SOAP 2016 Thread - questions, advice, support

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NotAProgDirector

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Might as well collect it all in one place.

A quick review of today's events: The match/unmatch emails came out between 10:55 and 11:00AM EST as expected. Initially, the NRMP website crashed but this was repaired within about 30 minutes or so. Because of the problem, the NRMP emailed the unfilled list to all eligible applicants -- a stand up move on their part, IMHO. All was well until 2PM, when ERAS was supposed to open. It crashed miserably also. Applicants were finally able to access it somewhere between 3:30 and 4PM. Program access was delayed until about 7PM.

Given the delays, I expect most programs will review applications tonight, and then contact candidates tomorrow -- but who knows, maybe some night owls out there will start contact tonight.
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Is it required to have a different PS for Surgery-Preliminary programs? I only have PS' in IM, FM and Neuro.
 
For all those out there SOAP'ing, I know it hurts but it can work out quite well. I was there last year, and I was thrilled with the outcome. I'd like to be of service any way I can.

If anyone needs any specific advice, or encouragement, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm on a relatively light rotation this week, and I'll probably be able to field quick questions. I'm available tonight as well (off work for the rest of the evening).
 
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SLC said:
For all those out there SOAP'ing, I know it hurts but it can work out quite well. I was there last year, and I was thrilled with the outcome. I'd like to be of service any way I can.

If anyone needs any specific advice, or encouragement, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm on a relatively light rotation this week, and I'll probably be able to field quick questions. I'm available tonight as well (off work for the rest of the evening).
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What happened? Any advice??
 
Just a heads up, I received my first call setting up an interview for tomorrow.
 
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ricebunny2016 said:
What happened? Any advice??
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Got a great spot, better than any of the places I had on my ROL to begin with.

Advice: try to stay calm, and be grateful for every bit of contact you get.

Also, collect your resources together. Once a program has contacted you, you can have others contact them on your behalf. Offer to have anyone that you can contact them to discuss you as a potential resident.
 
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Man, this sucks. All the technical issues today didn't help either :(

I'm preparing myself for the worst because I know as a US-IMG, my chances are slim in SOAP. What options are left after Friday?

Thanks for starting this thread.
 
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soapingit said:
Man, this sucks. All the technical issues today didn't help either :(

I'm preparing myself for the worst because I know as a US-IMG, my chances are slim in SOAP. What options are left after Friday?

Thanks for starting this thread.
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Yeah it's a ****show for IMGs pretty much. I'm a US-IMG as well and I've applied to 41 programs so far. I'm deciding how to go about things for the other 4...

The tech issues are inexcusable. I thought ERAS/AAMC would have learned from September.
 
CaliAtenza said:
Yeah it's a ****show for IMGs pretty much. I'm a US-IMG as well and I've applied to 41 programs so far. I'm deciding how to go about things for the other 4...

The tech issues are inexcusable. I thought ERAS/AAMC would have learned from September.
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you expect too much from ERAS/NRMP...
 
sunrider said:
you expect too much from ERAS/NRMP...
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Some of us have paid them thousands of dollars and this isn't a third world country (hell some third world countries have better setups!), so yeah I think a certain level is expected....
 
CaliAtenza said:
Some of us have paid them thousands of dollars and this isn't a third world country (hell some third world countries have better setups!), so yeah I think a certain level is expected....
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I was being sarcastic, I am too frustrated that they charge much (including step 2 cs)
 
SLC said:
Got a great spot, better than any of the places I had on my ROL to begin with.

Advice: try to stay calm, and be grateful for every bit of contact you get.

Also, collect your resources together. Once a program has contacted you, you can have others contact them on your behalf. Offer to have anyone that you can contact them to discuss you as a potential resident.
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may be a dumb question but who would you recommend to have contact the programs on my behalf?
 
sunrider said:
I was being sarcastic, I am too frustrated that they charge much (including step 2 cs)
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Lol yeah i figured you were being sarcastic :). I agree, but its a racket, what can you do.
 
ricebunny2016 said:
may be a dumb question but who would you recommend to have contact the programs on my behalf?
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Professors, LOR writers, attending's who know and will vouch for you...

Just offer the contact to programs (if you have someone who will speak on your behalf and knows they may call)
 
ricebunny2016 said:
may be a dumb question but who would you recommend to have contact the programs on my behalf?
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After you have been contacted by a program, you may have faculty mentors contact them (or be available) if the program requests or will permit it. Do not reach out to programs until they contact you!
 
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I am surprised about # of unfilled spots this year... very few in neuro. open spot in derm? sheesh.
 
Yes, you should write something in your personal statement, but be realistic. I've seen applications where the PS says "I've always wanted to do XXX", but then there are 3 LOR's for some other field. That's dumb. You ain't foolin' anyone. One of the most memorable was only about 4 sentences long. "I didn't match in XXX. It sucks, but I'm over it. I want YYY instead. I'll give it my 100%". So: It's OK to talk about not matching -- any program reviewing your app didn't fill, so they know the feeling.

