SF Match Screwed up AGAIN?

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goldeneye

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Only 6 out of the 10 applicants at my school were on my school's list - is anyone else having problems?
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what coast are you on? i haven't received any news and my osa is closed. did all ten of you match? or were some just not on the list? this is just great.
 
what do you mean by unusual matches?
 
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East coast. So intially I thought I was left off the list because I hadn't matched but out of the 6 ON the list, there was a couple who didn't match. So who knows, SFmatch doesn't open for a couple of hours...
 
Out of respect for the other students, and since I haven't talked to everyone on the list, I will not comment on that now but we'll see how things turn out in a couple of hours...
 
This is bad news for everyone if SF match really did screw up...I hope the Urology match fiasco of 2005 doesn't happen to Ophtho match...
 
anyone get any calls from programs?
 
i know where i matched because of my school's office but the program has not called as of yet. good luck to all and i sincerely hope that sfmatch did not screw up. it makes me mad just thinking about that
 
fyi - i got a call from my school earlier this morning, and then a call from the program about 30 minutes later.
good luck everyone :luck:
 
I was informed of where I matched by my school already, but have not heard anything from the program yet. I am not aware of anything irregular that happened at my school, although I did match further down my list than I would have liked. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear :oops:
 
I just found out my match, suprised, but matched...
 
goldeneye said:
Only 6 out of the 10 applicants at my school were on my school's list - is anyone else having problems?
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There are no indications that there are problems. I matched (as per my deans office) called the sf match to find out if there are any problems, no indication from them that there is.
One should really be careful about starting such RUMORS!
 
I was not on my dean's list at all! I was not maliciously trying to start rumors- just find out if anyone else was in my position. The only reason I know now that I matched is I matched at my own school. The other three people dont know whether they matched or not because they were left off the list. I was just trying to find out. Now I have. I dont really think I deserve accusations.
 
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This is not a rumor. My school did not get my name on the fax this AM either. I have no idea if I matched or not and neither does my dean, my ophtho department, or the SF Match answering service people. 4/10 people were left off of the list. I hope, for everyone who has matched, that this is an isolated problem.

Please refrain from accusing people of starting rumors when all they are looking for is support through a stressful time.

Good luck to all.
 
I heard from the dean and then from the program director. None of my classmates had any problems. Good luck everyone!!!
 
I am a Navy Doc in Hawaii. How am I supposed to know if I matched if no one sends me an e-mail or calls me? Good luck to all I these last few hours of agony…
 
DiveMD said:
I am a Navy Doc in Hawaii. How am I supposed to know if I matched if no one sends me an e-mail or call me? Good luck to all I these last few hours of anogy…
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If no one calls you today or email you, tomorrow you can call SFmatch and they will tell you where you matched.
 
DiveMD said:
I am a Navy Doc in Hawaii. How am I supposed to know if I matched if no one sends me an e-mail or calls me? Good luck to all I these last few hours of agony…
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You can call SF Match now and they will let you know if you matched. You have to wait till tomorrow for them to tell you where.
 
I matched!! However, the program called me yesterday night, so I knew I had a spot. However, this morning my medical student services called and said my name, along with another student, was not on the fax sent to the office. So, if I hadn't known I had already matched, then I could have taken it as not matching!! She said there was a "glitch" with SF Match. Let's hope its not a big, horrible fiasco for anyone! Good luck y'all.
 
So in a hypothetical situation where SF Match would have screwed up (which I'm sure they didn't), how would we ever find out?
 
martyshka82 said:
So in a hypothetical situation where SF Match would have screwed up (which I'm sure they didn't), how would we ever find out?
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You would be contacted and told to disregard the previous results, and that the match will be re-run (as happened to urology a couple of times).
 
SF did not send results to my school until about 4:30 yesterday - very stressful. I matched, but at my very last choice! I find it hard to believe that I slipped so low. I didn't match at my home school which does not have a great reputation even though I put them high on my list. Just curious what others think and who out there did match at there 1st or 2nd choice? Anything we can do if we think the match screwed up? Please post, because only if enough of us voice a concern might they re-look at the match results.
 
