What happens on March 17th?

[AJG]

OK, on March 17th we are told if we matched or not. But will we be told if we matched to both a rad onc program and a prelimanary program? What if we matched to a rad onc program but did not match to a prelim program - will we be notified of that on March 17th? Also, on my rank order list I have the radiation oncology programs listed first (with their associated supplemental lists for the prelim year), and then at the end of my rank order list I included all the prelim programs as well. So, I could potentially not match in rad onc but still match to a prelim program. Will I be notified of this on March 17th? Thanks!

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[sk678]

i dont think you will be notified, because at the least you will be matching to a prelim....im not 100 percent sure, by the way man, what did you think of the interview trail this year.....any opininons about hte applicant pool...if you dont match wil lyou be reapplying? i applied tooo....only got a few interviews...so well see
good luck

 

[gilbertfletcher]

from what i understand, we will know exactly how we have or have not matched on black monday. That is:
1. You have matched = you have matched into prelim and advanced radonc
2. You have matched into a prelimary position = you have the first year, but didn't get radonc
3. You have matched into an advanced position = you matched radonc, but need to scramble for your prelim
4. You have not matched = you didn't get prelim or radonc.

I'm not sure, but i've heard that if you're in the position of #3, they'll disclose some information about your advanced position so you can cater your scramble to a similar geograpic area if desired. Dunno if they tell you the program or just the area, or anything at all.

If you ranked a categorical program (e.g. categorical medicine), you may get #1 and not know whether you matched into prelim+radonc, or just categorical medicine. Let's hope for some luck on St. Patty's Day!!!

and to answer your question, I thought the applicant pool was strong this year. Perhaps the strongest in the last few years ? And if I personally don't match, I'll give it another go next year!! But I hope it doesn't come to that *fingers crossed*

 

[Spyder]

Well, having gone through this same nerve wracking process
last year, I can tell you this: If the e-mail says you matched,
you matched. Period. You got a rad/onc spot and a prelim
spot. Otherwise they break it down: You have a PGY1 spot
but not a PGY2 spot. You have a PGY2 spot, but not a PGY1
(honestly, I can't see how this would happen, if you match
rad/onc you will get a PGY1 year). Or, you didn't match.
If you applied to other residencies like categorical medicine,
all bets are off. Hopefully, you didn't do this. Little late now,
but I would have ranked highly those prelim positions that
would let you switch to categorical, but not tried to match
in a categorical position. You can rank a prelim indepedently
of your contingent PGY2 plans. So, you could get a prelim
spot and get started even if you don't match rad/onc, but
could either try again, or continue on to do hem/onc or something
if things didn't pan out. Bottom line I faced last year. If it says
you matched, you did. I was concerned that the e-mail only
referrred to my intern year and nothing else, but it doesn't.
If it says you matched, you have a rad/onc spot.
Good luck to all you 4th years. I hope that match day brings
you the same joy it did to me.