have no idea how carms works

[drAA]

Hi!

 

Im a canadian premed student who got interview invites for this year at several med schools. I only applied to french faculties so my interview will be in the 19th of april.

 

Anyway, my question concerns the CaRms and the specialties:

- I have NO idea how it works! Is anyone of you well informed how it works?

I actually visited the website, read the conditions and how to apply, checked the statistics and everything but still some words made it hard to me to understand what they are talkin about!!! Ok, i know you will tell me it is still early to think about specialties and Carms but I'd like to know whow hard it is to get into the specialty I want. I have actually visited few fac's websites and checked how they look at the application and how they evaluate it but i have no idea:

- what are the chances for an OOP to be accepted in the specialty he wants? (let us say I, a quebec resident, apply to Alberta..)

- what is matching and what is meant by it?

- If uyou graduate from X school, do u have more chances to be accepted in the spcialty u want in this school or this works only for med admission?

- whats the ratio of havin the specialty u want? I saw some VERY HIGH matching percentage at CaRms, is this the percentage of the applicants accepted in the specialty they want?

- what happens if I dont get in to X specialty and apply, during the second iteration?

- having said this, what is the difference between first and second iterations?

- last question i swear: when applying to CaRms can i apply to all the 17 med schools for specialty but i am limited to one specialty during the first iteration or am I limited to only one school choice?

- how hard is it to get into surgery?

 

I would really appreciate if some really well informed med student replies to me and thank you guys!

[Icebox]

No need to know ANY of this at this point, but here are 2 cents..

 

- I have NO idea how it works! Is anyone of you well informed how it works?

 

I don't know how it works either, and I'm wrapping up 2nd year. You'll learn what you need to know when you need to know it.

 

- what are the chances for an OOP to be accepted in the specialty he wants? (let us say I, a quebec resident, apply to Alberta..)

 

They're equal across the board in Canada so long as you make an effort to show interest in that program (ie. electives).

 

- what is matching and what is meant by it?

 

To match means you've been selected to do a residency in X specialty in Y city (ex. Joe got matched to Family Medicine in Toronto means that's what & where he's doing his residency in).

 

- If uyou graduate from X school, do u have more chances to be accepted in the spcialty u want in this school or this works only for med admission?

 

It may be easier to make contacts and do electives at your home school which can give you an advantage, but you hold the same dice as everyone else across Canada who wants those spots.

 

- whats the ratio of havin the specialty u want? I saw some VERY HIGH matching percentage at CaRms, is this the percentage of the applicants accepted in the specialty they want?

 

Specialty = certain area of medicine (ex. General Surgery)

Program = a specialty at a particular location (ex. General Surgery at UWO)

 

There are statistics on both on CaRMS.

 

- what happens if I dont get in to X specialty and apply, during the second iteration?

 

Then you either find something to do until next year and reapply to CaRMS in the following year, or choose an entirely different career path.

 

- having said this, what is the difference between first and second iterations?

 

First iteration = mostly open to just Canadian Medical Graduates, some spots are reserved for International Medical Graduates. There are exceptions.. I believe in Manitoba IMGs are allowed to apply for some of the same spots CMGs are going for in the first round.

Second iteration = open to everyone that applied to CaRMS. Consists of all the spots that went unfilled during the first iteration.

 

- last question i swear: when applying to CaRms can i apply to all the 17 med schools for specialty but i am limited to one specialty during the first iteration or am I limited to only one school choice?

 

You apply to however much/little you want. Best to maximize your chances by applying to more programs... remember that they pick you, not vice versa.. it's like the admissions process where you apply, they interview you, then rank you. And you pay for all the applications, flights, accommodations etc.. so up to you.

 

- how hard is it to get into surgery?

 

lies - you said your last question was your last question

 

Depends on the surgery. They can all be relatively difficult, and the ones known for fewer spots and lifestyle (ie. ophtho, ENT, plastics) can be more difficult since the applicant:spot ratio is high.

 

Someone can go ahead & correct me on anything I've said incorrectly.

[Jochi1543]

 

 

You apply to however much/little you want. Best to maximize your chances by applying to more programs... remember that they pick you, not vice versa.. it's like the admissions process where you apply, they interview you, then rank you. And you pay for all the applications, flights, accommodations etc.. so up to you.

 

 

You rank the programs too, though, don't you? Or am I wrong? I was under the impression that even if a program ranks you 1st, you won't match to it if you ranked them, say, 10th? Can someone elaborate?

[supafield]

You rank the programs too, though, don't you? Or am I wrong? I was under the impression that even if a program ranks you 1st, you won't match to it if you ranked them, say, 10th? Can someone elaborate?

