How competitive am I?

[DrMccodell]

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Hey guys long time lurker here. Just wanted to get some opinions on how competitive I am for an anesthesiology residency. I'm currently a third year at a state school in the south. First year, I got all passes, second year was all high pass and honors and the first 2 clerkships (psych and IM) were both high pass with really great evaluations. I did a preceptorship in anesthesia between 1st and 2nd year and have my scheduled third year elective in clinical anes this jan. USMLE Step 1 score is 219/93. I am going to apply broadly (LA,TX,AR,NM,NY,OR,WA,MA,NC,FL,IL) and have my application completed as early as possible.

Questions I have:
1) Do you think I will have a good shot at getting 13-15 interviews and matching in my top 3?

2) and... do you think my 219/93 will get me screened out of a lot of programs? The most competitive I will be applying to are in NYC and Chicago (NOT applying to northwestern!) but the majority will be mid level.

Thanks!

 

[putyou2sleep]

I am currently a fourth year going through the interview process, with step 1 223, passes in first/second year (we don't have high pass/honors those years), and 3/6 honors in third year clerkships.

So all-in-all a similar applicant to yourself. Prior to my step 2 score being available I had secured 11 interviews. After it, an additional 3 have come in (244/99), and out of the rest that I applied to - it appears that about half of them aren't interested and half have not started offering interviews.

So, keep working hard. Don't shoot yourself in the foot this year and I think that you are a perfectly strong candidate to get interviews. Then it is about finding the right fit for yourself.

EDIT: http://www.nrmp.org/data/programresultsbyspecialty2010v3.pdf you may find this link helpful.

 

[DrMccodell]

Thanks for the reply and good luck to you this year! Any other opinions out there? I guess my biggest fear is that programs will screen applicants with step 1 scores below 220 and since I got a 219 I would be screwed. Anyone think that is something I should be worried about? Thanks and good luck to all you applicants who are about to start interviewing!

 

[Gardner]

I guess my biggest fear is that programs will screen applicants with step 1 scores below 220 and since I got a 219 I would be screwed. Anyone think that is something I should be worried about?

I don't think those scores will screw you for most of the programs you are applying to in the South. Arkansas, LSU, Miss, Florida, and I bet Miami would probably be fine with them. Be realistic though and don't expect Duke to show you love anytime soon. I'm from the West and matched to a program in the South. I was one of the few of the incoming interns in my class that were not from the region. So, I think being a med student from the South would help you to get some interest from those programs. That might hurt you for programs in NY or MA though. You'll probably be fine and be laughing about this needless worry in March.