Oh yes Bonedaddy....be very afraid, for these tales of woe are true. The good news is that they usually don't happen without a good reason.
I had this guy at my institution doing a Gen Surg prelim year because he didn't match the year prior. He had great numbers and got plenty of interviews...but by his own admission he scewed-up. He interviewed at Pitt early in the season and got a lot of smoke blown up his butt; all the "you are our guy" and "just let us know if you want the spot" type of stuff you hear about. Well, he made the mistake of telling people at his other interviews that he really liked Pitt and was probably going there.
So they didn't rank him very high, and as it turned out, neither did Pitt.
The moral to this story is the match is quite like a poker game; you never know when someone might be bluffing...and for Gods sake don't go showing your hand to all the other players!

Hasn't happened in my school for the last 3 years - at least the matching part. Where they matched is another story and I really don't know how others ranked their programs or what they were told at interviews etc. But the guys who deserved to match (given their credentials) have matched. the ones who did not match...well they just didn't have the numbers.

I think that the moral of these stories are that:

1. Make everyone think that you love his or her program b/c even if you hate it you might end up there. So start loving it now.

2. Don't give out too much information as to you ranking of your programs b/c they won't give you much information about their list. You know that thing about ?anything that you say may be used against you in a court of law?.

3. Programs have their own agenda and are looking out for their best interest so don?t worry about being a little dishonest b/c they are probably no being completely honest with you either.
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