Quoting the following as a teaching point for pre-meds, not as a response to the actual post:







The first point is in reference to pre-match positions. There's a reason those programs try and get people to sign contracts before the match, and it's not because they're so prestigious they don't need the match.



The second point is about verbal commitments. These mean nothing in terms of the match. People lie, people change their minds, people over-estimate how much clout they have with PD's, etc. Just because a program says you're one of their top choices, does not mean that's true. It also doesn't mean they won't change their minds after seeing other applicants. I'll give an anecdote that my OB attending told me about this:



One of his former students did an audition rotation early in 4th year at his top choice OB/Gyn program. Towards the end, the PD told him that he was a great student and that if he ranked them high he'd match for sure. He ended up ranking them 1 and only ranked 2 or 3 other programs because he was sure he'd match there. He didn't match there, or anywhere else fand ended up scrambling (this was before SOAP). Turns out, one of the programs that had unfilled positions was his top choice, meaning not only was he not a top choice for them, they didn't put him on their rank list at all. He ended up going to that program anyway because everyone he worked with (other than the PD apparently) still loved him, but things were awkward between him and the PD until the PD moved on.



Our attending meant it as a "things will work out" kind of story, but the moral I got was don't make assumptions about the match just based on what someone says. I've heard plenty of other stories from people in classes above me who were told something similar during audition rotations (You're great! We'd love you to be a Resident! etc) who ended up not getting into those programs and matching farther down their rank lists. Bottom line is to not just trust what someone tells you unless you have it in writing as well.