p.s. I noticed you were originally shooting for an ophthalmology spot, using anesthesia as a backup. Welcome, future colleague. In your heart, do you truly believe you weren't smart enough to perform laser eye surgery? Or is it just that the ophtho gods could select from other candidates that were more board-prepared? Would you even have applied to anesthesia if you thought you had a sure shot with the eyeball?
Seems to me your attitude about Step 1 has changed now that you find yourself atop the adjusted competition pool.
I walked into 4th year with kind of an open mindset. I was focused on surgical fields minus gen surg, ENT, and ortho which I already had seen as a 3rd year and then anesthesia. I thought that I could find something in the eyeballs, and so I did the rotation. I ended up liking it 50/50 (too much clinic, not enough OR) and then I did anesthesia, which was much more interesting overall.
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone else is applying to a backup specialty or just something else that they are interested in (assume that most don't have a to-die-for specialty).
Anesthesia was referred to as a "backup" because I guess I didn't carefully choose a more neutral word, and rather than dismiss eyeballs before even doing gas, I assume calling something a backup would make sense. Plus, the words that follow hopefully got across that I was not some diehard since 1st year and looking for a "compromise."
On a side note, I received 7 eyeball interview invites, 4 from good places and 3 from average places, before withdrawing. I received what I was hoping for since I didn't do boatloads of eye research. So, I don't feel that I didn't cut it and decided to back out. I simply declined to waste their time and let someone who really wanted it take those spots versus canceling the day before (common courtesy to fellow med students). The whole working on 1 SMALL organ thing and family practice focused on the eye got to me eventually.
Back to the original argument, I agree that Step 1 scores exists for the same reason like any other test: easily differentiating people though not ideal. But unlike other tests, I find that people who put in their time (1 month to many many months based on their skills) accordingly did very well in my class (~230+). These people also studied hard during the 2 pre-clinical years and always pushed themselves. Hopefully, this applies to all other medical students. So every time I hear somebody cr@p and moan about doing bad on the test, I ask them what they did for their prep. I have consistently heard wishy washy answers and regrets of not being that serious, and for people who said they studied hard, I always saw them chatting REGULARLY when I took breaks. At first, I thought my experiences were not representative of these individuals, but after a few rotations, I was convinced otherwise. So, I'm sorry for those who did bad because you may truly not be good at tests, but from personal experience, I find that a lot MORE of that has to do with commitment. For example, I never committed myself really for the MCAT unlike my friends. I received what I deserved, and so I avoided making the same mistake twice.
***Once again, to all future applicants, you might be cast aside if your score is below an arbitrary cutoff at a lot of "prestigious" places. So work your way around that like using contacts to your advantage and being persistent about getting that interview. Do an away rotation. Contact faculty and residents early like now to get a better idea of how things work. Start filling out those visiting student apps at places you are seriously considering. Think about fourth year now rather than whining about what your application lacks. You would be surprised what calling early on in the application process can do for you down the road.
I think nationally last year AOA applicants were 6% of applicants overall. Maybe he's talking about American Osteopathic Association applicants. 
