I am a fourth year medical student who just received the surprising and disappointing news that I failed to match at any program this year. I had thought that I was a strong applicant (top 20 medical school, top half of my class, step 1=257, honors in all three ortho sub-Is, lots of research with presentations and posters but nothing published, lots of activities and leadership positions) and was feeling confident after receiving 21 interview offers. Somehow I struck out with the 17 programs on my rank list though. All my interviews seemed to go good/great, so I am at a complete loss as to what happened. My advisors tell me this was a colossal fluke, but I just can't go through this kind of disappoint again next March. Would it be appropriate to contact the programs I interviewed at and ask them what I can do to improve my application for next year?
