International Medical Graduates Match and Scramble Services
210-787-4555
IMG Residency®
Match Services
Here is what we do for the Match:
Review your application package. This includes review and editing of the two most important documents: CV and Personal
Statement.
Develop a plan of action. This plan includes how to get U.S. LORs and clinical experience (if necessary).
Guide you throughout the entire process, from putting your application together to helping you with interview Thank You
letters.
Submit your application to all the programs via alternative channels. You will have to submit the ERASŪ application only
to the programs that have provided some positive feedback.
Provide you with a personalized list of programs in your specialty matching your credentials.
We helped our first scramble client in 2002 and our first match group of clients in 2003. We understand that our client's
future lies in our hands and handle this responsibility very delicately. Every client is an individual with a long history
beginning with school in his or her home country, coming to the U.S., passing USMLEs, and getting to the finish line of
this journey upon finding a residency. Allow us to share a secret with you: This is merely the beginning; surviving residency
is another challenge. But that is a different matter.
You have come here looking for information on how to make this coming Match a success. There is a substantial amount of
information on the Internet on what you should do to match successfully. However, the major problem with this is that the
forums only give a description of an individual's personal experience and it will most likely not be the same as yours.
Have you bought a consumer product recently? You probably went to newsgroups and found different reviews for similar
products, trying to find which of these best fits your needs and budget. You possibly did a lot of research on the web just
to conclude that what one person loves, another hates. The residency search works the same way. Every success story you
find is what worked for one candidate. You think, "Will this work for me?" and try to generalize what you have seen and
then apply it to your particular situation. It does not work this way. People tend to omit a lot of information, assuming
that it's not important.
What should really help is a hand from someone who has seen it all; we have located over 1,000 residencies and counting.
Nevertheless, no two clients are alike. We still consider every client's situation as a challenge to find the best approach
and get him or her into a program. Our clients' match readiness ranges from "what is ERASŪ?" to "I'm looking for anything
for the third consecutive year".
You must have at least five interviews to have good chances in the Match. Our goal is to provide you with as many interviews
as possible (at least five). Can we guarantee this? Unfortunately, no. You can get an idea of your competitiveness by estimating
how many programs you qualify for at www.residencyplace.com. If you get 80+
programs in a given specialty, you should do fine.
Call us if you have any questions: (210) 787-4555 Click on the Messenger button to begin online chat with a representative:
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q: What is the typical applicant profile? A: Typical profile:
5+ years after school
USMLE scores in high 70's, about half of the applicants have second attempts (we also have high 90's, but this is rather
unusual).
No U.S. clinical experience
Looking for Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, or Psychiatry
Application lacks personality; same package is used by applicant for different specialties.
Q: How many interviews do I need to guarantee a match? A: We've seen some people matching with one interview and others having to scramble after 10. Our goal is at least 5
interviews.
Q: How many applications should I send to get 5 interviews? A: A typical candidate should send about 150-200 well-prepared applications assuming you do them on your
own. Our clients submit 30-40 applications. The average number of submitted applications per IMG in the Match 2006 was 63.
Q: You will provide me with a list of programs that I qualify for. Why would I need to contact the programs? Isn't the
list sufficient? A: We have compiled the list by calling every program and inquiring about their requirements. You may choose to
buy just a personalized program list. Even though it definitely has great value, the list alone does not guarantee acceptance
to a particular program - requirements are not written in stone. They get bent in 90% of cases for the right candidate.
Let's say you have publications or research experience in the field that the program is focusing on. In this case, your
scores might not matter much. This is why we recommend a combination of individual program contacts and the list.
Q: What is your success rate? A: It varies by specialty with the overall success rate above 70%. In some specialties, it is as high as 93%. We
also have internal success criteria, which is how many interviews our candidates received. With a goal of 5 interviews,
we succeed in 90% across all specialties.
Q: What if I do not match? A: We help our clients in the scramble process. Such is reality that some of our clients will need to scramble.
The scramble service is included free of charge.
Q: Can you help me if I just want to do everything myself? A: We also participate and sponsor multiple IMG forums, where we always post our honest opinion on various topics.
Forums we participate in: www.imgforum.com,
www.imgresidency.com/community, USMLEForum.com
, www.prep4usmle.com, and
www.residentweb.com. Our philosophy - Post only if you know the answer.
Another option that we recommend is using the MD Site Builder, which allows
you to create a web page with all of your application documents.
Q: Why should I choose you over your competition? A: This is the most frequently asked question. You can only compare the quality of a service after you try it. You
definitely cannot try all services at once (we had a client who did just that and ended up on the wrong side of the river).
As soon as we discovered this, we returned his money just because the situation was so similar to two doctors treating the
same patient without being aware of each other's orders. In the issue of choice, you must trust your own intuition. To help
you with your decision, we will be happy to provide as many references as you wish (one of our clients asked for 10 references).