I think you would need hard evidence of an irregularity to have them reconsider the results (ie. you didn't match at a program where you know they matched people below you on their rank list). Every year a significant number of people match low or not at all, I being one of them. I matched at my 14th choice (I'm glad I did that many interviews now), even though I had a strong application (good numbers, top tier home ophtho program, lots of research, nice person). For me, I'm trying to figure out what in my application and/or interview style led me to drop so low on my list and what I can improve on so that fellowship match goes a little smoother.
 
FutureEyeDoc said:
SF did not send results to my school until about 4:30 yesterday - very stressful. I matched, but at my very last choice! I find it hard to believe that I slipped so low. I didn't match at my home school which does not have a great reputation even though I put them high on my list. Just curious what others think and who out there did match at there 1st or 2nd choice? Anything we can do if we think the match screwed up? Please post, because only if enough of us voice a concern might they re-look at the match results.
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If you think that there is possibly an error with the match, I would contact your home school and ask where they placed you on their list (at this point, I don't suppose you have anything to lose, since you already have a spot).

If they ranked you in one of their positions (say they have 4 spots and you were ranked 1-4), and you ranked them higher than what you actually matched at, then you should have matched at your home school and in this scenerio SF match did make an error.

From what I understand, the urology match error of 2005 was only discovered because an applicant was upset to find out that he did not match at his home school which he ranked 1. He asked his director what happened, and discovered that the school had ranked him 1 as well.

If you do discover that SF match made an error, please raise a fuss and get your home program to do as well, as that may be the only thing that will fix the hypothetical error. But short of actual proof like this, I'm not sure anything can be done.

If you feel like there was an error, I would encourage you to voice out your concern to your home director as you have nothing to lose at this point, and you have spent considerable time and money and effort to get here.

Good luck.
 
I have to agree with Gaskell & Nebolt: Unless there is some hard evidence such as the example given above, it would be very difficult to change anything.

Keep in mind that if someone's rank list consisted of nothing but super-competitive programs, that person has to be prepared to go far down their list... The reality is that that person was up against other cream-of-the-crop applicants for very few, highly desirable spots. Add to that the notion that those amazingly competitive programs ranked applicants very similarly toward the top of their lists - that narrows down the possibilities even further for a strong applicant! So my advice to future applicants would be to think very carefully when making their rank lists... Be able to see yourself at each program you list, because you could very well end up there!

In the end though, if you matched, don't forget what a great accomplishment that is!!! You're an ophthalmology resident! :D Alot of your experience will be about what you put into it, regardless of where you are.

Wishing everyone the best...
 
I disagree with the comment above that you have nothing to lose by contacting your home program....IMHO if you bring it up and your school has not ranked you for a spot, you will come across as confrontational and ungrateful....afterall they supported you to get into ophthalmology and you might want to go back there for fellowship. From what I calculated from last year's data, it seems like ophtho has a 54% match rate...That means that even the top candidates can be left without a spot. My sisterly advice to you would be to count your blessings and move on....
 
As with all things, it depends on how you phrase things :)

If you rant and rave and demand to know what happened, well, yeah. That would be the wrong way to approach it.

If you ask politely, because you want to know if there is anything you can improve on, because you would love to come back here for fellowship etc. that's an entirely different tone.

And if you really want to know, I would do it. It's better than wondering for the rest of your life if there was a mistake. Especially about something as career altering as this.
 
opthobound said:
There are no indications that there are problems. I matched (as per my deans office) called the sf match to find out if there are any problems, no indication from them that there is.
One should really be careful about starting such RUMORS!
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i would say there were problems. sf match leaving several names off of multiple emails is a problem. i had to wait in agony for three extra hours until sf match answered the dumb telephone. so, indeed, no one was starting rumors...just pure ol' fact my friend.
 
He already has a spot...Ending up at his home program vs. some other fabulous program does not make that much of a difference in the big scheme of things....Let's face it, even at a "tenth tier" ophtho program, your co-residents and attendings are gonna be top of their class, AOA, amazing board scores, overachievers! Matching in ophthalmology is an accomplishment....even people who unfortunately did not match are top-notch candidates....
 
