Received scores / specialty any advice please

[dancingdoc199]

Hi, I received my USMLE score last week and recently got my COMLEX score. I ended up getting a 595 on the COMLEX and a 225 on the USMLE. I know it's not the highest score but I just wanted to know what specialty is reasonable for me. I know there are a lot of factors involved but I just want to have a realistic goal for myself. I am not sure what I want to do at the moment. Please any advice will help thanks

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[DopaDO]

Hi, I received my USMLE score last week and recently got my COMLEX score. I ended up getting a 595 on the COMLEX and a 225 on the USMLE. I know it's not the highest score but I just wanted to know what specialty is reasonable for me. I know there are a lot of factors involved but I just want to have a realistic goal for myself. I am not sure what I want to do at the moment. Please any advice will help thanks

What interests you?

 

[hallowmann]

A lot of specialties are open to you. You really have to narrow the list down a bit with your interests. You are close to the average for the USMLE and above for the COMLEX, so excepting the really competitive specialties (not a hard rule) and programs, you're in fine shape.

 

[Elisabeth Kate]

How can anyone answer this question for you when you've told us nothing about what interests you. That would be like me saying "I got a 34 on the MCAT. Which med school should I go to?"

 

[DrDrangus]

I have very similar scores.. anyone have any idea how they are for anesthesia or EM??

 

[Newyorkgiants]

I was wondering if some of the DO programs look at your USMLE scores if you send them in. My comlex 1 is a 591 and my USMLE is a 241. I feel like I definitely did better on my USMLE compared to my comlex score. I saw one ortho program (D.O) said you can send in your USMLE scores but I was wondering about the rest of the Ortho/Optho programs.

Thanks!

 

[001100010010011]

I've heard from a PD that they look at both if you've taken them, expecting that there isn't a huge discrepancy between the two scores.

 

[dancingdoc199]

How can anyone answer this question for you when you've told us nothing about what interests you. That would be like me saying "I got a 34 on the MCAT. Which med school should I go to?"

Hey sorry I will be more specific. How are these scores for EM, IM, anesthesia or general surgery? Thanks!!

 

[HooliganSnail]

You are competitive for any specialty. Your test scores are impressive. Realize that the more competitive the specialty (ie greater number of applicants per spot) there will be a greater number of applicants that have scores similar to yours.

In reality, your scores will keep you in the running for all specialties, and you will even get some interviews solely because of those test scores. However, they far from guarantee you a spot in any residency program. You will find out that programs have a quota for interviews, and just because they interview you does not mean they have any intention of ranking you highly.

You need to do audition rotations. You need to find a program you love, and make them realize that you are a great person to work with for the next 3-5 years. If you fail to do this you may end up being #8-10 on rank order lists of programs that always get their top 5, and not match anywhere.

It is brutal, I know. You need to play the political game during your third/fourth year.

On the flip side, however, 50% of your fellow classmates will have scores below 500, making you a far more likely to match into the program you want.

You should be proud of your killer scores, but realize that the real work is about to begin.

 

[wjs010]

Those scores are not bad at all.

 

[demayette]

@HooliganSnail ... I wouldn't call 225 a killer score. It is NOT a bad score; it is just average. However, I think OP should be competitive for Gas, IM, EM and AOA general surgery... Not too sure about ACGME general surgery though..

 

[dancingdoc199]

You are competitive for any specialty. Your test scores are impressive. Realize that the more competitive the specialty (ie greater number of applicants per spot) there will be a greater number of applicants that have scores similar to yours.

In reality, your scores will keep you in the running for all specialties, and you will even get some interviews solely because of those test scores. However, they far from guarantee you a spot in any residency program. You will find out that programs have a quota for interviews, and just because they interview you does not mean they have any intention of ranking you highly.

You need to do audition rotations. You need to find a program you love, and make them realize that you are a great person to work with for the next 3-5 years. If you fail to do this you may end up being #8-10 on rank order lists of programs that always get their top 5, and not match anywhere.

It is brutal, I know. You need to play the political game during your third/fourth year.

On the flip side, however, 50% of your fellow classmates will have scores below 500, making you a far more likely to match into the program you want.

