MD Chances for Ophtho-- Research Year?

[mdthrowawayaway2021]

Hey guys, new to the forum but wanted some outside perspective on my chances in the upcoming match cycle given all this covid stuff. Specifically, I'll be applying to ophthalmology with no pubs or presentations in the field because my clinical research block that I scheduled for the end of MS3 has been postponed until later on in the year. I additionally am unsure if I'll have the chance to do an early away given the national uncertainty about this.

Stats:
Step 1: Mid-260s
Step 2 CK/CS: not taken yet
Class rank: Top 25%; will likely be AOA
School: Top 40
Clinicals: Honors except 2 high passes
Reseach: Have a clinical ophtho project (as mentioned above) but will be August-October of this year and will not have time for pubs (but will be able to potentially talk about it during interview season); 1 published abstract and 3 poster presentations in other fields
Strong volunteer & EC history

Obviously a research year *would* strengthen my application, but at the same time I'm really not thrilled about the prospect of delaying my life a year and I'm not dead-set on matching at a research powerhouse. My question is do I have a significant risk of going unmatched if I apply like this?

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[Cawolf]

You clearly have strong academics, but otherwise there seems to be some holes. Consider the SF Match form and it's open text boxes, how will you fill them in? Did you have a chance to do some home rotations? Demonstrated interest in the field? How are your letters? Is your home department well-known? Research in ophthalmology isn't mandatory but you may not get interview invites from more "top tier" places.

With all of that said, who knows? This year is a mess. All applicants had research and clinical rotations messed up, aways cancelled, and their academic life upended. I feel like even without a research rotation, you could get a couple things in the works to put on the app and discuss in interviews this year.

I am no expert, just a peer who recently went through the process. Best of luck.

 

[mdthrowawayaway2021]

Thank you! Yeah I didn't really know what I wanted to do at the start of third year (had criminally little breadth of my shadowing in college) and postponed both my research block and my elective AI to the end of third year to get a feel for what I wanted to do first after rotating through things. Looking back this has probably backfired a bit more than it should've.

I did get the chance to do a community Ophthalmology elective in my surgery rotation earlier in the year, but will likely be relying on my AI this summer (postponed until July) to fill out my letters. My home program is fortunately very strong, but there's frankly a lot of uncertainty for those other two components at this point.

 

[Cawolf]

You aren't the only applicant in the boat of missing some early M4 rotations! Hopefully your home department can support you. Feel free to PM if you want to discuss further details.

 

[Newyawk]

Youll be fine but the powerhouses probably wont care for you. AOA will help with some of the top programs. Just get some projects under your belt so you have something to talk about. Try your best to get good letters obviously

 

[timeflies]

My advice: get the strongest LORs that you can. A glowing letter from someone well-known in the field goes a long way in ophthalmology. You'll just have to weigh the trade-off of a well-known writer vs someone who knows you better. Do not underestimate the value of letters in a subspecialty such as ophtho. Be as involved in your home program (assuming you have one since you're working on a clinical project) as much as you can, get to know the faculty and build some relationships.

It sounds like you're set on applying this cycle so there's no point in wishing you had done things differently, you'll have to focus on what you can control. The next thing is to make sure you have a coherent PS. It does not and should not be overly dramatic or flowery. Just make sure you highlight how you became interested and why the field is right for you and vice-versa. Always include your career goals in the PS.

If you are not dead-set on a research powerhouse, you will be fine. And in fact, you will probably get a few top program interviews with 260's, AOA, and the right letter writers (yes, the field is this small). The most important thing now is to meet with your advisors, specifically someone who works with the ophthalmology applicants. I would hope that there is an ophthalmology faculty who is in charge of advising medical students if you go to a top 40 school with a home program.

Regional affiliation can have a huge impact on where you get interviews and which programs are worth applying to. Happy to answer any questions through PM as well.

Source: also another peer who went through the process and matched this past cycle.