Chances-not too thrilled...

[bubabugster]

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So, I was wondering about my chances of matching into Pediatrics in California. I'm a CA resident and here are my stats:
Step I: 229
Third year: only honored Pediatrics
4th year: honors in everything thus far including NICU rotation.
Other: MS degree, extensive research experience with publications/posters.

I'm planning to apply to 20 of the CA programs but was concerned because the program director told me to apply to outside states since I'm not a competitive applicant?! 😱 Supposedly I'm someone that is lower-tier material?? I'm just confused because I did not know Peds was a competitive specialty and I was being told that my applicant is not terribly strong since I'm not AOA etc. etc. I get the whole getting into top 20 would be hard but sounds like chances are only good at bottom 150 based on places I was told to apply?? Any thoughts or experiences??

 

[texas2011]

This sounds suspect. I would say you are a very strong applicant. I don't understand why you would be told you are lower tier material. Sounds silly. only 12% of pediatric applicants are AOA, Step 1 avg is 219 for US grads

I guess the students with a 205 on step 1, no research, all pass grades might as well forgo the interview trail and prepare for the scramble. Only FM, Psych, PMR are less competitive then Pediatrics.

 

[bubabugster]

Thanks Texas2011! Yeah- I thought it was suspicious too. Based on what this program director said-- using her logic everyone who is not top 10-15% might as well do something else with their career. I've known people with one non-surg honors in 3rd year go onto ENT surg in Cali. Yeah- I'm just gonna ignore the "support" I got from her although it sucks because it was a program I wanted to do residency at w/lots of residents liking me along with faculty...oh well. Time to find new pastures!

 

[babel]

You're situation is reminiscent of my own. Step 1 230's, H just in Peds and one other 3rd year clerkship, go to a big name school on the East Coast, some research but no pubs, and looking to head back to CA for residency. Decided on peds late (like a month ago) and won't be doing my sub-I until late Sept/Oct. According to my dean this is a "substantial disadvantage". They normally recommend that people apply to 12-15 programs, but given my late decision + determination to match in CA, he recommended that I apply to 20. This little talk freaked me out, so of course now I'm applying to 30. 🙄

However, I also got the feeling that my dean was presuming that I had my heart set on a "top" CA program, along the lines of UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UCSD etc, when in truth I would be happy at any of them, and perhaps even happier at more of a community program. Maybe this is the case with the dean you talked to as well (I'm curious to know which program this is, if you don't mind PM'ing me - sounds like it's probably not my kinda place!) It is true that the top programs in any specialty are competitive, but I agree with the others that you are a perfectly strong/competitive candidate. I'm the paranoid type, so I would go ahead and apply to some programs outside of CA - AZ and TX have some "mid tier" type places. And anyway, aren't there only 15 CA programs (16 if you count the military one)? You can add OHSU and UWash too, though those are rather competitive.

 

[Lizzy Wurtzel]

Hey buba, I'm also interested in which program told you that. Please PM me.

Your stats are good. You did well on the stuff you need to do well on (peds rotations and step 1). Step 2 is more important to most programs I've talked to, so try and do well on that too, and I don't think there is any reason to believe you won't match in cali.

The one question mark I think may come up when programs review your file is the "extensive research". That's a great thing at places like UCSF/Stanford, but the more community based places (and this is just the impression I've gotten from midwest schools) are more interested in volunteer/extracurricular stuff. They want to know you'll interact well with the kiddies and are genuinely interested in people and not just lab rats. Most of the community based programs don't sent a lot of residents to fellowships. And again, i don't know how that part of your ap looks, but my best guess is that if someone told you that you weren't competetive (and they actually know what they are talking about), then it was due to a weakness in your ap that your original post didn't mention. From your OP, you sound like a moderately competitive applicant.

Good luck!

 

[bubabugster]

Just wanted to say that the end of conclusion of this was that I matched in a Cali program that I really loved!!!

