How important are honors third year? Will not getting a certain amount of honors sink your application? How much is enough? Do you need all honors?
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- Plastic Surgery
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Honors in third year?
- Thread starter brownie
- Start date
There's never enough. But for full disclosure, I got no honors 3rd year and even got a pass in 3rd year surgery, yet matched into an integrated spot. It's the package.
You're unlikely to encounter the "perfect" candidate with all honors 3rd year, 280 step 1 and 2, tons of PRS pubs since you were a baby, outstanding letters from the most famous chairs, and 6 sub-Is in plastics/aways with all honors.
Just work as hard as you can and if you want it bad enough, then you can do it. If you don't match into integrated, there's always general surgery then independent pathway which is much easier to get into.
You're unlikely to encounter the "perfect" candidate with all honors 3rd year, 280 step 1 and 2, tons of PRS pubs since you were a baby, outstanding letters from the most famous chairs, and 6 sub-Is in plastics/aways with all honors.
Just work as hard as you can and if you want it bad enough, then you can do it. If you don't match into integrated, there's always general surgery then independent pathway which is much easier to get into.
If you don't match into integrated, there's always general surgery then independent pathway which is much easier to get into.
That's not a good way to approach general surgery or getting in to plastics. At all. Currently, it is easier to match than it has been historically. You unfortunately would be 4-5 years away from applying through GS. The match data this year is showing what may (or may not) be the beginning of a big cut to the number of available positions. There were 19 fewer spots this year than last. Next year there will be at least 6 less that I know of-Duke(3), UCLA(2), Miami(1) and+/- Penn(1). Additionally, 2015 will be the last match Mayo(3 spots) participates in. I've contacted the coordinators at all those programs personally to verify and direct my away rotation. Unless new programs open, that would put the number of spots at 69 down from 95 in 2013 and 66 in 2016 when I match(hopefully).
It will probably still be an option by the time you apply but taking the attitude that you can just gut it out for a few years in gen surg and walk in to a PRS spot is setting yourself up for disappointment. There are still applicants that are putting in lab time making the length of training 5+(1 or 2)+ 3 +/- 1 years. So the elite programs and those located in desirable places to live still have their pick. Add to that all the commotion about GME cuts and it's certainly not a sure thing it will be easy to get a spot. I've tried to switch. The advanced spots are just as competitive as getting a spot in the match and someone always knows someone. Unless that person is you, you're hosed.
Take-home point for those considering the independent match: If you go the GS route you have to be prepared to go all the way through without any guarantee of getting a spot in PRS. Doing a year in the lab someplace and reapplying would not only decrease the total number of years training you have to go through, but avoid all the uncertainty.
Hopefully, none of this applies to you though. Best of luck and I hope you get it.
