Official 2013 Match Results!!

[shangrila263]

School: unranked state school
Steps: 218/244
Clinical: H in Medicine and Sub-I, mostly HP in everything else
Interviewed: USC, UIC, BU, Montefiore, Dartmouth, Rush, Beth Israel (NY), Drexel, Lenox Hill, NSLIJ, Downstate, RWJ, UCI
Matched: Temple (#5)
Anything special: not really
Advice for future applicants: apply broadly, go on as many interviews as you can possibly tolerate, be very cautious about reading into any post-interview feedback you get (got burned by my top 2 choices). I think my Step 1 score held me back, not necessarily my school name, so make sure you rock your boards. Doing well on Step 2 helped get me a few more interviews though. Rank everything, SOAP is not a pleasant process from what I've heard. IM is becoming a huge crap shoot from what I've been hearing from a lot of my classmates.

I would really like anonymous to contact me privately! It seems like we have the same stats and had the same interviews and matched at our 5th or 6th place. I really need someone to talk to rationalize this harrowing experience.

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[gutonc]

Matched to: Brown!
Board Scores: Step 1: 259, Step 2: 269
AOA and Class Rank: senior AOA
Reputation of Medical School: not top 50
Research: 1 first author pub, and presented it as a poster at national (non-IM) conf

Clerkship Honors: H in everything except HP in OB, H in medicine sub-I
Away rotations: nope

Interviews attended: (only applied in the northeast-ish)
BWH, BIDMC, Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins Bayview, Pitt, Dartmouth, Temple, UMD, Tufts

Rejected: JHH, MGH, Penn

Position on rank list: #4 (and still crazy happy)

Anything That Helped Your Application
- Great letters, really great interview day.

General Advice:
- I'll second that med school reputation does play a role in residency selection. At my "top" interviews, definitely didn't see many applicants from schools like mine.
- SOAP is horrifying, so don't overestimate yourself. Apply broadly, and schedule every invite as they come. You can always cancel, and when the top-tier places send invites in mid-November, you don't want to be caught without enough IV's
- DO a "warm up" interview or two before you go on your important ones
- DO send thank you emails that same evening when you get home/to the hotel
- DO post in this thread. This isn't WAMC- this is the real data and it's really helpful to see what people's stats are and where they get an IV/match

 

[gutonc]

Board Scores: 250s for both (passed on first attempt), passed CS. CK score not available until mid-November.
AOA and Class Rank: N/A at my school
Reputation of Medical School: Top 30 according to USNWR
Research: ~5 basic/translational peer-reviewed papers (1 first author). 2 during med school, the rest I got from the lab I was in prior to matriculation. I tried to focus on quality over quantity.

Clerkship Honors: N/A at my institution

Away rotations: None
Number of applications: 30

Interview Invitations: Approx 15. Invited by some "big" places (Wash U, Chicago, UTSW, BIDMC, UMich...), rejected by many others (Man's greatest, Osler's). I was also rejected by some other places randomly which aren't necessarily tippy-top tier but solid... which is too bad because I would have been interested in interviewing at these places had they invited me (UVA)

Number of Interviews Attended: All
Where matched: Michigan
Position on rank list: #1 (Very fortunate and excited)

Anything That Helped Your Application: My research LOR was commented on (in a positive way) at several interviews as was my personal statement. Felt that I performed well at most of my interviews, including my #1.

Other comments:
Process seems highly random overall and I think the most important thing is to apply broadly, especially with the increasing number of applicants.

Research is not the end-all, be-all, as evidenced by the posters in this thread who performed very little research but still matched at top-tier places.

The rep of your school matters quite a lot! Don't be surprised if your friend who goes to a "better" med school with the exact same stats/CV as you gets invited to places you don't and the converse for your friend from a lower tier place. Pedigree begets more pedigree.

Enjoy the process. I had a lot of fun meeting new people on the interview trail and seeing cities I'd never been to before. I was sad to see it end (but my wallet was not). SDN is a nice resource if used correctly but don't let it feed your neuroticism. Good luck to all of you applying in the future and congratulations to my colleagues who matched!

 

[gutonc]

Board Scores: Step 1: 202, Step 2: 245
Class Rank: Top 1/2 (right at 50th percentile).
Reputation of Medical School: Top 40 NIH-funded institution
Research: 1 first author poster, 1 first author paper

Clerkship Honors
Medicine, pediatrics

Number of applications: around 30

Interviews Attended:
Tulane, U Mississippi, UNC, UT-Memphis, UAB, MUSC, USC, CMC, South AL, Ochsner

I applied to a lot safeties (ended up canceling most of these interviews). I also applied to a lot of reaches - was rejected from most.


Where matched: UAB
Position on rank list: #1

Anything That Helped Your Application:
I want to do general academic medicine (this surprisingly seemed to be a big deal among PDs at every place I interviewed). Also, the research I did was all in medical education (again I think this really appealed to the PDs).

 

[gutonc]

Anything That Helped Your Application:
I want to do general academic medicine (this surprisingly seemed to be a big deal among PDs at every place I interviewed). Also, the research I did was all in medical education (again I think this really appealed to the PDs).

This shouldn't really be a surprise. You're basically telling them that you want to do the thing they're passionate about. Most everyone else who goes through their office pays lip service to the importance of general internal medicine but really just wants to get a Cards spot or go find a good paying private hospitalist gig.

 

[Bill5946]

Board Scores: Step 1: 245, Step 2: 261
AOA and Class Rank: Top 15%, not AOA.
Reputation of Medical School: Mid-tier med school in Chicago
Research: 2 research projects, several posters, no publications.

Clerkship Honors
Honors in family, psychiatry, ICU
HP in medicine, surgery, peds, neurology, OBGYN

Away rotations: None
Number of applications: 13

Interview Invitations
Michigan, Vanderbilt, Iowa, Wisconsin, MCW, Utah, OHSU, UCDavis, Loyola, UIC

Number of Interviews Attended: 7
Where matched: U Michigan
Position on rank list: #1

 

[member2110]

Medical School: Top 30
Boards: Step1: 255, Step 2: 261, passed CS
Clinical Rotations: Honored pretty much everything, AOA
Applied: 30ish programs
Interviews: (Offered 28 interviews total) UPenn, Stanford, Northwestern, UChicago, Cornell, WashU, Vanderbilt, Yale, UMichigan, Washington University, Mayo Clinic, UTSW, Baylor, Beth Israel, Emory, UNC etc....
Rejected: Brigham, JHH, Mass Gen, Columbia, UCSF
Matched: Duke
Position on rank list: #1!
Research: 1 pub, couple of posters at conference
Anything special: Lots of Med Ed, leadership stuff
Anything to work on: My personal statement was really generic, if I had more time I'd probably work on that. I felt that that probably not enough research and boring PS held me back.

