Some Tips RE: What Not to Do. Signed, ProgCoordinator

[ProgCoordinator]

Interesting thread. thank you. was wondering if you could settle a debate between a friend and i that is applying for cards.

1. When is it too late to send a love letter stating a program is #1.i said now is too late committees hav already met thus a love letter will not cause committees to reconvene bc of one email of interest.

2. my friend intereviwed at 13 cards fellowships but she is offcycle and cant start until november 1st due to family leave due to death during residency. i told her she might not be ranked bc of call duties so reapply next year. from your expereience will she be ranked at any program to match. she is a very strong can candidate but woukd programs rank strong candidates that are 4 months off cycle

1. Send it before June 1st. In fact, send it before this weekend. Like tomorrow. We can tinker until the deadline. While the committee will not reconvene, it's ultimately the PD's decision. S/he can bounce ideas off of people if need be, but it's ultimately up to the PD. So, tell your friend to send the love letter immediately. It's not too late. Yet.

2. Wow. I've never had to deal with a situation like this. However, if the 13 programs for which she'd interviewed were aware of her special circumstances from the get go, then they must be interested despite everything. Some may rank her lower based on the situation, but -- if she's really strong -- it may be overlooked. If this were an issue that came up after interviews (and hopefully she's already informed them), then it may impact their ROLs. All that said...she should still rank the programs as she likes them and see what happens. I'm willing to bet that at least half of the programs will still rank her.

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[DrVanNostran]

First of all, they've finally decided to extend the timeline for residents to apply for fellowship. Candidates will apply as PGY 3 rather than 2, so you'll have more time before applying.

"The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) and the fellowships participating in the Medical Specialties Matching Program (MSMP) have voted to move the MSMP schedule of dates beginning with the 2012 Match for the 2013 appointment year. Under the new schedule, Match Day will move from the spring of the applicants' second year of training to the fall of the third year, giving them more time to make decisions about fellowship choices."
--http://www.nrmp.org/

Beyond that, while it's never too late, I believe the sooner the better. As soon as you find something or someone (PI/Mentor) that interests you...get on it. Be mindful to follow through on your obligations to the project.

Thank you for your response

 

[ProgCoordinator]

Sending good thoughts out to everyone. Submit your ROLs the way you like them, certify and then let it go.

 

[Maximuss]

Sending good thoughts out to everyone. Submit your ROLs the way you like them, certify and then let it go.

haha i changed my ROL 4 times so far.. and going to change it again now Good luck everybody..

 

[vishnuku]

Dear PC,

You have been a great support to many of us, so my heartfelt thanks! ROL is in!

I had the chief of cards and PD in one of my top choices call me, so hopefully that's a good sign??

Also, just wondering how have you felt as a dept when you match your 'higher choices' compared to the not so higher up choices... and does ROL correlate with performance during the fellowship year in general? I was just interested..

My thanks again

 

[ProgCoordinator]

Dear PC,

You have been a great support to many of us, so my heartfelt thanks! ROL is in!

I had the chief of cards and PD in one of my top choices call me, so hopefully that's a good sign??

Also, just wondering how have you felt as a dept when you match your 'higher choices' compared to the not so higher up choices... and does ROL correlate with performance during the fellowship year in general? I was just interested..

My thanks again

Thanks Vishnuku. Helping you guys is a pleasure. The added bonus is that I learn stuff, too. win=win

Some people remember the match numbers exactly. Our current PD does. I don't. Though my fuzzy memory of such things may be due in part to aging, I tend to put such things aside after match day. Much like how I put aside the intricacies of our scoring of candidates' applications before interviews. After the match my fellows are my fellows. There are more important things to commit to memory. I don't remember that Tom was #16 or Suzy was #2.

Interesting that you ask the ROL correlation question as we're going to analyze this more fully during the upcoming academic year. Pulling a gut answer out of my hat for you, though, my answer is...eh, so-so. Our program is lucky in that we attract many of the strongest candidates from around the country. The top candidates on our ROL are typically super stars. How many we match varies from year to year. The next tier of our ROL (the deepest stratum) is usually chock full of very competitive, solid candidates.

We've had duds from the top tier, but they're usually productive and interact well with everyone. Usually. We have super stars evolve from the second tier, but there are occasional duds, as well. It's always interesting to refer to the match list and see where everyone had been ranked way back when because it doesn't matter anymore. What matters most after starting fellowship is your track record with the fellowship.

Matching is much like life. Or a box of chocolates. You never know [for certain] what you're gonna get.

 

[Phoenix0260]

Dear ProgCoordinator:

I know its the postseason, wondering whether are you are still checking your inbox.

warm regards

 

[ProgCoordinator]

Dear ProgCoordinator:

I know its the postseason, wondering whether are you are still checking your inbox.

warm regards

Not as often, but I'm still around. I recommend PMing me to ensusre that I see something.

 

[Keg]

Bump for this cycle, unless ProgCoordinator thinks a new thread is deserved.