Since I derived quite a bit of help from this board last year and found it very helpful when those who had similar stats to me, I wanted to share a bit of my experience. I am currently a first-year fellow at a non-academic program. Steps were all 230s, US MD, class rank in med school was not great, community/academic hybrid residency program. Had 1 published paper in the radiation oncology realm, 1 first author case report that was submitted at the time of application submission, 7 posters, and a few "fill out the CV" research "experiences" where nothing was published. Several volunteer experiences as well.
Because I felt that interview season was not the time to be chintzy and I wanted to lower the risk as much as possible (within some reason) of ever having to go through an exhausting and stressful and expensive interview/match season again I applied to 50 programs, mostly in the south, and only a few "big name" places. Mostly I applied to places where I wanted to live, which ruled out the northeast immediately. As a former mentor told me, when possible and when it's not harmful, "Choose to be happy." Was 50 overkill? In retrospect, of course it was, but the peace of mind was absolutely worth it. The flip side is I was shooting for 10 interviews as my magic number (from the requisite Charting Outcomes reviewing), so maybe it was a good number to apply to. I got 12 interviews and went on 11. I interviewed with several DO candidates. I matched at my first choice.
Interview experiences ranged from a quick sit-down overview of the program with the PD + 2 relatively quick interviews to a 2-day affair that left me exhausted and irritated. At some programs I couldn't tell if they actually wanted me or not which was quite odd, especially at those that were not in the most desirable of places to live, so be prepared for that. As was the previous esteemed poster, I was quite upfront about wanting to be a clinical oncologist in a not big city. At an academic institution one of my interviewers actually commended me for being honest about that. I got the impression that he hadn't heard that too often. Now, to some degree you have to "play the game" but at some point it just becomes you spewing bull**** and you know it. Multiple interviewers commented on my rec letters. I thought my PS was good but it was probably right in that middle range of not awful and not amazing because it didn't really get commented on. Have a good answer/question for when you get asked if you have any questions for them.
I've thought about posting specific interview experiences because there is a dearth of information on here regarding non-major programs in the south (there's more than just Anderson and UTSW, folks!), but I would not be able to contain my snark on some of them and felt it best just to keep my mouth shut.
tl;dr Very average candidate who applied to 50, interviewed at 11, and matched at top choice. Be honest and go somewhere where the people are nice and you (and your s/o) will be happy.
