board scores for Neurolgy

[MDpride]

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whats a good step score for neuro?

Does strong step2 performance helps?



i'm AMG.

 

[curlygirlie106]

whats a good step score for neuro?

Does strong step2 performance helps?

my step 1 is above 200 but nowhere close to 220.

i'm AMG.

Make friends with these documents, especially the most recent Charting Outcomes in the Match. Just scroll down to Neurology... obviously.

 

[EctopicACTH]

According to the 2009 NRMP Charting the Outcomes in the Match document:

-46 out of 51 US seniors matched into neurology with a USMLE Step 1 score between 201 and 210 (approx 90% match rate).

-45 out of 46 US seniors matched into neurology with a USMLE Step 1 score between 211 and 220 (approx 98% match rate).

good luck

 

[Ger]

I would say, it strongly depends on where you want to go.

From my experience, neurology in good/top programs is getting more and more competitive. I have barely met applicants with below 220 scores at these.
I can however not speak for other programs

 

[danielmd06]

According to 2009, the average USMLE Step 1 was 226, and the average Step 2 was 231?

Sheesh. If you check, these numbers are actually higher than anesthesiology or emergency medicine. I wondered when medical students were going to start catching on that neurology was so sweet.

 

[clement]

According to 2009, the average USMLE Step 1 was 226, and the average Step 2 was 231?

Sheesh. If you check, these numbers are actually higher than anesthesiology or emergency medicine. I wondered when medical students were going to start catching on that neurology was so sweet.

I would still attribute those numbers to the fact that neuro is IMG-heavy rather than neuro becoming more competitive or popular among US grads. Then again, it could be becoming more competitive among IMG's aspiring for neurointervention or for those who picked up neuro as a fallback from not having matched into neurosurgery (chunks of those in the pile too, both IMG and US). Anyway, that being said, neuro is not as UNcompetitive as it once was back in the day...Prob almost as competitive as EM, but not nearly as popular.

 

[digfast]

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[clement]

I don't know exactly why that is (it could simply be that IMG's only apply if they have high scores or that programs are only selecting IMGs with high scores), but it would certainly skew the average scores for IMG-heavy specialties.

The ones invited to the interview tend to have higher scores than US MD's and DO's and tend to get invited a bit later at some places...(among these IMG's are also those who have completed an IM residency but do neuro in lieu of a fellowship and/or for visa reasons). The pecking order, for the sake of program reputation, is still US MD>IMG>DO and I think as a US MD with a Step 1 >200 you still get pretty good interviews in neuro.

 

[Hawk to Doc]

I disagree Clement, I'm a DO and I seemed to have a much higher interview to application ratio than the IMG's I saw on the interview trail, even though they likely had higher USMLE step 1 scores. So from my experience, at least in the Midwest, DO is at least equal and likely more attractive to programs than IMG's.

 

[danielmd06]

I would still attribute those numbers to the fact that neuro is IMG-heavy rather than neuro becoming more competitive or popular among US grads.

The graph actually separates US seniors from independent grads. The numbers I was quoting (erroneously I might add...the average neurology Step 1 was actually 225...not 226) were specifically looking at US seniors for test scores.

No doubt. Neurology is getting more competitive.

 

[clement]

I disagree Clement, I'm a DO and I seemed to have a much higher interview to application ratio than the IMG's I saw on the interview trail, even though they likely had higher USMLE step 1 scores. So from my experience, at least in the Midwest, DO is at least equal and likely more attractive to programs than IMG's.

I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the Midwest (and I'm including Mayo and Cleveland Clinics and Northwestern as examples)...The coasts, however, are significantly less amenable, especially California and Washington, no doubt in part due to desirability of location rather than caliber...But even a few big names and one small name, in Texas, as far as the southwest region, shy away from DO's (getting invited and getting ranked decently are two different things). Some may argue that if Mayo or Cleveland were in California or Manhattan, they wouldn't be as progressive about it either. Kudos to those that are.

 

[clement]

I disagree Clement, I'm a DO and I seemed to have a much higher interview to application ratio than the IMG's I saw on the interview trail, even though they likely had higher USMLE step 1 scores. So from my experience, at least in the Midwest, DO is at least equal and likely more attractive to programs than IMG's.

I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the midwest (and I'm including Mayo and Cleveland Clinics as examples)...The coasts, however, are significantly less amenable, especially California and Washington, no doubt in part to desirability of location...But even big names in Texas, as far as the southwest region shy away from DO's (getting invited and getting ranked are two different things). Some may argue that if Mayo or Cleveland were in California or Manhattan, they wouldn't be as progressive about it either.

