IMG applicants 2014-2015

[Opthoaa2]

I am a US graduate switching from general surgery. My friend is an IMG and also applying for ophtho. I got 3 interviews so far.
Is it early for IMGs to get interviews?
Did any one receive invitations?
My friend got ZERO IVs and one rejection.

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[DrZeke]

Is it early for IMGs to get interviews?
Did any one receive invitations?
I will start : i got ZERO IVs and one rejection.

1) no it's not too early to have an interview, but most places have not sent out invites yet.

2) as you know, it's hard to be an IMG in the match. You need amazing letters from amazing people. and Research from a great place. High step scores are also kind of expected in this applicant pool.

 

[Opthoaa2]

1) no it's not too early to have an interview, but most places have not sent out invites yet.

2) as you know, it's hard to be an IMG in the match. You need amazing letters from amazing people. and Research from a great place. High step scores are also kind of expected in this applicant pool.

I know it is hard, he is not expecting much.

 

[ophtho passion]

on the same boat, no IVs and one rejection - OK

 

[ophthalmology_aspirant]

Just 1 interview here and 1 rejection. IMGs tend to receive less interviews. As far as I have heard. So maybe things will improve in the next few weeks for us.

 

[DocDO2B]

Though im not an IMG...im a DO and looked at poorly in ophtho as well....just 2 invites so far. Hopefully things pick up. Are any of you starting to make back up plans yet?

 

[ophthalmology_aspirant]

Yeh DOs are pretty much in the same boat I guess. Would you try for the DO match later?
No back up plans for me yet.

 

[DocDO2B]

I have applied to some DO programs as a back up but those generally only take those that rotate with them....which I didnt

 

[ophtho passion]

Have a few prelim year IVs, if everything works well hoping to get ophtho rotations, possibly an lor and apply again for 2017 residency.. any other back up options u guys could think of?

 

[Slide]

I'm not an IMG, but I've worked with a few IMGs that have matched into residency in the past. Two of them were ophthalmologists in their home country.

This has already been mentioned and has been said thousands of times, but it's very difficult to match as an IMG and the odds are stacked against you. You have to excel in everything in your application, and then some. It's because there are so many qualified US applicants that IMGs are usually weeded out in the first review of applications. The ones I know that have matched have usually done either a pre-residency fellowship (like ocular pathology) or have done extensive research with an ophthalmology department. Most often, they match at where they did their research or pre-residency fellowship, or with a program with extensive connections to the department they were at.

What I'm getting at is that for a back-up option, it may be wiser to do a pre-residency fellowship or research instead of pursuing a transitional/intern year then applying for a residency spot.

 

[ophthalmology_aspirant]

Thank you for your input Slide. I think the discussion about back up options is for those that have already done pre-residency fellowships and/or extensive research. It is a given that IMGs need to do a lot of research besides having a flawless application otherwise. These days, AMGs do a lot of research too to get into Ophthalmology. I guess if someone (IMG) does not match even after doing research, then its probably time to think of back up plans like doing another residency or a transitional year/prelim year before reapplying.

 

[Opthoaa2]

I wonder how many of the applicants are actually switching from another field.

 

[Ophoguy]

Is it reall needed? Is residency not giving that visa needed for practice afterwards?

 

[docta9]

Applicants with a MD degree find it very hard to get into DO ophthalmology programs that most don't even try. Americans will probably find it impossible to get into a Canadian ophthalmology program even though American programs accept Canadians.

 

[DopaDO]

Applicants with a MD degree find it very hard to get into DO ophthalmology programs that most don't even try. Americans will probably find it impossible to get into a Canadian ophthalmology program even though American programs accept Canadians.

MD students can't apply for DO residencies, that may be changing in the future.