5th year, DO any hope?

[bansheeDO]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm an extended student. I messed up early in my first year and was forced to decelerate. Technically I have not failed a class but i have a WF which is basically the same thing but it hasn't hurt my GPA. I have always done well on exams and I plan on working my tail off to score well on the USMLE. Can a strong USMLE score make up for some of the mistakes I committed earlier in my basic sciences? I'm trying to be realistic. Obviously, I have no chance at Hopkins etc. But I was thinking about a second tier program with fellowships such as USC or UCI? What kind of board score would I need? Being an extended student and a DO, how bad will that hurt me? I would love to hear from you, any advice is great advice in my opinion.

thank you

😍

Susan

 

[freeMDnow]

I'm an extended student. I messed up early in my first year and was forced to decelerate. Technically I have not failed a class but i have a WF which is basically the same thing but it hasn't hurt my GPA. I have always done well on exams and I plan on working my tail off to score well on the USMLE. Can a strong USMLE score make up for some of the mistakes I committed earlier in my basic sciences? I'm trying to be realistic. Obviously, I have no chance at Hopkins etc. But I was thinking about a second tier program with fellowships such as USC or UCI? What kind of board score would I need? Being an extended student and a DO, how bad will that hurt me? I would love to hear from you, any advice is great advice in my opinion.

thank you

😍

Susan

Hi Susan,

What specialty do you wish to matriculate into? The answer to your questions largely depends on this. You probably know that primary care tracks are easier to enter than other specialties.

With a "fail" equivalent in your first year, what you need to do is exactly what you set out to do: perform as well in the remainder of your schooling (i.e., ideally scoring honors on every rotation, but realistically doing as well as you possibly can by working your tail off and not "screwing up" again, do well on the USMLE, and clinical rotations. If you do this, it demonstrates that you have put in an earnest effort and attempted to correct any deficiencies you had previously. By doing well on the USMLE, you show that you are performing well in a standardized comparison with others, and no one can say that you lack the aptitude (although technically the USMLE is an achievement-based exam) to do well in residency.

If you can accomplish the above with simple hard work , I think you WILL land a residency for sure in a "middle-of-the-road" program. IM me if you have more questions. BTW, I'm not a DO so my advice might be skewed towards an MD, but I think by-and-large the above wisdom holds true.

 

[novacek88]

I would say you could easily match into a second tier program provided that you did amazing on the USMLE and by amazing we are talking 240 +. You would also need to do some audition rotations and be a superstar there. You are not limited to middle tier programs in my opinion. But you have absolutely no shot at programs like JH, MGH, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, UCSF, Stanford, Duke etc.