The technical issues today were annoying and frustrating. Ultimately, they will make no difference -- there is plenty of time to apply, review applications, interview and SOAP.

Once you've been contacted by a program, I agree that having others reach out (or at least having contact information to give to the program) is a great idea.
 
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SLC said:
Professors, LOR writers, attending's who know and will vouch for you...

Just offer the contact to programs (if you have someone who will speak on your behalf and knows they may call)
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Thank you, got 1 phone call/interview already
 
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aProgDirector said:
Yes, you should write something in your personal statement, but be realistic. I've seen applications where the PS says "I've always wanted to do XXX", but then there are 3 LOR's for some other field. That's dumb. You ain't foolin' anyone. One of the most memorable was only about 4 sentences long. "I didn't match in XXX. It sucks, but I'm over it. I want YYY instead. I'll give it my 100%". So: It's OK to talk about not matching -- any program reviewing your app didn't fill, so they know the feeling.

The technical issues today were annoying and frustrating. Ultimately, they will make no difference -- there is plenty of time to apply, review applications, interview and SOAP.

Once you've been contacted by a program, I agree that having others reach out (or at least having contact information to give to the program) is a great idea.
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I'm planning to apply to Prelim Surgery programs; at this point, would they care that my LOR's are in non-surgical fields?
 
How did most of you split up the 45 allotted programs? I applied to 30 earlier today but I'm starting to think I should have used all 45 today. What do you guys think?
 
soapingit said:
How did most of you split up the 45 allotted programs? I applied to 30 earlier today but I'm starting to think I should have used all 45 today. What do you guys think?
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I'm going to apply to all 45 today.
 
SLC said:
For all those out there SOAP'ing, I know it hurts but it can work out quite well. I was there last year, and I was thrilled with the outcome. I'd like to be of service any way I can.

If anyone needs any specific advice, or encouragement, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm on a relatively light rotation this week, and I'll probably be able to field quick questions. I'm available tonight as well (off work for the rest of the evening).
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Thanks for offering your help, that's so nice of you and greatly appreciated! How late/early in the day can we expect to be contacted by programs?
 
Iva8 said:
Thanks for offering your help, that's so nice of you and greatly appreciated! How late/early in the day can we expect to be contacted by programs?
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It's 10:30 on the east coast, so 7:30 on west. I'd expect calls to end by 8-9pm local in the zones the programs are located in.

Calls should pick up noticeably tomorrow, be ready bright and early.
 
CaliAtenza said:
I'm planning to apply to Prelim Surgery programs; at this point, would they care that my LOR's are in non-surgical fields?
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There's nothing you can do about your LOR's at this point. Therefore, my recommendation is to change/add your PS -- I applied to XYZ, did not match, and now I'm looking for a year of training to advance my career.

soapingit said:
Ok, thanks. I will apply to the rest today.
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I agree there's probably little benefit to "saving" applications. Last year, the vast majority of spots were gone in the first two rounds. The downside is that, if you don't get a spot in the first two rounds, you won't be able to apply to programs that are left. So I might use 40 and save 5. But it's not clear that programs will really be looking at new applications on Wednesday evening -- they may simply stick with those that they have already reviewed.
 
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aProgDirector said:
There's nothing you can do about your LOR's at this point. Therefore, my recommendation is to change/add your PS -- I applied to XYZ, did not match, and now I'm looking for a year of training to advance my career.
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Oh okay. Is it worth crafting an entirely new PS for prelim surgery or is just adding a blurb to one of my existing statements, as what you have recommended, okay?
 
I have a logistical question. If I am fortunate enough to be offered a position once the rounds start, am I the only person being offered that position at that time? In other words, if I get an offer do I need to drop what I'm doing and run to my computer to accept it before somebody else does?
 
Bluejay87 said:
I have a logistical question. If I am fortunate enough to be offered a position once the rounds start, am I the only person being offered that position at that time? In other words, if I get an offer do I need to drop what I'm doing and run to my computer to accept it before somebody else does?
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Yes. You should not be doing anything between now and Friday that is not specifically related to getting a SOAP spot unless it's in your bathroom or bedroom.
 
Bluejay87 said:
I have a logistical question. If I am fortunate enough to be offered a position once the rounds start, am I the only person being offered that position at that time? In other words, if I get an offer do I need to drop what I'm doing and run to my computer to accept it before somebody else does?
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Nope, if you get an offer, it's yours and yours alone.

For example, if a program has two spots available in SOAP, they can send out offers to only two applicants in round one. If both are accepted they are done. If one is accepted and one isn't, that in accepted spot goes back into the pool and they can offer it to one candidate in the next round of offers. I can't remember how many rounds there are, I think 4 maybe 5 total.
 
Is it bad to apply to anesthesia or radiology when I really wanted IM or Peds or some sort of med peds to begin with? I have no letters besides peds and IM but I've noticed many anesthesia and radiology spots that haven't filled? Why is that?

Also should I be applying to IM prelims without a real interest in an advanced program ( I just want IM lol ) but I would rather do something than nothing all year right?
 
