3rd year medical students needs some advice!

[LemonLime]

Currently I am a third year medical student who has a love for anesthesiology. However, I have also found out that I am at the bottom third of my class. My overall rank is pretty bad but my third year rank is about middle third and I have a step 1 scores in the higher 230s.
I had a rough two years and want to know, with anesthesia becoming very competitive, if my overall class rank matters.
Is anesthesia still a possibility for me or should I consider other specialities??

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[supahfresh]

don't ever count yourself out. and dont worry about what is competetive. but you would be fine anyways....your step 1 score will save you.

 

[Little Donny]

Anesthesia is definitely getting more competetive and it is quite hard to get into the "top" programs. Looking at the unfilled positions this year, spots can be hard to come by period. However, given the sheer number of spots in the country, I'd guess you'll be able to find a position if you're willing to apply widely. That's not to say you won't get the program of your choosing, but playing your odds is a must to ensure a match.

Your Step 1 is competitive and it sounds like your clerkships went well. The only place your class rank will show up is your Dean's letter, so try and offset that by strengthening your other recs. Do an anesthesia elective early. Get strong rec letters from people who know you. If your school has a big name chair, get a letter from him/her too. It can be a stressful process but in the end it tends to work out.

Best of luck.

 

[LemonLime]

Thanks for the advice- it makes me feel a little better.
So being in the bottom third of the class doesnt restrict you from getting interviews for a competitive residency?
And from your perspective, how much does overall class rank matter when the rest of your stats are pretty good?

 

[Doc13]

If it makes you feel any better, I am in the "bottom 1/4" of my class. I got interviews at a harvard program, yale, U of Michigan, all of the mayos etc. The only interviewer that brought it up was during a prelim interview. I really don't think it carries much weight alone as long as the rest of your app is more competitive.

 

[LemonLime]

If it makes you feel any better, I am in the "bottom 1/4" of my class. I got interviews at a harvard program, yale, U of Michigan, all of the mayos etc. The only interviewer that brought it up was during a prelim interview. I really don't think it carries much weight alone as long as the rest of your app is more competitive.

If you dont mind me asking, did u match in anesthesia? and where/what part of the country was it in?
Thanks for your reply. Your help is appreciated

 

[mms437]

you are going to be fine. Congrats on your step 1 score. You worked hard and came through. THis is huge. Let me say this again. Huge. Apply to a bunch of programs and pick and choose from there. It will feel good when interviews start rolling in.

How do i know this?
D.O, step 1 213, bottom 25% of my class for the 1st two years. Got 13 interviews. Matched.

Have fun.

 

[jennyboo]

Currently I am a third year medical student who has a love for anesthesiology. However, I have also found out that I am at the bottom third of my class. My overall rank is pretty bad but my third year rank is about middle third and I have a step 1 scores in the higher 230s.
I had a rough two years and want to know, with anesthesia becoming very competitive, if my overall class rank matters.
Is anesthesia still a possibility for me or should I consider other specialities??

You sound like me. I did better than fine -- you can see the Match Post http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=265272 for the number of interviews I got and how I did in the match. Apply to top tier programs with some middle-range programs because if all else is good in your application, you will get interviews at most of them. (My "mid-range" programs were Cornell, Yale, and BIDMC... then my bottom-range safeties were UMass, UConn, Boston University, none of which I actually ranked).

Dust yourself off and do an away at one of your dream programs. You could 1) show your stuff and they might actually want to keep you, or at the very least you could 2) get a LOR. Ask anesthesia residents that you know what are some great programs they'd suggest you look into. I asked several residents, "What were some great programs elsewhere that you were impressed by?" (Hint hint, in addition to the "you know, UCSF, JHU and MGH" usual stuff I got several votes for Duke, one vote for UNC, one vote for Mt. Sinai, and one vote for Virginia Mason.)

The only thing is, you may want to find a program where it isn't difficult to get a LOR when you rotate. Some are highly structured with lots of one-on-one faculty time during the rotation; others throw you in the mix and you never see the same faculty member for more than 5 minutes. The latter is a waste of a month of busting your butt.

 

[Bounty]

=
The only thing is, you may want to find a program where it isn't difficult to get a LOR when you rotate. Some are highly structured with lots of one-on-one faculty time during the rotation; others throw you in the mix and you never see the same faculty member for more than 5 minutes. The latter is a waste of a month of busting your butt.

Any advice on this? Which programs are better for letters and which are notoriously bad (limited faculty interaction during rotations)?

 

[burntcrispy]

With that Step 1 you will have no problem getting the top interviews. I had gotten interveiws at the top programs before my grades had even been released. I was top half of the class but don't know how much that matters. Our school (allopathic) has a strange grading system and they do not post our class ranking at all. As far as our applications go, you're either AOA or not, there is no other ranking.

If you are worried at all you may want to take Step 2 early. Its way easier than step 1 and several of my interviewers commented on it. Programs like having the Step 2 because that's one less thing for them to worry about. Also if you do well it will set you apart from most of the other applicants. I had Step 1 238, Step 2 237 and matched my number 1 program.

I applied to about 12, mostly big names and had interveiws at all of them. I ended up only going on 6 interviews because I was getting burned out. Also, I was couples matching which makes things a little more tricky.

Anesthesiology is definately getting more competitive but keep up what you're doing and you should have a good shot at a top program.

 

[jennyboo]

Any advice on this? Which programs are better for letters and which are notoriously bad (limited faculty interaction during rotations)?

Grapevine, mostly. Unfortunately, experience varies greatly from student to student.

Choose your top programs to consider applying to first. If you want to match at the program, just go and do your best no matter what -- whether you get lots or little faculty contact may be irrelevant to the fact that you want to match there anyway. Maybe start a thread here asking about people's experiences with away electives, or look at http://www.scutwork.com/ .

I personally rotated at UCSF and found the faculty contact was minimal (don't know other people's experience). Heard through the grapevine that Penn was similar. That's just one person's experience though.

 

[LemonLime]

Are undergraduate and/or highschool awards, accomplishments, etc submitted in your application? or do they only allow those things from medical school?

 

[Induc(junc)tion]

Kind of an addendum question to the original post. I was wondering if November is too late to be doing an audition rotation, assuming I intend to apply there?

 

[Sugar72]

Kind of an addendum question to the original post. I was wondering if November is too late to be doing an audition rotation, assuming I intend to apply there?

No. It is good to do it a little later if you don't need a letter from there. You can shine and people will remember you.