Do I have ANY chance? sound off.

[zealous]

Okay, so I hate asking this because I am afraid of what I'll hear back but, I know that I need some reality.
Step I 221
1 publication-not surgical but related to nutrition (statins vs natural foods in lowering cholesterol, etc.)
1 abstract from summer research in plastic surgery-planning on asking for LOR from this surgeon.
Highly doubt will be AOA.
attending a UC school with strong plastics.

So, should I go gen surg then try for a fellowship? I think I'm basically never going to get an interview for integrated, right?
Please be honest.

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[zealous]

Oops,
Step I 222, 90

 

[Ergo]

Z

Scan previous posts on this site usig search feature for lots of posts with this info, and check www.plastics2002.com for similar posts and step 1 polls. Best source of info though is the program director at your home program who knows you well and can honestly assess your chances.

 

[navysurgeon]

i think you should try.

you're probably an 'average applicant, but perhaps when you put yourself in front of an interviewer, you'll make a consistantly good impression. do you have a plastic surgery mentor that is well known? letters, emails and phone calls from these folks help a lot.

 

[slickster]

work hard, get solid letters, do away months and work your ass off and apply all over. I applied with a 223 step I, worked hard, got letters from well known faculty during away months (early), applied to every program I could find. Ended up interviewing at 13 PRS, also did 5 GSurg. Matched my #1. So start doing research with the well known faculty at your school, work your ass off and just go for it. Otherwise you may regret not trying for the rest of your life. It's doable. Good luck.

 

[sugarplum]

Slickster, just out of curiosity, was your number one at a place you rotated at?

I'm not going for PRS (gen surg for this year's match), but a good friend of mine will be attempting to match next year in PRS and is now trying to figure out how many away electives he should do, and where.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

 

[LapSurgeon]

To be honest,

If you're at a UC school with a strong plastics program, and if your school is in the bay area, you will have a reasonable chance. For many competitive surgery and plastic surgery programs, school name recognition means quite a bit in getting the interview, even if your stats aren't as good as you'd like. Just make sure you get a good letter of rec. from the plastics faculty.

 

[The_Id]

If you are really, really interested in plastics, take a year off and do research at a program you would like to match at (preferably not at a super-competitive program). It will definitely boost your chances (assuming you do a decent job)

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Id:

Is there any reason not to give the match a shot and if you aren't successful then go the research route? It would seem that a year is wasted if you somehow actually got in without the research year. Ideas/thoughts?

 

[slickster]

1. My number one was not a program I rotated at.

2. If you have a solid step 1, good letters from well known faculty and are a normal person you do not need to do a whole year of research.

3. The school you come from will affect your application marginally. If your good, your good, if you suck, you suck. There are some "preferences" of programs liking students from certain schools, but it's not the way you think. Not everyone from Harvard etc. will be favored. UTMB for example has a preference of interviewing students from Arizona med school. Brown likes to interview students from med schools in chicago (lots of faculty from chicago). It is random and uncontrollable. People from tiny med schools match every year. Check out the my match section of plastics2002.com, it lists where applicants match and the school they came from.

Good luck, and make sure reading this board is not the only thing you do with your free time.