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whitemagic

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Posted in wrong forum. Moving to residency issues forum :)

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Hello all,
Please forgive me/redirect me if this is not posted in the right forum :)

I just wanted to reach out to SDN and get some advice from experts regarding whether my app is still considered competitive for integrated vascular surgery, or if I should be realistic/honest with myself choose a different specialty. All advice (even if it is not good news) is appreciated <3

Overview:
- I am an MS3 at a pretty good California MD school.
- I got a 225 on Step 1 (no excuses, was scoring 250's on practice tests, bombed the real thing).
- I am confident I can get a 250 on Step 2 hopefully!!!
- Honors in 2 out of 6 rotations (surgery and medicine).
- About 10 publications (second and third author mostly, all in fairly high impact journals) in the field of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. I am hoping that my long term interest in vascular surgery dating back to even my undergrad days and strong research in the field can make up for my step 1 score?
- Will get some very, very strong LoR's from some of the most well known vascular surgeons in California (I know the field is very small and tight-knit so I'm hoping this will/might help? Not sure though).

I am essentially wondering if having a 225 step 1 score will make my app dead on arrival, or if my strong research/letters can make up for it. I would rather be honest with myself and pick another field rather than be overly confident and end up going unmatched.

According to the NRMP data (page 217 of the charting outcomes report), if my understanding is correct, last year, 50 people applied. 46 matched and 4 didnt. Of those 4 that didn't match, 2 of them had a step 1 lower than 220. Thus, it seems my odds are pretty good at getting in SOMEWHERE, right? If I'm misinterpreting this, or if there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this data, please let me know. :)

Thanks in advance for your help everyone! I know the people in this field are quite busy so I appreciate your time.
Call programs. Rotate and audition at programs. Go for it.
 
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