DO's applying allopathic 2015-2016

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Dharma

Dharma

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
2,811
Reaction score
1,138
Just wanted to see how you are all faring during this interview season. Kind of thought we should have a thread to throw around ideas and see how much love programs are throwing our way this year.

I'll start with me. Applied to 45 places, mostly east coast and midwest with some randoms thrown in there. Stayed away from any programs that won't look at DOs. So far, have only one invite. Nontrad student here, so some have said that programs are waiting on the Dean's letter? We'll see.

Anyhow, hope all is going well for you folks. Feel free to drop in on this thread to share ideas, vent your concerns, or whatever. Good luck!
Members don't see this ad.
 
Dharma said:
Just wanted to see how you are all faring during this interview season. Kind of thought we should have a thread to throw around ideas and see how much love programs are throwing our way this year.

I'll start with me. Applied to 45 places, mostly east coast and midwest with some randoms thrown in there. Stayed away from any programs that won't look at DOs. So far, have only one invite. Nontrad student here, so some have said that programs are waiting on the Dean's letter? We'll see.

Anyhow, hope all is going well for you folks. Feel free to drop in on this thread to share ideas, vent your concerns, or whatever. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I've applied to 10 programs so far, will probably apply to 10 or so more. Only applying places that will accept comlex, because I dont want to take the usmle for step 2 unless I absolutely have to.

Only received one invite as well, and it's from a program in the same city as my medical school. I think most programs do wait for deans letters unless they have a close affiliation with your school.
 
g2daizh said:
I've applied to 10 programs so far, will probably apply to 10 or so more. Only applying places that will accept comlex, because I dont want to take the usmle for step 2 unless I absolutely have to.

Only received one invite as well, and it's from a program in the same city as my medical school. I think most programs do wait for deans letters unless they have a close affiliation with your school.
Click to expand...
I would say the vast majority of programs will consider COMLEX (including a few that only mention USMLE on their web page), so I think you can kick the numbers up a bit. I'm assuming you didn't take Step 1?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Dharma said:
I would say the vast majority of programs will consider COMLEX (including a few that only mention USMLE on their web page), so I think you can kick the numbers up a bit. I'm assuming you didn't take Step 1?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's just hard for me to figure out where I'd actually like to go. I feel like with 30-35 applications, Most of them would be places I really don't want to go anyway. But I probably should apply more broadly because I'm not a super competetive applicant. No red flags or anything, but below average board scores, and poor pre-clinical grades.

I actually did take step 1 because I wasn't sure which direction I was going to take. But when I decided on psych I knew that there were so many programs accepting comlex that it wouldn't hurt if I skipped the usmle for step 2. I just don't feel like studying for boards and going through all the stress associated with it again haha.
 
g2daizh said:
Yeah, it's just hard for me to figure out where I'd actually like to go. I feel like with 30-35 applications, Most of them would be places I really don't want to go anyway. But I probably should apply more broadly because I'm not a super competetive applicant. No red flags or anything, but below average board scores, and poor pre-clinical grades.

I actually did take step 1 because I wasn't sure which direction I was going to take. But when I decided on psych I knew that there were so many programs accepting comlex that it wouldn't hurt if I skipped the usmle for step 2. I just don't feel like studying for boards and going through all the stress associated with it again haha.
Click to expand...
I hear ya on not studying for boards right now! Glad that it's all wrapped up until Step 3. What region of the country are you considering? I would add some places that may not be on the top of your list geographically but that you could be happy with.
 
I'm a DO student who received two invites so far after applying to 30. I only took the COMLEX step 1 and 2, and passed the COMLEX PE. I'm hoping for more after the Dean's letter too!
 
I applied to 54 and Ive only gotten 1 :(

Iv heard they are waiting for dean's letters but a majority of prgrams are sending out invites according to the interview thread
 
ricexeater said:
I applied to 54 and Ive only gotten 1 :(

Iv heard they are waiting for dean's letters but a majority of prgrams are sending out invites according to the interview thread
Click to expand...
Did you take USMLE?
 
I did! But got only a 210 and failed step2.

Heard from a student that couple of PDs say this is a incredibly competitive year.
 
Twice the number of applications, but probably the same number of applicants. Since we cannot double our number of interviews, I’ll predict that there will be a larger number of unfilled spots in the scramble (soap). Please, please, please be realistic and cancel early enough for us to invite others if you are not likely to want us.
 
It has been going up for some time, but the slope is higher than ever. Electronic applications make it easy. I hear undergraduate applications have done something similar.
 