 

[LovelyBRass]

I would really anonymous to contact me privately! It seems like we have the same stats and had the same interviews and matched at our 5th or 6th place. I really need someone to talk to rationalize this harrowing experience.

I would really like anonymous to contact me privately! It seems like we have the same stats and had the same interviews and matched at our 5th or 6th place. I really need someone to talk to rationalize this harrowing experience.

I would really like anonymous to contact me privately! It seems like we have the same stats and had the same interviews and matched at our 5th or 6th place. I really need someone to talk to rationalize this harrowing experience.

You are incorrect. x3

 

[utjsm08]

School: not top 50

Steps: Step 1: 252 Step 2: 267 (score release in Oct.)

Rank/AOA: Top 10%, AOA (senior)

Clinicals: Honors - IM, Surgery, Pedi, FM, OB/GYN, Psych, Sub-I (MICU)

Applied: 32 programs

Interviewed: 15 schools (home, Columbia, Cornell, Hopkins, Wash U, UCLA, U of C, NW, U Wisconsin, Baylor, UT Southwestern, Mt. Sinai, MGH, BIDMC, U of Washington)

Matched: #3 (split hairs between my top three)

Anything Special about your app: basic science research project (no pub), global health, previous work experience

Advice for future applicants:
1. understand there is no rhyme or reason to why some top tier schools will invite you and others will reject
2. try to cluster interviews geographically (I spent way more $$$ than I planned to)
3. know everything about your application and be able to EASILY discuss
4. go to the pre-interview dinner/social - helped me get a since of the "personality" of the residents
5. be patient - it's a long process, but worth the efforts in the end

 

[whoknows2012]

School: Northeast, not top 50

Boards: Step 1-242 Step 2-257

Rank/AOA: 2nd quintile not AOA

Clinicals: H in medicine, psych, HP in everything else except P in fam med

Applied: 24 (notable rejections; Thomas jefferson, MSSM, NYU, Cornell, Yale, Penn etc)

Interviewed: 12 (NSLIJ, monte, UMD, Tufts, Brown, BU, RWJ, Georgetown, BI, SLR, Lenox hill)

Matched: #1 Einstein/Montefiore. My rank list included NSLIJ, RWJ, UMD, Brown, Tufts, Georgetown in order. My top 3 were geographic choices, and not the best overall programs (although I believe monte is probably one of the best programs I interviewed at). I think the 3/4 best programs were brown, tufts, monte and UMD (in no order)

Anything Special about my app: Just some research projects but no pubs. No real ec's either.

Advice
1) Apply broadly and limit your expectations
2) I probably would have done an MPH concurrently with my MD which is offered at my school. It might not have done much but I felt like a suffered a bit from not having a 2nd degree (and especially having no pubs)
3) Enjoy the process, and the cities you go to. I didn't want to leave the NYC area, and wont be, but it was nice to get hang out in other cities
4) Don't waste money on aways unless you WANT to do them. I did aways at Mt. sinai, einstein, cornell and St. Lukes and it was well worth it. But they aren't for everybody. My aways weren't audition rotations they were either cc/em aways which are required for my school or electives that I wanted to take part in.
5) Board scores matter (obviously) but many more things are factored in, and it is probably why even with solid scores, I still kind of middled in terms of the interviews I got. Not one reach offered me an interview. In the end it doesn't really matter because I probably still would have matched at the same place but just an FYI. I thought med school reputation might have affected things too, but based on the interviews people with AOA got, it seems if I had AOA with my board scores and either and MPH/MS and maybe a research Pub or 2 I would have been golden. Either way I couldn't be happier now.

 

[Residency2013]

School: Northeast, not top 50

Boards: Step 1-242 Step 2-257

Rank/AOA: 2nd quintile not AOA

Clinicals: H in medicine, psych, HP in everything else except P in fam med

Applied: 24 (notable rejections; Thomas jefferson, MSSM, NYU, Cornell, Yale, Penn etc)

Interviewed: 12 (NSLIJ, monte, UMD, Tufts, Brown, BU, RWJ, Georgetown, BI, SLR, Lenox hill)

Matched: #1 Einstein/Montefiore. My rank list included NSLIJ, RWJ, UMD, Brown, Tufts, Georgetown in order. My top 3 were geographic choices, and not the best overall programs (although I believe monte is probably one of the best programs I interviewed at). I think the 3/4 best programs were brown, tufts, monte and UMD (in no order)

Anything Special about my app: Just some research projects but no pubs. No real ec's either.

Advice
1) Apply broadly and limit your expectations
2) I probably would have done an MPH concurrently with my MD which is offered at my school. It might not have done much but I felt like a suffered a bit from not having a 2nd degree (and especially having no pubs)
3) Enjoy the process, and the cities you go to. I didn't want to leave the NYC area, and wont be, but it was nice to get hang out in other cities
4) Don't waste money on aways unless you WANT to do them. I did aways at Mt. sinai, einstein, cornell and St. Lukes and it was well worth it. But they aren't for everybody. My aways weren't audition rotations they were either cc/em aways which are required for my school or electives that I wanted to take part in.
5) Board scores matter (obviously) but many more things are factored in, and it is probably why even with solid scores, I still kind of middled in terms of the interviews I got. Not one reach offered me an interview. In the end it doesn't really matter because I probably still would have matched at the same place but just an FYI. I thought med school reputation might have affected things too, but based on the interviews people with AOA got, it seems if I had AOA with my board scores and either and MPH/MS and maybe a research Pub or 2 I would have been golden. Either way I couldn't be happier now.

Congrats!

regarding the bolded...