 

[fleetgoddess]

Awesome. I also decided late, but was not given the same warning as you were. It did kind of suck getting the personal statement out late though as you can't write it until after you figure out what your doing! Several programs told me their interview slots were filled but liked me and would wait list me for interview dates. I actually then applied to more schools due to this, and I eventually got tons more interview offers at the end than I could even do, along with my early nov/dec interviews.

The one I matched at was one of the early filled programs that invited me the week before the end of interviews and I loved it!

It worked out but deciding early would have saved me money on applications and interviews!

 

[Situation]

Awesome, congrats to bubabugster and fleetgoddess. I wanted to ask you guys how competitive I am and about my chance of getting into a program on the west coast (California, Uwash, & OHSU).
Step 1: 230's.
Grades: just pass in all my classes.
Pretty active in extracurricular activities.
One research paper published (but I was not first author).
I'm a Texas resident.
Also, would doing an away help? I heard that programs are more receptive to interviews if you did an away in their "region". Do you think there's some truth to this? Thanks for your input.

 

[bubabugster]

Hello! Yeah- I def think you have a good shot at a Cali program. Programs like UCSF, Stanford, UCSD, and UCLA will probably be harder to actually match into (despite being offered interviews) because everyone in my class who matched there had honored half or more of their 3rd year clerkships. Other than those 4 schools I think you have a good shot at the rest of the Cali programs. I think that doing an away at a place you are competitive for is a good idea. PM me if you have any questions!

 

[fleetgoddess]

So I'm fairly similar to you.
Step 1 high 230s.

High passes in clinical courses except for one honors and one pass

My dean said I'm one of the most active in extra curriculars and I did a year of research; paper is not out yet🙁.

Unfortunately I didn't apply out west so I have no idea about any of those programs.

Audition rotations may help; I didn't do any. I knew I was unsure of specialty and since the other specialty is harder and more competitive I knew I had to commit to that one if I wanted to do it and then back out if I decided not to. So I paid for the audition rotations for that specialty and to hold my spots (these things are expensive). I also did two sub-I's early in the year one in PICU and one in that surgical sub specialty so no time for any peds aways anyway. Maybe if I decided earlier I would have thought about it, but no one really from my institution does Aways for peds. I guess if you have your eyes set on a place go there and work your ass off while there.

 

[SB100]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but since it was mentioned earlier that x percent of peds applicants are AOA or have a certain Step 1 score, I was wondering if there are statistics anywhere showing what percent of peds applicants or matched residents got a certain pediatric clerkship grade. I just found out my final exam score for the pediatric clerkship (we don't use NBME) and I missed the cutoff minimum by only a couple percentage points to get honors.

 

[twilightdoc]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but since it was mentioned earlier that x percent of peds applicants are AOA or have a certain Step 1 score, I was wondering if there are statistics anywhere showing what percent of peds applicants or matched residents got a certain pediatric clerkship grade. I just found out my final exam score for the pediatric clerkship (we don't use NBME) and I missed the cutoff minimum by only a couple percentage points to get honors.

I am not aware of any published source that discusses grades. Remember that grades and grading systems can vary widely, from "straight" pass-fail (and no honors designation) to a letter grade system or the pass-high pass- really high pass- really really high pass, etc. etc. Your narrative comments from your MSPE and letters of recommendation are quite important. I wouldn't let a slightly disappointing grade dissuade you from applying to a certain program, but you need to make sure that you are looking at a good mix of programs in terms of their perceived competitiveness. The best statistics available for the match (board scores, AOA, etc.) are from 2009, and this is the link.
http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2009v3.pdf

 

[Doctorverardoll]

I guess I have the opposite problem of the OP: I honored medicine and ob/gyn, high passed everything else, but a lowly pass in peds. Partly it's on me, I had a brain fart on the day of the shelf exam and barely eeked over the class average. I also had a very disjointed rotation where I was essentially in a new place every week or worked with new attending/residents every few days, so I found it hard to be graded.
I'm just hoping that my LORs and scores speak for themselves. I've been getting positive feedback on 4th yr rotations (peds) so hopefully it works out.