IM - no interview invites - help!

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hi everyone...I'm getting quite worried for not having any interview invites for IM so far.. no letter of rejections yet either..
I applied to FM for backup and have received 12 invites so far ...including major academic centers. (I applied to ~50 programs) I'm an osteopathic student. However, I also need a visa for residency (I'm not American). I only took step 2 USMLE and I applied to all ACGME programs (mid-lower tiers, 90 programs across the country). Submitted ERAS on 9/15, had 3 letters and USMLE transcript in by 9/17.

COMLEX 1 505
USMLE Step 2 - 225

I'm getting more and more worried by the day, since it's 1/3 into Oct already. I kept on thinking that there might be some catastrophic red flag in my application or letters...

any words of wisdom? thank you in advance!

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I agree with you that a number of top tier programs would require Step 1 or a really high COMLEX score...but I've also met many grads from my school who matched without a Step 1 score.
 
Your red flag is that you are an average DO applicant without a USMLE 1. There may be others...but that is the one that stands out. I would strongly encourage you to apply AOA.
 
I actually have a very similar USMLE step 2 score (didn't take USMLE step 1) but slightly higher comlex scores than you (550s). Getting IM invites from the lower/mid-tier MD university IM programs hasn't been an issue for me... It seems like that visa may be the issue for why you are getting passed over. Or maybe another red flag in your app?
 
thanks everyone. I think Visa status is definitely a big issue. I'm applying to 2 AOA programs..but most of them don't sponsor visas (or the type of visa I want). I also just got my first IM interview today at a university based program. Let's hope the rest of the month gets better.
 
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hi everyone...I'm getting quite worried for not having any interview invites for IM so far.. no letter of rejections yet either..
I applied to FM for backup and have received 12 invites so far ...including major academic centers. (I applied to ~50 programs) I'm an osteopathic student. However, I also need a visa for residency (I'm not American). I only took step 2 USMLE and I applied to all ACGME programs (mid-lower tiers, 90 programs across the country). Submitted ERAS on 9/15, had 3 letters and USMLE transcript in by 9/17.

COMLEX 1 505
USMLE Step 2 - 225

I'm getting more and more worried by the day, since it's 1/3 into Oct already. I kept on thinking that there might be some catastrophic red flag in my application or letters...

any words of wisdom? thank you in advance!

I would ssay kack of step1, step 2 cs, and visa. I have lower scores than you with one step 1 failure. Ididnt take comlex. I applied to only a handful of im programs and got 6 interviews. I'm trying to match in fm. Three im ivs owever I did audition rotations. Just did their iv right before I leftnthe audition
 
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thanks everyone. I think Visa status is definitely a big issue. I'm applying to 2 AOA programs..but most of them don't sponsor visas (or the type of visa I want). I also just got my first IM interview today at a university based program. Let's hope the rest of the month gets better.
Familiar with the phrase "beggars can't be choosers"?. You're a DO student applying primarily to allo programs with decent COMLEX 1 and below average Step 2CK, who also needs a visa. If IM is your goal, broaden your AOA search. If all you want to do is match, you'll be fine with your FM offers.
 
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Thanks everyone!
I listened to your suggestions and broadened my list of programs (more AOA program and programs that offer J1). I ended up applying to ~135 programs (now I really wish I had applied to 200 programs right from the start).

Here's my updated profile: DO student, needs J1/H1b visa (I'm essentially a DO-IMG, although considered AMG on ERAS), COMLEX1 - 505, COMLEX 2 - 487, passed COMLEX 2 PE. Step 2 USMLE 225, 4 IM LORS

I have 10 IM invites now (1 AOA, 3 dual, 6 ACGME. I auditioned at 2 of them). Some of them have very few residency spots (one program only reserves one spot for DO applicants, another one interviewed a LOT of applicants, another program only has 6 spots in their program). I've already emailed all the programs I applied to once...and programs I'm really interested in twice. Anything else I could do at this point? Should I apply to more programs this late in the season or re-contact the ones I've already applied to? Could I still expect some last minute interviews/late cancellation spots in January? Thank you!!

I also applied to FM and I'm going to about 10 FM interviews. The more of these interview I go on..the more I realize that I want to do IM.
 
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At this point, applying to more programs is unlikely to yield any invites. You have already contacted the programs you did apply to once (or twice), contacting them again is not going to do anything other than guarantee no interview due to being annoying. Contacting programs only really works if there is one aspect to your application that would cause them to filter you out without even looking at your app, but you otherwise have a very strong application. For instance, a US-IMG friend of mine had an extremely strong application other than being a US-IMG. He ended up getting 5-10 additional interviews by contacting programs and saying, "I know you don't usually take US-IMGs, but I'm very interested in your program and would love an opportunity to convince you that I'd be a great fit." He actually matched at one of those places.

As mentioned above, the truth is you haven't received more invites in IM because your application just isn't that strong, and you need a visa. 10 interviews is actually a substantial number and gives you a very good chance of matching in IM. At this point, you should just focus on performing well at the interviews you already have.
 
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Thanks Argus. Those are some solid advice. I'll focus on the current interviews I have and hope to land some of those really late ones in Jan.
 
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