- not sure why you thought so highly of tufts. i found BU to be superior in every way possible (to name a few: block scheduling [3+1], diversity of cases, social justice mission, VA experience, awesome PD who is making positive changes, larger program with better coverage if you need it, highly ranked public health school on campus). tufts seemed to be in the shadow of the harvard programs with a carved out niche that makes me think that they would not really see much in the way of complex or interesting cases because if you are rich and/or have good insurance why would you go to tufts over MGH/BID/B&W?! if you're poor you go to BU and if you're a vet you go to the VA. tufts basically draws it's patient population from a tiny subset of patients who get referred there by private attendings who like the subspecialty inpatient services.

- the MPH and pubs wouldn't have helped you. look at my post...we likely would've been cointerns if i had switched my #2 and 3. it all comes down to class rank and reputation of med school so don't stress or beat yourself up about not having the ECs

 

[marie14]

Board Scores: Step 1: 229, Step 2: 268
Class Rank: No AOA, top 25%
Research: 2 first author papers, 2 first author posters, 1 first author abstract, several other non-first author abstracts and papers but in well-recognized journals, NIH IRTA fellowship, NIH SIP fellowship.
Med school rank: top 40

Clerkship grades:
Medicine, Pediatrics, Ob-gyn, Neurology, both Sub-Is (MICU and wards), HPs in everything else

Number of applications: 18 (offered 16, cancelled 7)

Interviews Attended: USC, Cedars, UCI, UCSD, OHSU (LOVED this place too), Stanford, Scripps Green, Georgetown, Santa Clara Valley,
Cancelled: UC Davis, Arizona, Alameda, Colorado, Mayo AZ, CPMC, Loma Linda
Rejected: UCSF, UCLA-Regan

Where matched: Stanford (yay! )
Position on rank list: #1

Anything That Helped Your Application/Advice:
-Strong research background, Honors in Medicine, EARLY strong Step 2 score as well as early Honors in both Sub-I's got me looks from programs that may otherwise have passed over my app.
-Letters of rec came from people who knew me personally and worked with me closely. I was very comfortable that they'd be strong endorsements. This was commented on several times in my interviews.
-I was D1 scholarship athlete in college-having anything outside of medicine that you are passionate about in your app helps interviewers remember and relate to you. Being a normal human being also goes a lot farther than you think.
-Being personable and following up (within reason) with updates and thank you's goes a long way
-Away rotations (particularly in CA), don't seem to matter much for IM.
-Aim high, you never know what will come of it and you lose nothing but a little ego with a rejection

 

[FuturePCP]

Board Scores: Step 1: 250s, Step 2: 250s
Class Rank: Top 25%, AOA
Reputation of Medical School: Top 50
Research: 2 pubs, lots of abstracts/posters/oral presentations
Clerkship Honors: Honors IM/Sub-I, mostly honors everything else
Number of applications: 16 (no rejections)

Interviews Attended: UW, UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, BWH, MGH, JHH, UChicago, NW, WashU, Vandy, Duke, Columbia, Cornell, Emory


Where matched: UW!!!!!
Position on rank list: #1!!

Anything That Helped Your Application:
-A number of interesting extracurriculars in med ed and QI.

Other comments on the process:
-If you don't honor your medicine clerkship as a 3rd year, you may want to do 2 sub-Is as a 4th year. You'll want solid LORs to make up for the HP.

-GO TO THE DINNERS, and try to socialize with the residents. In many interview trips it is your only opportunity for genuine interaction with the housestaff. I did find differences in personalities at different programs. My enduring memory of MGH was a resident, when asked "Why MGH?", telling me about how every program wanted him and he could have gone anywhere (not sure how that answered the question?). I wanted a place where I could feel comfortable asking for help from my colleagues and working on a team, and the Harvard ego complex scared me.

-Was wavering between UCSF and UW as #1, as I'm interested in GIM. Both incredible places to train. Admittedly UCSF has the advantage in reputation, but I liked the culture more at UW.

-Regret not checking out OHSU and Monte, as they could have easily broken into the top 5

-If you are interested in Primary Care and want good academic training (i.e. want to be a GIM researcher/ thought leader), I thought that only a few of the "top" programs were taking it seriously. Not surprisingly, a good measure of how serious the program was about general medicine was whether they had a primary care track. Not having one became a red flag to me by the end of interview season. Of the programs I looked at, here is how I would score them if you want a career in academic primary care:

Good: UW, UCSF, BWH, MGH, I am sure Monte and OHSU would be in here if I looked there
Decent: Columbia (Generalist track seems pretty lackluster), Cornell (meh), UCLA, JHH (urban health track, although the program continues to only fill half of its spots (!!!), serious red flag to me), Vanderbilt (doing some interesting work with medical home models and transitions of care, but medical center is pretty subspecialty oriented), and UChicago (same comment as Vandy)
Not so much: WashU, Stanford, NW ("You should go to University of Washington!" My interviewer told me. Yowsa.), Emory, Duke

-If you like GIM, pay attention to how the continuity clinic is structured. Important things to keep in mind:
Do you actually get continuity? Some programs just throw you into a clinic half-day a week, and don't emphasize building a panel of patients that you follow longitudinally. I think that the half-day a week clinic model is TERRIBLE, as your mind stays occupied with your inpatient duties for that day, and clinic feels more like a distraction than an opportunity. MANY programs are moving towards a block model, which is X weeks inpatient + Y weeks outpatient. I'd say this is an improvement over the half-day model, but what if you have a sick patient that you want to see more than once a month? I liked UW's model the best (which no other program I looked at is currently doing). At UW, you have 1 full clinic day at least 2 days a month. On that clinic day, you do not have inpatient responsibilities, so you can focus on being a good PCP.
Other thing about PC tracks is, do you have a real difference in inpatient/outpatient time? At UW you have more outpatient, starting in your intern year. Other programs (MGH in particular) have same intern schedule, same amount of required inpt as 2nd/3rd year, just more of your elective time is dedicated to ambulatory. No me gusta.

Best of luck to next year's applicants! PM me if you have questions.

 

[pianola]

I am so unbelievably excited to have ended up at Brown; I have high hopes for the community/location/program and job prospects for my significant other. I have a very good feeling from the program directors. YAY!

