Another chances (sorry)

[winters57]

I know these are always here so hate to be that guy again. Coming from an institution without a lot of support when it comes to ophthalmology and the one person I have asked said 255+, but I'm not sure how real that is.

MS-3
Step 1= 247
Step 2= (Not done, not sure if I should wait to take it or take it before applications with my score)
AOA= No AOA at our school :\
New medical school (around 5 years)
1st 2 years = pass/fail
Obgyn/internal med- pass
pending: peds/ psych + surg
Have to get 80% on shelf to honors (dropped the ball, we had a weird year where I took step 1 after obgyn/internal med, feel like studying for that has helped with shelf material to be honest, so hoping to improve.)
Research: On 3 publications (1 ophtho at a lab at Wilmer, should be getting 1-2 more from them).
3 poster presentations (Should add 1 from ARVO)
1 year as a Research Assistant at the Wilmer Eye Institute between undergrad and med school
(Should get a good LOR from my PI over there since I've been working on my med schools capstone project over there, he is pretty big over there but he's not really knowledgeable on residency and what not).
ECs: President of surgery interest group
Secretary of class council
Surgery clerkship coordinator
Various volunteer activities (organized a valentine's day event for one of our hospital sites, participated in teaching events at local schools, etc.)

If you guys need any more info let me know. I just really want to know if I have a good chance/can improve my chances or if I should look into other fields at this point. Thanks!

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[hello lady!]

I know these are always here so hate to be that guy again. Coming from an institution without a lot of support when it comes to ophthalmology and the one person I have asked said 255+, but I'm not sure how real that is.

MS-3
Step 1= 247
Step 2= (Not done, not sure if I should wait to take it or take it before applications with my score)
AOA= No AOA at our school :\
New medical school (around 5 years)
1st 2 years = pass/fail
Obgyn/internal med- pass
pending: peds/ psych + surg
Have to get 80% on shelf to honors (dropped the ball, we had a weird year where I took step 1 after obgyn/internal med, feel like studying for that has helped with shelf material to be honest, so hoping to improve.)
Research: On 3 publications (1 ophtho at a lab at Wilmer, should be getting 1-2 more from them).
3 poster presentations (Should add 1 from ARVO)
1 year as a Research Assistant at the Wilmer Eye Institute between undergrad and med school
(Should get a good LOR from my PI over there since I've been working on my med schools capstone project over there, he is pretty big over there but he's not really knowledgeable on residency and what not).
ECs: President of surgery interest group
Secretary of class council
Surgery clerkship coordinator
Various volunteer activities (organized a valentine's day event for one of our hospital sites, participated in teaching events at local schools, etc.)

If you guys need any more info let me know. I just really want to know if I have a good chance/can improve my chances or if I should look into other fields at this point. Thanks!

You look like you have a really solid application. Even if you didn't though, why are you so quick to jump ship to another specialty? If you really want to become an ophthalmologist you should be willing to show a little more resilience than that.

You have all the check boxes. Good step 1, research, volunteering, I'm assuming you will get great LORs. The last piece of the puzzle I would say is to have and display something interesting about yourself. A fun EC, hobby, story from your past that got you here. You want your interviewers to remember something unique about you.

 

[Doctor.Mario]

Piggybacking off of this thread to avoid cluttering the forum. I'm also an M3 trying to gauge chances.

Step 1 = between 25th to 50th percentile of last year's ophtho match. Step 2 will be in May, will obviously aim to improve.
Top quartile in first 2 years, unknown AOA status until the end of this year (unlikely given step score). School rank is mid-tier, ~50ish, but a well-known and well-connected ophtho department. I know multiple published attendings there who would write strong letters for me.
Third year grades so far: H in neuro, HP in IM, likely HP in surgery (like OP, my school requires 85+ raw score to honor any rotation).
Research: 2 pubs in well known journals (1 ophtho 1st author, 1 non-ophtho 2nd author), ARVO presentation, multiple textbook chapters published (ophtho-related, but not in ophtho textbooks)
ECs: standard stuff, president of interest groups, community engagement, etc

Basically that step 1 score is killing my application at a lot of places before it even gets looked at. For family reasons, I'm looking to match either in the Southeast or Midwest, but I'm concerned about matching at all considering how competitive ophtho is. Any suggestions other than improvement on step 2 and strong away performances?

 

[ophthoapplicant17]

Piggybacking off of this thread to avoid cluttering the forum. I'm also an M3 trying to gauge chances.

Step 1 = high 230s. Step 2 will be in May, will obviously aim to improve.
Top quartile in first 2 years, unknown AOA status until the end of this year (unlikely given step score). School rank is mid-tier, ~50ish, but a well-known and well-connected ophtho department. I know multiple published attendings there who would write strong letters for me.
Third year grades so far: H in neuro, HP in IM, likely HP in surgery (like OP, my school requires 85+ raw score to honor any rotation).
Research: 2 pubs in well known journals (1 ophtho 1st author, 1 non-ophtho 2nd author), ARVO presentation, multiple textbook chapters published (ophtho-related, but not in ophtho textbooks)
ECs: standard stuff, president of interest groups, community engagement, etc

Basically that step 1 score is killing my application at a lot of places before it even gets looked at. For family reasons, I'm looking to match either in the Southeast or Midwest, but I'm concerned about matching at all considering how competitive ophtho is. Any suggestions other than improvement on step 2 and strong away performances?

Programs in the Midwest and Southeast generally only interview students who attend schools in those regions, so hopefully you attend medical school in the area.

 

[Ophthrowaway]

Bumping so to not create an entirely new thread. What are my chances?

MS3 at top 25 NIH medical school with well-respected ophtho program; school is in the west (not CA)
-Step 1 = low 240s
-No junior AOA
-Clerkship grades mix of high pass (IM, neuro/psych) and honors (surgery, family medicine)
-Research = 2nd author non-ophtho paper; Ophtho case-report, will continue more ophtho research over this next year
-The dept knows me well so should be fine getting LORs
-Standard ECs (interest groups, volunteering, was D1 athlete etc)

I will apply very broadly and understanding my application is probably closer to the low-mid tier range. Do you think my relative lack of research will be a big issue? What should I focus on over the next 6-9 months?