Getting into residency is hard. Understanding how to rank programs for the Match is easy. Thanks to a Nobel Prize winning economist and his colleagues, the current Match algorithm ensures that your desires are the priority over the residency programs’. What this means practically is that you should rank your first choice first, your second second, etc. There is no need to try to play the system. Please see my Guru on the Go® video “NRMP Ranking to Avoid a Spanking” below for a fun summary.
I receive a lot of inquiries this time of year about how to distinguish one’s self after the interview process.
One option is the letter of intent. This is a formal note to program directors and medical school deans that a) states your interest in the institution and b) restates the strengths of your candidacy. As I tell my clients, what you do not want to do in the letter of intent is wax poetic about the program’s good qualities. The reader is already familiar with them.
Getting into residency and medical school is never clear cut, so I’ll end by saying that the weight that a letter of intent carries is variable. It depends on the reader, the institution, the timing, and the program’s interest in you. But in this competitive game of residency and medical school admissions, taking a little time to make yourself distinctive before decisions are made won’t hurt.
A residency applicant recently asked me if Board scores, grades, and academics in general were no longer significant once someone had gotten past the interview stage; she wondered if those factors were important to get to the interview but not get on the rank list.
Of course, every program is different, but generally, questions like this one can be answered with evidence – using the NRMP Program Director Survey. (According to the survey, academic issues are still a critical factor in deciding whom to rank.)
If you want to know what Program Directors really want, check out the Survey. The NRMP is very good about culling and publicizing data.
Pre-meds, check out my latest guest entry on the Varsity Tutors’ blog about choosing the best med school for you. Many applicants find themselves ill-prepared to make a decision that will play such a major role in their professional and personal lives. Don’t let that be you!
For those of you who have friends or family applying to medical school and residency in the next year, make sure they check out my Complete Packages for pre-meds and residency candidates. These packages flew off the shelves last year. They are a great way for me to help from the beginning to the end of the application process.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
