Competitiveness

[musom]

Allright, So I'm new to student doctor forums. I am an MSIII and interested in Pathology. I have a significant background in Path, including a BS in Medical Technology, and having worked in the clinical lab setting for approximately 8 years. The last 5 years of which have been spent as a Pathologist Assistant doing gross dissection and autopsies. I've even managed to work part time throughout med school. So, the problem is, my grades are average (3.3 gpa) and my step 1 scores are sub-par (< 200). I will be an american med graduate. I'll be taking step 2 in early sept. Here are my questions:

1. Will some programs even grant me an interview based on my step 1 performance regardless of my experience?

2. Am I even moderately competitive?

3. How do I know which programs are "competitive" versus non-competitive so I won't set my self up for disaster?

4. How much will my background in pathology help me?

5. How strongly would someone reccomend away "debut" rotations at programs of interest?

Thanks and I really appreciate all the advice anyone could offer. I'm at a small medical school that has not matched someone in pathology in 4 years, so I have no mentors.

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[pathstudent]

Allright, So I'm new to student doctor forums. I am an MSIII and interested in Pathology. I have a significant background in Path, including a BS in Medical Technology, and having worked in the clinical lab setting for approximately 8 years. The last 5 years of which have been spent as a Pathologist Assistant doing gross dissection and autopsies. I've even managed to work part time throughout med school. So, the problem is, my grades are average (3.3 gpa) and my step 1 scores are sub-par (< 200). I will be an american med graduate. I'll be taking step 2 in early sept. Here are my questions:

1. Will some programs even grant me an interview based on my step 1 performance regardless of my experience?

2. Am I even moderately competitive?

3. How do I know which programs are "competitive" versus non-competitive so I won't set my self up for disaster?

4. How much will my background in pathology help me?

5. How strongly would someone reccomend away "debut" rotations at programs of interest?

Thanks and I really appreciate all the advice anyone could offer. I'm at a small medical school that has not matched someone in pathology in 4 years, so I have no mentors.

You'll be fine. If you set your heart on one or two programs you might get let down, but if you apply broadly, you'll land a spot for sure.

 

[Arctic Char]

Allright, So I'm new to student doctor forums. I am an MSIII and interested in Pathology. I have a significant background in Path, including a BS in Medical Technology, and having worked in the clinical lab setting for approximately 8 years. The last 5 years of which have been spent as a Pathologist Assistant doing gross dissection and autopsies. I've even managed to work part time throughout med school. So, the problem is, my grades are average (3.3 gpa) and my step 1 scores are sub-par (< 200). I will be an american med graduate. I'll be taking step 2 in early sept. Here are my questions:

1. Will some programs even grant me an interview based on my step 1 performance regardless of my experience?

2. Am I even moderately competitive?

3. How do I know which programs are "competitive" versus non-competitive so I won't set my self up for disaster?

4. How much will my background in pathology help me?

5. How strongly would someone reccomend away "debut" rotations at programs of interest?

Thanks and I really appreciate all the advice anyone could offer. I'm at a small medical school that has not matched someone in pathology in 4 years, so I have no mentors.

all good questions, and welcome to the path forum. i'll try my best to answer your questions in order, as best i can.

1) step 1, in recent years, has become a sort of litmus test. that said, being below 200 will put a limit on the amount of interviews you should expect to get. its not the end of the world, but you may not get a flood of offers. but granted you're not insane, you'll match, so relax for now

2) your path experience makes you competitive. once you get the interviews, and if they go well, your path experience counts for something.

3) this is hard to answer. you will just have to reach into the pocketbook, apply broadly in ERAS, and see what comes up. you will be surprised by the offers you get . . . i imagine. i could be wrong.

4) it'll help.

5) i could not recommend "auditions" enough. if you want somewhere in particular, go there and do your best to shine. it may open doors that otherwise might be closed. if they like you, your step 1 won't matter 'as much'.

i hope what i wrote helps. feel free to ask more questions. keep working hard, and good luck in the upcoming year!

cheers

AC

 

[musom]

great advice. anyone else have additional information?

 

[Absidia]

You are unlikely to land at one of the handful of "elite" programs (e.g. Hopkins, BWH, Stanford...) due to the low Step 1 score. But if you are curious, or if there is a specific program you are interested in, it doesn't hurt to apply.

That having been said, your experience is a plus, and you will match somewhere as long as you cast a fairly wide net.

 

[musom]

great. I have two specific programs in mind. UVA and MUSC. Does anyone know anything about these specific programs? Are they fairly competitive?

 

[pathstudent]

You are unlikely to land at one of the handful of "elite" programs (e.g. Hopkins, BWH, Stanford...) due to the low Step 1 score. But if you are curious, or if there is a specific program you are interested in, it doesn't hurt to apply.

That having been said, your experience is a plus, and you will match somewhere as long as you cast a fairly wide net.

While I agree that the above applicant may not match at one particular "elite" program, if he/she applied to all of them and interviewed well and was strong in other areas of the application, he she could easily land at one of the elite programs (Stanford, UCSF, University of Washington, BWH, MGH, Hopkins, Penn), assuming he/she ranked them all. My advice would be to do 4th year rotations at elite programs and work your ass off, be out going and be enthusiastic. That will get you great letters of rec.