Matched to: Brown! (crazy happy)

To these anonymouses (anonymi?):

Ooh, haven't posted on here since pre-allo but I'm also going to Brown! PM me if you want It'd be nice to find out what other interns are doing for housing. I am looking forward to Brown, too!

(If you don't want to PM me, that's fine, too, I know one of the benefits of SDN is that it is anonymous).

 

[DirtyNetter]

Matched to: Stanford
Board Scores: Step 1: 255. Step 2: 272
AOA and Class Rank: AOA, top 10%
Reputation of Medical School: Not top 50
Research: 2 publications (1st author on one). 7 abstracts/posters (1st author on 2). This research was in an unrelated field.
Clerkship Honors: All Honors
Away rotations: None

Interview Invitations: MGH, BWH, Hopkins, Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, WashU, UWash, BIDMC, OHSU, Colorado, Yale, Penn

Rejected: UCSF, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern

Number of Interviews Attended: 10, ranked 10.

Where matched: Stanford
Position on rank list: #3.

Anything That Helped Your Application
-Numbers, research, tons of ECs

General Advice:
First off, I am VERY happy with where I am going, and I am humbled to be at such an awesome program. However, I found this interview season to be a little disappointing. I was surprised when I received a rejection from UCSF (my absolute dream) since people with similar numbers had received invites in the past. Then I received rejections from Duke and Columbia which really shook my confidence. If I had to venture a guess of what led to all of these rejections, I would say it had to be the reputation of my school. I don't think it was my letters because I received positive feedback about them during my interviews.

I was also a little surprised that I matched at my #3. However, there were some other IM students at my school who were just as competitive (if not more competitive) than me who were snubbed by their #1s as well. Again, this is why I feel our school's reputation may have played a role. I felt that I interviewed well, but since we never receive true feedback other than what's in the envelope, I can't back that up.

The take home lesson is that >250 boards, AOA, and research does not automatically mean you will be a shoe-in for the absolute top programs. Your school's reputation may be more important than you think, so work hard if you feel you're at a disadvantage. Was I overconfident with my chances? Looking back on the experience, I'd say yes. Match day is a humbling experience for some. I know it was for me.

 

[harate09]

.

 

[Bill Swa]

School: Not top 50
Steps: I: 255, II: 260, CS: Pass first try
Clinicals: Honor Medicine, Family, Surgery, Neuro; HP OB, Peds, Psych
Interviewed: Wisconsin, Michigan, Emory, WashU, Vanderbilt, Pitt, BIDMC, Mayo, Indiana, UIC
Matched: Washington University in St. Louis
Anything Special about your app: People commented on my PS, I'm a boring person
Advice for future applicants: Post-interview correspondence means nothing. Not personally but I know MULTIPLE people from my school, applying IM, who received phone calls, emails talking about being ranked, and they did NOT match at these programs. Rank based on your gut.

Oh, and I'm ecstatic about WashU. Loved everything about it.

 

[jsr52]

Congrats man, matched at BU as well

 

[gutonc]

Board Scores: Step 1: 236, Step 2: 239, Step 2 CS: Pass
Class Rank: Top 20%.
Reputation of Medical School: Caribbean
Research: 1 first author online publication, 1 paper in large study, 1 abstract in large study

Clerkship Honors
All 3rd year Honors

Number of applications: around 80

Interviews Attended:
Georgetown/WHC, Beth Israel (Manhattan-AECOM), SUNY-Stony Brook, UMDNJ-Newark, Drexel, SUNY-Upstate, SUNY-Downstate, St. Luke's-Roosevelt, communities

I applied to a lot safeties (ended up canceling most of these interviews). I also applied to a lot of reaches - was rejected from most.


Where matched: Georgetown/WHC
Position on rank list: #1

Anything That Helped Your Application:
Strong LOR's (always got brought up in interviews), Research, friends in the residency.

Advice: Smile, be happy to be there, be motivated for residency, don't belittle any specialty including primary care.

 

[gutonc]

Board Scores: Step 1: 234, Step 2: 261
Class Rank: Not AOA
School: Not top 50

Clerkship Honors:
Medicine, Psychiatry, Surgery

Number of applications: Don't remember, honestly

Interviews Attended: Brown, UVA, MGH, Jeff, Yale, Hopkins Bayview, UVM, Dartmouth, Georgetown

Where matched: Brown
Position on rank list: #1

Anything That Helped Your Application/Advice:

Set up gmail to text you alerts when you get interview invites from the eras email.

Go to the place where you gel the best. To me, Dartmouth and Brown residents and faculty were just as bright as Yale's and MGH's, but to me they were far more friendly and down to earth. Don't be afraid to not rank places you hated.

 

[gutonc]

School (or tier): Top 50
Steps: Step 1 - 230s, Step 2 - 260s, CS pass
Clinicals: H surgery, family med, and IM sub-i, HP everything else
Class rank: top half, no AOA
No away rotations

Applied: 25, Invites: 14, Attended: 12, Rejected: from most bigwigs

Interviewed: Tufts, Brown, NYU, Sinai, Monte, NS-LIJ, U Mich, UVA, UMDNJ-RWJ, few safeties

Matched: Brown! #2

Anything Special about your app: three peer-reviewed journal articles, none first author

Advice for future applicants: Ranked based on gut feeling and less so reputation/research ranking. Had warm fuzzy feelings and loved the program leadership at my top 2, am very happy with my match. Take nothing for granted, the majority of my friends going into IM matched at their #2 or below, even those with stellar stats/AOA. Very few got their top choice except for those who chose to stay at our home institution. Apply broadly, traveling and touring IM programs in different parts of the country was eye-opening and gave me better perspective when it came time to rank.

 

[gutonc]

Board Scores: Step 1: 240s, Step 2: not available at rank day
AOA and Class Rank: Middle third
Reputation of Medical School: Well regarded, top 25
Research: A few case reports

Clerkship Honors: About half honors, about half high passes.

Away rotations: None
Number of applications: 35

Interview Invitations: 15 or so

Number of Interviews Attended: 10
Where matched: WashU - really happy!
Position on rank list: #2

Anything That Helped Your Application: I honestly think I'm a pretty average guy. I mean, I think I'm generally nice and personable, but I'm not so arrogant to think that other applicants lack those qualities. The fact that I go to a well regarded med school did, I think, open up a few doors for me.

