Hello I was just curious to know what are the chances of matching FM if you fail COMLEX I once and pass upon second attempt. How competitive are the programs in the midwest and even if you fail, can you still match in a rural location? Because I thought several programs go unfilled?
For what it's worth, I think you'll find a FM program that will take you. Failing a COMLEX exam, while detrimental, is not the end of the world. Here are several reasons why:
1) FM tends to be a buyer's market for the student. As you've stated, many program go unfilled. You can optimize your chances by applying broadly and then waiting to hear back from what programs are willing to interview you.
2) We know nothing else of your overall profile. Were you heavily involved in FM interest groups and leadership roles? Did you have any special projects that may catch a PD's eye? Pass the Level 1 on the second go and make sure to improve on the COMLEX level 2. Demonstrating improvement can mitigate the perceived damage by a failed Level 1. Remember, PDs want to have applicants who are going to pass licensing tests. It is a headache for them to constantly hover over people who cannot test well. By demonstrating it was a fluke, you can reassure PDs that you are not a risk.
3) Programs tend to look at applicants as a whole rather than as individual data points. Yes, a failed Level 1 can screen you out depending on the program's iterative filtering criteria. What is important to realize though, is that it's hard to gauge which programs do so and which do not. It is in your best interest to apply to a variety of programs - popular programs, programs that have strong ties with your school, programs that are less competitive but have good training and programs that have went unfilled in the past.
Your goal going forward is to shine enough to make the failed Level 1 less prominent. By doing your best in everything else and succeeding, it becomes an outlier instead of a key component to your application. As far as what you can do to further minimize the damage besides "testing well,":
1) Make sure your letters of recommendation are strong. Hopefully, you'll find letter writers who can attest to your fund of knowledge being at or above your peers. Stay in contact with attendings you have performed well with.
2) Meet with your advisor to see where graduates of your school in similar situations have gone. See what your options are. Continue to make a rank list of your ideal, reasonable and safety picks. You need to give yourself hope to push forward, if medicine is something you still want to pursue.
3) If you get a chance to speak with your dean about your MSPE at the end of 3rd year, do so. If you performed well throughout the year, you may want to see if there is a way to ger his/her endorsement of your fund of knowledge.
4) Get the equivalent of Honors/High pass on your FM rotations and continue to do well on rotations overall.
5) There are a lot of debates as to whether or not your personal statement should include details about your failure. Personally, I feel like you should be highlighting the best of you and giving the program more insight into what makes you a strong candidate. You can explain what went wrong and how you overcame the struggle in a small section in your ERAS app. A point made in favor of using your PS as a way to explain how you overcame is that you have more characters available to explain everything compared to the small spot in ERAS.
6) Assuming you a strong student on the floors and has a personality that can shine, do a few rotations with programs that you're interested in. Many AOA programs give preference to strong performers who have rotated at their institution.
7) If you know someone at a program that is considering you and this person knows the program's leadership, ask them to pass along a recommendation. This is yet another way in which you can express interest in the program, with the added benefit that you don't sound too needy and that other people have taken interest in you.
Those are my $0.02. I hope things are going better for you and that you are able to enjoy your time during the holidays.
Cheers!
