What are my chances for FM?

[Propofol7]

Hey guys, application goes out tomorrow and am worried and can't sleep.

Here are my stats:

DO student
Failed 1 semester (which forced me to stay back a year) - passed everything the 2nd time around
Step 1: 193
Step 2 CK: 209
Level 1: 423
Level 2: 424

2 letters from outpatient physicians: 1 FM, 1 Internist
1 letter from an inpatient anesthesiologist

1) Will I match?
2) Is the Northeast a possibility for me?
3) How many programs should I apply to?

Thanks to everyone in advance. All advice is appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JustPlainBill]

As a D.O. student, you should know by now that relationships are a lot more important than grades/scores in the D.O. world, especially for FM. When I hit the rough spots at UTSouthwestern, I was in touch with some of my former professors who were pulling all kinds of strings to get me transferred out but it wasn't meant to be. Even though I had failed a year, the PD at one D.O. program personally invited me to apply and then informed me that if I wanted a job after school (i.e. residency slot) all I had to do was ask. Stupidly, I passed on that one -- things would have certainly been different. But they knew me from school, knew that I put everything I had into my studies and sacrificed to be there;

Again, relationships matter in the D.O. world -- pick your top 3 programs and go do an audition rotation there -- you'd be surprised at what can happen.

 

[n3xa]

Hey guys, application goes out tomorrow and am worried and can't sleep.

Here are my stats:

DO student
Failed 1 semester (which forced me to stay back a year) - passed everything the 2nd time around
Step 1: 193
Step 2 CK: 209
Level 1: 423
Level 2: 424

2 letters from outpatient physicians: 1 FM, 1 Internist
1 letter from an inpatient anesthesiologist

1) Will I match?
2) Is the Northeast a possibility for me?
3) How many programs should I apply to?

Thanks to everyone in advance. All advice is appreciated.

Did you apply to any DO programs or are you going strictly MD?

 

[Propofol7]

Strictly MD. Applied to roughly 80 programs.

 

[Propofol7]

As a D.O. student, you should know by now that relationships are a lot more important than grades/scores in the D.O. world, especially for FM. When I hit the rough spots at UTSouthwestern, I was in touch with some of my former professors who were pulling all kinds of strings to get me transferred out but it wasn't meant to be. Even though I had failed a year, the PD at one D.O. program personally invited me to apply and then informed me that if I wanted a job after school (i.e. residency slot) all I had to do was ask. Stupidly, I passed on that one -- things would have certainly been different. But they knew me from school, knew that I put everything I had into my studies and sacrificed to be there;

Again, relationships matter in the D.O. world -- pick your top 3 programs and go do an audition rotation there -- you'd be surprised at what can happen.

Oh ok, thank you. I guess I shot myself in the foot by not applying to AOA residencies then. Hopefully is not too late and I'll send out some applications today.

 

[hallowmann]

Oh ok, thank you. I guess I shot myself in the foot by not applying to AOA residencies then. Hopefully is not too late and I'll send out some applications today.

With the new charting outcomes DO data, 83% of applicants in your Level 1 range and 75% of applicants in your Level 2 range matched in the NRMP match. You applied to a good number of programs, but I have no idea if you applied to a good variety of competitiveness, only you know that.

A lot of programs cutoff at a USMLE Step 1 of 200, so it eliminates a good number of programs for you. That said, there are tons of programs out there and as long as you applied broadly enough, you should be able to match somewhere.

There is no reason for you not to apply DO. Even if you want a dual-accredited program there are almost 100 of those. I would apply to some just for backup in case you don't get as many interviews to feel comfortable going NRMP only. It's not too late to apply now.

You're going to need somewhere in the 10-12 ranks range to get a 95%-100% chance of matching in the NRMP match. With your redflags, I'd aim for closer to 15, but again, this really depends on your competitiveness at the programs on your ROL.

 

[Osteoforever]

Did u apply to programs for which u didn't meet the comlex cutoff. For example most FM programs that I looked up have a cutoff of 450


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Propofol7]

Did u apply to programs for which u didn't meet the comlex cutoff. For example most FM programs that I looked up have a cutoff of 450


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I'm not sure; I just threw some mud at the wall to see what sticks sort of. Hoping that the 80+ applications compensates for this..

