I think I am probably out...

[Futuredoc1364]

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I know I should probably post this in what are my chances section, but at this point I need more of a moral support than any thing else, because I think my chances are slim to none. First let me tell you what my stats are real quick:

Step 1- 224
Pre-clinical grades: Mostly passes with some high passes
Clincal grades:
Psych, medicine and OBGYN: P
Surgery and radiology: H
Family Med, primary care (something at my school), Pediatrics and ophthalmology: HP
Publications: 1 first author in a non-radiology field and 1 second author in the same field. Will begin radiology research soon (the project is pending IRB approval but I put it down on ERAS).
School: probably an average med school
Also the comments that I have received for my clerkships which will go into the Dean's letter are very good. Not sure if that really matters though.
LORs are strong but that's the case for everyone.
I also have been involved in Radiology interest group and some other activities but nothing major.
Class rank: probably 50th percentile maybe 40th but not lower

So I took July off and studied day and night for step 2. I even took one of the NBME's 4 days before my step 2 and I got a 243. Then I got my score back and it was a 228😱. From what I have heard, some of those NBME's might be easier than the real test so maybe I took the wrong test. Anyways, my score is what it is and I cannot take step 2 again. Sometimes I think that maybe I pressed "Esc" on the keyboard halfway through my test accidentally while I was trying to put my marker down and it messed up my test, but I know that is not likely and I pretty much screwed up on the test myself.

I have to say I just finished a radiology rotation at my school and I am well-liked by the program director and pretty much all other key faculty. However, I never sat down with the PD to actually discuss my application.

So here is the issue: I am located in Pennsylvania and I know that the northeast is one of the most competitive regions in the country. I think with my stats I pretty much have no shot at any academic program (except my school maybe). So if anything I might have a shot at community programs. So I am applying to all of those around me.

I know that everyone says academic programs are preferred. But I did talk to one of the fellows at my school who went to a community program and who said that all of his classmates ended up at very good fellowships, so I think matching at a community program is not that bad at all.

I know I technically should have thought about a back up plan such as applying to another field, but I honestly was so consumed improving my application for radiology that I did not have time to prepare a different personal statement. Also I just got my step 2 score on Wed. so I am at a state of shock.

I did look at charting outcomes in the match for 2009 and it seems that being a US senior I am still not totally out but I know it will be an uphill battle.

So here is what I was thinking. I am going to finalize and submit my ERAS on Sept. 1. I will apply to about 80 programs broadly with many community programs included. I understand that there is a chance that I might not match. So if that happens I will apply to another field next year such as medicine or some other less competitive field. At this point I am too burned out to write a personal statement for another field and still be able to submit it by Sept. 1. Also I feel like that if I do that it might really fatigue me and I might not do well in the few radiology interviews that I might get.

I think I will most likely be able to match into a prelim year and I will then take next year to apply to another field. Another option might be to take a year off for research and then try for another less competitive field. I know at this point it is too early to figure this stuff out because I am not sure if I will or will not match.

So about selecting programs, I had about 40 programs on my list before I got my step 2 score. Now what I am thinking is I will most likely just go ahead and select all programs in the northeast (excluding the main ones such as top academic programs in big cities at which I have no shot). Do you think I should apply to more than 80?

Also one other question: there is a section in my personal statment where I talked about how I have learned so much from my research projects and I might consider performing some research in my future radiology career. Do you think this is a big deal? One of my advisors in radiology told me that having this in does not necessarily go against community programs, because many of them also like to promote research. What do you think?

Sorry about this long post. I hope I am not kidding myself by applying to radiology. 🙁

 

[LuckyST]

Futuredoc,

I still think you have a fantastic shot at matching. Your board scores are lower than average, but they are not terrible, and you are applying to far more programs than the average applicant, and to less competitive ones. Stay confident, and knock your interviews out of the park, and I'm sure you will be fine.

As for your questions: I would bet 80 programs is enough (if not too many). However, you should actually think about where you want to be, what type of programs you want to select, etc--just selecting every program in the northeast is silly. This is especially true because many of the "less competitive" programs are in the mid-west and the south, so you may want to strongly consider applying to some programs in those regions.

I would keep the research stuff in your personal statement. I don't see how it could possibly hurt you, even with community programs.

-Lucky

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Hi there!

Do you have a shot? Sure. There are a lot of radiology programs in the country. Your stats are actually very similar to mine when it comes to Step 1, class rank, clinical years, etc, though I did increase a lot on Step 2 and whether that helped or not is unknown. And I had no research.

Just suck up your pride, and apply to a crapload of programs. I did about 80 rads myself as well. I ended up with a community program, but a good one, and one I'm very happy with. Plenty of residents from non-academia get great fellowships.

Just apply ASAP, get in good letters, and go for it. Don't worry about your PS.

Good luck!

 

[C5toC9]

What does a community program really mean? There are obviously residents and hence, teaching is going on at the hospital. Is it just a smaller teaching hospital affiliated with (or without) a med school?

 

[Goober]

What does a community program really mean? There are obviously residents and hence, teaching is going on at the hospital. Is it just a smaller teaching hospital affiliated with (or without) a med school?

some community hospitals are bigger than academic ones.

In general the "knock" on community hospitals are:

-less prestige
-less teaching and more focus on getting the work done
-less research opportunity

Having said that- many community hospitals prepare the residents fine for private practice and many residents get good fellowships.

 

[Futuredoc1364]

Thank you so much for the reponse to my thread. Yeah I think as long as I apply to many programs including about 30 or so community programs I will have a shot.

I also think I have a shot at my school. Will submit my ERAS ASAP even though most of my LOR's are not in yet.

At this point, I only have one LOR from my family med attending and one from my research mentor in my Dean's office. Otherwise I am waiting on one from surgery and one from pediatrics. I also asked for two from radiology. I guess I could use either my family med or research letter when I submit my application on Sept. 1. The family med will be a good one because I worked with the attending and her team on a one-on-one basis for 4 weeks. My research one will be good also but I feel like my research work speaks for itself. The surgery and peds ones are definitely good but as I said I don't know when they'll come in. I was hoping that one of my rads letters would be in by Sept. 1 but I don't think they will be.

How often do you think I should send emails reminding faculty about these letters? It has already been a couple of weeks that I asked them for the letters. I just do not want to irritate the faculty. 😳 From what I have heard most programs do not really even consider looking closely at applications until October, is that correct?

Best of luck to all people applying this year! 🙂

 

[LuckyST]

Futuredoc,
You absolutely do not need to have all of your letters in when you apply. Apply Sept 1st! That is what everyone else is doing, and that is what will give you the best shot. Once your letters are submitted, they will be sent automatically to all of the schools that you applied to. Just make sure that you select the best 4 letters for each program to see.

At my institution, they tell you to start emailing reminders to your letter writers if it has been about 6 weeks since you asked them. However, since it is application season now, it might be worth it to send some reminders around September 15th.
-Lucky