Analysis of Reapplicants to Ophthalmology Residency: Factors Associated with Successful Matching

ABSTRACT

Background

Ophthalmology residency programs are highly competitive and each year there are many unmatched reapplicants who must make time-sensitive decisions on how to prepare for their reapplication. Our analysis of reapplication factors will be the first evidence-based guide to reapplying ophthalmology.

Objective

To determine the components of a reapplicants application that contribute and that do not contribute to ophthalmology residency match success.

Methods

Eighty-eight total reapplicants to Dell Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology residency program for the year of 2022 and 2023 were analyzed in a retrospective review in 2023 based on their San Francisco match applications. We assessed match success in the context of demographics, academic performance, cognitive measures, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and extracurricular activities.

Results

Of 84 reapplicants who completed the San Francisco Match, 41 matched successfully (48.8%). Factors that significantly affected match success include quantity of LORs written by ophthalmologists (P = .0143), choice of interim year activity (p = .0019), and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge score (P = .0017). Our findings demonstrate that noncontributory factors to reapplicant match rate include number of publications during research years, demographics, clinical grades, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership, LOR qualities, and Step 1 score.

Conclusions

Ophthalmology residency reapplicants should focus their efforts on finding a research year or established pre-ophthalmology residency program for their interim year and bolstering their letters of recommendations within the field. The quality of in-specialty relationships and letters of recommendation are more impactful than the number of publications during a research gap year. Step 2 CK score is a significant factor but would have already been determined by the time of reapplication. Metrics such as Step 1 scores, AOA status, number of volunteering experiences, and LOR and personal statement qualities had no effect on a reapplicant’s chance of matching.

KEYWORDS:

• Matching
• ophthalmology
• reapplying
• residency applicant
• SF match
• successful reapplicant
• surgery
• surgical residency

Acknowledgments

The staff at the Mitchell and Shannon Wong Eye Institute of the Dell Medical School at UT Austin, and Nicole Groote for their relentless support and administrative help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.