MSTP goes a long way from any school.

 

[DrThom]

PS: This is the second day in a row that I've had unripe tomatoes for lunch. What is it with Americans and their inability to pick and serve tomatoes of the right consistency: not too soggy and definitely not unripe!

It's winter. Good luck finding ripe tomatoes anywhere.