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You're fine.
FAQ: What are my chances?
- Thread starter hans19
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You will match with a 255. If you are seeking a top program it will depend on he quality of or research or ECs. I have a similar step 1 and I have enough interviews with a few at top programs. Apply to 30-40 programs.
So Beth Israel and Jacobi, although associated with Einstein, are really more community programs? And despite their association, the training is more on par with comparable community programs? How might they compare to like, Westchester Medical (NYMC)?
D
deleted103644
People definitely choose Beth Israel over NYMC all the time, but location plays a big role.
Now that NSLIJ is "academic", BI & SLR are probably the best community programs in the NYC area.
IIRC BI is a bigger program than NYMC (esp considering they have combined academic resources with SLR) and seemed a bit busier too.
NYMC's most notable feature is its PD, who is renowned for encouraging swarms of NYMC students to go into radiology each year and is a very strong resident advocate. (Also they had the highest salary of any program I visited, not that you should decide anything based off of that...)
Personally I believe I ranked BI/SLR over NYMC, but it was a pretty close call.
Sadly enough you should also probably take into account any damage from Sandy in your rankings...
EDIT: Oh, and Jacobi is a distant last in your list.
Montefiore >>> NYMC ~ BI/SLR >>> Jacobi
I see. Any particular reason Jacobi is so low? I don't really know anything about it, I'm just curious.
D
deleted103644
It's a resource poor community program, somewhere in the vicinity of LICH and Lenox Hill but in the Bronx.
Decent teaching and might be able to do some basic science stuff through Einstein, but if you have any interest in IR or MRI I wouldn't even bother interviewing (unless desperate).
D
deleted103644
It's not a malignant program, just not a good one.
It depends on your interviews, but I'd aim for 15 before cutting anything.
D
deleted103644
Why did you apply to so few? You have an ok number of interviews, but you should have applied to more programs.
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Hi - would like to start of by saying thanks to whoever decided to create this thread originally, lots of good information here. Cheers to all the intelligent folks who help all of us by deciding to give us their insight!
Few questions:
1.) I am interested in ANY program that is in NYC, Chicago, Boston, or Miami. Location is very important for me, I am not too concerned about how "prestigious" the program itself is, as I would like to eventually pursue an Interventional Fellowship.
231 on Step 1. I'm in the middle of my MS3 year and plan to honor at least a few rotations. I am at a "lower-tier" medical school in Ohio. I have done a lot of radiology research; 4-5 Case Reports in Radiology/IR journals, first author at an RSNA educational exhibit, and plan to present again at this years SIR. I have good recommendation letters lined up as well. What are my chances on landing a spot in one of those cities?
2.) I've heard different answers to this next question. For example, say we are talking about NYC. Would it be more beneficial for me to go for an away elective at a reach program (like NYU) perhaps, with the hopes of getting a good recommendation letter from a prestigious program? Or would it be better for me to go for an away elective at a school I would have a better chance of matching at, and getting some good face time at that school? Basically what I am asking is, what's better between Facetime at a GOOD school or a good letter from a GREAT school?
3.) How important is it for me to take Step 2 before I send out applications?
Thank you so much in advance!
Few questions:
1.) I am interested in ANY program that is in NYC, Chicago, Boston, or Miami. Location is very important for me, I am not too concerned about how "prestigious" the program itself is, as I would like to eventually pursue an Interventional Fellowship.
231 on Step 1. I'm in the middle of my MS3 year and plan to honor at least a few rotations. I am at a "lower-tier" medical school in Ohio. I have done a lot of radiology research; 4-5 Case Reports in Radiology/IR journals, first author at an RSNA educational exhibit, and plan to present again at this years SIR. I have good recommendation letters lined up as well. What are my chances on landing a spot in one of those cities?
2.) I've heard different answers to this next question. For example, say we are talking about NYC. Would it be more beneficial for me to go for an away elective at a reach program (like NYU) perhaps, with the hopes of getting a good recommendation letter from a prestigious program? Or would it be better for me to go for an away elective at a school I would have a better chance of matching at, and getting some good face time at that school? Basically what I am asking is, what's better between Facetime at a GOOD school or a good letter from a GREAT school?
3.) How important is it for me to take Step 2 before I send out applications?
Thank you so much in advance!
D
deleted103644
Sucking up is not necessary.
Your chances of matching are fine. Just don't under apply.
You have no shot at NYU without a rotation and very little with one. You would be better off rotating at a few other programs including lower tier programs. Your Step 1 is a standard deviation or two lower than the average at any academic NYC program.
Only if you think you can break 250.