One piece of advice -- Apply BROADLY and cull your interviews later. ERAS is by far the cheapest part of the process and you'll sleep a lot better.

Like everyone else here says, go with your gut! I did and I'm very happy with where I'm going to spend the next three years.

I really don't know what to say about the IM match any more. Tons of people at my school got their #2. I think that while the field as a whole is still wide open, the top 35ish programs are increasingly filled with top tier candidates who see the appeal of the medical specialties and chose that route over fields like radiology, anesthesia, etc. My school says that this is the most competitive year for IM they have seen in a decade plus.

Also, listen to JDH and Gutonc. They very likely know as much or more than your med school adviser about this process. In addition, be NICE to them.

 

[jbing222]

the average step 1 score of matched applicants in internal medicine is 226 (2012 match statistics)...the average score of profiles posted in this thread is right around 241 by my calculations. so i really have to wonder if this thread is accomplishing anything positive, considering the very skewed slice of reality it seems to be presenting. real nice anxiety booster for those beginning the process, though.

personally, was offered numerous interviews at upper tier university programs (and matched into one of them) with a 202/207 and zero honors my 3rd year (did honor my sub-i). solid extracurriculars, and an exceptional personal statement according to many of the programs at which i interviewed. attended an average state school not on either coast.

hope that takes down the anxiety level a few notches.

 

[aznb0y129]

the average step 1 score of matched applicants in internal medicine is 226 (2012 match statistics)...the average score of profiles posted in this thread is right around 241 by my calculations. so i really have to wonder if this thread is accomplishing anything positive, considering the very skewed slice of reality it seems to be presenting. real nice anxiety booster for those beginning the process, though.

personally, was offered numerous interviews at upper tier university programs (and matched into one of them) with a 202/207 and zero honors my 3rd year (did honor my sub-i). solid extracurriculars, and an exceptional personal statement according to many of the programs at which i interviewed. attended an average state school not on either coast.

hope that takes down the anxiety level a few notches.

Might help more if you said which university you matched at and where you received interview invitations as well.

 

[IMvrach]

.

 

[Blackcomb]

Might help more if you said which university you matched at and where you received interview invitations as well.

I'd also like to hear where you matched and where you received interviews. In my experience personal statements have almost zero bearing on your application.

 

[gutonc]

I figured I'd post since I was a very average applicant. It might help to ease the nerves of some people who are looking at the thread and seeing only 250 plus steps.

School (or tier): Osteopathic School
Steps: 213 USMLE Step 1, 220 USMLE Step 2. Comlex, don't remember, both were an 84 for the two digit. No PE available at time of Match.
Clinicals:: A mix of P and HP 3rd year, all honors 4th year.
Interviewed: Was a little worried because of how average my application was, so I went on a lot of interviews (20). Interviewed all over the NE (UMass, RWJ, NJMS, AE Beth Isreal, URochester, don't even remember the rest because there were so many).
Matched: UConn (#2)
Anything Special about your app: I had excellent extracurriculars which showed a diverse background. I had some research with 2 abstracts and 2 first author pubs in the works. I had very strong LORs, which were mentioned at all my interviews.
Advice for future applicants:
1. Don't overestimate yourself. Apply broadly, have lots of safeties.
2. This process sucks, just grin and bear it, it'll be over soon enough.
3. Don't be one dimensional. No one wants to see someone who has nothing going on in their lives besides medicine. Be an interesting person.
4. Be friendly, know yourself, know your application.
5. Don't listen to any post-interview correspondence. They lie. I was assured multiple times by my #1 that I was going to match, but I didn't. After the fact they had no explanation for me. Don't be swayed by anything the programs tell you.

 

[gutonc]

School (or tier): DO
Steps: Step 1 - 240, Step 2 - 254
Clinicals: HP and Honors
Class rank: no idea

Interviewed (in order of rank list): Jefferson, RWJ, Brown, Temple, Georgetown, George Washington, Brown PC, Pennsylvania Hospital, UMass, UConn, Dartmouth, a few others

Matched: RWJ (#2)

Anything Special about your app: a few publications from research prior to med school (no first author)

Advice for future applicants: Take both USMLEs as a DO student

 

[mafdr]

School (or tier): Top 50

Steps: 226, 263, passed CS first attempt

Clinicals: A's in IM/Sub I, Surg, Peds. B+'s in everything else except B in Family. Non-AOA. Research with 3 poster presentations, no pubs.

Interviewed: NYU, Jefferson, Baylor, UPMC, UAB, MUSC, BU, UF, UNC, Monte, Tufts. (declined UVA, VCU, Maryland, OHSU, USF)
Rejected by top places - BWH, Cornell, Columbia, UW, Duke, Vandy, UCSD etc.

Matched: Jefferson! (#2)

Anything Special about your app: I had extremely good letters as told to me by my dean, and mentioned at practically every interview. Not sure if having full professors helped, but two of my letters were by well respected Prof's which definitely wouldn't hurt. I had some research, but only posters, no publications.

Advice for future applicants: Do well in 3rd year, especially in the field you are wanting to go into (IM/SubI for this forum). Get excellent, personal letters of rec and don't be afraid to spread your wings wide when applying. And of course Step 1 and 2 are important, feel like I may have been screened out by my step 1 for a few programs, but obviously showed improvement on CK. Also, be realistic when doing aways. I didn't do any, but I know a few friends who did, and then weren't offered an interview although they received excellent feedback while on their away. During interviews be yourself, and it's fine to be confident, but be humble at the same time.

And last but not least, listen gutonc on here. He is spot on

 

[SoCalMDMBA]

MedSchool: West coast, mid-tier
Step 1/2: 257/259
AOA: senior
M3 Clerkships: All Honors except Surgery & Peds
SubI: Honors
Research: 2 Ortho pubs (obviously changed directions since then)
Aways: none
Extra: MD/MBA joint degree (if not obvious from the handle); also Couples Matched w/ fiancee (Peds - CHLA #1)

Interviewed: 10 (Northwestern, UCSF, CPMC, UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, Scripps Green, USC, UIC, Kaiser LA, UCSD)
Rejected by: none
Matched: Cedars-Sinai (my #1)

Couldn't be happier, as both my fiancee and I matched at our top choices!!!

