GSurg hances for completely academically average applicant?

[mystma0621]

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Hey guys, So here's my story. Came into 3rd year, biased towards medicine, but fairly undecided about my career plans. Having done medicine and now finishing up my 3rd year Surgery clerkship, I've found that I'm gung-ho about General Surgery and fairly set that this is what I want to do, with further interests in Vascular or SurgOnc. Just wondering if anyone has any input about programs/chances, based on an applicant that is, at least on paper, very average.
I once had dreams of the Big 3 in Boston and NYH/Columbia or Cornell, but coming from a mid-tier (top-50 MD) school west of the Mississippi, I'm starting to realize that I perhaps need to be more realistic. Just not sure where that leaves me.
Have a top-5 undergrad pedigree, varied extracurricular background, pretty significant basic science research background, but in med school, just the summer btw 1st and 2nd yr at a top new england hospital, mid-author on an abstract. Looking to perhaps get involved with something publishable starting in the new year.

Average to slightly abv average at my school, but here's the kicker. 0 Honors in MS1/MS2. Pass in Medicine (we just have H/P/F), with solid comments, but didn't do great on the shelf, leaving me just short of honors. And here we are on surgery, where I'm going all out, again probably gonna get good comments/evals, but just can't feel all that confident about honoring, given my average performance on basically all my tests in med school. (Step 1: 230)
Any thoughts/comments appreciated.

 

[Guile]

The canned answer is going to be: apply and find out. No one can predict your chances. Sorry, man. "What are my chances" threads are looked down upon here, because, in reality no one can predict your chances with any more accuracy than a roll of the die. Do you have a shot at the big 3 in Boston? Of course. Whether you'll match there or not can only be determined once you apply. Study hard for the shelf, be a rockstar on your surgery AIs, and try to get some research in. Submit your apps and the rest is up to the NRMP.

 

[filter07]

Also get involved with your advisor early. They are usually candid about chances.

 

[deleted89854]

Your chances of matching are 21.3%. Thanks for playing.

God I hate these threads.

 

[SLUser11]

Also get involved with your advisor early. They are usually candid about chances.

....and they are also frequently wrong.


To the OP: your chances at the biggest named academic centers are low but not zero. A step 1 of 230 is becoming increasingly average as general surgery applicants improve and students figure out the test (mean score is still going up it seems).

Of course, there are hundreds of programs and plenty of good ones outside of New York and Boston. If you have a strong interest in Surgical Oncology, I would target programs that offer (but don't necessarily require) 2 years of research. If you want to do vascular, you can probably train about anywhere and still get in.

The real secret is finding out what you really want (academic vs community, big city vs small city, areas of emphasis, etc). Once you know that, it will be easier for the SDN community, and more importantly your advisors, to help you along the way.

 

[bbydoc]

Your chances of matching are 21.3%. Thanks for playing.

God I hate these threads.

yet you read them...

 

[Guile]

Your chances of matching are 21.3%. Thanks for playing.

God I hate these threads.

yet you read them...

Some use SDN primarily for complaining about "chances" threads.

 

[Darksmurf]

God I hate these threads.

God does not care what you hate (or think, for that matter).

 

[JackADeli]

...Just wondering if anyone has any input about ...chances, based on an applicant that is, at least on paper, very average...

Probably do well to search and look at the "read first" before posting:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=500004

...2) Please do not ask the following questions because we honestly don't know or cannot answer:

a. What are my chances (ie, WAMC) to get into surgery?...

 

[deleted89854]

Some use SDN primarily for complaining about "chances" threads.

Are you complaining about my complaining?

Do you not find it tedious to sift through the WAMC threads every winter? Despite the hundreds of previous threads asking identical questions (for which there aren't really any useful answers), people continue to think that their situation is somehow unique enough to warrant it's own thread. It's just an attempt to get a little pat on the head and some reassurance, which I personally find annoying.

 

[Buzz Me]

Do you not find it tedious to sift through the WAMC threads every winter? Despite the hundreds of previous threads asking identical questions (for which there aren't really any useful answers), people continue to think that their situation is somehow unique enough to warrant it's own thread. It's just an attempt to get a little pat on the head and some reassurance, which I personally find annoying.

It's a learned behavior that starts off in Pre-Allo. 🙁