2007 Applicant Profile Thread

[jihu]

Seems like there's plenty of interest and more than a few people willing to share. I guess we can try to keep the message boards organized by starting a new thread:

-Med School: US Allopathic, didn't boost my app significantly.
-Clinical Grades: Honors in Surgery, Medicine, Peds. High Pass in Ob, Primary Care. Pass in Psych.
-Step 1: 225
-Step 2: 241
-Research: 1 year of basic science research, no publications. 1 year of clinical research, 1 poster. Both years between undergrad and med school.
-Letters: 1 from chairman of home program, 1 VIP at top university program, 1 junior attending from different top university program.
-Applied to 33
-Given 30 interviews
-Significant invites: Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Mt Sinai, University of Washington, OHSU, St. Luke's-Roosevelt, Lahey Clinic, all 3 UMDNJ's, Lenox Hill, Beth Israel (NYC), St. Vincent's, SUNY Downstate, SUNY Stony Brook, Thomas Jefferson, NEMC.
-Rejections: UVA, Harlem Hospital (actually never heard back from them, maybe they'll interview me next year), Bronx-Lebanon.
-Matched: #2, St. Luke's-Roosevelt

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[jihu]

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V from the other thread. Props to Ballz for being the first to post. Here's his contribution:

Med School: Top 25
Clinical Grades: All passes in 3rd year required clerkships; honors in 4th year surg elective, ICU.
Step 1: 236
Step 2: 245
Research: 1.5 years of basic science research in undergrad with poster presentation. summer of ortho research between M1 and M2 year.
Letters: 2 from high-level "VIPs"
Applied to 45 programs
Given ~22 interviews
Interviewed at: Michigan, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Loyola, UIC, Wisconsin, MCW, BU, UCSF-East Bay, Hennepin, St Joe's Chicago, St Joe's Ann Arbor, Beaumont, Wayne State, Sinai (Chicago), Henry Ford, Indiana, Cleveland Clinic
Matched @ Henry Ford (#13)

 

[jihu]

From bcoak:

Med School: Top 30
Clinical Grades: Honors (Surgery--3rd year, SICU, 2 Surg sub-I's at home med school, 1 Surg-sub-I away, Internal Med, Peds, Family Medicine, Rural Medicine, Neurology research), Near Honors (Ob-Gyn, Psych, Surg Sub I away)
Step 1: 232
Step 2: 228
Research: 1 year of clinical research in neurology between undergrad & med school. 7 publications total (6 in neurology, 1 in surgery during med school)
Letters: 2 from high-level "VIPs"
Applied to 30 programs
Given 28 interviews
Did 14 interviews
Ranked 12 programs
Ranked: Mount Sinai (NYC), Einstein, Emory, Cornell, Thomas Jefferson, Oregon Health & Science Univ, SUNY Upstate, UCLA, University of Chicago, Yale, Lennox Hill, New York Hospital Queens

Matched @ Mount Sinai (NYC)--#1 on my rank list!

 

[Irish01]

Prepare to be amazed by my outstanding numbers!

Med School: Top 30
Clinical Grades: All pass 3rd year, a smattering of honors, high pass in 4th year
Step 1: 198 (yes, really!)
Step 2: 224
Research: One summer of journal research for a paper that was never finished
Letters of Rec: 2 from big guns, one from a well respected surgeon that knew me well
Applied: 40 programs
Interview invites: 24 programs
Interviews attending: 19 - a long list, mostly midwest, mostly community based programs with a few university based thrown in
Ranked: 17 programs

Matched: William Beaumont, my first choice!


So yes, my grades and scores are pretty crap-tacular. My increase in my Step 2 helped, as did my letters - more then one program director mentioned that my letters were the main reason I was given an interview. I also think i interview well and that helps as well. At first I was concerned that I might not even match, and was VERY surprised that I matched at my first choice especially in a year that seemed tough.

