USMLE IMG Experiences and Scores Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
What an interesting thread - last time I was on here there were max 3 of us.

2010 grad. St Andrews. Manchester.
Currently FY2 in London at Imperial.

Applying to IM programs in Philly/NYC/Boston/Chicago.

So far 2 invites.

Good Luck to everyone!

It has grown!

Congrats on your interviews :) keep us updated! Would be really interesting to hear your 'stats' if you can!


I'm still waiting on my damn Step 1 score....off to LA on Friday though for a sub-I in IM, can't wait!!

Members don't see this ad.
 
have 2 interview invites at Duke and Mount Sinai so far (applied to 18 programs) but have another LoR uploaded today so hopefully will get some more.
 
have 2 interview invites at Duke and Mount Sinai so far (applied to 18 programs) but have another LoR uploaded today so hopefully will get some more.

What specialty?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Good luck guys. You don't need to apply to so many programs if you are an American citizen/green card holder but whatever eases the mind lol. You're making the right choice doing your training in US/Canada rather than in Europe.
 
Got my Step 1 score back today :)

234/99

Recent means were 222 with a SD of 24. Happy with that :)
 
Congratulations!

Just booked my test date for step 1! Need to pick up the work...
 
Best of luck Broker, happy to help in any way if I can.

Also, without sounding like a whining kid, I really am quite clueless about what my score actually means. I'm pleased I beat the mean, but not really sure about where this puts me in terms of applying to programs? I want to do IM with a view of going onto a pulm/cc fellowship, pref a university scheme. I know I can't really shoot for the big guns with a 234 but would need an H1B sponsoring prog!
 
Best of luck Broker, happy to help in any way if I can.

Also, without sounding like a whining kid, I really am quite clueless about what my score actually means. I'm pleased I beat the mean, but not really sure about where this puts me in terms of applying to programs? I want to do IM with a view of going onto a pulm/cc fellowship, pref a university scheme. I know I can't really shoot for the big guns with a 234 but would need an H1B sponsoring prog!

http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2011.pdf

Should help a lot with interpreting where you stand in terms of your score and matching. As a heads up, you are considered an "independent applicant" since you are not a US allo grad.

AFAIK, 234 is a solid score. The mean matching step 1 score for "independent applicants" (includes US DOs and all FMGs/US IMGs) was a 225.

I don't have enough expertise to give any advice beyond that, so hopefully someone who does can step in and fill in the blanks. Good luck!
 
http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2011.pdf

Should help a lot with interpreting where you stand in terms of your score and matching. As a heads up, you are considered an "independent applicant" since you are not a US allo grad.

AFAIK, 234 is a solid score. The mean matching step 1 score for "independent applicants" (includes US DOs and all FMGs/US IMGs) was a 225.

I don't have enough expertise to give any advice beyond that, so hopefully someone who does can step in and fill in the blanks. Good luck!

Cheers mate, ill take a look at that when I get home :)
 
If you are looking for a subspecialty fellowship in the future, go for a J1 rather than a H1b.
 
If you are looking for a subspecialty fellowship in the future, go for a J1 rather than a H1b.

worst advice ever. there is no reason to go for a J1 vs a H1B - you can do a fellowship on an H1, if you really must you can switch from an H1 to a J1, whereas you cannot switch from a J1 to an H1, you would have to return home for 2 years once the visa had expired, and most importantly you can apply for permanent residency on an H1B visa. it is also a lot more hassle to apply for a J1 as you need to get a 'statement of need' for the department of health. the only reason to go on a J1 is because no program will sponsor you for a visa.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
It has grown!

Congrats on your interviews :) keep us updated! Would be really interesting to hear your 'stats' if you can!


I'm still waiting on my damn Step 1 score....off to LA on Friday though for a sub-I in IM, can't wait!!

Really well done on your step 1 score!

haha it all boils down to a few stats on SDN :) I always wonder about the personalities behind the stats - surely the key at the interview which is probably all you get with the stats.

1) Basically, MBChB Honours which is as close as you can get to AOA in the UK
2) Step 1 245/99, Step 2 246/99
3) Couple of posters, couple of case reports and couple of papers including a Cochrane review
4) Elective in med/ped

Want to do med/ped ideally (no idea yet about subspec. prob pulm/cc)
 
True, sorry I didn't mean that to come across that way!

Just got to LA for my SSM. Blown away by the US. First two things that I notice are:

1.) Cliched, but the size of everything. From land mass to roads to food, etc.
2.) Consumers are king here. The level of customer service is in general, superb.
 
I'm well underway with step 1 prep, making my way through USMLE Rx and will move onto Uworld soon.

I'm a final year student and Want to apply for residency at the end of FY1, so complete FY1 and resign during FY2. I have USCE from electives 2010/2011 but will be applying for residency starting 2014.

Does anyone else have this problem? I'm sure USCE closer to residency application would be more relevant/beneficial. How have other people managed to get around this?

Any advice from would be helpful!

Thanks
 
not that's fine i did my US elective in 2008 and am applying this year and have so far had interview invited from top places like Duke, Hopkins, UPMC, Mount Sinai. most important thing is you have strong letters of recommendation from your elective. I never asked for letters at the time, but did not find it problematic asking for letters 3 years later however I suspect most people would have a problem.
 
Last edited:
Hey I was gonna open a new thread for this but I think it should be relevant here:



I'm asking this question (and possibly others to follow) more specifically for IMGs (But also to any medical student) because education outside the US might be different and not tailored specifically towards the USMLEs, which is understandable. So IMGs will probably have to supplment their USMLE step1 prep with more resources than the average American grad.

Personally I am at an overseas American non-carib school but that does not focus in any way on the USMLE exam. Student typically have to take an extra year or two to do their steps and get some research done.. but it might have more to do with them than with the program itself.

Anyhow.. I'm using First Aid as primary study tool. (I'm 2nd year now) and I want to know with what kinds of books I can supplement it?

Since now we are studying microbiology, I bought the all-famous Made Ridiculously Simple book and I already finished the Bacteriology part. So now I feel like I'm ready to open up First Aid and start my review from there to fill in the missing info.

So here is the question! Will this strategy be enough? Will the FA provide a very comprehensive type of outline that could be adequetly supplemented by MRS? And how much roughly should I be looking to add?

Should I do some question bank to get a feel for the type of questions and level of difficulty involved?

Thanks for any advice!

If you have similar experiences and advice about the other subjects it would be nice to hear them as well.
 
Hey I was gonna open a new thread for this but I think it should be relevant here:



I'm asking this question (and possibly others to follow) more specifically for IMGs (But also to any medical student) because education outside the US might be different and not tailored specifically towards the USMLEs, which is understandable. So IMGs will probably have to supplment their USMLE step1 prep with more resources than the average American grad.

Personally I am at an overseas American non-carib school but that does not focus in any way on the USMLE exam. Student typically have to take an extra year or two to do their steps and get some research done.. but it might have more to do with them than with the program itself.

Anyhow.. I'm using First Aid as primary study tool. (I'm 2nd year now) and I want to know with what kinds of books I can supplement it?

Since now we are studying microbiology, I bought the all-famous Made Ridiculously Simple book and I already finished the Bacteriology part. So now I feel like I'm ready to open up First Aid and start my review from there to fill in the missing info.

So here is the question! Will this strategy be enough? Will the FA provide a very comprehensive type of outline that could be adequetly supplemented by MRS? And how much roughly should I be looking to add?

Should I do some question bank to get a feel for the type of questions and level of difficulty involved?

Thanks for any advice!

If you have similar experiences and advice about the other subjects it would be nice to hear them as well.

First aid is a syllabus. Supplement it with:

BRS physiology
BRS Path
Lippincott's Biochem
HY Molecular bio
HY Behavioural

and of course, the grandaddy of all, USMLE World. Read through every one of the 2000+ explanations, right or wrong, and annotate.
 
thanks for the advice. i will get my hand on those books soon.
 
Thanks for the great thread! Seeing your scores is extremely encouraging. Edinburgh fourth year here. Ortho hopeful but our department is very strong, (we host this every year: http://www.trauma.co.uk/) and I have a fantastic Ortho mentor from my four week home rotation with recent US connections who's a real advocate. Now doing Ortho research on top of my rotations. Also have a previous publication. Planning ahead for the 2014 Match and have started studying for Step 1. Would be starting F1 in August 2013 but not finishing it if I lucked out on getting a US residency spot.

My plan so far:

-June 2012: Step 1 (lighter rotation March-May with part-time study, 3 weeks off if I'm done with research + 4 weeks off in June before Year 5)
-Christmas break 2012/3: mini-elective (2-3 weeks), possibly where I have friends - to get my feet wet in US ortho
-March 2013: Step 2 CK (we have a 3 week assistantship, hoping to get study time in before that)
-April-May (before finals): 2 electives, hopefully 2 great LORs
-Late June (after finals, before graduation): 2 week mini-elective
-July (after gradution): research elective

My questions are:

1) Does Year 5 give an advantage for Step 2 CS? I will get 2 weeks off in Feb 2012 during Year 4 after my haem/onc/renal/urology/neuro exams (OSCE+OSCA). Should I just spend a few days flipping through FA and get Step 2 CS over and done with? I could be studying for Step 1 but I'll probably have enough time to take a little break, as my Step 1 will be in June. I'd get to spend time with friends and family as well. My other options are Oct 2012 and the 2012/12 Christmas break.

2) Do you think I have enough elective time planned, even if I use June 2012 for Step 1 prep? I am a little on the impatient side. I keep thinking I should take Step 1 in April/May 2012 and spend June 2012 (summer break between Y4 and Y5) doing an elective in the US. But in the back of my head I think that an extra four weeks for Step 1 prep, to make sure I get the score that I need, is probably better in the end.

Thanks for your help!
 
Thanks for the great thread! Seeing your scores is extremely encouraging. Edinburgh fourth year here. Ortho hopeful but our department is very strong, (we host this every year: http://www.trauma.co.uk/) and I have a fantastic Ortho mentor from my four week home rotation with recent US connections who's a real advocate. Now doing Ortho research on top of my rotations. Also have a previous publication. Planning ahead for the 2014 Match and have started studying for Step 1. Would be starting F1 in August 2013 but not finishing it if I lucked out on getting a US residency spot.

My plan so far:

-June 2012: Step 1 (lighter rotation March-May with part-time study, 3 weeks off if I'm done with research + 4 weeks off in June before Year 5)
-Christmas break 2012/3: mini-elective (2-3 weeks), possibly where I have friends - to get my feet wet in US ortho
-March 2013: Step 2 CK (we have a 3 week assistantship, hoping to get study time in before that)
-April-May (before finals): 2 electives, hopefully 2 great LORs
-Late June (after finals, before graduation): 2 week mini-elective
-July (after gradution): research elective

My questions are:

1) Does Year 5 give an advantage for Step 2 CS? I will get 2 weeks off in Feb 2012 during Year 4 after my haem/onc/renal/urology/neuro exams (OSCE+OSCA). Should I just spend a few days flipping through FA and get Step 2 CS over and done with? I could be studying for Step 1 but I'll probably have enough time to take a little break, as my Step 1 will be in June. I'd get to spend time with friends and family as well. My other options are Oct 2012 and the 2012/12 Christmas break.

2) Do you think I have enough elective time planned, even if I use June 2012 for Step 1 prep? I am a little on the impatient side. I keep thinking I should take Step 1 in April/May 2012 and spend June 2012 (summer break between Y4 and Y5) doing an elective in the US. But in the back of my head I think that an extra four weeks for Step 1 prep, to make sure I get the score that I need, is probably better in the end.

Thanks for your help!

Ortho :scared:
 
Noticed a lot of you guys are from the UK. One question:

What football club do you support?:):thumbup:
 
Apply for a J1 visa if you want to do a subspecialty. You're not at the interview process yet but when you get there ask the program directors themselves. That was what the program director at UPenn, Mayo Clinic, and one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals told me as they have seen it hinder their graduates. For an H1b there are certain criteria that must be fulfilled for you to get that fellowship and for competitive specialties at good programs you will not beat out an American.
 
Apply for a J1 visa if you want to do a subspecialty. You're not at the interview process yet but when you get there ask the program directors themselves. That was what the program director at UPenn, Mayo Clinic, and one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals told me as they have seen it hinder their graduates. For an H1b there are certain criteria that must be fulfilled for you to get that fellowship and for competitive specialties at good programs you will not beat out an American.

Thanks Arb. Useful information, can you elaborate on what criteria those are?
 
Apply for a J1 visa if you want to do a subspecialty. You're not at the interview process yet but when you get there ask the program directors themselves. That was what the program director at UPenn, Mayo Clinic, and one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals told me as they have seen it hinder their graduates. For an H1b there are certain criteria that must be fulfilled for you to get that fellowship and for competitive specialties at good programs you will not beat out an American.

This is terrible advice.

If you plan on staying in the US getting a J1 visa is a complete nightmare as you will have to return to your home country when it expires, cannot switch onto another visa, cannot apply for permanent residency even if you get married. If you ended up coming back to the UK it is not easy to get on the specialist register - you have to submit all sorts of 'evidence' and portfolio nonsense that made me leave in the first place. It is true that you are more limited for fellowships on an H1b visa, simply because fewer programs sponsor them than J1 but there are enough programs out there that do. And if you did get a fellowship at a place that only sponsored J1 visas you can easily change to a J1 visa from a H1b so it would not hinder you if you were willing to do this (ill advised as it is)

So far the program directors at the places I've interviewed have told me if I have any intention of staying in the US to get a H1b visa. One said he encourages it because they want their residents to stay on as attendings and thus will sposor permanent resident application.

In sum: if you have the faintest intention of remaining in the US or that it might be possible you could end up marrying a US citizen then you want a H1 visa.

I have not even applied to programs that don't sponsor H1 visas unless they are something special.
 
This is terrible advice.

If you plan on staying in the US getting a J1 visa is a complete nightmare as you will have to return to your home country when it expires, cannot switch onto another visa, cannot apply for permanent residency even if you get married. If you ended up coming back to the UK it is not easy to get on the specialist register - you have to submit all sorts of 'evidence' and portfolio nonsense that made me leave in the first place. It is true that you are more limited for fellowships on an H1b visa, simply because fewer programs sponsor them than J1 but there are enough programs out there that do. And if you did get a fellowship at a place that only sponsored J1 visas you can easily change to a J1 visa from a H1b so it would not hinder you if you were willing to do this (ill advised as it is)

So far the program directors at the places I've interviewed have told me if I have any intention of staying in the US to get a H1b visa. One said he encourages it because they want their residents to stay on as attendings and thus will sposor permanent resident application.

In sum: if you have the faintest intention of remaining in the US or that it might be possible you could end up marrying a US citizen then you want a H1 visa.

I have not even applied to programs that don't sponsor H1 visas unless they are something special.

Wow, the other side of the coin!

How's the interview trail going for you splik?
 
Just want to add that, I've called a lot of med schools, google'd for hours/days on end, read a crapload on not just this SDN forum, but also other websites that are dedicated to Caribbean or Canadian med students...and...

...splik is right. Go for H1B rather than J1. You can always switch to J1, but unless you get a J1 visa waiver, you have to go back to your own country for 2 years. And J1 visa waivers are given pretty much to docs that agree to practice for a while (I think 2-3 years?) in very needed areas, ex. family medicine in a rural community. That's pretty much the only way you're going to get that visa waiver.
 
Guys, anyone got lists/examples of places that sponsor the H1B for IM? Would be much obliged :)
 
is usually mentioned on the website, otherwise search FREIDA (if you dont know what this is google it!)