 

[digfast]

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[95439]

I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the Midwest (and I'm including Mayo and Cleveland Clinics and Northwestern as examples)...The coasts, however, are significantly less amenable, especially California and Washington, no doubt in part due to desirability of location rather than caliber...But even a few big names and one small name, in Texas, as far as the southwest region, shy away from DO's (getting invited and getting ranked decently are two different things). Some may argue that if Mayo or Cleveland were in California or Manhattan, they wouldn't be as progressive about it either. Kudos to those that are.

I disagree as well. I'm a DO and trust me, I interviewed with a ton of FMGs and became friends with alot of them: there's no way the pecking order is "US MD>IMG>DO". Ask an FMG trying to get into a prelim program if that's true.
It's not geographically dependent either. It's harder for ALL candidates to get in on the coasts.

 

[clement]

I disagree as well. I'm a DO and trust me, I interviewed with a ton of FMGs and became friends with alot of them: there's no way the pecking order is "US MD>IMG>DO". Ask an FMG trying to get into a prelim program if that's true.
It's not geographically dependent either. It's harder for ALL candidates to get in on the coasts.

I think what you guys are saying stands true for interview invites, ranking candidates is another story IMO. I noticed PD's tend to have a preference for IMG's from schools where they had previously taken an IMG much more so than with DO's. This is mainly due to the historically large number of IMG's in neuro-- IMGs have more of a "reputation" with programs.
Maybe far fewer DO's apply to neuro than IMG's (and obviously there ARE far fewer DO's) but on the NRMP 2010 Results I noticed 20 DO's matched into categorical and 30 or so into advanced out of ~585 positions.

It's also a peacock feather flashing thing, having MD's next to the residents' names on a prog's website means not being subjected to the scrutiny of "what's that?" (I noticed some programs put MD next to a DO resident's name and exclude the "osteopathic" from the name of the school). It's lame, it's old school, but it's still there. Midwest>East Coast>West Coast>South.

 

[abcabc1]

I disagree as well. I'm a DO and trust me, I interviewed with a ton of FMGs and became friends with alot of them: there's no way the pecking order is "US MD>IMG>DO". Ask an FMG trying to get into a prelim program if that's true.
It's not geographically dependent either. It's harder for ALL candidates to get in on the coasts.

Here's my take: a decade or so back, it was about even between FMG and DO. Perhaps the preference was skewed to FMG if you go back even further than that.

Today, my sense is that DO is preferred over FMG. One reason is that DO graduates are still American Medical Graduates and are going to have a relatively easier time with licensing, etc.

I would agree with those who say take the FMG results with a grain of salt b/c many of them have VERY high USMLE scores (in addition to practice experience, good research, etc.)

 

[mmmcdowe]

At what score (if any) can you feel comfortable at that you won't be rejected at programs on the basis of score alone? I see that the 75th percentile was about 235. Would that be high enough with a good application to have a shot at any program?

 

[95439]

I think what you guys are saying stands true for interview invites, ranking candidates is another story IMO. I noticed PD's tend to have a preference for IMG's from schools where they had previously taken an IMG much more so than with DO's. This is mainly due to the historically large number of IMG's in neuro-- IMGs have more of a "reputation" with programs.
Maybe far fewer DO's apply to neuro than IMG's (and obviously there ARE far fewer DO's) but on the NRMP 2010 Results I noticed 20 DO's matched into categorical and 30 or so into advanced out of ~585 positions.

It's also a peacock feather flashing thing, having MD's next to the residents' names on a prog's website means not being subjected to the scrutiny of "what's that?" (I noticed some programs put MD next to a DO resident's name and exclude the "osteopathic" from the name of the school). It's lame, it's old school, but it's still there. Midwest>East Coast>West Coast>South.

Remember there is also an 'osteopathic match' and alot of DO's going into Neurology apply there, rather than the MD match. (you can't apply for both).

 

[serencavalier]

I think what you guys are saying stands true for interview invites, ranking candidates is another story IMO. I noticed PD's tend to have a preference for IMG's from schools where they had previously taken an IMG much more so than with DO's. This is mainly due to the historically large number of IMG's in neuro-- IMGs have more of a "reputation" with programs.
Maybe far fewer DO's apply to neuro than IMG's (and obviously there ARE far fewer DO's) but on the NRMP 2010 Results I noticed 20 DO's matched into categorical and 30 or so into advanced out of ~585 positions.

It's also a peacock feather flashing thing, having MD's next to the residents' names on a prog's website means not being subjected to the scrutiny of "what's that?" (I noticed some programs put MD next to a DO resident's name and exclude the "osteopathic" from the name of the school). It's lame, it's old school, but it's still there. Midwest>East Coast>West Coast>South.

Excellent points. On the interview trail, I did notice something interesting: The closer a program is to the water (east coast), the more FMG and DO students I met on interviews. The farther inland I went, the more MD students I met. Sort of silly, but it holds true to what you were saying.

One more thing, with only 13 positions in the DO match, it is not surprising that most of them ended up matching into allo programs and not participating in the NMS match.