EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2015-2016 Thread

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Oh wow, didn't realize step 2cs was going to be such an issue. It appears that it doesn't matter whether you take it November 1 or December 31 your results will still come out in February correct? What is the likelyhood of making that February 15th deadline for ucsf? Has anyone talked to them to see if this is a hard deadline? It would be silly to be not ranked because of this.
 
When should I start sending out "in the area"/"I am interested" emails to programs? I really will be in the area of a few programs I am very interested in and haven't yet heard from in December. This is if I don't hear from them before then, of course.
 
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The PD of UPenn here (http://www.med.upenn.edu/emig/emig_aceing.html) says the following:

"If, by the end of November, you still have not heard from a program that you're really interested in, it might help to send a short, polite email to the program director and coordinator explaining your interest. Don't be offended if you do not get a response. We get a lot of emails/letters like this but I don't think it hurts and it may very well help."

I know many of us (myself included) may be a little too anxious to wait quite that long but certainly now is too early.
 
Cinclus said:
Thanks for the replies. I knew it was definitely too early now, especially since there is still going to be so much movement as far as cancellations go.
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So I'm not sure how correlated it is, but I sent multiple emails this past week to programs stating my interest but also alerting them to a new SLOE. Received two invites from programs within 24 hours of sending the emails. Granted, about 12 programs either didn't respond or said "great, we'll take a look." I honestly don't think it's too early especially if you know a program has invited already.
 
AmericaAmerica said:
So I'm not sure how correlated it is, but I sent multiple emails this past week to programs stating my interest but also alerting them to a new SLOE. Received two invites from programs within 24 hours of sending the emails. Granted, about 12 programs either didn't respond or said "great, we'll take a look." I honestly don't think it's too early especially if you know a program has invited already.
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Did you email program coordinators or program directors directly?
 
I'll have my step 2 ck grade soon here and was going email my top programs and just be like "hey, I did awesome on step 2(hopefully I actually did awesome) , which makes up for my mediocre step 1,
So love me, maybe?" [emoji14]
 
AmericaAmerica said:
So I'm not sure how correlated it is, but I sent multiple emails this past week to programs stating my interest but also alerting them to a new SLOE. Received two invites from programs within 24 hours of sending the emails. Granted, about 12 programs either didn't respond or said "great, we'll take a look." I honestly don't think it's too early especially if you know a program has invited already.
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I think that there is a difference between contacting a program now to say, "Hi, I've got a new SLOE I've uploaded AND I'm super interested in your program" versus, "Hi, it's still early in the interview season and I haven't heard back and I'm not super weird but could I please have an interview???"

The former is totally legit to do now from a time-frame point of view. The latter is will be legit when it is getting later in the season and you haven't heard from a place you are truly interested in. Don't hassle the programs now while they're getting ready to go to ACEP.

I think @AmericaAmerica did it right.
 
theMan2012 said:
Did you email program coordinators or program directors directly?
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I actually did both. Went to SAEM app and looked for listed coordinators or websites to get emails of their coordinators. Sometimes ERAS info is out of date, but so is the SAEMs, so it's a crapshoot. Anyways, I tried the coordinators first and sometimes got the "we will forward this onto the PD or committee" or whatever. Some PDs are listed as the main contact on ERAS and I emailed them directly in that situation. I have yet to receive a mean or curt response. Some don't respond at all. But, honestly, as some above pointed out, how BAD is it gonna be if you show interest in their program. GOD SAVE YOU!!!!

spartacus4432 said:
How did you word your interest email?
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I'll PM you or PM me
 
racerwad said:
I think that there is a difference between contacting a program now to say, "Hi, I've got a new SLOE I've uploaded AND I'm super interested in your program" versus, "Hi, it's still early in the interview season and I haven't heard back and I'm not super weird but could I please have an interview???"

The former is totally legit to do now from a time-frame point of view. The latter is will be legit when it is getting later in the season and you haven't heard from a place you are truly interested in. Don't hassle the programs now while they're getting ready to go to ACEP.

I think @AmericaAmerica did it right.
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Thanks Racerwad.
 