 

I think you're right, mind you I'm pretty sure only carms knows the algorithm for how far down you could rank someone before they would no longer match you there even if the program ranked you first.

[Satsuma]

To the OP...you absolutely do not need to worry about the match now. Worry first about getting into med school

 

I just went through the match...and I don't even really understand it

But Icebox answered your questions pretty well.

 

As for the ranking. The programs rank the applicants and the applicants rank the programs. Nobody really knows how this algorithm works.

 

Yes you can still match to a program you ranked 10th...if the top 9 programs you ranked filled with applicants they preferred that ranked them higher than you. It is not so common to end up with your 10th choice though.

 

Most students end up matching to their top 3, according to the carms stats. But that is all specialties combined. Obviously looking at individual specialties would give you different results. Keep in mind there are students that don't match at all...and so your 10th choice might be looking pretty good in comparison.

 

The only advice we were really given, was don't rank a program you would not be willing to go to...cause you could end up there.

 

And again, to the OP, worrying about how competitive certain specialties are now is not a good use of your time. Competitiveness of programs fluctuate from year to year...so what is the case now may not be by the time you get to the match stage. Also, you may change your interests along the way.

 

If you look at the stats section of the carms site you can see that stats for several of the previous years, broken down by specialty etc. It can give you an idea of the number of spots, number of applicants, how many applicants matched to those specialties etc.

[rogerroger]

Hi!

 

 

Anyway, my question concerns the CaRms and the specialties:

 

CaRMS = Canadian Residency Matching Service

 

 

- what are the chances for an OOP to be accepted in the specialty he wants? (let us say I, a quebec resident, apply to Alberta..)

 

Depends on the residency program. They are large variances between programs.

 

- what is matching and what is meant by it?

 

Ok so in Meds IV you apply and rank which programs you want when applying. The schools that interview you then rank those that they interviewed. This info then goes into a computer and tries to find the best fit between rankings. Ie. It tries to make everyone happy both applicants and residency directors. The results of this process is called the "match".

 

- If uyou graduate from X school, do u have more chances to be accepted in the spcialty u want in this school or this works only for med admission?

 

Depends on the program and the university. I am a Toronto medical student. In this years match ALL of Toronto's spots were filled. About 50% of these spots were UofT grads.

 

 

- whats the ratio of havin the specialty u want? I saw some VERY HIGH matching percentage at CaRms, is this the percentage of the applicants accepted in the specialty they want?

 

There are CaRMS stats from 2008 floating around. Generally most people match. If they get their first choice, I am not sure. I know off the top of my head it is in the high 90s for UofT. It is similar for other schools.

 

 

 

- what happens if I dont get in to X specialty and apply, during the second iteration?

 

Go into the fetal position and cry... You can try matching in the USA I suppose. Or wait until next year. Or undergo more studies etc.

 

 

 

- having said this, what is the difference between first and second iterations?

 

Second round has non citizen IMGs and all those left over from the first round competing for spots left unfilled in round one.

 

 

- last question i swear: when applying to CaRms can i apply to all the 17 med schools for specialty but i am limited to one specialty during the first iteration or am I limited to only one school choice?

 

Up to you. If location is important apply to several speciality programs in the same place. If speciality is important apply to the same speciality program in different cities. You can apply to any university you want.

 

 

- how hard is it to get into surgery?

 

 

Depends on what you define as hard. Also are we talking about general surgery, opthamology, orthopedics etc...

 

Note: The competitiveness of a certain speciality can vary year to year.

 

 

I would really appreciate if some really well informed med student replies to me and thank you guys!

 

 

 

 

I hope this addresses your concerns. For now focus on undergrad. Don't get too caught up in this CaRMS business. There is plenty of time to stress about this over the next bunch of years.

[drAA]

 

thanks a lot guys, really.

 

Now i have an idea how it works, and what i realized is that its not as hard as i thought to get into the program we want: the 1st choice program match average is abt 90% and the 1st choice specialty average is 60%. At last, it depends on different factors such as the interview, the academic file, our CV, our motivation letter, reference letters, internships, etc etc.

 

What I learned from you is that I might change my mind many times abt my residence durin my medical years so guess ur right, its still too early to think abt it. Ill tell what i am interested in though: general surgery + fellowhip in transplant, neurosurgery or cardiac surgery. I am not interested in plastic surgery, ophtalmo or ENT.

 

Anyway, thanks guys, one again, for your clear answer:)

[Jochi1543]

 

thanks a lot guys, really.

 

Now i have an idea how it works, and what i realized is that its not as hard as i thought to get into the program we want: the 1st choice program match average is abt 90% and the 1st choice specialty average is 60%.

 

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[drAA]

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

Oops yeah, ur right, sorry! specialty 90%, program 60%! 10x jochi1543!!