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^ thanks for the reply
1.) When you say under-apply, what do you mean? Should I just apply to every program in each of these cities?
2.) I did research at NYU and have a letter from the Director of Cardiology there. Not sure if it would help my chances in Rads though. When you say lower tier programs, would you consider Bronx Lebanon or St-Lukes Columbia lower tier programs?
3.) Just to clarify, a score above a 231 is only helpful if it is above a 250?
1.) When you say under-apply, what do you mean? Should I just apply to every program in each of these cities?
2.) I did research at NYU and have a letter from the Director of Cardiology there. Not sure if it would help my chances in Rads though. When you say lower tier programs, would you consider Bronx Lebanon or St-Lukes Columbia lower tier programs?
3.) Just to clarify, a score above a 231 is only helpful if it is above a 250?
D
deleted103644
Apply? Sure, apply to all the city programs (minus maybe the ones on /recently on probation).
Did you publish? 1st author? Anything related to imaging? Might be worth doing a radiology rotation, but you're still a long shot unless you have some serious publications.
Bronx Lebanon was one of the two worst programs in the city, possibly one of the worst in the country, and last I heard had shut down their program.
St Luke's is a decent community program, one of the better ones in NYC along with Beth Israel.
Big improvement or it won't make a difference. Probably won't even then to be honest.
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there were many reasons as to why i applied to so few. but it is a good mix of all tiers.
D
deleted103644
Even if you're tied to a location it doesn't make sense - you could have applied to more than that in NYC alone.
Applications are not the place to save money - save on interviews, eating at restaurants, etc etc.
At $25 max per program, there's no good reason not to apply to more. Compared to the rest of your medical education (or even interviewing), that's small beans.
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listen, dude, i am resisting the urge to call you As.sho.le. I am not here to get judged by you or anyone else. i asked a simple f-ing question and I do not need your judgment about how many programs I applied to. For the record, I applied to every single program i could commute to within 1.5hrs from my current location and i managed to get 18 programs. everyone is in a differnet situation and i hope one day, you ask fro advice and someone just starts judging your decisions that you didnt even ask about.
D
deleted103644
Calm down ****face.
You came here looking for advice, and you got it.
If you are absolutely tied to a precise location, obviously your choice is fine as long as you would prefer to not match than to move.
D
deleted103644
Nah, it's fine, I'm done with this place anyway.
Hi everyone,
I am a Canadian medical student applying to radiology in the coming year. I know our matching systems are different (no USMLE score here), but I was hoping you could comment on areas I can improve.
- 7 Radiology Publications (4 first author, 2 second author, 1 third author) 1 Non-Radiology Publication (2nd author).
- 4 Oral Presentations, 5 Poster Presentations (all radiology related)
- 2 Book chapters
- Numerous medical education projects.
- Reference letter from my supervisor, with whom I did an elective (will be a good letter).
My main questions are:
1) Is there any point struggling to do more research? While I love doing it, I think my time may be better spent learning more radiology material and excelling on radiology electives.
2) Should my other reference letters be from non-radiologists? I have an IR elective coming up and would like to use a letter from that, will that be frowned upon? It's a clinical elective so I'll actually be doing stuff, unlike diagnostic electives.
3) I'm planning on doing most of my electives in radiology, but would my time be better spent on other specialties that are imaging heavy?
I am a Canadian medical student applying to radiology in the coming year. I know our matching systems are different (no USMLE score here), but I was hoping you could comment on areas I can improve.
- 7 Radiology Publications (4 first author, 2 second author, 1 third author) 1 Non-Radiology Publication (2nd author).
- 4 Oral Presentations, 5 Poster Presentations (all radiology related)
- 2 Book chapters
- Numerous medical education projects.
- Reference letter from my supervisor, with whom I did an elective (will be a good letter).
My main questions are:
1) Is there any point struggling to do more research? While I love doing it, I think my time may be better spent learning more radiology material and excelling on radiology electives.
2) Should my other reference letters be from non-radiologists? I have an IR elective coming up and would like to use a letter from that, will that be frowned upon? It's a clinical elective so I'll actually be doing stuff, unlike diagnostic electives.
3) I'm planning on doing most of my electives in radiology, but would my time be better spent on other specialties that are imaging heavy?
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Your step 1 alone should get you a fair amount of interviews.
I know people here tend to say to wait until you submit and take step 2 later with such a high score, but it feels good to just get it out of the way and I've never heard of people missing out on interviews because of a minor step 2 drop. You are also most prepared fresh off of MS3.
I know people here tend to say to wait until you submit and take step 2 later with such a high score, but it feels good to just get it out of the way and I've never heard of people missing out on interviews because of a minor step 2 drop. You are also most prepared fresh off of MS3.