PM me if you also matched into Cedars

 

[gutonc]

Wanted to contribute my results since I've benefited so much from the information on these forums

School (or tier): Top 10
Steps: Step 1 260, Step 2 272
AOA: Yes
Clinicals: In 3rd year: H in IM/Psych/OBGyn; HP in Surgery/Peds/FM; P in neuro. In 4th year: H in IM Sub-I, MICU, subspecialty elective
Interviewed: JHU, Penn, Michigan, Bayview, Maryland, GW, Georgetown, Jefferson, Temple, UVA. Rejected at the rest of the "top tier" IM programs.
Matched: Penn (#2)
Anything Special about your app: Honestly, not a lot. I think I was your fairly typical strong applicant, with great board scores, passable research with a few publications, strong but not remarkable LORs, and no crazy extracurriculars that helped me stand out.
Advice for future applicants: If you don't have exciting or unique "soft" factors (i.e. research, extracurriculars), you'd better have all the "hard" factors down pat (top school, AOA, board scores) if you want to interview at the top tier of programs. Also, limiting yourself regionally sucks... so don't do it unless you absolutely have to!

 

[bethedocuwant]

School: MD/PhD top 150 state school in southeast
Steps: 218/238 Took CK early early
Clinical: H in Medicine and away Sub-I, Surg, Psych, pass in OB, Peds and Fam
Interviewed: Emory, U chicago, BIDMC, Northwestern, Yale, UCSD, Tulane, Dartmouth, NYP Colombia, Carillon Clinic, Vandy, Georgetown, MUSC, Wake forest
Interview offered but cancelled: UVA, Case western, UPMC, MAYO
Rejected: BWH, MGH, Johns hopkins, Cornel, UCSF, UW, Duke, Penn
Never heard back from: Cleveland clinic, NYU, BU,
Matched: BIDMC (#1)
Anything special: I did an away rotation there and got a letter
Advice for future applicants: Apply to as many programs as possible and you will have no regrets come interview time. It would be the worst thing ever to think to yourself in november "i'm not getting as many interviews as I want I'll just apply to a few more programs" Apply to ANYWHERE you would consider going on the first day ERAS opens, you can cancel the interview later, no harm in that. But PAY the cash up front to apply to many programs
About Away rotations: If you want to do medicine somewhere and you do an ICU rotation the PD will see that as awesome, but if you come do a radiology rotation at the institution you want to do medicine at, I don't think that would help your cause.
Also, I think the away rotation really helped me in the decision process. There is no better way to get to know residents then by actually working with them.

 

[IMvrach]

There are only 141 med schools in the US.

School: MD/PhD top 150 state school in southeast
Steps: 218/238 Took CK early early
Clinical: H in Medicine and away Sub-I, Surg, Psych, pass in OB, Peds and Fam
Interviewed: Emory, U chicago, BIDMC, Northwestern, Yale, UCSD, Tulane, Dartmouth, NYP Colombia, Carillon Clinic, Vandy, Georgetown, MUSC, Wake forest
Interview offered but cancelled: UVA, Case western, UPMC, MAYO
Rejected: BWH, MGH, Johns hopkins, Cornel, UCSF, UW, Duke, Penn
Never heard back from: Cleveland clinic, NYU, BU,
Matched: BIDMC (#1)
Anything special: I did an away rotation there and got a letter
Advice for future applicants: Apply to as many programs as possible and you will have no regrets come interview time. It would be the worst thing ever to think to yourself in november "i'm not getting as many interviews as I want I'll just apply to a few more programs" Apply to ANYWHERE you would consider going on the first day ERAS opens, you can cancel the interview later, no harm in that. But PAY the cash up front to apply to many programs
About Away rotations: If you want to do medicine somewhere and you do an ICU rotation the PD will see that as awesome, but if you come do a radiology rotation at the institution you want to do medicine at, I don't think that would help your cause.
Also, I think the away rotation really helped me in the decision process. There is no better way to get to know residents then by actually working with them.

 

[gutonc]

There are only 141 med schools in the US.

Then you can't challenge the fact that his school is in the top 150. You could debate about whether it was Top 5 or Top 10 or Top 36. But Top 150? You got nothin'.

 

[gutonc]

School (or tier): Low tier- East Coast school

Steps: 220's/250's

Class Rank: Top 30%, not AOA

Clinicals: Honors in everything 3rd and 4th year except Family Med (3rd), and ICU (4th)

Interviewed: too many, so here are some highlights-- UMaryland, Boston U, Tufts, UVA, UPMC, Mt. Sinai, Montefiore, Temple, Jeff

Rejected: Cornell, Brown, NYU, Penn

Matched: UPMC

Anything Special about your app: not really... no research or anything but I guess some interesting extracurriculars and 2 years of full time work before med school.

Advice for future applicants: Don't sell yourself short!! I thought I had no shot at competitive programs with my Step 1 (stupid SDN makes you paranoid!), but got better interviews than I expected and matched at my #1… which I would consider a GREAT program!! I think my clinical grades and hugely improved Step 2 score helped a lot. Also, being a normal person gets you a lot further than you think! Seriously… you would be surprised,

 

[elgg]

School (or tier): State MD Program
Steps: Step 1 - 209, Step 2 - 252
Clinicals: As, 1 B
Class rank: 3rd quartile

Interviewed (in order of rank list): UNC, BCM, Wisconsin, UVA, Colorado, Mayo (MN), MUSC, Wake, Iowa, CCF Case, others

Matched: Baylor College of Medicine (#2)

Anything Special about your app: Marked Improvement on Step 2; Few pubs: 1 research abstract, 1 treatment guideline review, 1 non medical

Advice for future applicants: Apply broadly never know what will impress you. Email and/or call indicating interest in specific programs may get you a few more invites but don't wait for the last minute. Study hard for Steps 1 and 2

 

[gutonc]

School (or tier): Top 50

Steps: Step I 266, Step 2 277

AOA: Yes

Clinicals: All H 1st two yrs, mix H/HP 3rd and 4th year, H in IM clerkship and sub-I

Interviewed: Hopkins, MGH, NW, UChicago, Michigan, Wash U, Cornell, NYU, Pitt, few others...

