hypothetical stats to get into ortho

[Cold Front]

Let's hear it... the minimums (class rank, part 1), EC's, Research.

everyone says you need to have 95+ on the boards, be in the top 10% of your class, have some research under your belt, only then... you can shine.

Is that typical, or is it an over-rated profile of an ortho applicant?

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[capisce?]

Let's hear it... the minimums (class rank, part 1), EC's, Research.

everyone says you need to have 95+ on the boards, be in the top 10% of your class, have some research under your belt, only then... you can shine.

Is that typical, or is it an over-rated profile of an ortho applicant?

Minimum:

Walk on water
Bench 10x your weight at least 15 times
Telepathic
Time warp

the list goes on, check out marvel.com it may help

 

[Cold Front]

Minimum:

Walk on water
Bench 10x your weight at least 15 times
Telepathic
Time warp

the list goes on, check out marvel.com it may help

haha... If it was that easy, everybody would do it.

 

[Jone]

i know a few ortho residents that matched the past 2 years with the following credentials:

96 boards, class rank 20%, research
92 boards, class rank 12%, no research
95 boards, class rank 5%, research
94 boards, class rank 5% research
89 boards, class rank 5% research
90 boards, class rank #1, no research

so, the 95+, top 10% with research is not necessarily true.

 

[dc-10]

everyone says you need to have 95+ on the boards, be in the top 10% of your class, have some research under your belt, only then... you can shine.

Is that typical, or is it an over-rated profile of an ortho applicant?

While it isn't a must 95+ and top 5% of class to match into ortho, I think it really helps. I know of two people personally who were top 10%; 8 out 85 and 9th out of 92 with part 1 scores of 92 and 91 respectively. The second person having TONS of research and research awards.
They both ended up matching but applied to 35+ programs and only received 3 or 4 interviews. Look at some old posts; there was somebody on here who had 93 part 1, 10th out of like 90, research ,and it took her three times before she matched. There are some people with similar numbers that never end up matching.
Bottom line is that it's super competitive and there are outstanding apllicants that will never get into an ortho residency, but the higher your numbers the better your chance. To be a "competitive" applicant, I would shoot for a 95 on part 1 and top 5% of your class. And apply to as many programs as possible because interviews are random

 

[Jaybe]

While it isn't a must 95+ and top 5% of class to match into ortho, I think it really helps. I know of two people personally who were top 10%; 8 out 85 and 9th out of 92 with part 1 scores of 92 and 91 respectively. The second person having TONS of research and research awards.
They both ended up matching but applied to 35+ programs and only received 3 or 4 interviews. Look at some old posts; there was somebody on here who had 93 part 1, 10th out of like 90, research ,and it took her three times before she matched. There are some people with similar numbers that never end up matching.
Bottom line is that it's super competitive and there are outstanding apllicants that will never get into an ortho residency, but the higher your numbers the better your chance. To be a "competitive" applicant, I would shoot for a 95 on part 1 and top 5% of your class. And apply to as many programs as possible because interviews are random

I will go out on a limb and say the 95 boards, top 10% is an oversimplification. Even some of those will not match. However, each year there are plenty of low 90's, barely in top 20% that match.

The other big factor that REALLY helps no matter what your stats are is POLITICS.

Get to know your school's Program Director. Be open and honest with him/her. If you guys become close, his Rec letter will carry LOTS of weight at his/her own program as well as with any other program director he/she is friends with. Politics is the Dark Horse in Specialty Applications. Piss off your program director, and even if you are 1st in your class with 98 on boards, you could have a real hard time matching. PG's talk.

 

[gryffindor]

The other big factor that REALLY helps no matter what your stats are is POLITICS.


Get to know your school's Program Director. Be open and honest with him/her. If you guys become close, his Rec letter will carry LOTS of weight at his/her own program as well as with any other program director he/she is friends with. Politics is the Dark Horse in Specialty Applications. Piss off your program director, and even if you are 1st in your class with 98 on boards, you could have a real hard time matching. PG's talk.

This has been mentioned before and is a good suggestion. Another corollary of this idea is to "secure" a spot at your home school first before relying on other schools to be wowed into accepting you. Other schools may have lots of their own politics going on and favors owed to people, so even though you might get an interview doesn't mean that you have a realistic fair shot at matching there.

To get into ortho, you need more than just stats. You need lots of luck too. Sometimes you need to know the right people or put on the right act.

If you have a 95+, top 10%, there is a good chance you will get a decent number of interviews if you apply broadly enough. Because even if you don't match with those stats, no one can deny that your stats are good. At a program visit once, I had one faculty member wrinkle his face in disappointment when I said my stats because apparently they expect to interview and match people with much higher stats, after they match all the people they owe favors to. When you go to reapply after graduation, you can't change your stats anymore. But you can add plenty of research and dental leadership to your application after you graduate.

 

[jpollei]

Minimum:

Walk on water
Bench 10x your weight at least 15 times
Telepathic
Time warp

the list goes on, check out marvel.com it may help

Clarification needed on a few points here, pedo man. The bench rules changed to 225lbs, as many times as possible (to be similar to the NFL combine).
Also, you have to be fluent in 11 languages.

Or, just put stock into what Griff posted, as always.

 

[ortho07]

I really think it depends on the type of program you apply to as well. Although you may have great grades and board scores, different schools may not interview you because they are only looking for a certain type of applicant. For example, some schools who incorporate a lot of research into their programs, may want an applicant who has done a lot of research. Or other schools may be looking for applicants who are affiliated with the military in some way. Finally there are other schools who want people just based on high grades. And we cant forget the schools who take people who have connections to the people at the programs. Add the fact that its such a sought after specialty because of the great lifestyle associated with the profession, you get a high quality of applicants

I think all of these factors are what make Ortho a hard specialty to get into. I applied to around 20 schools and only received 3 interviews. Im ranked 3rd and got a 91 on part 1, and I have no extracurriculars or research just for reference. I matched this past november.

 

[NewBender]

I just finished the whole process and will begin ortho this july. From what I saw at interviews and constantly asking the faculty at my program what they are looking for, they put it simply: 90% and above for NBPT1 and top 10% rank. If you can pull that, you will atleast have some interviews to get your foot in the door. The rest is up to your personality, motivation, and any research you have done. I think the average for my program is top 5 in the class and 94% National Boards part 1. Hope this helps.

 

[Gambade]

I really think it depends on the type of program you apply to as well. Although you may have great grades and board scores, different schools may not interview you because they are only looking for a certain type of applicant. For example, some schools who incorporate a lot of research into their programs, may want an applicant who has done a lot of research. Or other schools may be looking for applicants who are affiliated with the military in some way. Finally there are other schools who want people just based on high grades. And we cant forget the schools who take people who have connections to the people at the programs. Add the fact that its such a sought after specialty because of the great lifestyle associated with the profession, you get a high quality of applicants

I think all of these factors are what make Ortho a hard specialty to get into. I applied to around 20 schools and only received 3 interviews. Im ranked 3rd and got a 91 on part 1, and I have no extracurriculars or research just for reference. I matched this past november.

Hi Ortho07...If you don't mind me asking, what do you think were the important factors that got you matched? What did you do differently during the interviews? I have similar stats (93 on Part I, no research) and I'm worried that I won't matched. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Congrats on your match.