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you will probably match in dallas if you want.
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Mine were placed in my Dean's Letter
3rd med student here, going to allopathic school in DC.
step 1: 223
step 2: will try to destroy next year
MS1/2: All Passes
MS3: High pass ob/gyn so far,
Research: working on somewhat rads related research
Volunteer: mission trips, headed IM interest groups
I am wondering what my chances are? I know any academic program would be difficult but is even a community program out of reach? I would love to stay on east coast preferably North East area .
step 1: 223
step 2: will try to destroy next year
MS1/2: All Passes
MS3: High pass ob/gyn so far,
Research: working on somewhat rads related research
Volunteer: mission trips, headed IM interest groups
I am wondering what my chances are? I know any academic program would be difficult but is even a community program out of reach? I would love to stay on east coast preferably North East area .
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You've got a great chance in matching in Dallas. UTSW and Baylor-Dallas are you're two options. Try to honor your last rotations and you should be good, and even if you don't your Step 1 will open lots of doors. Research could help if you have time for it - a case report would be a good idea if you need something quick.
Re: shelf scores, it's school dependent as already stated. My school didn't release them but were factored into our final clerkship grades as I'm sure they are almost everywhere, so programs can take what they want from that.
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I think you have a good chance of matching somewhere on the East Coast as long as you apply broadly. NE acedemic specifically might be a bit of a reach unless you do a few things, which will also help your chances of matching in general:
1) Your Step 1 is below most if not all cutoffs (academic places usually have a cutoff) - no way around that unfortunately. Take Step 2 CK early and try to increase by at least 15-20 points.
2) Get honors in your clerkships. Can't stress that enough. Arguably just as important as board scores, especially for rotations like Medicine and Surgery.
3) Good letters will also be important. Try getting to know some faculty (an attending, clerkship director, etc) while working on #2 above and ask for 2-3 letters from your core clinical rotations. Does your school have a rads department? Probably does based on the schools in DC, so meet with the PD there + do a rotation and get a radiology letter, either from the PD themselves or an attending. Your research mentor should also write you one.
4) Your ECs/Leadership are pretty good, but try getting something published or presented in your "somewhat rads related" research. It can only help but won't necessarily hurt you if you don't.
Seems like a lot but you still have plenty of time before the next cycle. I tried to list those in order of importance but #1 and #2 are pretty much equal I'd say, #3 being a close second. Best of luck.
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I had a pretty similar profile to you - strong Step and grades, minimal research. Main difference would be I was at a lower tier school in the South
I only applied to the "big boys" in NY/Boston (was focused on West Coast)
ranked to match at NYU, interviews but not ranked to match at MGH and BWH.
No interviews at Cornell or BIDMC.
Not sure if the lack of research or being from a smaller out of region school hurt more...but it may have just been random chance as all of those programs are really competitive
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Current MS3 here:
At a high-tier (according to US News) California program, thinking hard about rads.
Step 1: 240s (I choked hard the day of, not proud of this).
MS3: strong letters, honors aren't given out until end of year but maybe half of rotations = honors. Will have very strong letters.
Research: 12 papers, mostly basic science but 1/3 rads, various radiology scholarships and research awards.
Looking to stay SF bay area if possible since wife has a decent job here. Debating whether to take time off for more research, or in essence what my game plan should be moving forward.
At a high-tier (according to US News) California program, thinking hard about rads.
Step 1: 240s (I choked hard the day of, not proud of this).
MS3: strong letters, honors aren't given out until end of year but maybe half of rotations = honors. Will have very strong letters.
Research: 12 papers, mostly basic science but 1/3 rads, various radiology scholarships and research awards.
Looking to stay SF bay area if possible since wife has a decent job here. Debating whether to take time off for more research, or in essence what my game plan should be moving forward.
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I'd say you have a pretty solid app so far and probably don't need any more research. 240+ on Step 1 is more than enough to get you in the door at pretty much any top tier academic place. I even think UCSF states on their website that the majority of their interviewees have a 240 or greater. Overall I'm not too familiar with Cali programs but your other options of Stanford and Santa Clara Valley (and I guess UC Davis if you can tolerate the distance) are probably up in that Step 1 range as well.
Going forward I'd focus on honoring the rest of your core rotations. Step 2 you can put off but take it early enough if you're considering UCSF. Don't know if away rotations help at any of the SF-Bay area programs but that's something to think about too. It sounds like you're already in med school in the area so set up a rotation at your school's rads department, sit down with the PD, express interest in sticking around. Couldn't hurt.