You should be proud of your killer scores, but realize that the real work is about to begin.

Thank you for the response. Yeah I will continue to work hard, hopefully everything works out in the future

 

[cliquesh]

Hi, I received my USMLE score last week and recently got my COMLEX score. I ended up getting a 595 on the COMLEX and a 225 on the USMLE. I know it's not the highest score but I just wanted to know what specialty is reasonable for me. I know there are a lot of factors involved but I just want to have a realistic goal for myself. I am not sure what I want to do at the moment. Please any advice will help thanks

As others have mentioned, I think you have a shot at most non-surgical acgme specialites, including. IM, FM, EM, Ob, PM&R, anesthesia, psych, path, neuro, and, probably, radiology. General surgery is a maybe.

Your Comlex score is probably good enough for any AOA speciality, but you'll still have to fight for the surgical subspecialties, like ortho, ENT, urology, etc. You could match AOA general surgery easily and you would be competitive for the good AOA general surgery programs.

 

[HooliganSnail]

@HooliganSnail ... I wouldn't call 225 a killer score. It is NOT a bad score; it is just average. However, I think OP should be competitive for Gas, IM, EM and AOA general surgery... Not too sure about ACGME general surgery though..

I apologize. I thought that it was already established that applying for any ACGME surgical specialty as a DO is a complete and total waste of time and money. They wont take a DO. There are exceptions, I know, but the rule is that a DO has no chance at an ACGME surgery residency.

The score that I was referring to was the nearly 90th percentile on the COMLEX

I also think its a complete waste of time to even take the USMLE but that is just my opinion, of which the OP's score profile is a perfect example of............

 

[demayette]

I apologize. I thought that it was already established that applying for any ACGME surgical specialty as a DO is a complete and total waste of time and money. They wont take a DO. There are exceptions, I know, but the rule is that a DO has no chance at an ACGME surgery residency.

The score that I was referring to was the nearly 90th percentile on the COMLEX

I also think its a complete waste of time to even take the USMLE but that is just my opinion, of which the OP's score profile is a perfect example of............

This is sad! There is a community gen surg program close to where I live that has taken IMGs, but has never taken DO when there is a DO school located about 40-45 minutes from this program... and their IM program has plenty DO students from that school.

 

[cliquesh]

2 people in my class matched acgme general surgery. One had Comlex scores only, which were in the 700s. They matched at a community program. The other had a usmle in the 230s and matched at a university program. The remaining 5 or so general surgery applicants from my school applied to AOA program exclusively.

In 2014, 44 DOs matched acgme general surgery.

 

[hallowmann]

If you don't mind the extra time and money, why wouldn't you also apply to ACGME surgery programs? I mean, obviously you should apply AOA (and if you match it doesn't matter), but why wouldn't you also try your luck at ACGME programs? Its basically the same as spending extra time and money to take the USMLE, right?

The fact that some believe that's an established rule for DOs, makes me wonder how many DOs even apply to those ACGME surgical positions.

 

[dancingdoc199]

Yeah, I don't know much about the application process and maybe this is too soon but other than surgery and the super competitive specialties should I even bother to apply to ACGME programs? Like for EM, IM, FM, Peds, neuro, anesthesiology etc. I don't think I want to do surgery but I am keeping an open mind. I don't know why but I just feel like there is so much bias against DO applicants that I shouldn't even try even for the other specialties. I just wanted to know so I can get a good idea on where I should pick my rotations. And thanks for all the response its helping me narrow down some choices.

 

[demayette]

2 people in my class matched acgme general surgery. One had Comlex scores only, which were in the 700s. They matched at a community program. The other had a usmle in the 230s and matched at a university program. The remaining 5 or so general surgery applicants from my school applied to AOA program exclusively.

In 2014, 44 DOs matched acgme general surgery.

What that number 44 means? Isn't 700s COMLEX is like having 260+ on USMLE? A community program with that score!

 

[Sublimazing]

What that number 44 means? Isn't 700s COMLEX is like having 260+ on USMLE? A community program with that score!

so a community acgme is better than any aoa program? That seems unlikely

 

[cliquesh]

What that number 44 means? Isn't 700s COMLEX is like having 260+ on USMLE? A community program with that score!