FutureEyeDoc said:
SF did not send results to my school until about 4:30 yesterday - very stressful. I matched, but at my very last choice! I find it hard to believe that I slipped so low. I didn't match at my home school which does not have a great reputation even though I put them high on my list. Just curious what others think and who out there did match at there 1st or 2nd choice? Anything we can do if we think the match screwed up? Please post, because only if enough of us voice a concern might they re-look at the match results.
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FutureEyeDoc, I am totally with you. I matched at my very last choice (#13), and I am shocked, disappointed, and sad. I never thought this could happen, and my mentors are in disbelief also. I really hope this was some kind of mistake, but I feel like it's not...Anyway, I know how you feel completely, feel free to PM me if you'd like...
 
I applied to 90 programs, didn't match. Would've been grateful to go anywhere & practice this field that I love. If you want to tell your program that you're so unhappy to have matched at that they should give the spot to me, I'm game. Let me know...
 
azzarah said:
I disagree with the comment above that you have nothing to lose by contacting your home program....IMHO if you bring it up and your school has not ranked you for a spot, you will come across as confrontational and ungrateful....afterall they supported you to get into ophthalmology and you might want to go back there for fellowship. From what I calculated from last year's data, it seems like ophtho has a 54% match rate...That means that even the top candidates can be left without a spot. My sisterly advice to you would be to count your blessings and move on....
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azzarah, ophthalmology is competitive. However, from last years data (attached), the overall match rate from the last 10yrs has ranged from 64-76%, and the match rate for US seniors has ranged from 78-94% (88% last year). On the SDN poll so far (n=80, or about 1/6 of matched applicants), the match rate is 88% so far. Of course, matching is one thing, matching at your desired program will always be harder, congrats on doing that! But let's be accurate with the numbers for the benefit of everyone :oops:
 

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Mustafa said:
azzarah, ophthalmology is competitive. However, from last years data (attached), the overall match rate from the last 10yrs has ranged from 64-76%, and the match rate for US seniors has ranged from 78-94% (88% last year). On the SDN poll so far (n=80, or about 1/6 of matched applicants), the match rate is 88% so far. Of course, matching is one thing, matching at your desired program will always be harder, congrats on doing that! But let's be accurate with the numbers for the benefit of everyone :oops:
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If you take the number of people who register with SF Match vs those who match, then it's 54%....
 
Mustafa said:
azzarah, ophthalmology is competitive. However, from last years data (attached), the overall match rate from the last 10yrs has ranged from 64-76%, and the match rate for US seniors has ranged from 78-94% (88% last year). On the SDN poll so far (n=80, or about 1/6 of matched applicants), the match rate is 88% so far. Of course, matching is one thing, matching at your desired program will always be harder, congrats on doing that! But let's be accurate with the numbers for the benefit of everyone :oops:
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Well, it depends on how you look at it.

In 2006:

-824 registered for the ophtho match
-620 submitted ranklists
-446 matched

The overall match rate calculated by the SF Match only takes into account those who submitted ranklists, meaning those who had at least 1 interview. 446/620 = 72% match rate.

But not everyone receives an interview.

If you include everyone who registered or applied, then the match rate is indeed 54% (446/824).

I think Azzarah's calculation is more accurate since there are some applicants who don't receive a single interview.
 
Do you know what percent of those who registered/matched for the ophtho match were US vs. FMG?
 
With so many SDNers matching so far down their rank lists (13, 14, etc) it seems something is not right. I recall a thread last month showing >90% of SDNers matching within their top 7 or 8 (obviously a small group, but....) I hope anyone who ranked their home program highly (and didn't match with them) will do us all the favor of asking their school where they ranked them. I hardly think such an innocent question, delivered tactfully, would raise any eyebrows. If anyone knows how to make one of those polls I would be very curious to see where this match group ranked on their list (compared to last year.)
 
I too have matched much further down my rank list than I ever, ever imagined. As I ranked a good balance of upper and lower tier programs, I was shocked to find that I matched at my very last choice (#10). I thought I was a very solid applicant. I am very disappointed, depressed, and...stunned. I called sfmatch to verify my results and asked if there were any irregularities (of course they said no). I keep hoping that this is a mistake… :(
 
Gaskell said:
If you think that there is possibly an error with the match, I would contact your home school and ask where they placed you on their list (at this point, I don't suppose you have anything to lose, since you already have a spot).

