The(long overdue)Update

I and many others like me are about three weeks away from "The Match" ; thats when we find out if we have landed a residency spot and where.Here's a little prefeace if you may(from comments on a previous post) before I get into my long overdue update on all this.
"rai said...
so when do they tell you abt the results and all

5:10 PM
Aya said...
rai: They don't tell you.How it works is that you are picked out of the program applicant pool according to whatever their criteria is and are invited for an interview...you go and interview at those programs.Once you are done with all your interviews you prepare a rank order list...where you list the programs you interviewed at in order of your preference.Similarly the programs "rank" the applicants they interviewed and submit their lists.All this is apparently fed into a computer and the "Match" takes place around mid-March...simplifying it...if you liked a program and ranked it high on your list and that program liked you and ranked you high on their list too(btw it is illegal for a program to ask you about where exactly you will rank them and vice versa...so the programs and the applicants play this game of seding letters saying "we'll be ranking you highly" close to the match...and well you really can't take all this for granted)...you "match" with that program....did that make sense?

5:53 PM
rai said...
yeah..whole lot of beaureucracy to look important.inside their offices they probably toss coins to decide "

Beaureaucracy or not,and whether or not they are tossing coins to decide, the past couple of weeks have been riddled with indecision on my part as regards my rank order list. Would I rather end up at a relatively good program which is in the same city where my family is or rank those great out of state programs higher and live on my own provided I match there? While this may seem like a simple question to answer, it really wasn't the case.Adding to all this confusion were other things like the people at a particular place and whether I'd make a good "fit".All the conferring about this dilemma with my family and friends led to the same "Its upto you/whatever you think is best".It meant balancing out the career aspirations and opportunites Vs. proximity to family and home,the "fit", safety issues etc, etc,etc *sigh*
When I first started drafting my list of programs to apply to in September last year,I had restricted myself geographically to states that were closer to home. Its weird how what I thought would not be too far off then seems just that now!All said and done and no matter how brave a front I may put up, I came to realise that deep down for me, nothing tops having my family around me, especially during what would be a stressful three years. That said, it did hurt for a while to let go of places of great stature but I came to terms with all that and I finally made up my mind....my top pick is a program which is just a 25 minute drive away from home.The biggest advantage of matching at this program would be the fact that I'd be living at home and I intend on using the money thus saved in helping D out with financing her education.She works full-time and goes to school part-time. Reversing this equation has been at the top of my "(once I start making my own money!)to-do list".She could then work part-time and concentrate on getting her bachelors degree out of the way real soon, inshaAllah.Hopefully, it will all work out for the best.
Tomorrow would be the last day to certify and submit the rank order lists.No changes can be made after this and the wait for "match day" would begin.To fellow bloggers in for the match this year ; Moiz, Usman and Uzer...I'll be praying for you all and I hope very much that the match brings us all good news, inshaAllah.