QOTW: January 24 - The Match

[Urowife]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?
Urology is an early match, so it was just me, DH (before we were married), and some friends we were with because we were on a ski vacation at the time. The results were posted online, so we didn't have to be at the school.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?
I can't remember how the regular match worked. I think there was a med school-wide ceremony?

3. How many programs did you rank?
20

4. What number did you match at?
5

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?
See below for whole story - it was a doozy.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!
I think there was an informal party at a bar. Nothing super exciting, but fun.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?
Since urology is an early match, there is no Black Monday - just match all in one day.

Here's our story, many of you have heard this before. The year my DH matched in urology was the first year that they had done the electronic match. Well, whoever wrote the algorithm did it backwards. So, instead of the applicant's choice getting preference, the programs' choices were incorrectly taken into consideration first. Several programs went unfilled, like Mayo and others, and many good applicants didn't match. Oh, it was a cluster. The match was on Monday. DH found out that he matched at #19 out of 20. He was pretty much devastated. He was relieved to have matched, but was just trying to figure out what he did wrong at all his interviews that no programs wanted him. Then, they retracted the results either later that day or Tuesday (I can't recall now). They reran the match and the results were posted that Thursday. It was pretty much hell that week waiting for the real results. Anyway, DH ultimately matched at #5, so he was obviously much, much happier. So, that's our crazy match story!

[spotty_dog]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?
Yep, I worked on campus so my boss let me take my break and go across campus to the envelope ceremony. My 9 weeks fetus was along for the ride too. We hung out with a couple friends also waiting to find out where they matched.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?
A hall full of people, a few appetizers, and a roped-off area with individual envelopes. After a brief speech, the ropes were removed and people were free to find their names and open their envelopes.

3. How many programs did you rank?
10

4. What number did you match at?
Somewhere between 6-8...we were so confident that we had run the first half of the list through our heads a lot and decided carefully on the rank order, but the second half was a blur.

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?
Shock. Denial. Desperation. It wasn't that the program was bad -- he only ranked top-notch programs -- but after four years of ball-busting and top-notch scores, it felt like such a slap in the face and it didn't help that all our friends got their #1. We slipped away to find a private place, cried together, then put on our game face and called our family. We started researching the area (we hadn't done at all previously) and thinking of positives, and were a tiny bit cheered up by the end of the week

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!
Never heard of this in my life but I gather from the other responses that this is a post-match party. Um, no. We were not exactly in the celebrating mood yet.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?
Definitely Match Day. See: very confident about the match. There was absolutely no reason someone with his stats and 10 ranked programs wouldn't match. We just weren't AS positive that it would be in the top three. LOL.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?
Yes, it was just us and it was by email since Uro is an early match. I was 2 days post-partum with DD1 and just coming back from an MRI on my legs...so yeah, it was weird.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?
It was a party-ish (poky was there!). They all bum-rushed to get their envelopes at noon. We hung back since we'd already matched 8 weeks earlier and just waited for our friends to emerge with their news.

3. How many programs did you rank?
12-13, I think

4. What number did you match at?
#1

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?
Super excited, still thrilled two years later.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!
Nope, see previous comment about 2 days post-partum. We did go to the party with all the March Matchers but came home early since we had a newborn.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day? N/A

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Here's our story, many of you have heard this before. The year my DH matched in urology was the first year that they had done the electronic match. Well, whoever wrote the algorithm did it backwards. So, instead of the applicant's choice getting preference, the programs' choices were incorrectly taken into consideration first. Several programs went unfilled, like Mayo and others, and many good applicants didn't match. Oh, it was a cluster. The match was on Monday. DH found out that he matched at #19 out of 20. He was pretty much devastated. He was relieved to have matched, but was just trying to figure out what he did wrong at all his interviews that no programs wanted him. Then, they retracted the results either later that day or Tuesday (I can't recall now). They reran the match and the results were posted that Thursday. It was pretty much hell that week waiting for the real results. Anyway, DH ultimately matched at #5, so he was obviously much, much happier. So, that's our crazy match story!

This story is legendary among the Uro community. I didn't realize that was your match. Sounds completely insane, I'm so glad it turned out ok for you guys.