StephBee said:
I'll have my step 2 ck grade soon here and was going email my top programs and just be like "hey, I did awesome on step 2(hopefully I actually did awesome) , which makes up for my mediocre step 1,
So love me, maybe?" [emoji14]
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Don't programs automatically get informed that you have a new Step score added? Because I want them to see my CK score (already updated a few weeks ago). I think somebody told me the programs are "alerted" for this update. If not, I have an excuse to email some places.
 
Cinclus said:
Don't programs automatically get informed that you have a new Step score added? Because I want them to see my CK score (already updated a few weeks ago). I think somebody told me the programs are "alerted" for this update. If not, I have an excuse to email some places.
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They are but they may not really be looking, plus I'm more using it as an excuse to email them and tell them how pretty they are and how much I love them [emoji14]
 
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Anyone know how to approach courting your favorite places post interview? I want to reach out to my top 3 programs but i'm not sure what to say and unsure of how direct I can be in telling them I will be ranking them highly.
 
Jlaw said:
Anyone know how to approach courting your favorite places post interview? I want to reach out to my top 3 programs but i'm not sure what to say and unsure of how direct I can be in telling them I will be ranking them highly.
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How about you go on the interview first lol!!
 
StephBee said:
I'll have my step 2 ck grade soon here and was going email my top programs and just be like "hey, I did awesome on step 2(hopefully I actually did awesome) , which makes up for my mediocre step 1,
So love me, maybe?" [emoji14]
Click to expand...

My 265+ on Step 2 ck has gotten little to no love lol. How in this world does this interview process work?
 
cyanide12345678 said:
My 265+ on Step 2 ck has gotten little to no love lol. How in this world does this interview process work?
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I feel ya. I got good test scores and good comments on clerkship rivals (no idea about SLOE), and have only gotten invites to my home school, my away rotation program, and two other schools, one rejection, and crickets from the other 45.
 
Did you guys make sure to include your absolute sexiest profile picture on ERAS? That might be the issue... J/k.

Btw, just posting to add George Washington to the list of schools that wants all Step scores in by February 15th. It's on their interview broker page/email.
 
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Cinematographer said:
Did you guys make sure to include your absolute sexiest profile picture on ERAS? That might be the issue... J/k.

Btw, just posting to add George Washington to the list of schools that wants all Step scores in by February 15th. It's on their interview broker page/email.
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What are you at...like 40 programs already lol??
 
HoosierdaddyO said:
What are you at...like 40 programs already lol??
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21/42 (initially applied to 44 programs, but later withdrew from 2 of them). I have already declined five of my earlier invites (via Interview Broker + short email to program coordinator). Still waiting on hearing from 3-4 programs I am interested in (Vandy, Hennepin, Highland...). Overall I've been pretty lucky; I only had one SLOE + Non-EM LoR available for the first three weeks after ERAS opened, but it clearly had little impact on my application.
 
Just an update to my previous post after asking around. Apparently Stanford only recommends step 2 CS but doesn't require it prior to ranking.

So far the only programs that require step 2 CS are as follows:

UCSF
LSU-Shreveport
George Washington

If anyone knows of any other programs, feel free to add to the list.

**Just to re-iterate, the vast majority of programs (around 95%) only require step 2 CK prior to ranking.
**As long as you take CK before January you should be golden.
 
The sad an unfortunate truth is that there will be quite a few of applicants who don't come close to their magic number. With half of all USMD applicants going on 12 or more interviews that means that there is 50 percent of qualified individuals who won't hit 12 or anyone near it. Sorry for the doom and gloom. I'm inclined to think that most of the seats are filled at this point. And the only real movement from here on out is cancellations.
 
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HoosierdaddyO said:
The sad an unfortunate truth is that there will be quite a few of applicants who don't come close to their magic number. With half of all USMD applicants going on 12 or more interviews that means that there is 50 percent of qualified individuals who won't hit 12 or anyone near it. Sorry for the doom and gloom. I'm inclined to think that most of the seats are filled at this point. And the only real movement from here on out is cancellations.
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Yup, definitely a downer. I just dunno what I could have done better. I mean, I'm not an "elite candidate" or anything, but I thought for sure I'd get 10 invites, but with only 4 so far makes me worried.
 
HoosierdaddyO said:
The sad an unfortunate truth is that there will be quite a few of applicants who don't come close to their magic number. With half of all USMD applicants going on 12 or more interviews that means that there is 50 percent of qualified individuals who won't hit 12 or anyone near it. Sorry for the doom and gloom. I'm inclined to think that most of the seats are filled at this point. And the only real movement from here on out is cancellations.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to think the same thing.
 
