How many programs to apply to?

In my limited survey of friends successfully going into ortho...

Step 1 220 - 230 - applied to ~80
Step 1 230 - 240 - applied to ~50
Step 1 >240 - applied to ~50

I only met 1 guy on the trail you had applied to less than 20 but he was from a top med school with probable excellent step 1 + lots of research

I think the # to apply to depends on more than your step 1 score, but I would apply to as many as your wallet allows. Don't worry about the bill too much! Just borrow more! This is your only chance to apply and the interviews are offered in weird ways (you'll get some you didn't expect and won't get some you thought you would surely get). I think whatever your application looks like, apply to at least 40. The majority of ortho programs are excellent and will make you a fantastic orthopod if you work hard. Good luck!

More may or may not be better for you and will certainly hurt others more than it helps.

The problems is when more folks apply to more and more programs, those programs see more and more applications. That means, they have less time to look over them carefully which translates to greater emphasis on screening measures and just more competition per program period. You can argue that programs will only select those that they think will come to their program, but that becomes more difficult to ascertain as apps increase. Certainly there will be a number of "weaker" applications denied interviews because the competition is stiffer per program that would have been given an interview had fewer people applied. Of course, applying to more won't change the final match numbers (since the applicant to position ratio doesn't change) but it can and will affect where people get interview offers and thus your choices.

In the end the best strategy for you is to guage the "strength" of your application, get a sense (even if superficial) of whether you even want to go to a particular program and apply accordingly rather than applying to more just because it's only a few bucks more or just a few more clicks. The students that don't match are more likely to be those who failed to play the whole game right rather than those who just didn't apply to enough.

There is really no reason that everyone with step 1 over 240 should apply to 50 programs. If you have 240 but your grades are weak and you're having trouble getting recs, then go 50. (Even then, a general strategy of picking 15 or 20 that are APPROPRIATE matches for YOU plus a handful of safeties and reaches should make you golden. Most of you should not be afraid. Just play it smart.) But if your grades are good (even if not AOA), recs are outstanding and you come from a solid school, don't waste your money. (And all the shades in between.) It's not just a matter of saving a few bucks either; the general strategy may end up restricting your choices in the end.

-FB

to put you all at ease---

yesterday i went into my 1st meeting with the chairman at my school armed with a list of 48 programs i was considering... to which he chuckled and said that 30 was PLENTY. this is coming from a man who has been chair for over 20 years, has observed the trends of increased applications, and only makes him look good when all of his prospectives match successfully.

needless to say i will be trimming my list. why waste my time, $$$, and minimize opportunities for others?

keep your chins up! ORTHO 2004!

I planned on applying to 28 programs primarily in my region and a few select programs out of my region. However, after hearing everyone say you should apply to at least 50, I upped my list to 44.

Of my original 28, I ended up with 17 interviews. Of the 16 programs I added to get my "numbers" up, I garnered 1 interview that I chose not to attend. I could have saved a few hundred bucks by applying to less and wish I would have went with my original list.

Good luck.

I originally applied to 21 programs in my area then later added 19 programs out of my region. Of the original 21, I received 12 invites. From the extra 19, I received 2 more.

I think it was worth it to add the extra programs. You never know how things can turn out.

my program director told me today in fact, that ~30 is a good #

Howzit,

I have also searched on this topic, check out the following threads for some good posts: '# of programs on appl. list', '# of applications', and the following surveys:

bonehead
OSRR Intern
Posts: 24
(12/20/01 8:40:30 am)
156.111.82.174
interviews/applications (%)

---

Results (total votes = 123):
less than 25% 25 / 20.3%
26-50% 46 / 37.4%
51-75% 31 / 25.2%
76-100% (i'm the man!) 21 / 17.1%

OrthoDoc
ezOP
Posts: 24
(1/19/01 6:25:09 pm)
How many applications did you send out?
How many orthopedic residency programs did you apply?

Results (total votes = 79):
less than 21 6 / 7.6%
21 - 30 12 / 15.2%
31 - 40 21 / 26.6%
41 - 50 21 / 26.6%
greater than 50 19 / 24.1%

OrthoDoc
ezOP
Posts: 25
(1/19/01 6:30:30 pm)

What percentage of interviews did you obtain?
Out of all of your orthopedic residency applications, what was your interview percentage?

Results (total votes = 85):
< 20% 17 / 20.0%
21-40% 24 / 28.2%
41-60% 24 / 28.2%
61-80% 14 / 16.5%
81-100% 6 / 7.1%

There is another thread where a dude says that everyone underclaims the # of programs they apply to and so you should add 20 to the number they say. He then says he applied to like 92 programs! I read it just the other day, but now I can't find it. Anyone else know about that one?
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Here is a couple of links to polls in 2000 and 2001. Unfortunately, polls were not available in 2002, but this year they are back.

Application Polls: