weak AMG

[ohyeahbaby]

Since day one of med school, I've been pretty crazy about FM. I did tons and tons of volunteering at our homeless/underserved clinic, participated in numerous national meetings, etc... With that being said, I did not devote enough time to the "numbers", i.e. I failed Step 1 and barely passed it on the 2nd try. I passed CK on my first try (220s). I repeated first year, failed a rotation in 3rd year (psych), got amazing evals on everything (including my psych repeat). I'm also in the bottom 5th of my class according to my dean's letter.

I got tons of interviews, ended up cancelling a few and went to 10 so far. I have another 10 lined up in January, and my adviser thinks I need to go to all of them because I am such a weak applicant, and that this year has been probably the most competitive year they've seen, so they have no idea what to expect, and that I can't rely on the 2011 NRMP data for American MDs because things have drastically changed.

my main question: what are the chances of me matching in one of my top 3 rankings on my list? I realize that there really isn't an answer to this question, but I was hoping I could get personal opinions (or maybe a program director may read this and reply).

One last thing: I received a hand written letter from the program director of one of those top 3 I really want to go to - is it common for PDs to write personal thank yous to their applicants? I was basically told in the letter that it was so nice to meet me, etc... it wasn't generic - she mentioned a lot of little things she enjoyed in our interview. Should I read into this at all? I didn't get any thank yous from any of the other 10 programs I've already interviewed at.

Any thoughts/advice, personal experiences you might want to share with me would be honestly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[brats800]

Hopefully you'll match. Back when I was interviewing, I would have seen a number of red flags in your application (Failed Step 1 once, low pass on Step 1 retake, repeated M1 year?, failed psych rotation, bottom tier in class rank). Even with those red flags, you'll hopefully match somewhere. I would encourage you to cast a wide net. You might match into your top 3 rankings but it does somewhat depend on what those programs are. If they are "top" national programs, I'd say very unlikely. If they are programs you just liked due to location or something, then maybe. Back when I interviewed for a residency slot, I was told (no evidence to support this) that around 90% of US grad M4's matched into their top 3 slots in Family Medicine. After discussing with people I knew and people in my residency class, this seemed to be true. If you look at the most recent NRMP Match Data (check out page 38 = Table 15) you'll see that the current data for match (not broken down by specialty or US grad specifically) shows 49.6% of people who applied matched into their 1st choice, 15.2% into their 2nd choice, 9.7% into their 3rd choice, 6.3% into their 4th choice, 13.7% matched into a choice lower than #4, and 5.5% of applicants went unmatched. Best of luck.

 

[organdonor]

I wouldn't read into the written thank you very much.

There are programs out there that would love to just have an American grad in their program. You should be able to tell these as the programs full of FMG's. Your interviews you attend should certainly include your top choices as well as a number of less competitive programs. If you haven't already, be prepared to be asked about every one of your deficiencies. Have answers that hopefully can turn it into a neutral or positive. Do not pass blame on anyone else even if it is deserved. Tell how you grew from the experience. I have friends in pretty similar situations. They had their best luck by doing a rotation with their prospective programs. Let them see that you can perform above your numbers. If you rotate with them prior to application submission they could already have a good impression of you before they ever see your scores.

Sorry if the above doesn't wholly apply to you but I thought it may be relevant to others.

 

[DIce3]

I remember the person at the bottom of my class: failed the first year and had to repeat, failed step 1 and had to repeat, and barely got through everything else. However, this person was really likable and matched into the FP program ranked first. American MD graduate without other skeletons= relax. Many great doctors did only marginally in medical school. Taking standardized tests well has almost nothing to do with being a solid clinician.

 

[MadHopsMD]

I have met residents who struggled in medical school, and still struggle taking standardize exams...however they are some of the best clinicians I ever met. Not only do they have great bedside manner, but are really uptodate with information and very knowledgeable. They make for some of the best residents out there.

I am a AMG candidate who is re applying. I would go to ALL the interviews. Even if you dont match the top 3, it really really sucks to go unmatched. Plus from my interview trails I have perhaps 1 or 2 programs (out of 33) that I would not want to go to. Every program had something unique to offer.

 

[thethom]

You will still fare better than FMGs fresh out of med school with triple 99's (that can also speak english, etc, etc...), go figure...

 

[ohyeahbaby]

thanks all so much for reassuring me. I have been freaking out about this. I checked the roster of my number 1 top choice (who I got the hand written letter from), and I was surprised that 100% of their year 1s were FMGs. 20-30% of year 2 and year 3 were FMGs.

 

[ohyeahbaby]

I have met residents who struggled in medical school, and still struggle taking standardize exams...however they are some of the best clinicians I ever met. Not only do they have great bedside manner, but are really uptodate with information and very knowledgeable. They make for some of the best residents out there.

I am a AMG candidate who is re applying. I would go to ALL the interviews. Even if you dont match the top 3, it really really sucks to go unmatched. Plus from my interview trails I have perhaps 1 or 2 programs (out of 33) that I would not want to go to. Every program had something unique to offer.

(Please feel free to tell me it's none of my business.) If you don't mind me asking, why were you unable to match the first time around? Anything you did that I can avoid doing? You mentioned you are also an AMG - I guess that's why I was mostly curious. Thanks in advance.

 

[MadHopsMD]

(Please feel free to tell me it's none of my business.) If you don't mind me asking, why were you unable to match the first time around? Anything you did that I can avoid doing? You mentioned you are also an AMG - I guess that's why I was mostly curious. Thanks in advance.

I resigned from a program in another speciality. Also I only went to 5 interviews, mostly were academic and too competitive. I guess I was too confident. I wish i went to more...

 

[ohyeahbaby]

I resigned from a program in another speciality. Also I only went to 5 interviews, mostly were academic and too competitive. I guess I was too confident. I wish i went to more...

thanks so much for sharing!

 

[DocBlin]

I recommend doing ALL invites for interviews, ALL! Than list your match from 1 thru 10. If you fail to match than the aftermath allows youth contact all programs with openings. As for these "personalized" notes... In my personal experience (my son's in 2010 match) a PD from a well known chicago FM program sent him a X-mas note with personalized details of the interview and my son's interests. He responded with a thank you e/mail and went on a second look visit. The chief resident told him he was a "solid" pick... Low and behold did not match there. After a phone call to the PD my son was told they only went down 11 spots for 6 positions, his spot was # 30!!! So much for "personalized" notes.

 

[o_o_op]

How did it go for you?

 

[o_o_op]

Also, oh yeah baby, which region in the country was your focus?