A word of caution on this thread...

You are never going to get the full story on why an applicant matched or doesn't match. Everyone has heard the horror story applicant who was 260+, AOA, editor of JBJS blah blah who didn't match, and the story of an applicant who got sub 200, almost got kicked out of med school, has a substance abuse problem and matched at "a top ortho program."

The bottom line... there is almost always a reason to explain why relatively strong applicants don't match (usually personality issues, poor application/interview strategy) or why weaker applicants match (connections, picked No. 1 in the NFL draft, but declined in order to do ortho...) BUT, none of these come out when people post their "credentials".

So, while I'm sure it eases the long wait between now and March knowing that there are other people in worse situations than you who have matched, it serves no real or useful purpose in terms of predicting your ability to match.

It's hard to do with all these posts, but try not to become overly concerned or overly reassured by anything on this board. You are seeing a very small sampling of the applicants.... and an even smaller number that post "credentials."

A word of caution on this thread...

You are never going to get the full story on why an applicant matched or doesn't match. Everyone has heard the horror story applicant who was 260+, AOA, editor of JBJS blah blah who didn't match, and the story of an applicant who got sub 200, almost got kicked out of med school, has a substance abuse problem and matched at "a top ortho program."

The bottom line... there is almost always a reason to explain why relatively strong applicants don't match (usually personality issues, poor application/interview strategy) or why weaker applicants match (connections, picked No. 1 in the NFL draft, but declined in order to do ortho...) BUT, none of these come out when people post their "credentials".

So, while I'm sure it eases the long wait between now and March knowing that there are other people in worse situations than you who have matched, it serves no real or useful purpose in terms of predicting your ability to match.

It's hard to do with all these posts, but try not to become overly concerned or overly reassured by anything on this board. You are seeing a very small sampling of the applicants.... and an even smaller number that post "credentials."

well aren't you just a beam of sunshine!

i do know these things and am not just looking for reassurance or something along the "what are my chances" lines ... i was just looking for some anecdotal whatnot. you know - stories?

anyway, i'm not even applying just now - only considering career fields. thanks for all your sobering warnings, though.