In 2014, 44 different fourth year osteopathic students matched acgme general surgery. Yea, a 700 is in the 98th percentile or higher. You are really hindering yourself in the acgme match if you only have a Comlex score.

so a community acgme is better than any aoa program? That seems unlikely

The person did not apply to any AOA programs.

 

[demayette]

In 2014, 44 different fourth year osteopathic students matched acgme general surgery. Yea, a 700 is in the 98th percentile or higher. You are really hindering yourself in the acgme match if you only have a Comlex score

I know what it means, but if I don't have the # of applicants, that 44 is kind of meaningless....

 

[cliquesh]

I know what it means, but if I don't have the # of applicants, that 44 is kind of meaningless....

I suppose. Unfortunately, the nrmp doesn't release that information. I think it indicates that acgme general surgery is a reasonable goal for a DO student compared to, for example, acgme orthopedics, which had 1 DO match.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I suppose. Unfortunately, the nrmp doesn't release that information. I think it indicates that acgme general surgery is a reasonable goal for a DO student compared to, for example, acgme orthopedics, which had 1 DO match.

Wow... Only 1 DO match into ACGME ortho! I guess applying to some ACGME ultra surgical competitive specialties as a DO is kind of a non starter... Therefore, what others have said is correct... Going to even low tier allo schools (like Howard, Meharry, PR schools) is better than the top DO (MSUCOM, PCOM, TCOM etc...) when it comes to applying to these ACGME surgical specialties...

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Wow... Only 1 DO match into ACGME ortho! I guess applying to some ACGME ultra surgical competitive specialties as a DO is kind of a non starter... Therefore, what others have said is correct... Going to even low tier allo schools (like Howard, Meharry, PR schools) is better than the top DO (MSUCOM, PCOM, TCOM etc...) when it comes to applying to these ACGME surgical specialties...

Keep in mind that there could have been more ACGME ortho matches had the competitive DO applicants risked their chances and skipped the AOA match. However, why would anyone do that, unless of course they have some kind of a guarantee that they will match a certain program.

 

[AMEHigh]

Yeah, I don't know much about the application process and maybe this is too soon but other than surgery and the super competitive specialties should I even bother to apply to ACGME programs? Like for EM, IM, FM, Peds, neuro, anesthesiology etc. I don't think I want to do surgery but I am keeping an open mind. I don't know why but I just feel like there is so much bias against DO applicants that I shouldn't even try even for the other specialties. I just wanted to know so I can get a good idea on where I should pick my rotations. And thanks for all the response its helping me narrow down some choices.

Where are you getting your info from? Have you looked at your school's match list?

At my school, plenty of people match in to ACGME EM, FM, IM, peds, neuro, anest, ob/gyn, etc.

Like someone said above, I'm not sure why people wouldn't apply to acgme programs in the "not super competitive" specialties. Applying to residency is a numbers game, so why not try both?

The way I figured out which acgme programs for my specialty to apply to is I went to their website to see if they accepted comlex scores (I didn't take usmle) and see if they had any DOs in their program. If they didn't list whether they take the comlex, then I emailed to ask. Plenty of programs replied and said they accept comlex only.

Sure I believe there is some bias at some programs and some particular specialties, but in general and according to statistics, DOs are able to match at plenty of acgme programs.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Keep in mind that there could have been more ACGME ortho matches had the competitive DO applicants risked their chances and skipped the AOA match. However, why would anyone do that, unless of course they have some kind of a guarantee that they will match a certain program.

I know... I guess the merger might solve all of that...

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I know... I guess the merger might solve all of that...

I don't think this will happen before we participate in 2018 match.

 

[Dharma]

Yeah, I don't know much about the application process and maybe this is too soon but other than surgery and the super competitive specialties should I even bother to apply to ACGME programs? Like for EM, IM, FM, Peds, neuro, anesthesiology etc. I don't think I want to do surgery but I am keeping an open mind. I don't know why but I just feel like there is so much bias against DO applicants that I shouldn't even try even for the other specialties. I just wanted to know so I can get a good idea on where I should pick my rotations. And thanks for all the response its helping me narrow down some choices.

Is the Bizzaro World match?