Getting into good residency after poor MSI

[phxsea]

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Hello! I am sorry if this isn’t the right place to post this, but I struggled a lot my first year of medical school (DO). After figuring out medical problems (biggest issue) and starting treatment I am on an upward trend and am finally getting grades that reflect more of my actual ability.

I am remediating a class over the summer, and after that I will have a 2.6 GPA. I got Cs in most of the basic science courses, and As in my other courses.

I know boards are the most important but does this ruin my chances of getting into a competitive residency? What can I do over the next three years to become more competitive? I would appreciate any feedback or hearing from someone who maybe had a similar experience. Thanks!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Depends how competitive you mean. If you were gunning for a surgical subspecialty or derm or something else where every applicant had a perfect app, then you may need to readjust your goals. Otherwise, you can turn things around—everything kind of counts on a sliding scale, so if your grades are low then you’ll need a higher score on boards to compensate.

The most important thing is going to be board score. Focus on doing well in classes in MS2 and thus preparing yourself for boards, which you’re probably behind on given gaps that you may have in your knowledge from MS1.

 

[Goro]

And in clinical years..network, network, network!!!

 

[phxsea]

Depends how competitive you mean. If you were gunning for a surgical subspecialty or derm or something else where every applicant had a perfect app, then you may need to readjust your goals. Otherwise, you can turn things around—everything kind of counts on a sliding scale, so if your grades are low then you’ll need a higher score on boards to compensate.

The most important thing is going to be board score. Focus on doing well in classes in MS2 and thus preparing yourself for boards, which you’re probably behind on given gaps that you may have in your knowledge from MS1.

At this point I would love to do general surgery or internal medicine GI, but want to go back to the PNW where residencies are generally more competitive.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it!

 

[phxsea]

And in clinical years..network, network, network!!!

Thank you!

 

[ThoracicGuy]

At this point I would love to do general surgery or internal medicine GI, but want to go back to the PNW where residencies are generally more competitive.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it!

Be open to more locations. You can always go back to where you want after training. Don't limit yourself.

 

[ortnakas]

You probably can’t afford to be that geographically picky, but all hope is not lost. IM & even surgery are probably still on the table with an upward trend in grades, respectable Step 1, good clinical performance/grades/letters, and as @Goro mentioned, networking.