Is it bad form to say to your top program that, "you are my number one"? According to one person, it was poor form to say so. Simply saying, "you are one of my top choices" is better. Another person told me to let my number one program know they are "number one"? Of course I know to only let my top program know they are my number one and be totally honest. What is they general consensus? Should I go as far as say "you are my number one"? Or is "you are my top program" better?
This question comes up alot and the answer is that you can only say "You're #1" to 1 program. Beyond that, you can pretty much say whatevery you like (because everything else means pretty much nothing and everyone kind of knows it). So, if you say "you're at the top of my list" or "you're one of my top programs" it doesn't really mean anything. Bottom line is that be careful with how you word things if you choose to say anything but if you really want one specific program then go ahead and tell them that they're your #1 choice.
I would say usually people will tell the Program Chairman or Program Director. Ultimately it may be that you tell the person you feel most comfortable with (i.e. an Attending you rotated with or a chief resident, for example). However, just remember IF you voluntarily decide to tell anyone (which you should never feel pressured to do) - make sure you only do so to one program!