 

[Propofol7]

With the new charting outcomes DO data, 83% of applicants in your Level 1 range and 75% of applicants in your Level 2 range matched in the NRMP match. You applied to a good number of programs, but I have no idea if you applied to a good variety of competitiveness, only you know that.

A lot of programs cutoff at a USMLE Step 1 of 200, so it eliminates a good number of programs for you. That said, there are tons of programs out there and as long as you applied broadly enough, you should be able to match somewhere.

There is no reason for you not to apply DO. Even if you want a dual-accredited program there are almost 100 of those. I would apply to some just for backup in case you don't get as many interviews to feel comfortable going NRMP only. It's not too late to apply now.

You're going to need somewhere in the 10-12 ranks range to get a 95%-100% chance of matching in the NRMP match. With your redflags, I'd aim for closer to 15, but again, this really depends on your competitiveness at the programs on your ROL.

Thanks for the response; reassuring to know that I still have a shot. I ended up applying to 10 or so DO programs.

 

[WusUpDoc]

You will match if you also include newer DO FM programs in your list. There are several in the NE.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[W19]

Strictly MD. Applied to roughly 80 programs.

Did you talk to any advisor at your school? Should have applied only DO with these scores...

Any interview invites so far... Just curious.

 

[hallowmann]

Did u apply to programs for which u didn't meet the comlex cutoff. For example most FM programs that I looked up have a cutoff of 450

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I saw a lot with cutoffs at 400. It really depends on region. That said averages tend to be either 451-550 or 551-650.

I'm not sure; I just threw some mud at the wall to see what sticks sort of. Hoping that the 80+ applications compensates for this..

OP, honestly that was a mistake. You shouldn't have just randomly applied to a bunch of programs. Your app is not competitive enough to not at least be somewhat selective.

If I were you, right now I would check freida for all of those programs you applied to and see how many are realistic apps for you. Subtract out all programs with cutoffs above your scores and then see how many will consider your app.

That may make you want to send out more dual-accredited or DO only apps. You can do 20 more for almost the same price as 10 more MD ones.

Did you talk to any advisor at your school? Should have applied only DO with these scores...

Any interview invites so far... Just curious.

DO schools don't really have the best (if any) advising when it comes to the match. I can't tell you how many people I meet with unrealistic expectations, because they don't know any better. A lot of people didn't even really know how ERAS and the matches worked.

I swear every year multiple people post questions because they didn't understand that they actually have to register for the matches separately.

My advisor is a PhD from preclinical years (who I haven't talked to since then - I don't even think we have advisors for clinical years) and they replaced another advisor that hadn't been in the match for decades. Basically if you don't go out of your way to get the info or talk to PDs, you have no idea what's going on or how competitive your app is. It's a huge handicap to DOs.

 

[n3xa]

I saw a lot with cutoffs at 400. It really depends on region. That said averages tend to be either 451-550 or 551-650.

OP, honestly that was a mistake. You shouldn't have just randomly applied to a bunch of programs. Your app is not competitive enough to not at least be somewhat selective.

If I were you, right now I would check freida for all of those programs you applied to and see how many are realistic apps for you. Subtract out all programs with cutoffs above your scores and then see how many will consider your app.

That may make you want to send out more dual-accredited or DO only apps. You can do 20 more for almost the same price as 10 more MD ones.

DO schools don't really have the best (if any) advising when it comes to the match. I can't tell you how many people I meet with unrealistic expectations, because they don't know any better. A lot of people didn't even really know how ERAS and the matches worked.

I swear every year multiple people post questions because they didn't understand that they actually have to register for the matches separately.

My advisor is a PhD from preclinical years (who I haven't talked to since then - I don't even think we have advisors for clinical years) and they replaced another advisor that hadn't been in the match for decades. Basically if you don't go out of your way to get the info or talk to PDs, you have no idea what's going on or how competitive your app is. It's a huge handicap to DOs.

Yes, and yes. I love my advisor, but he's ready to retire and is in pathology. I've tried getting advice about family medicine from other faculty members and they basically told me to look up the programs online and also to not just apply to programs because of location. A good number of my classmates had no idea what FREIDA was last year until late in the interview season when I mentioned it and a lot of people had no clue that you could indeed apply to both MD and DO programs.

The other thing I did was kept in touch with 1-2 classmates from c/o 2016 who were at least in the same step 1 / comlex 1 score as me and going FM to give myself a heavy dose of reality in terms of interview invites, but even that isn't a guarantee.