If they ranked you in one of their positions (say they have 4 spots and you were ranked 1-4), and you ranked them higher than what you actually matched at, then you should have matched at your home school and in this scenerio SF match did make an error.

From what I understand, the urology match error of 2005 was only discovered because an applicant was upset to find out that he did not match at his home school which he ranked 1. He asked his director what happened, and discovered that the school had ranked him 1 as well.

If you do discover that SF match made an error, please raise a fuss and get your home program to do as well, as that may be the only thing that will fix the hypothetical error. But short of actual proof like this, I'm not sure anything can be done.

If you feel like there was an error, I would encourage you to voice out your concern to your home director as you have nothing to lose at this point, and you have spent considerable time and money and effort to get here.

Good luck.
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I was surprised to match quite low on my list despite some things that were implied during interviews and based on phone calls, etc. I'm happy w/where I matched, but wouldn't mind making 100% sure that this is accurate. I tried to talk my school into having the dean call and see where my #1 program ranked me just to make sure that it wasn't a mistake, but they completely refused. Without the backing of my school, I'm just really not sure how to go about verifying that everything went as it should have... any suggestions? More than likely there was no mistake, but given the past experience w/urology and the fiasco during interview season this year, what could it possibly hurt to double check and know for sure as opposed to wondering forever? So to those of you who are saying that we shouldn't be fussing b/c we matched, yes you are right, IF everything is accurate, but there's nothing wrong w/just making sure.
 
Donkeyman, Mustafa has it attached as a file....see a couple of posts above.
 
Donkeyman said:
Can someone please post the match report as a file, and not as a link (need a password this way). Thanks!

For all the people concerned about the results, I would definitely try to figure it out. It sounds like the SFmatch didn't run very smoothly this year.
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That was the 2006 match report- the 2007 is attached below. Also, I think some are misreading the report. the "89% US senior" match is the percent of positions filled this year by US grads-- *NOT* 89% match rate for US seniors. Azzarah's #'s are more correct.
 

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pinguecula said:
I too have matched much further down my rank list than I ever, ever imagined. As I ranked a good balance of upper and lower tier programs, I was shocked to find that I matched at my very last choice (#10). I thought I was a very solid applicant. I am very disappointed, depressed, and...stunned. I called sfmatch to verify my results and asked if there were any irregularities (of course they said no). I keep hoping that this is a mistake… :(
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Just about everyone I've known in every field who has not ended up in their top three ends up feeling rejected. I was very confident, based on conversations with people who had talked to people at my top choice that I would end up there. I didn't. I was hurt, disappointed, upset after. I was hoping for a call that there had been a mistake, and they were re-running the match. It never came. I ended up at a program that was perfect for me, and I'm very glad it worked out this way. Just remember this, you matched. You're getting the opportunity to practice ophthalmology, and there are a lot of people who would like to be in your shoes.

When I applied, most people applied to 30-35 programs. More and more people are applying to 50, 60, or more. This makes the application and match process much less predictable than it was in years past. It throws off the interviews offered, interviews accepted, attended, and the expectations from the ranklist. For this reason, IMO, success of past years is no indication of what things are now.

For the people who matched lower than they expected, be VERY careful what you wish for. Let's say an irregularity is discovered and the re-run the match. Some people will end up higher, some will end up lower. Everyone believes they will end up higher on their list, but that's not necessarily the case. The first year that urology reran the match, I knew someone who matched the first time (lower than expected), and then, rather than moving up his list, didn't match the second time through. The only people who should REALLY be pushing to find irregularities are those who didn't match.
 
pinguecula said:
I too have matched much further down my rank list than I ever, ever imagined. As I ranked a good balance of upper and lower tier programs, I was shocked to find that I matched at my very last choice (#10). I thought I was a very solid applicant. I am very disappointed, depressed, and...stunned. I called sfmatch to verify my results and asked if there were any irregularities (of course they said no). I keep hoping that this is a mistake… :(
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i think it's funny that you were disappointed, depressed and stunned to find out where you matched! i mean that program was on your rank list so there was always the possibility that you would go there. and if you really didnt want to go there you probably shouldnt have ranked it.
but it doesnt matter now, just be happy that you matched and i'm sure the program will be better than you expect. :)
 
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