Hi Everyone! I figured I'd stop combing posts to find a situation identical to mine and just ask.
I'm PGY4 applying for neurology this fall and I'm couples matching with someone applying to Derm. I am admittedly a mediocre applicant. I go to a top 20 med school, 5/7 honors on clinical clerkships (high pass in others), have a couple publications, excellent ECs, and very, very strong recommendation letters...but I have a step 1 score of 209. My practice tests for Step 2 were much higher (240's) but I don't have my results back yet.
My SO has a 271 on Step 1, 6/7 honors, ECs, great letters etc, etc.
How many programs should I be applying to? So far I have a list of 51
programs I'm considering (not including prelims), but I'm not sure what to cut down.
For an example, if applying to programs of tiers A, B, and C (most to least competitive) within a city:
Program A - slim chance of invite, unsure if I'm willing to give up that chance by not applying
Program B - I'd be thrilled to interview but no guarantee that they'd send me an invite
Program C - probably better chance of getting an interview but I'm not that excited about the program
It seems reasonable to apply to all tiers, but do that for every city my SO is applying to, and it adds up. If I try to whittle down the number I apply to, should I be whittling the top tiers or the bottom tiers?
Frankly I'm not happy with the guidance I've received and would really appreciate any input. It's difficult to really gauge how many interview invites people actually receive after submitting applications on ERAS, complicated by couples matching as well as an overall decent application with a big red flag of a STEP 1 score. Thank you!
I'm PGY4 applying for neurology this fall and I'm couples matching with someone applying to Derm. I am admittedly a mediocre applicant. I go to a top 20 med school, 5/7 honors on clinical clerkships (high pass in others), have a couple publications, excellent ECs, and very, very strong recommendation letters...but I have a step 1 score of 209. My practice tests for Step 2 were much higher (240's) but I don't have my results back yet.
My SO has a 271 on Step 1, 6/7 honors, ECs, great letters etc, etc.
How many programs should I be applying to? So far I have a list of 51
programs I'm considering (not including prelims), but I'm not sure what to cut down. For an example, if applying to programs of tiers A, B, and C (most to least competitive) within a city:
Program A - slim chance of invite, unsure if I'm willing to give up that chance by not applying
Program B - I'd be thrilled to interview but no guarantee that they'd send me an invite
Program C - probably better chance of getting an interview but I'm not that excited about the program
It seems reasonable to apply to all tiers, but do that for every city my SO is applying to, and it adds up. If I try to whittle down the number I apply to, should I be whittling the top tiers or the bottom tiers?
Frankly I'm not happy with the guidance I've received and would really appreciate any input. It's difficult to really gauge how many interview invites people actually receive after submitting applications on ERAS, complicated by couples matching as well as an overall decent application with a big red flag of a STEP 1 score. Thank you!