I think there are still PLENTY of interview invites to go out. The first wave has certainly gone out for most programs but second waves are in full swing right now...even for "competitive" places. I got Denver a few days ago, which according to the interview thread, was 10 days after what I believe was the first wave. Even if the only movement for some places is from cancellations, I believe it will be significant movement unless the program is ultra desirable. Glass half-full folks!
 
I guess the only true silver lining to this all is...DO NOT underestimate how much movement will and can occur from cancellations, especially during the Christmas and New Years time. Those people going on an exuberant amount of interviews will def start to feel burnt out and cancellations usually will happen. It's just a waiting game and patience :/
 
EMb52 said:
I think there are still PLENTY of interview invites to go out. The first wave has certainly gone out for most programs but second waves are in full swing right now...even for "competitive" places. I got Denver a few days ago, which according to the interview thread, was 10 days after what I believe was the first wave. Even if the only movement for some places is from cancellations, I believe it will be significant movement unless the program is ultra desirable. Glass half-full folks!
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I'm willing to go on the record that about 75 percent of seats are filled... Granted it's probably the same 25 percent of candidates that have those spots or a large majority of those spots. So wait, be patient and things will come but it will be more of a trickle than that of a firehouse kind of situation which was seen in the past couple weeks.
 
Totally agree, Hoosier. I have 11 interviews right now and the second I get to 13 (if I'm so lucky), I will drop my least desirable to stay at 12. Would only go on more than 12 if I got a great late interview. There are plenty of spots to go around.
 
EMb52 said:
Totally agree, Hoosier. I have 11 interviews right now and the second I get to 13 (if I'm so lucky), I will drop my least desirable to stay at 12. Would only go on more than 12 if I got a great late interview. There are plenty of spots to go around.
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I wish more candidates were like you my friend lol. I'm at 11.5 (one EM/IM and categorical at same program lol). If and when I hopefully hit another invite, I will cancel my least favorite place for the other from there on out. There is no reason to gauge interviews unless you have a legit excuse or reason. I don't have the funds/desire/energy to go on more than 12 lol... Ohhh and not to mention it wouldn't change my return on investment!!!
 
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I'm already having trouble juggling 11 logistically/financially/mentally...I'd be totally overwhelmed with too many more (I think someone mentioned they have 20 or something ridiculous earlier). We are going into an evidence based decision making career and I think we should use evidence (IE: NRMP match data) to drive our interview decisions...I think 10 is probably "enough" to be quite honest...but then again I'm a med student, ha.
 
I think I am going to do 13-15. I have 12 right now, but 3 of those are from places I rotated. 1 of which is a pretty competitive program, well known program. I'm just not sure if these places I rotated at gave me interviews as courtesy or not, so I want at least 10 interviews at places that know nothing about me other than what's on paper. The struggles of a DO applicant.
 
In the past 6 days, I've gotten two invites from programs who sent out their first wave a few weeks ago (UPenn & Detroit Receiving). I think there are still PLENTY of invites left to be sent out after cancellations, reschedulings, etc (not to mention programs that haven't filled all their spots left). Certainly the major first wave is done, but it's a long interview season; don't be too discouraged yet!
 
Yeah, sorry to even mention it . But, I just wanted to know when to start thinking of plan B. I am a pretty risk averse type of a guy or girl.
 
mrcoolice said:
I'm at 13 right now, but over-applied due to less than ideal board scores. I still have >70 programs to hear from. I have a buddy that defies even the boldest liar on SDN; he has 44 interviews.
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Well tell him that the rest of the applicant pool would appreciate it if he wasn't the Fort Knox of interview invites 🙂
 
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mrcoolice said:
Haha he fits into your 75% of interviews held by 25% of the applicants theory.
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i remember hearing the 75 by 25 theory many a times. several friends who did quite well last year told me that they only started getting interviews a few days ago from this point last year and then had a trickle come in through november. they all ended up with >10
 
I suspect things will start slowing down after Friday with ACEP and then trickle in as many programs start interviewing the Monday after the conference is over. Bottom line is that we're going to be checking our e-mails 300 times a day until the end of January and we just have to accept it.
 
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