Application questions

[CD125]

Caribbean US-IMG here applying for upcoming match in Anesthesia with various questions.

Stats: Step 1: 262, Step 2CK: 265, Step CS: pass first try, mostly honors in preclinical and clinicals

1) I'm applying very broadly to anesthesia (prob ~100 programs), but how many prelim medicine and transitional programs should I apply to? I was thinking 30 for each as going beyond 30 gets very expensive. I'm obviously applying low tier programs that have taken Caribbean/IMGs in the past.

2) I know the "magic number" of interviews is variable for each specialty and such but my question is if for example I went on 5 prelim-med and 5 transitional interviews, should I view these as cumulative to my "magic number" or separately?

3) I'm planning to apply to 30 IM programs that have taken Caribbean grads in the past as my backup. How many backup interviews should I go on?

4) Do I need a separate personnel statement for IM?

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[deleted387928]

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[DrZzZz]

Caribbean US-IMG here applying for upcoming match in Anesthesia with various questions.

Stats: Step 1: 262, Step 2CK: 265, Step CS: pass first try, mostly honors in preclinical and clinicals

1) I'm applying very broadly to anesthesia (prob ~100 programs), but how many prelim medicine and transitional programs should I apply to? I was thinking 30 for each as going beyond 30 gets very expensive. I'm obviously applying low tier programs that have taken Caribbean/IMGs in the past.

2) I know the "magic number" of interviews is variable for each specialty and such but my question is if for example I went on 5 prelim-med and 5 transitional interviews, should I view these as cumulative to my "magic number" or separately?

3) I'm planning to apply to 30 IM programs that have taken Caribbean grads in the past as my backup. How many backup interviews should I go on?

4) Do I need a separate personnel statement for IM?

I was in your position last year with lower stats. Applied to ~80 anesthesia, got 12 offers. You'll be absolutely fine with getting anesthesia, provided you have no glaring red flags in your app. I didn't apply to TY, only prelim IM, but applied to like 65 I think, got 11 or so offers. Like the above poster said, its very competitive as applicants for Derm, Ortho, Ophtho, etc take up majority of spots. I would say that is more competitive than anesthesia itself. Good news for you is there are increasingly more and more categorical spots for anesthesia and with your stats, you shouldn't have a problem grabbing one (depending on how prestigious the programs you're looking at are). I applied to way too many backup IM - 50 programs, got ~30 offers, actually went on 6 interviews of those. Complete waste of my time and money, but better to be safe than sorry come March. I would recommend only going on a couple with your stats, specifically "safe" programs that you don't have to spend a lot of $ on to go interview for. Yes, you definitely need a different PS for IM (assuming you mean the backup categorical IM). If you send a PS stating you want anesthesia, you'll get fewer offers, as programs don't want to waste their invites on people that will prob match in another field anyway. However, you DON'T need a separate PS for prelim IM/TY. They know you're applying for an advanced specialty, so that's not an issue.