This is very common actually in fellowships. They would rather “fill” earlier than wait for the match. Doesn’t really mean the program is bad, just means the PD is smart and wants to secure funding sooner.
It’s not against the match. Fellowships aren’t “all in” like residency positions. They are allowed to offer some positions outside the match if they want and even very good programs do this sometimes
Well he was a year ahead of me and now he’s at a child fellowship lol and yeah I also Had my first interview.
I don't think fellowship programs participating in the Match can offer spots to applicants outside of the Match during the Match season.Congrats to the over achievers that have started interviewing already
Good luck to you and everyone else about to start and to those of us still waiting to hear back from a few places as well!
So a fellowship that participates in ERAS and the match can offer some positions outside the match and theoretically even fill those positions pre-match?
I think this needs to be less smoke and mirrors. I.e. fellowships need to be up front they do this on their ERAS page. If they fill an entire class out of the match, then I really think that they need to let other interviewees know this. I also think there should be a financial compensation for them if they've taken time off from work or had to travel for their interview (as in other years).
This isn't a normal job interview at all for applicants. It feels disingenuous for programs to treat it as such.
I can 100% see why an applicant that disagrees with this would do it if it was offered to them, especially in certain life situations (family etc). It just comes off as so shady to me.
@splik You're definitely one of the posters on here I respect a lot. How do you think the fellowship match should be set up? Do you think things are fine the way they are now?
They definitely offer during the season. You can even look at old threads people accepting said offers and withdrawing from interviews. Usually the most motivated to do this are the IMG applicants that need to be guaranteed for their VISA status and don’t want to roll the dice in the match or as RTC pointed out ones with family specific situations.
I agree that it's really not ideal, and it's clear why this isn't allowed in the residency match, where they need to be all in or all out. It really makes me appreciate the match all the more. As it stands, if you get an offer at a good program that you would have ranked highly, you're tempted to take it but at the same time might miss out on a program you would have preferred. Nerve-wracking!Congrats to the over achievers that have started interviewing already
Good luck to you and everyone else about to start and to those of us still waiting to hear back from a few places as well!
So a fellowship that participates in ERAS and the match can offer some positions outside the match and theoretically even fill those positions pre-match?
I think this needs to be less smoke and mirrors. I.e. fellowships need to be up front they do this on their ERAS page. If they fill an entire class out of the match, then I really think that they need to let other interviewees know this. I also think there should be a financial compensation for them if they've taken time off from work or had to travel for their interview (as in other years).
This isn't a normal job interview at all for applicants. It feels disingenuous for programs to treat it as such.
I can 100% see why an applicant that disagrees with this would do it if it was offered to them, especially in certain life situations (family etc). It just comes off as so shady to me.
@splik You're definitely one of the posters on here I respect a lot. How do you think the fellowship match should be set up? Do you think things are fine the way they are now?
Yeah this is what I have at my own home institution after sitting with the fellowship director which is nice to have because they feel like a nice safety blanket where I know I won’t fall past.
This is random but FRIEDA most have themselves either listed as yes in the match or no not participating in the fellow match
I think the rule of thumb you send one and if there’s no response then you live with it unfortunately.
Fair enough, would be good to have some acknowledgement though even if it's a rejection!
Yeah the whole just slow ghosting thing that happens sucks. A rejection at least means you don’t have to think about them anymore.
I'd consider a non response a rejection imho. If they have spots open up next month maybe theyll reach out but I'd honestly cross them off my list if I was in your shoes.
First year CAP fellow at a competitive program on the West Coast. I'm not sure why people are saying that programs interview "all applicants who apply." Maybe in the past they did, but last year nearly all the programs I applied to said they got a record number of applicants, likely due to interviews being virtual. (So people didn't have to worry about budget for plane tickets.) All programs I applied to mentioned at some point that they were extremely pleased with the caliber of applicants that applied and were unfortunately unable to interview everyone. Maybe they were just saying that to make us interviewees feel special (lol, if so it worked!), but I don't think so because I had friends who said they applied to more places than they would have normally, so I assume it holds true for applicants all over the country.
Yeah a few of the bigger programs I am interviewing at only had enough slots for like 30-40 applicants at most. And statistics say I think It’s like 84-87% match at their top 3.
Thank you! I'm not familiar with FRIEDA, is there a link to this list?
It’s with the AMA if you are a member you can use it. https://freida.ama-assn.org/
I think most say usually by mid September is when you stop getting invites but I am sure there might still be a trickle even after that as people cancel and so forth later in the season.
Thank you!
I think the proper way is to email the program directly and let them know. They may or may not see it if you just withdraw on eras especially if you already scheduled a spot.
You know, I would normally have said 7 or 8, but I had a classmate go down 7 spots on his rank list so I am playing it safe and doing 12. With remote interviewing people/programs are increasing #'s they interview.
I mean Everyone should do what gives them peace of mind but the match data from the nrmp for 2021 cycle was consistent with previous years. Most still match at their top 1-3 only 12.3% matched outside of their top 3.
the individual is a bit "rough around the edges" on first meeting, that's why I assume it was the case.