[GrayMatterWife]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

Yes. It was back when NSG was an early match and there was no notice ahead of time if you had to scramble. So you found out if you matched and where you matched at the same time. The med school received the results early in the morning, and you had to wait around by the phone. DH has a last name at the end of the alphabet, and they went in alphabetical order, so we received a call close to 9:00 AM. It was just DH (on the phone) and DS (in my arms--about six months old) and me on the floor of our apartment.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

NSG was an early match and there was no anything for any of the early matches. At the general match in March, all the med students opened their correspondence boxes at school at the same time, in this big "ceremony," and opened their envelopes. The news was there, covering it as a human interest story. For us, it was stupid. We just received the letter confirming where he'd be doing his PGY1 GENSURG year--which, in NSG, is almost always at your NSG match program. Totally anti-climatic. And we were really distracted. A close friend of mine had a good friend whose child was having brain surgery that day. We were trying to spend as much time with him and the child's family as possible.

3. How many programs did you rank?

I have no idea. 12? 15? 20? All I know is, he ranked everywhere he interviewed, but he couldn't interview everywhere he was invited, because it was early match and there just was not time.

4. What number did you match at?

I don't know. He didn't tell me his rank before he submitted it, and I didn't ask at the time. I was fine with all the programs, and I figured that this was his choice. But I do know that Yale was #1. I know DH was really disappointed--he wanted Yale because of his collaborators in research. But it turned out to be a HUGE blessing. WashU was a MUCH better fit and opportunity, for a zillion reasons.

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

"Ummmm...ok. I thought you said you had no chance there. I thought you said the interview was horrible. Shows what you know."

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

No. DH was being such a complete dickhead, so completely incapable of seeing what a fantastic opportunity he'd been given.... People on campus who he didn't even know were coming up to him and congratulating him, and he could not see anything positive. You have to understand--WashU NSG had a really, really malignant reputation. He only interviewed there because...well, it is a really good program. In NSG, you take every good program interview you get. He would have been a total jerk not to have interviewed. And you rank the programs based on how good the programs are, not based on where you'd most like to be geography/family/personal choice. He was such a dickhead for weeks that I finally told him: "Most people would cut of their left nut to get this chance. You are being a total asshole. Stop this, or decline the match and take a year off. But I'm not putting up with this. You are an unappreciative, self-entitled jerk who can't handle the fact you didn't match at your #1 choice. Oh, and--by the way--your board scores...they were competitive for NSG, but let's not act like you absolutely rocked the roof off the boards. You should be grateful." Or something REALLY close to that. I had never called him an asshole before and I was really angry. He shaped up after that. And, as I said, residency turned out to have been a great experience and I can't say enough good things about WashU NSG. It's hard core, but top notch, no-bullshit people.

On match day, he was SUCH a dickhead that I canceled the surprise party I had planned for him, and threw out this really cool brain cake I'd made. He was being that much of a jerk. Why throw a party when the guest of honor can't be happy? Awkward. I told him about it years later.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

There was no Black Monday for NSG back then.

[spaz]

Match Day

Boy, this was 23 years ago... It was just the two of us. They put the matches in everyone's mailbox and at a certain time we went in and got it out. I honestly don't remember how many programs he ranked. I would guess between 10 and 15. He got number 2 which was out of state. ( Neither of us had been out of state...) We were excited because he liked the program but nervous at leaving the state. It turned out great.. It was a wonderful program and wonderful place to live. I don't have a clue what Black Monday is.... do they tell you ahead of time that you didn't match?? If so, that didn't exist. I guess we would have just gotten a slip in the mailbox that said we didn't match. I knew he would. Hubby was at the top of his class and a really good people person so I knew he would match.

[alotofyarn]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

Yes - we were in bed waiting for the e-mail, but we had an early match.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

We just got an e-mail at 8am, but match day was a party at the school. Everybody got an envelope in random order and put $1 into a basket - last person called got the basket. Everybody opened their envelopes together at the end.

3. How many programs did you rank?

14

4. What number did you match at?

11

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

Very much a surprise, although we were really glad he matched at all. I was pretty upset at first, but I was also loaded up with fertility drugs at the time. We embraced it and couldn't be happier now.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

Nope

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

N/A, since we matched early, and the news all came at once.

[WolfpackWife]

Just popping in to say I need to bookmark this thread for when it's our turn - DH mentioned once already that he wants his parents to come for Match Day and I can't think of anything I'd dislike more (please god no) so here's some solid evidence that it's better to just have the two of us get the results. Maybe they can meet us for lunch afterward (insert strained smile here)

[reciprocity]

Yeah, same here, no extra family. It'll be bad enough to be surrounded by the entire med school class. I went to Match Day last year as a dry run (and because we had a close friend matching) so I at least know what to expect logistically. Dr. Procity is already getting anxious about having told too many people what our top city is, afraid that if we end up somewhere else we'll get a bunch of "oh that sucks I'm so sorry" and our parents will be prime candidates for that sort of reaction.