I've also heard family is competitive in the soap is that true?
 
gutonc said:
Yes. You should not be doing anything between now and Friday that is not specifically related to getting a SOAP spot unless it's in your bathroom or bedroom.
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Some people I know who didn't match, and are still in rotations, were given the entire week off just to do SOAP. Hopefully everyone who doesn't match is that fortunate....not everyone is so understanding.
 
DDOC9 said:
Is it bad to apply to anesthesia or radiology when I really wanted IM or Peds or some sort of med peds to begin with? I have no letters besides peds and IM but I've noticed many anesthesia and radiology spots that haven't filled? Why is that?

Also should I be applying to IM prelims without a real interest in an advanced program ( I just want IM lol ) but I would rather do something than nothing all year right?
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I know someone from last year who initially applied to family, but late in the season. They didn't match, and then SOAPed into Radiology. I think at this point it's a FFA.
 
Should I change my PS to talk about one of those and then use my IM letters lol or should I state in my PS that I wanted IM and now i think i will be happy with anesthesia or radiology
 
is there a strategy to choosing which programs to apply to? say the ones that have alot of spots open ... ... just hoping for the best
 
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Honestly, Anesthesia on SOAP is probably going to be ridiculously competitive. So if you initially wanted to do IM, I would probably just stick with it. Don't throw away your 45 slots on a pipe dream.
 
DDOC9 said:
is there a strategy to choosing which programs to apply to? say the ones that have alot of spots open ... thanks for your input btw you can tell i'm totally freaking out and have a headache from crying all day ... just hoping for the best
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It's a trade off. The programs that have lots of openings may have major issues that caused them to not fill, while others with one or two might be otherwise good places that just had a bad year for one reason or another.

I think it depends on you and your honest assessment of yourself and your chances/competitiveness.
 
SLC said:
For all those out there SOAP'ing, I know it hurts but it can work out quite well. I was there last year, and I was thrilled with the outcome. I'd like to be of service any way I can.

If anyone needs any specific advice, or encouragement, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm on a relatively light rotation this week, and I'll probably be able to field quick questions. I'm available tonight as well (off work for the rest of the evening).
Click to expand...

I hope you don't me taking you up on your offer. I just wanted to ask about contacting programs. It says that we are not supposed to contact programs, they have to contact us first. Was this the same as last year? Does this mean I can't call or email just to say "hi, I'm here and I'm a good applicant"?

Thank you so much!
 
Bluejay87 said:
I have a logistical question. If I am fortunate enough to be offered a position once the rounds start, am I the only person being offered that position at that time? In other words, if I get an offer do I need to drop what I'm doing and run to my computer to accept it before somebody else does?
Click to expand...

If you get an offer in SOAP, it is yours for 2 hours, until the SOAP round ends. It does not matter how fast you respond to it. If you get any offers you need to pick one (or more if looking at prelim and advanced), or reject all of them. if you get more offers than you can accept, anything you don't accept will go into the next round for someone else.

Note that this means that you MIGHT be able to reject all offers one round, and then get a better offer (that someone rejected) the prior round. That said, this is a pretty foolish plan. When you get an offer, you should probably take something.

DDOC9 said:
Is it bad to apply to anesthesia or radiology when I really wanted IM or Peds or some sort of med peds to begin with? I have no letters besides peds and IM but I've noticed many anesthesia and radiology spots that haven't filled? Why is that?

Also should I be applying to IM prelims without a real interest in an advanced program ( I just want IM lol ) but I would rather do something than nothing all year right?
Click to expand...

Well, if you could see yourself happy in Rads or Anesthesia, then applying to those programs makes sense. Otherwise, you could apply to prelim IM only and then either 1) get a PGY-2 IM position if you can find one, or 2) reapply into the match next year for IM (which would involve repeating your PGY-1 year.

DDOC9 said:
I've also heard family is competitive in the soap is that true?
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Everything is competitive in SOAP.

DDOC9 said:
Should I change my PS to talk about one of those and then use my IM letters lol or should I state in my PS that I wanted IM and now i think i will be happy with anesthesia or radiology
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Personally, I'm a fan of being honest. State the obvious -- you applied IM, now looking at Rads. Or, stretch the truth somewhat -- applied IM but as the 4th year progressed you got more interested in Rads and were sorry you didn't consider, and now you're in SOAP, so perhaps it's all fate?

DDOC9 said:
is there a strategy to choosing which programs to apply to? say the ones that have alot of spots open ... ... just hoping for the best
Click to expand...

More spots = more chances of getting an offer, but at some risk that there is a problem.
 
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manara123 said:
I hope you don't me taking you up on your offer. I just wanted to ask about contacting programs. It says that we are not supposed to contact programs, they have to contact us first. Was this the same as last year? Does this mean I can't call or email just to say "hi, I'm here and I'm a good applicant"?

Thank you so much!
Click to expand...

Yes, the same as last year. Do not contact programs (other than via ERAS). If they are interested they will contact you.
 
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