MacDonaldTriad said:
Please, please, please be realistic and cancel early enough for us to invite others if you are not likely to want us.
Click to expand...
I was thinking bare minimum 2 weeks. I'd much rather say 3+. What's your take?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Members don't see this ad :)
DrMeowMeow said:
I wonder why the same number of applicants would all of a sudden apply to twice as many places from one year to the next though.
Click to expand...

Well, most of us have been told that there are more AMG applicants than residency spots this year. The fear of not matching is strong. My friend is pretty strong AMG applicant. She still applied to 40+ places because she felt that maximized her chances of getting into the best place she possibly could. I think maybe she underestimated the strength of her application, and she's going to end up with interviews at the places she considers reaches. She's already having a hard time dealing with all the interviews she has. Maybe this will happen with a significant number of people and there will be more turnover later on this year?

I also know at least 3 people at my school who are applying to plastics, ENT, and gen surg but using psych as a "back-up". It's kind of infuriating to imagine that these people who don't really care about psych are taking up interview spots.
 
Last edited:
Rogue Penguin said:
Well, most of us know that there are more AMG applicants than residency spots this year. The fear of not matching is strong.
Click to expand...
I don't think we've reached that point yet. Although this is the rumor, I'm not sure it is a legit one. But yeah, fear....
 
Rogue Penguin said:
I also know at least 3 people at my school who are applying to plastics, ENT, and gen surg but using psych as a "back-up". It's kind of infuriating to imagine that these people who don't really care about psych are taking up interview spots.
Click to expand...

Wow. That's sad. I'm gonna have some faith that they will be easily discovered as the back-up crowd.
 
My school's program director told us that. It was just a prediction or speculation at that point though.

Dharma said:
I don't think we've reached that point yet. Although this is the rumor, I'm not sure it is a legit one. But yeah, fear....
Click to expand...
 
My program has said the same - highest number of applications ever, and a greater proportion of American grads (MD and DO) than we've ever had.
 
My bad, I thought we were referring to the number of AMGs surpassing available GME slots overall (which is not the case). I'm sure numbers are up in terms of applications per program though, especially with people out there applying to 3 fields.
 
I've gotten 3 invites, 1 being from a place I've rotated. My stats are at least moderately competitive. I don't want to be anxious, but I'm moving toward that direction as I see all these invites coming in for others.
 
Last edited:
MacDonaldTriad said:
Twice the number of applications, but probably the same number of applicants. Since we cannot double our number of interviews, I’ll predict that there will be a larger number of unfilled spots in the scramble (soap). Please, please, please be realistic and cancel early enough for us to invite others if you are not likely to want us.
Click to expand...

:( This is just as bad for applicants as it is for programs. No one wants to be passed over for an interview somewhere and then have them end up soaping someone while they match somewhere they wanted to go less and I doubt the programs want soap spots at all.

I feel like the quick way to solve this is for programs to be able to see where you applied, or at least the # of programs and # of specialties if not specific locations.
 
1=1$, 2=2$, 3=4$, 4=8$, 5 =16$, 6=32$, 7=64$, 8=128$, 9=256$, 10=512$, 11=1,024$, 12=2,048$.... anyone need to apply to more than a dozen? Go ahead. Problem solved.
 
On the bright side interviews are worth more than they were before given that the #of programs applied to increased more than the # of applicants as more programs will be matching deeper on their list.
 
I feel like the quick way to solve this is for programs to be able to see where you applied, or at least the # of programs and # of specialties if not specific locations.
Click to expand...

How about restricting the number of interviews? That's the most straight forward way I can think of. Limiting interviews to 10 will work for everyone involved. People who applied to too many will cancel. We are already paying far too much cash for this. I mean 100$ to get a residency application token and 70$ to register for the match. Really?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Jorje286 said:
How about restricting the number of interviews? That's the most straight forward way I can think of. Limiting interviews to 10 will work for everyone involved. People who applied to too many will cancel. We are already paying far too much cash for this. I mean 100$ to get a residency application token and 70$ to register for the match. Really?
Click to expand...

The entire medical school process is rigged in favor of the wealthy.
 
so is life, or at least poverty seems highly over rated. As far as med school, there are some sincere scholarship efforts based on need.
 
Any more updates from you all regarding invites and interviews? Would love to hear more about your experiences!
 
As a 3rd year DO student, is doing an elective rotation at the place I think I would like to do residency (mostly based on location and being DO friendly) a good idea? It would be 2 months before the end of 3rd year/start of 4th. I honored my initial psych rotation and will get a LOR from the PD at my home institution. My fear is jumping the gun in showing my face there before a more standard audition time? Somewhat related - If I definitely do want to do residency at this institution, do I get an LOR from the attending or just try to "network" with residents/attendings?
 