 

[jbish]

Med School: Canadian (there are only 16...it flip-flops amongst the Top 3)
Clinical Grades: High pass except psych & geri (pass) 3rd year, Honors in 4th year electives (except Rads- pass)
Step 1: 205
Step 2: 237
Research: 3 summers clinical research (2 ob/gyn and 1 cardiology), 1 summer basic science research (p-chem). No publications, but plenty of posters/presentations/abstracts
Letters of Rec: 1 from dept. chair of surgery at my school, 1 from sr. surg. attending, 1 from sr. hem/onc attending, 1 from ob/gyn (also PI from ob/gyn research summers)
Applied: 40 programs
Interview invites: I stopped counting....somewhere around 19/20
Interviews attended: 14, mostly NewEngland/Cali- UC Irvine, Santa Barbara, BIDMC, Brigham, Stamford, Lahey, UMass, Dartmouth
Ranked: 12 programs

Matched: Stamford Hospital

Was told I had very great and diverse letters, and I'm sure my Step 2 score pulled me out of the trash at many of the places I was offered interviews. Can't agree more with the advice to take Step 2 early (August of Med4 for me) if your Step 1 score was not as high as you would have liked.

 

[BiliousVomit]

Med School: US Allopathic
Clinical Grades: All honors, except Psych (HP)
Step 1: >250
Step 2: >250
AOA: Yes
Research: Both clinical and basic science, with 3 publications and 1 poster presentation.
Extracurricular: Did some community service (Red Cross). Also published some artwork.
Letters of Rec: One from chairman, two other letters came from senior faculty who knew me well.
Applied: 35 programs
Interview invites: 35 programs, but I didn't go to all of them.
Interviews attended: MGH, Brigham, BID, Hopkins, Michigan, UPenn, just to name a few. Pretty much the top 20 programs in the country.
Ranked: 10 programs
Where I'm going: One of my 10 choices. Sorry, I want to keep it anonymous.

 

[dpmd]

-Med School: US Allopathic (west coast)
-Clinical Grades: Honors in Surgery, Med II, Peds. High Pass in Ob/gyn, FP, Surgical Subspecialties, Psych, Neuro, Med I. All else is credit/noncredit.
-Step 1: 205
-Step 2: 240
-Research: 1 year of clinical research in ortho after not matching in ortho last year
-Letters: 1 from program director of home program, 1 head of the SICU at home program (got to read it, very positive), 1 from trauma attending at home program, 1 from research supervisor (glowing recomendation on how great an orthopod I would be, oops).
-Applied to 10 (in addition to 64 ortho spots)
-Given 4 interviews
-Rejections: UCSD, Stanford, Huntington, Loma Linda, Colorado, Orlando
-Matched: #1 G-surg choice Kern Medical Center (yes it's bakersfield, but the people seemed great, nonmalignant, rotations and moonlighting in interesting specialties, and housing is cheap)

 

[integra892]

Med School: US Allopathic (East Coast)
Clinical Grades:
3rd year: Honors OBGYN, High Pass everything else except Pass in Peds, Neurology
4th year:Honors on two away AIs as well as at my home institution in SICU
Step 1: 213
Step 2: 243
AOA: No
Research: Orthopedics basic science research which resulted in publication (before interested in gensurg), Neurosurg clinical study resulting in publication back in undergrad
Extracurricular: None
Letters of Rec: One from chairman, three other letters came from senior faculty who knew me well.
Applied: 52 programs (felt very unsure of myself because of Step I score)
Interview invites: 40 programs
Interviews attended: Huntington Hospital, UCI, Louisville, ECU, Temple, SUNY Stony Brook, Penn State, Harbor-UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, Miami, Carolinas, Loma Linda, UNLV, UCSF East Bay, Arizona, UIC, UF Gainsville, USF, VCU/MCV
Ranked: 14
Matched: University of Illinois, Chicago

If anyone wants any info on my thought processes, etc, PM and I will gladly discuss.

 

[IvorLewis]

Med School: US Allopathic (East Coast), nowhere special
Clinical Grades: Honors in Surgery
Step 1: 240
Step 2: 257
AOA: No
Research: A tiny whipple project that went nowhere...
Extracurricular: Tons - international trips for 5 straight years, volunteer all over the place, student leadership blah blah blah
Letters of Rec: One from chairman, two letters from people that are not well known but wrote very highly of me
Applied: 40+
Interview invites: 35+
Significant Interviews offered: Miami, USF, UF, Emory, UAB, UT-SW, Baylor, UT-SA, NYU, Brown, Beth Israel Deaconess, Cleveland Clinic, University of Chicago, University of Washington, Oregon Health Sciences, Mayo Roch, Mayo Scottsdale, U of Minnesota, U of Wisconson, Beth Israel (NY), UConn, U Pittsburgh, Georgetown, George Wash...
Ranked: 14ish
Matched: University of Texas - Southwestern