Help! Didn't honor my sub-I

[OB Hopeful]

another "what are my chances" Interested in OB, no plans for fellowship. Looking at The east coast

U.S. Citizen
Step 1: xxx
Step 2: xxx
Honors: peds, plus 4 other OB electives, all the rest are Passing grades (it's just pass, fail, honors)
One failed shelf (first one, family med, passed upon retake, clinically I was "one of the best students we have ever had"
Common Eval comments: team player, great to work with, excellent bedside manner, hardworking, good in OR, average knowledge base

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[Campanella]

Does the failed family medicine shelf still appear on your transcript after successful remediation? I know a few schools will remove a failing grade after remediation. If it stays on your transcript, it will hurt your chances, but I don't see any other glaring red flags in what you've told us. It is good that you honored your Ob electives, but your evals are not outstanding (they're still good, which is fine). You should try to get the best letters you can from the rotations you honored. I think 3 solid Ob letters from a well-respected program will significantly help your application. You'll also need to apply broadly. Luckily, the east coast has dozens of programs ranging from very competitive to less competitive, so that should give you a good mix of places to which you can apply. I interviewed at a few programs in the DMV, so feel free to PM me for details. If you get great letters, apply broadly (at least 50 places) and interview well, you should be able to match somewhere.

 

[22031 Alum]

Question #1: Is there a Fail on your transcript because of the FM shelf? I know in some cases, students who otherwise did well on a rotation can get a retake on the shelf, and the transcript just has "pass."

Question #2: Is there any indication that your other gyn electives weren't also Sub-I's?? If I saw someone with a pass on their 3rd-year OB clerkship, followed by four more OB rotations with 3 honors and 1 pass, I'd consider it all a wash and check the "overall fine clinically" box.

Question #3: Does your school's affiliation with a big name program mean you have letters from people who are well known in the field?

 

[OB Hopeful]

Question #1: Is there a Fail on your transcript because of the FM shelf? I know in some cases, students who otherwise did well on a rotation can get a retake on the shelf, and the transcript just has "pass."

Question #2: Is there any indication that your other gyn electives weren't also Sub-I's?? If I saw someone with a pass on their 3rd-year OB clerkship, followed by four more OB rotations with 3 honors and 1 pass, I'd consider it all a wash and check the "overall fine clinically" box.

Question #3: Does your school's affiliation with a big name program mean you have letters from people who are well known in the field?

1. The transcript says pass, but the MSPE may include the failed shelf.
2. One of the 3 is a 4 wk rotation that is not labeled a sub-i. the sub-i is clearly labeled a sub-i. The others are clearly not sub-i's, but one indicates that I worked with the same attending for a few months.
3. Yes, they are well known, but one is from this sub-i so imagine won't be as great of a letter as I had expected when I requested it.

 

[22031 Alum]

While the failed shelf may be mentioned in your MSPE and affect your end-of-letter adjective, it's very good that you will have a transcript free of F's. Target programs intelligently, apply broadly, and as long as your interviews are fine you should match. Try to meet with some faculty advisors to speak frankly about your app and application strategy.