I am a fourth year DO student who has done a few elective away/audition rotations and cannot emphasize how helpful they have been for me in terms of getting to know programs better, gaining interviews I don't think I would have gotten without an "in", and getting a better understanding of the cities and surrounding areas. I had three audition rotations over the course of August-December. I think the timing really depends on if you feel ready to show programs that you are going to be an excellent resident. I don't think I would have felt that way in May...but I was felt ready by July. So, I think its an honest, individual assessment.

I asked for a LOR from the audition rotation at a university program that I rotated at in August and I believe it definitely strengthened my application. I think it can be helpful to get to know the residents better and "network", but I didn't feel the need to introduce myself to the PD necessarily. The important thing on these is to do an excellent job and show that you would be an asset! Good luck!
 
PDs do look at who letters are from. Letters from family friends in practice are not helpful, and can be harmful if you can't get at least some from people with faculty appointments at known places. As far a away rotations, I say do it. If you go somewhere that doesn't think you are cutting it, you wouldn't want to match there anyway. If you impress them and they impress you, you are good to go.
 
Thanks to both of you for the insight.

I actually don't have any family friends or "connections" in medicine outside of those I've personally made on rotations or during my preclinical years so I think my letters will be pretty genuine. Hopefully I'll do well enough on this away rotation (that you've definitely convinced me is the right move) to ask for a letter; or at the least I'll know that I do or don't want to apply there based on my experience. Thanks again.
 
nikeforlife said:
I am a fourth year DO student who has done a few elective away/audition rotations and cannot emphasize how helpful they have been for me in terms of getting to know programs better, gaining interviews I don't think I would have gotten without an "in", and getting a better understanding of the cities and surrounding areas. I had three audition rotations over the course of August-December. I think the timing really depends on if you feel ready to show programs that you are going to be an excellent resident. I don't think I would have felt that way in May...but I was felt ready by July. So, I think its an honest, individual assessment.

I asked for a LOR from the audition rotation at a university program that I rotated at in August and I believe it definitely strengthened my application. I think it can be helpful to get to know the residents better and "network", but I didn't feel the need to introduce myself to the PD necessarily. The important thing on these is to do an excellent job and show that you would be an asset! Good luck!
Click to expand...

I feel I made some great connections through the one audition I did. If my school wasn't so rigid with their scheduling I would have done at least one more. If you are at all personable I certainly would advise this as well. Many MD counterparts going into psych still see auditions as not necessary and you doing one can really give you an advantage you'd otherwise not have.
 
Just wanted to bump this thread and see how things have been? I am a OMS-3 and am most likely going to be going into psych. Step scores with 225/594, no red flags, and consider myself to be a likable person. Would like to stay on the eastern side of the US if possible (midwest is fine). Did the interviews come in more when the dean's letters went out?
 
temoojin said:
As a 3rd year DO student, is doing an elective rotation at the place I think I would like to do residency (mostly based on location and being DO friendly) a good idea? It would be 2 months before the end of 3rd year/start of 4th. I honored my initial psych rotation and will get a LOR from the PD at my home institution. My fear is jumping the gun in showing my face there before a more standard audition time? Somewhat related - If I definitely do want to do residency at this institution, do I get an LOR from the attending or just try to "network" with residents/attendings?
Click to expand...

I did a second rotation in Psych in April of my OMS-3 year. It was great to get a chance to check out the program. I also got an LOR from my attending. I tried to treat it like an "early" Sub-I and put in the work. I also let the program director, coordinator, and my attending and residents know that I was interested in applying there (in a non-creepy, non-aggressive way). Then...lo and behold...I got a personal phone call from the PC the day interview invitations went out. If you do well, they'll remember you even if it's a little bit on the early side. Good luck!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Away rotations are a plus... a bonus (if you do well) but certainly not a necessity. I did not go on any personally for family reasons (did not want to move my wife and kid around nor did I want to be away from them) and fared quite well in terms of invites (~50% success rate and landing a few "reaches"). That said, I did well on both USMLE and COMLEX (nothing spectacular but certainly above average for psychiatry) and I made sure that my application showed dedication to psychiatry with electives and LORs.