[ladymoreta]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?
Just the two of us. I couldn't get off work that day, so he picked up his envelope, and we met at a restaurant for lunch. We opened his letter after we ordered our food.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?
They put their letters in their lockers (cubicles?). Most students opened them right there.

3. How many programs did you rank?
16

4. What number did you match at?
3

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?
We were initially very disappointed. We'd wanted to stay in Dallas, but we found out we'd matched in OKC. We had planned on meeting up with friends that evening at a pub, then hanging out for the evening at our apartment. We were all bummed out when we got to the pub, and I was an hour late because of traffic, so we decided to quit paying pub prices for the amount of alcohol we wanted to consume. We all came back to our apartment, ordered Papa Johns, and vowed to remain best friends. (And we actually have.) Throughout the week, we started getting more excited about it. Ultimately, we like our adventures.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!
I think they had a party, but we didn't go. We weren't really close with his classmates.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?
Match Day. He had good scores and enough programs on his rank list that we were pretty confident he'd match somewhere.

[Auspicious]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

I went to work, the husband went to the event alone and called me with his results.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

Some kind of event with a speech, and then faculty had everyone's envelopes. "If your last name starts with L-P, see Dr. So-and-so." He doesn't even remember if they opened them simultaneously or not. He thinks his school didn't make as big a deal of match day as other schools seem to.

3. How many programs did you rank?

I think twelve? I remember there was only one interview he didn't rank.

4. What number did you match at?

#2. If he had known he was going to like his #1 so much, he wouldn't have scheduled them as his first interview of the season.

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

I was thrilled and still feel like I got lucky. Though it was #2 on the ROL, it was my first choice--closest program to my family and in location I was pretty sure I would like. The downside was that COL in the new city was still pretty high so we wouldn't be able to buy a house, but since this was in 2006 for a residency ending in 2010, that turned out to be a blessing.

He of course would have preferred to get his #1, but since we had really debated which of the two programs to put first and which to put second, he moved into being happy about the outcome pretty quickly.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

Didn't go out with his classmates. He had gone to med school in the same city where he'd already been living since before med school, and he was one of the oldest in his class, so he was always just kind of "work friends" with his classmates.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

I hardly remember Black Monday, so I guess Match Day.

[scarlett09]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

Yes I was there. Our Match Day group was DH, me and his parents.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

It was a gathering with light refreshments in a large conference room in one of the clinical buildings at the med school's main hospital. It was super crowded. And hot. It was mostly the students and their guests. They provided sparkling cider to toast. And they had the students pick up their not see-through envelopes 15 min before they were allowed to open them at 12pm. Nobody shared where they were going in front of others, but a paper list with the Match results was available about 15 min after the envelopes were opened.

3. How many programs did you rank?

7-9, neither one of us really remembers anymore.

4. What number did you match at?

#1

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

Probably one of the more memorable experiences of my life to date. DH thinks getting into med school was more stressful than matching!

I remember the roar that went through the room at 12pm. The energy as everyone opened their envelopes and started yelling, crying, talking a lot, hugging and kissing. DH was facing me when he opened the envelope, with MIL next to him looking at the contents. He looked right at me, with tears in his eyes and said he got his #1. I started crying and we embraced. ILs were super proud of DH, MIL cried too. After we said congrats to a few peeps, the ILs took us to lunch and a few beers.

I was pleased obviously, that he got his #1. My feelings about his results didn't change. I would say that if any thing the Match stopped being in the abstract and was actually this real, crazy thing that really happened to us!

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

Pretty sure DH went out to a club/bar place that night with essentially his entire class. I didn't go, had to work the next day. And I didn't really want to anyway - felt like it was his time to celebrate and relax with his peers.

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

Knew he would match, never a doubt in my mind. So Black Monday was not a huge deal for us. I think he called me at work and sent me an email or something. Finding out where we were going and what it meant for us moving forward was far more stressful. Match Day was far more memorable - even 5 years later!