Yeah I was trying to be a little cheeky and see if anyone could share their findings to avoid me reinventing the wheel :laugh:

How can you use FREIDA to check if they sponsor the H1B? When I looked, I noticed the page on the program description that mentioned what visa they accept, but I interpreted that as what visas they accept rather than sponsor? RIght or wrong?
 
also some programs claim they only sponsor J1 visas and this may be true if the GME at the hospital will not sponsor other visas, however if they do then technically the program can sponsor an H1. So for some programs the question isn't do they sponsor H1 visas, it is will they sponsor a H1 visa for you?

I have never brought this up, but at all my interviews the program director has made it clear they will sponsor a H1 visa for me and will pay for it. I have an interview at a program next month that claims to only sponsor J1 visas, however if they don't bring up the visa issue I will make my case for why it would be in their interests to sponsor a H1 for me...
 
Have 4 weeks to go until I take step 1! Just wanted to ask for some advice. Scoring 65-70% in Uworld, have already done Rx Qbank (average random blocks 68%). I find that I just need to learn all of the minor details that are tested, plus a lot more pharm.

I plan on completing Uworld over the next few weeks, along with another NBME. Am spending time memorising at the moment which is killing me! Does anyone have any recommendations for memorising? are the DIT videos good for this, or are they more conceptual?

Any advice for this last month?

Thanks
 
Have 4 weeks to go until I take step 1! Just wanted to ask for some advice. Scoring 65-70% in Uworld, have already done Rx Qbank (average random blocks 68%). I find that I just need to learn all of the minor details that are tested, plus a lot more pharm.

I plan on completing Uworld over the next few weeks, along with another NBME. Am spending time memorising at the moment which is killing me! Does anyone have any recommendations for memorising? are the DIT videos good for this, or are they more conceptual?

Any advice for this last month?

Thanks

Finish Uworld, I assume you have been annotating from the Qbank explanations into FA as you have gone along. Then spend your last week re-reading your annotated FA.
 
Hi! I'm an european IMG with 245 on step 1 and going to study as hard for step 2 (planning to get at least 240). do you think I'm fine for radiology in a big city and university or do you think I should go for something less competitive? I also like internal medicine.
 
hi! I'm an european img with 245 on step 1 and going to study as hard for step 2 (planning to get at least 240). Do you think i'm fine for radiology in a big city and university or do you think i should go for something less competitive? I also like internal medicine.

im.
 
no chance for radio? As I said I also like IM, but in case I enter and I dont like can I easily change to radio?
 
no chance for radio? As I said I also like IM, but in case I enter and I dont like can I easily change to radio?

No, not really mate. You definitely can't change from IM to Rads.
 
you cant go for match again once in a speciality?
 
you cant go for match again once in a speciality?

Rads is incredibly competitive even with good scores. For IMG's, its near impossible. There is no harm in applying for Rads, but chances are that you will end up disappointed. Make sure you have atleast 2-3 months of USCE(not observerships, you should do electives). 4-6 months(if you can afford it) will give you a big boost on your application.

With regard to changing, do you mean a prelim year in med and then to Rads? For all(I think) Radiology programs, you need to do a prelim year of medicine elsewhere and then apply for Radiology.
 
Rads is incredibly competitive even with good scores. For IMG's, its near impossible. There is no harm in applying for Rads, but chances are that you will end up disappointed. Make sure you have atleast 2-3 months of USCE(not observerships, you should do electives). 4-6 months(if you can afford it) will give you a big boost on your application.

With regard to changing, do you mean a prelim year in med and then to Rads? For all(I think) Radiology programs, you need to do a prelim year of medicine elsewhere and then apply for Radiology.


thank you so much kingpenny. I know it is complicated but let's imagine I do a prelim year in medicine and I show interest and knowledge in radiology and then apply to rads next year. chances are near 0? I think this policy of only looking to IMGs if they're brilliant is great, would greatly appreciate if they did it here in my country lol
 
thank you so much kingpenny. I know it is complicated but let's imagine I do a prelim year in medicine and I show interest and knowledge in radiology and then apply to rads next year. chances are near 0? I think this policy of only looking to IMGs if they're brilliant is great, would greatly appreciate if they did it here in my country lol

im not being funny but clearly you don't understand how residency training in your specialty of interest even works. Everyone who applies to radiology applies for preim medicine or transitional year as they must complete an internship before starting radiology as a PGY-2. These PGY-2 positions are advanced spots so they fill a year in advance (i.e. you get your prelim and radiology residency spot at the same time) so it is not really possible to do a prelim and then apply for radiology as you have to apply 2 years in advance.