Take home: still a pretty "DO friendly" field besides the ultra-competitive programs (where even an away rotation will likely result in a courtesy interview at best). Take the USMLE to keep the doors open regardless of how many "I only took COMLEX" success stories you hear. Go on aways only if really interested in a particular program and/or locale, but MOSTLY to see if YOU like the place (more so than for the sake of "auditioning"... a term I have grown to dislike). And don't let the "OMG, psych is the hottest field in medicine and it's going to be so competitive" noise freak you out. Work hard. Smile. Ride it out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Right on Dharma,

So key points: do take USMLE even when some undergrad medical students think they know otherwise, those in charge of post graduate education want to see those scores.

Audition rotations are not necessarily auditions. Mostly Sub-Is are for you to check out programs. Programs don’t have an expectation that their applicants do Sub-Is as you can only do a couple of them at most.

Don’t let the “psych is getting competitive” scare you. Psych is still about third from the bottom in terms of difficulty to get into. So what if 15% more US grads applied. Half of matches are IMG so an increase of 15% is still less than 100 people out of 1,300 spots.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Thanks for the advice.

I did take USMLE and essentially scored the national average - above the 2014 match average psych score. I did above average on the COMLEX. (My stats look pretty similar to YippieKyrie's + some basic science research background). I'm looking to go to Maine for an away/elective because I want to: (a) have a second psych rotation at a separate institution during 3rd year to gain experience and make sure its what I want to do; and to (b) see if I actually like Maine (both location-wise, and as a program for residency) as much as I do in my head without ever having visited. I'm into food, beer, skiing, the beach, living small, nature and I'm not so much into big city living - so I have high hopes.
 
congrats to all DOs applying psych this year!
and good luck as you wrap up your interview season and contemplate your rank lists :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Hey guys, 3rd year here. Looking to match in SoCal...I've heard it's been very competitive in the area. Anyone have any info on how DOs have been doing on the interview trail, specifically at UCI?
 
Any DO's applying that have advice/stories/news/reviews/etc?
 
Only took COMLEX. 12 interviews, all ACGME. I think I had pretty good letters. Above avg preclinical grades (don't think it matters tbh). For future DOs applying, I would say take the USMLE to be on the safe side especially if you want to stay in california. But you can still easily match without the USMLE, might have to apply a little more broadly.
 
Take USMLE, small advantages can have large effects. Applicants have a normal distribution and programs do too. Half a standard deviation can make a lot of difference if you are not average (in either direction).
 
flight24 said:
For future DOs applying, I would say take the USMLE to be on the safe side especially if you want to stay in california. But you can still easily match without the USMLE, might have to apply a little more broadly.
Click to expand...
Yep. Allopathic residency spots are going to continue to get more competitive given more graduating students applying for more spots. Cutting down your opportunities to save taking a standardized test that is really testing material you've already studied for on another standardized test seems like penny-wise/pound-foolish.
 
I think whether or not to take the usmle depends largely on what ones goals as far as residency goes. It may be a good idea, and it may be completely useless.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Dharma said:
Take the USMLE.
Click to expand...

MacDonaldTriad said:
Take USMLE, small advantages can have large effects. Applicants have a normal distribution and programs do too. Half a standard deviation can make a lot of difference if you are not average (in either direction).
Click to expand...

aaaand now I really regret not taking USMLE. :( Is this still a legitimate concern for someone seeking to apply in the Midwest/Eastern US (minus the coast)?
 
vistaril said:
I think whether or not to take the usmle depends largely on what ones goals as far as residency goes. It may be a good idea, and it may be completely useless.
Click to expand...
The problem with this logic is that you will not discover whether it is a "good idea" or "useless" until it's too late. Wearing a seatbelt is almost always useless too.

Many less competitive allopathic programs will not require the USMLE. A lot of competitive programs won't care much either.

But allopathic programs that weight USMLE scores strongly will prefer osteopaths to have taken the USMLE as this way they can compare like with like.

Take the USMLE - it will only increase your opportunities. And most applicants don't know how much opportunity until it's too late. People change their mind about professional goals, they fall in love, their parents get sick, etc. having more options than you think you need is always a good thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

bbc586
Suicide Malpractice Case [Naturopathic Provider and Allopathic Psychiatrist]
Replies
16
Views
2K
calvnandhobbs68
calvnandhobbs68
T
"Applying Broadly" for Psychiatry Residency
Replies
16
Views
849
throwaway20425
T
W
Dual applying!?
Replies
20
Views
1K
FlowRate
FlowRate
ridethecliche
So uhhh... Anyone else applying to Forensic Psych fellowship?
Replies
0
Views
380
ridethecliche
ridethecliche
D
Dual applying psych with a mostly peds background
Replies
11
Views
604
FlowRate
FlowRate
Top