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[corn poffi]

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?
There were 2 rooms at the Match Day ceremony...I was in the main room with his parents. There were at least 6 other relatives in the overflow room. What can I say, the kid always has an entourage.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?
We also had the big ceremony where you announce where you matched one at a time. We did the $1 in a hat thingy too.

3. How many programs did you rank?
I don't remember...maybe 8?

4. What number did you match at?
We had a really hard time with our first two choices on the ROL, so we called them 1A and 1B. We matched at 1B.

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?
I was admittedly a little bummed. I liked 1A better. However the doc and his entire family were sooooooo excited that we matched at 1B, that I quickly got over it. In retrospect, the place we matched was a much better fit, so it all worked out better than we could have imagined.

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!
Match Day was on St. Patrick's Day (his family did green Jello shots in the parking lot before the ceremony), then went immediately to the bar afterward. We stayed through the entire ceremony, then went out with his family. After a short nap, we went to the FYBIGMR party that night. It was a really fun day!

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?
Match Day. For sure.

[MarissaNicole]

These questions are going to mostly be for those that already matched, but med student spouses can answer what they can! If you had to scramble or do SOAP, tell us about it. For those that matched:

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

3. How many programs did you rank?

4. What number did you match at?

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

1 and 2. School only allowed student +2 guests and with most of his classmates going into family or IM they knew where they were headed. Our specialty could have sent us anywhere so I wanted a support system in case. Our parents, siblings, and best friends came in town the night before. DH picked up his envelope from school with his Dad while the rest of us meet in a private room at our favorite restaurant. We opened it in front of our closest family and friends.

3. Ranked 16.

4. Matched at #4

5. Thrilled! Surprised. Excited to come home for training.

6. We started with mimosas at our apartment in the morning and continued drinking through the day. Had an awesome time celebrating with family during the day and then joined up with the med school bar crawl that night.

7. Black Monday for DH. Match day for me.

We still have that letter framed. While residency has been HARD match day brings fond memories because it meant coming HOME!

Wife to PGY4

[Cinderella]

I promised myself I'd come back here and fill this out on match day so here it is!

1. Were you with your doc when they got their match? Who all was there?

I was. We're IMGs so we had to wait until the NRMP released the results at 1 PM EST on March 21, 2014. We were at home in our apartment in Oregon in front of the computer in our pajamas.

2. How did the match work where you went to med school? A party? A private thing? An announcement?

See #1.

3. How many programs did you rank?

This was our first match and it was different for us as IMGs. For our stats we should have gotten 6-8 interviews in order to match. I guess technically he did though we only had four programs to rank. He had 2 pre-screening telephone interviews for IM. Then 6 in person interviews. Out of which 2 IM programs were pre-match only with the new "all out rule". It's where you can apply to the programs through ERAS for interviews but they don't participate in the NRMP. That left us with only 4 interviews to rank, 3 IM and 1 FM. If you add it all up including the telephone interviews it was 8 interviews total this match, or 7 really because one pre-screening interview lead to an in person interview at the same place.

4. What number did you match at?

We matched at our #1!

5. What was your initial reaction? Did it change throughout the day/week?

Totally and completely thrilled! It was a really good fit for us over all out of the options we had. It's like all our dreams are coming true!

6. FYBIGMR? Tell us about it!

I didn't know what that was until I read this thread. I'd have loved that but since dh is IMG he's very conscious about how many people went unmatch. I'd planned to have match day pictures to share but he nixed that saying it's not appropriate for us at this time. At first he was for it when we were planning it but that went out the window. Oh well, I woke up today with a miserable cold worse than I started this cold a week ago. Ugh. Just as well.

I really want someone to celebrate with though. My husband is Muslim and doesn't drink but it would be awesome right now to have some drinks and dance!

7. What was more stressful, Black Monday or Match Day?

By Black Monday I'd found my peace and was ok with whatever the results would be. We were just happy to match anywhere more than being worried about where we would match. I had months of nerves, ok years of nerves about this process but Black Monday wasn't as bad as I'd expected. The week leading up to Match Day seemed more intense.

During match week from Black Monday to Match Day I was in shock the first few days and afraid that the NRMP had a glitch and our match would be taken away from us. Then once I knew we'd matched I started to have nerves about where we'd matched and about moving. By Wednesday reality started setting in that this was really happening. I started to feel the happiness and excitement coming over me. Then by Thursday there was more nerves about Match Day but apartment hunting in different cities kept me calm. Match day was total bliss! Pinch me I'm dreaming or I'm dead and this is heaven! We're very happy!