If you have your heart set on radiology then you should apply for radiology with internal medicine residency as a back up if you would be happy with this. It is not like IMGs don't match into rads they do, but often will have completed radiology residency in their own country, or have significant research experience or some other distinguishing feature. You have a fair step 1 score and should aim for >250 or ideally >260 for step 2 CK and try and clear step 3 before applying. However the other important factors are you need to do electives in radiology in the US (and also IM if you are applying for IM) and get good letters from people who will also be willing to contact programs and put a word in so you can get interviews. You should get involved in imaging research and get some publications etc. Attending radiology conferences would also be useful (especially if you are presenting a paper) and this will give oyu a chance to network.

You should also be aware that applying to both rads and IM could be harmful as IM programs will not want to be a back up and your application should not suggest this. It is will be tiring and expensive having to interview for rads, prelim AND IM interviews and this can take its toll.

If its really your dream to be a radiologist then you should go for it! This may mean taking a more convoluted route (such as doing radiology training in portugal first, or spending some time doing research in the US). But step 1 scores and the like dont matter all that much in the grand scheme of things - the most important thing for IMGs is connections, connections, connections!
 
thanks for your comprehensive post splik. Now I know how the process works. Just tell me if the preliminary year is at the same hospital where you have the rads training.

I don't want to take anyone's place, I want to deserve my spot in radiology. Will think about all of this. I understood that I must show interest in rads to get in, but also I don't want to screw my chances in IM because I also like it. Out of equation is doing rads here in portugal and then go to US. We have very good conditions in this speciality and of course I will get used to my confortable seat here. I'm not like the other IMGs who chase the american dream and run off from difficult situations, I want go to US because I want to get out of my confort zone if you know what I mean.
 
Last edited:
you seriously need to do your research on this if you are thinking of making a big commitment. you apply for the prelim or transitional year independently so you could (a) not match into both rads and a prelim/TY (b) match into rads but not a prelim/TY (and thus unable to commence rads training unless you find a vancant internship) (c) match into a prelim/TY but not into rads (most likely and most dead end - would have to see if there were any vacancies for PGY-2 Rads or more likely IM) (d) match into both a prelim/TY and rads at the same hospital (e) match into both a prelim/TY and Rads but at different hospitals.

Rads may become less competitive in coming years as it becomes less financially renumerative (it is one of the easiest specialties to clamp down on the astronomical healthcare costs by capping reimbursement and also introducing 'economies of scale' reporting of imaging) but make no mistake it will still be competitive, just that IM will probably get more competitive as well.
 
Booked my CS for May 7th! :) Tips and advice please!
 
just flick through first aid the night before and you will be fine. do not treat it like an osce. do not try and do a proper physical exam. but the main thing is to go through the cases in first aid all of mine were in there.
 
just flick through first aid the night before and you will be fine. do not treat it like an osce. do not try and do a proper physical exam. but the main thing is to go through the cases in first aid all of mine were in there.

OK, I'll check that out...so not a proper exam, just very focused. How do you know how much detail to go into though with your history/examination? :s

Also, how's your interviews going? :)
 
there are model answers in first aid but basically do what you would do in A&E or GP and not in an exam (although tis artificial). So I would suggest always doing a brief cardiovascular, respiratory and abdo exam and then whatever else (i.e. if patient has knee pain do knee exam, if pt has diabetes test sensation etc) but I basically did what I did when I admitted patients on medical take but thinking from an american perspective (i.e. always think HIV, STIs, alcohol, drugs, illness deception) etc.
 
Top