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Yeah that's what I meant. Above a 240 and you should be fine in terms of cutoffs at most big time academic places.
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I'm low 240s and have interviews at more than a few places that could set one up for a long academic career of that is your thing. More than a few rejections too, but not impossible.
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So, apply to community programs too? Take a year off? If I had to weigh one over the other I would probably pick region over academic career, given my family situation. Or does another year off not add a whole lot of beef to the application at this point?
Thanks.
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Probably no need to take a year off. Not sure what else you could do during that time that would really add much since you already have a lot of research. Just apply broadly (rule of 1/3s) to your region of interest if you're restricted geographically. I've heard that people who are applying to Cali/West Coast usually just end up applying to every program there since there aren't as many compared to the Midwest or East Coast.
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As stated above, no need to take a year off. I have a fairly unique application and have been told that my step 2 score and personal statement (yes, you read that right) drew attention to my application as well.
I applied to about 70 programs and got >20 interview offers. There was a very strong skew towards the competitive places but I put a few community programs on there as well.
I would personally check out some community programs. We are often programmed to think academic or nothing, but I've been very very impressed with every community program I've been to. Some of them left me more excited than respectable academic institutions. 2 of the community programs had nicer equipment than the academic places and fantastic perks.
I've learned that programs are all remarkably capable of providing a solid education and it isn't as clear cut as many make it seem. Apply broadly, interview and see which place gives you the best warm and fuzzy feeling while fulfilling any personal/life demands.
I applied to about 70 programs and got >20 interview offers. There was a very strong skew towards the competitive places but I put a few community programs on there as well.
I would personally check out some community programs. We are often programmed to think academic or nothing, but I've been very very impressed with every community program I've been to. Some of them left me more excited than respectable academic institutions. 2 of the community programs had nicer equipment than the academic places and fantastic perks.
I've learned that programs are all remarkably capable of providing a solid education and it isn't as clear cut as many make it seem. Apply broadly, interview and see which place gives you the best warm and fuzzy feeling while fulfilling any personal/life demands.
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Awesome, thanks so much for the advice folks, much appreciated!
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Wondering if I have a shot at any Chicago programs as an osteopathic student
USMLE step 1: 229
COMLEX 1:568
I am a third med student. Part of Sigma Sigma Phi. Top 20 in my class. Research w/ interventional neuroradiologist which produced a poster presentation and hopefully a publication. Also, have done some routine extracurriculars that most students do.
Do I have a shot at all in Chicago? What can I do to improve my chances to land residency in Chicago? If not Chicago, do I have a chance anywhere?
USMLE step 1: 229
COMLEX 1:568
I am a third med student. Part of Sigma Sigma Phi. Top 20 in my class. Research w/ interventional neuroradiologist which produced a poster presentation and hopefully a publication. Also, have done some routine extracurriculars that most students do.
Do I have a shot at all in Chicago? What can I do to improve my chances to land residency in Chicago? If not Chicago, do I have a chance anywhere?
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Good afternoon, my original post is below.
I wanted to know how much an away elective would help my chances of applying to programs such as Beth Israel and St. Luke's Roosevelt - I have really narrowed it down to these two programs.
I heard that away electives can be double-edged swords.
What can a student do to help their chances on these away rotations?
I wanted to know how much an away elective would help my chances of applying to programs such as Beth Israel and St. Luke's Roosevelt - I have really narrowed it down to these two programs.
I heard that away electives can be double-edged swords.
What can a student do to help their chances on these away rotations?
In my opinion the content of a letter is much more important than who is writing it. If you do an away make sure to meet with the program director while you are there. Try not to slow down the workflow but stay enthusiastic and interested. Your step is a little below average for radiology so I would consider taking step 2 early although you would probably be fine without it.
3rd year, considering radiology vs IM.
Low/middle tier east coast allopathic.
Step 1: 245
Clerkships so far: Honors in neurology, family med, pediatrics, ob/gyn. Still have surgery, IM, and psych to go.
No research besides a summer project after first year that got an award from the school, but no poster or publication, so basically a massive fail.
If I don't have a shot at academic programs, I'll just do IM instead. Not geographically constrained, but would prefer the coasts (although they are admittedly a huge reach). Thanks.
Low/middle tier east coast allopathic.
Step 1: 245
Clerkships so far: Honors in neurology, family med, pediatrics, ob/gyn. Still have surgery, IM, and psych to go.
No research besides a summer project after first year that got an award from the school, but no poster or publication, so basically a massive fail.
If I don't have a shot at academic programs, I'll just do IM instead. Not geographically constrained, but would prefer the coasts (although they are admittedly a huge reach). Thanks.
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