Rejected: Columbia, BID, BWH, Penn

Matched: UChicago (#3)

Anything special about your app: Not much research (one poster, one pub), some interesting ECs, some interesting work experience before med school

Advice for future applicants:
1. Apply broadly; it's okay to dream big, but you need to be realistic and respect the unpredictability of this process.
2. Know yourself, know what you want in a program.
3. Don't let the process wear you down; there are many great programs, and you will find one that's right for you.
4. Don't read too much into any pre-during-post-interview correspondance; rank the programs in the order YOU like them, and let the match do the rest.
5. Don't get too caught up in SDN... it's an inherently skewed sample. Most people don't have ridiculous steps and tons of pubs... and they still get good interviews, and they still match into good programs. Enjoy the process.

 

[gutonc]

And while we're on the topic, only 413 posts to go in this thread before I ban everyone who posted in the "Help me rank" thread and then didn't post in here.

Deadline is end of bidness tomorrow.

 

[bibliophile13]

School (or tier): Not top 50
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 260s
Clinical grades: Mostly H in 3rd yr, H in IM clerkship + SubI

Applied 40 programs

Interviewed: WashU/Barnes, MGH, Emory, Mayo, NYP Cornell, NYU, Mt. Sinai, Northwestern, UChicago, BU, Vanderbilt, UVA
Rejected: Columbia, UPenn, Duke, BWH, BIDMC, Hopkins

Matched: Cornell

Anything Special about your app: AOA, diverse extracurricular activities, great LoRs.

Advice for future applicants:
1. Definitely apply broadly, take a look at what's out there. Don't limit yourself geographically
2. Go to the pre-interview dinners, it's a good way to see how the residents are and meet the ppl you'll be interviewing with
3. Know your app inside and out
4. Realize that this process doesn't make much sense in terms who gets interviews and who doesn't, so just give it your best shot

 

[AnnValentine]

School (or tier): Top 20
Step 1: 237, Step 2: 252
Clinical grades: H in Med and Psych, Near Honors in all others, no honors in Sub-I

Applied 20 programs

Interviewed: UWash, Stanford, Yale, Cedars-Sinai, UCSD, UC Irvine, Colorado, UC Davis, Scripps Green, Scripps Mercy, OHSU
Rejected: MGH, BWH, BIDMC, Hopkins, UCSF, UCLA

Matched: Cedars-Sinai!!

Research: 2 abstracts at national meetings, 1 publication not first author

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

The IM match seems to have become rather brutal in recent years. People are posting board scores and clinical grades that were shoe-ins for BWH/MGH/JHU/UCSF/etc. and are not getting into those places.

I guess there's just a lot more competition.

 

[Chickenwing]

The IM match seems to have become rather brutal in recent years. People are posting board scores and clinical grades that were shoe-ins for BWH/MGH/JHU/UCSF/etc. and are not getting into those places.

I guess there's just a lot more competition.

I echo these sentiments, I think I may have everyone on this board beat...Matched at my #13. Initially was really, really pissed and disappointed. But after a few developments this week, (like receiving the list of the other residents that matched at this program)..I believe I may have really undervalued it, and should have ranked it probably around 7 or 8. So, really as bummed as I am to not have matched into my top 5, there are about 5 or so programs that I'm really glad I didn't match into before I got to #13. My scores are avg (218/231. No IM honors, No AOA.)

IM is getting much more competitive, no doubt about it. I don't know anyone who dropped quite as low as me, but at my school, even the 250+ers, AOA, all that jazz, were dropping to 4-7 range. I think my situation should be a lesson to future applicants out there to really think through the bottom of your rank list. There were about 3 or 4 programs that never in a million years I thought I'd drop below, but I did, and at this moment, I'm really glad I did. But had I matched at one of them, I would be kicking myself for ranking the program that I matched at so low. Not to scare you or anything like that, but If you're applying to IM in the coming years, I think you should definitely be totally sure about the entirety of your list. It luckily worked out ok for me, but make sure it does for you

 

[gutonc]

School: unranked state school
Steps: ~250/260 Step 1/2
AOA with mostly honors in clinicals (including IM clerkship and sub-I)
MD/PhD
Fairly active in extracurricular activities and service organizations during preclinical years
No away rotations

Applied: 27 programs
Interview offered: all but Brigham and Hopkins
Interviews attended: Columbia, Cornell, Sinai, nyu, mgh, bidmc, Yale, penn, uchicago, northwestern, ucsf, Stanford, ucla

Matched: Columbia (#1)

I applied broadly because i was unsure how my application from a lower ranked medical school would be received - it is cheap and i think it is worth it. You can always cancel interviews later as more come in. It felt like the interview mattered a lot more to ranking than I initially thought going into the process. I also think the personal statement can matter more than I was told (it was mentioned at multiple interviews). Although my research and PhD certainly helped, I also had many conversations about my extracurricular involvements. I was impressed in this process by how much my entire application was considered. That is a credit to the efforts of the programs and the program directors.

I also received quite a few calls and emails usually stating something positive but noncommittal (you are ranked in a position that has traditionally matched). The post match surveys/communications that I have received have confirmed some of these "promises". While I think you should rank entirely based on your personal preferences, in my experience, these communications were not as nefarious as the sdn community sometimes implies. Fwiw, I also did not send any top choice or will rank you highly emails, and it didn't seem to matter.

There are a lot of great programs out there. Good luck to all future applicants!

 

[barryzuckercorn]

Board Scores: 260+, 250+
AOA and Class Rank: AOA, Top 20%
Reputation of Medical School: Not Top 50
Research: 2 small review papers

Clerkship Honors: All Honors except Ob/Gyn, Honors in SubI

Away rotations: None
Number of applications: 34

Interview Rejections: 11 - MGH, BWH, JHU, UPenn, Columbia, Jefferson, UConn, Duke, UNC, UWash, UCSF (waitlisted)

Interview Invitations: 23
# Interviews Attended: 17

Where matched: Cornell
Position on rank list: #1

 

[krps85]

Board Scores: 240, 260
School: US allo not top 50
Class rank: not AOA
Research: 1 2nd author basic paper, 1 short 1st author
Clerkships: only Ps including medicine, H sub-I
Interviews: Baylor, BU, Case, Dartmouth, Maryland, Rochester, Utah, Wake, Wisconsin, some community programs
Where matched: Baylor (#2)
Advice: apply early and often

 

[darkelven29]

The post match surveys/communications that I have received have confirmed some of these "promises".

