Another WAMC-DO student

[JDMcNugent]

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Hey all, current 3rd year at a DO school in the midwest. I plan to apply anesthesia for residency and have 65 programs targeted in an excel doc scattered throughout the country that I plan to throw my app at.

-USMLE step 1: 230
-COMLEX level 1: 609
-Class rank: 50th %tile out of around 250 students
-Was head of the school anesthesia club
-No failures or red flags in transcript
-All Passes so far for clerkships (Peds, psych, IM, surgery). Was a couple points shy of honoring IM and surgery but didn't quite get there

I am aiming for 245+ on step 2 this June as I realize I am a couple of points behind the average for the specialty and the fact that I am coming from a DO school. I plan to do no more than 2-3 anesthesia auditions for 4th year and am currently on an anesthesia elective for 3rd year.

 

[AdmiralChz]

You’re in reasonable shape. Seek out programs with DOs, don’t bother if there aren’t any. Consider doing an away as you don’t have a home allopathic program by definition, but not as dire as if you have lower scores.

Mid-range community and lesser known university programs are reasonable. Be realistic with your programs and don’t apply only to high level reaches.

I’ve said this before, but we ignored the COMLEX for the most part unless it jumped out at us. Quick search shows you above average for matched applicants.

 

[Mehd School]

You'll do well. 230/250 DO here. I did well.

 

[buccsmf1]

Hey all, current 3rd year at a DO school in the midwest. I plan to apply anesthesia for residency and have 65 programs targeted in an excel doc scattered throughout the country that I plan to throw my app at.

-USMLE step 1: 230
-COMLEX level 1: 609
-Class rank: 50th %tile out of around 250 students
-Was head of the school anesthesia club
-No failures or red flags in transcript
-All Passes so far for clerkships (Peds, psych, IM, surgery). Was a couple points shy of honoring IM and surgery but didn't quite get there

I am aiming for 245+ on step 2 this June as I realize I am a couple of points behind the average for the specialty and the fact that I am coming from a DO school. I plan to do no more than 2-3 anesthesia auditions for 4th year and am currently on an anesthesia elective for 3rd year.

youll be fine. apply broadly. i was 237/257 DO and applied to about 70, got about 25 interviews. went to 13 or so. love my program. Agree that looking at rosters for DOs is a good idea, but even if you dont see a single DO and its a program you really want a shot at just go for it. worst case its another $30 or so.

also agree to pick programs from every level. my apps were prob 20% top tier, 40%mid, 40% bottom. matched to a solid mid tier, couldnt be happier

 

[UnoMas]

Another DO student with very similar stats, upper 230s with some anesthesia research. What do you recommend in terms of away rotations? @Mehd School @buccsmf1

 

[Mehd School]

Another DO student with very similar stats, upper 230s with some anesthesia research. What do you recommend in terms of away rotations? @Mehd School @buccsmf1

I didn't do any away rotations and wouldn't recommend that you do. You'll get interviews with your numbers as long as step 2 remains solid.

 

[abolt18]

DO here, had Step 1 and 2 in the low 240s. Applied to 33, got 17 interviews, went to 12. Had a good mix of reach programs, middle of the road, and backup programs. Only applied to a program if it had at least 1 DO. I ended up interviewing at a couple of places that regularly show up on the "top 10" or "top 15" anesthesia programs. I think your chances are good as long as you're realistic about which programs you apply to.

I did do one away rotation, but it's mostly because I lived in the same city as the program and I didn't want to travel and be away from my wife and kids for weeks at a time. I did get a LOR from a prominent individual on that rotation, which probably snagged me a couple extra interviews.