Do programs send post-match surveys only to ranked to match applicants? I'm really curious about how my #2 ranked me, as it was almost a toss up/slightly better location than my #1.

 

[HoldTheCoffee]

Do programs send post-match surveys only to ranked to match applicants? I'm really curious about how my #2 ranked me, as it was almost a toss up/slightly better location than my #1.

I'm not sure but I'm guessing that they probably send those surveys to everyone they ranked (but not necessarily ranked to match). But I don't really know either. I've been sent several surveys and none of them have intimated anything about my rank on their lists.

 

[LuckyNYC]

School (or tier): Top 20

Steps: Step I 240, Step 2 246

AOA: Yes

Clinicals: 1/3 Honors, 1/3 HP, 1/3 Pass.

Interviewed: Hopkins, MGH, Duke, WashU, UWash, Yale, Mount Sinai, Cornell, NW

Rejected (get this...): Columbia, Penn, Brigham, BID, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA

Matched: MGH (#1)

Advice for future applicants:
1. AOA can really make or break you-especially if you want a top tier type program
2. Where you go to school can affect where you get interviews. I am on the East Coast and the West Coast pretty much said f-you
3. Who cares about malignancy. Every program has to abide by work hours. Don't rank a program like Hopkins lower because they have a "malignant" reputation. IM is 3 years. You can tolerate anything for 3 years.
4. Play the post-game correspondence game. If you have a number 1 program, let them know early and let them know often. Tell them its your dream school. Be effusive. It does make a difference.
5. Do an away rotation where you really want to go and rock it. Everyone will tell you that medicine away rotations are not worth the hassle of impressive everyone, learning a new EMR system, etc, etc but I did one at MGH and I got in. Sure, there may be a 75% that you really screw yourself over but the 25% chance is worth the risk. And while you are there meet the program director and make yourself memorable.
6. Read the SDN threads but don't lose sleep over it. Its a poor sample size like everyone else has mentioned.
7. Be happy to match at anywhere in your top 3. Don't start the process with expectations.
8. Understand that you can do anything regardless of where you match. You don't have to go to MGH/Hopkins/UCSF/BWH if you want to be a program director/chairman. The path will be a little harder, but it is not impossible.

 

[Syncity]

School (or tier): Top 20

Steps: Step I 240, Step 2 246

AOA: Yes

Clinicals: 1/3 Honors, 1/3 HP, 1/3 Pass.

Interviewed: Hopkins, MGH, Duke, WashU, UWash, Yale, Mount Sinai, Cornell, NW

Rejected (get this...): Columbia, Penn, Brigham, BID, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA

Matched: MGH (#1)

Advice for future applicants:
1. AOA can really make or break you-especially if you want a top tier type program
2. Where you go to school can affect where you get interviews. I am on the East Coast and the West Coast pretty much said f-you
3. Who cares about malignancy. Every program has to abide by work hours. Don't rank a program like Hopkins lower because they have a "malignant" reputation. IM is 3 years. You can tolerate anything for 3 years.
4. Play the post-game correspondence game. If you have a number 1 program, let them know early and let them know often. Tell them its your dream school. Be effusive. It does make a difference.
5. Do an away rotation where you really want to go and rock it. Everyone will tell you that medicine away rotations are not worth the hassle of impressive everyone, learning a new EMR system, etc, etc but I did one at MGH and I got in. Sure, there may be a 75% that you really screw yourself over but the 25% chance is worth the risk. And while you are there meet the program director and make yourself memorable.
6. Read the SDN threads but don't lose sleep over it. Its a poor sample size like everyone else has mentioned.
7. Be happy to match at anywhere in your top 3. Don't start the process with expectations.
8. Understand that you can do anything regardless of where you match. You don't have to go to MGH/Hopkins/UCSF/BWH if you want to be a program director/chairman. The path will be a little harder, but it is not impossible.

Wow - congratulations!

Research experience?

 

[MP86]

Long time follower, first time posting, wanted to contribute with my 2 cents!
Board Scores: 235, 246
School: FMG
Class rank: Best of the class, within top 5 of the country (according to some national boards).
Research: 1 first author paper, several as second author (13, including abstracts), several poster presentations, an award at a national meeting. All in basic-translational science, in the field I want to go into after residency. Some of the papers published in very fancy journals. All done at two big U.S research institutions.
Clerkships: several clinical rotations in the U.S.
Applied to 69 programs. Invited from 15 places. Went to: MGH, BWH, UPMC, BUMC, Yale, UAB (categorical and research tract), UT San Antonio, UMDNJ-Newark, Norwalk (Yale affiliated), Mayo- Rochester (categorial and research tract), Montefiore. Did not go to a few community programs because of time issues (was working in the lab while interviewing).
Rejected from many other big, middle, and small names. No calls or strings pulled for getting interviews, although one of them might have been more of a courtesy.
Where matched: within my top 5 (would love to tell, but won't be anonymous anymore).
Things that helped: amazing letters of recommendation, research on what I am really interested in, clinical rotations in the U.S. Quite interesting extracurriculars. Nice personal statement telling a coherent story about where I have been, and why I came to the U.S.
Advice for future applicants: enjoy the season. The path is much more complicated than ever thought. Apply widely and play nicely. Never try to makeup or exaggerate what you did on your application! Knew about someone lying (in extracurriculars) and got caught!! Some programs are really deceiving, just don't follow their game, be sincere, and remember that in two years we'll be applying and interviewing for fellowship at several of those same institutions. There are many things that are out of the applicants hands, there's a lot of subjectivity in the process, and there are just not enough slots at MGH/BWH/JHU/UCSF/Duke for all the excellent applicants that deserve to be there! do the best in every interview (many interviewers are clueless RE: your application, so don't assume they know you, tell them why they should have you! Finally: go to the dinners and drink a bit...