IM competitiveness

[bassquiat]

Hello,

Somewhat new 4th year DO student from an established school, applying IM. I have good grades (my school only reports quartiles and I’m in 1st quartile), passed Step 1/Level 1. Step2Ck came back yesterday at 26X, and still waiting for my level 2 score. No red flags/failures on my app. I’m only doing one SubI in IM to fulfill my school requirements, but didn’t schedule any audition rotations because I read mixed reviews about doing them for IM.

However, for ECs I only have a few non-medicine related volunteer experiences I’ve kept up with from undergrad, and some minor community volunteering events from school I did during pre-clinicals. I have zero research experience (I was interested in pursuing and sent a few emails but gave up and decided to just focus on classes/board studying) which worries me.

I realize that I will probably match at an IM community program somewhere, but what are my chances for academic programs or strong community programs in Cali? My preference is the west coast and I have strong ties to the area. My goal is to do Pulm/Crit or Cards in the future, but I could also see myself being happy as a hospitalist.

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[djiboutiman]

It's not impossible, look into places like UCSF Fresno, Scripps Mercy, Loma Linda, and Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. All have DOs and are known for having good programs.

 

[bassquiat]

It's not impossible, look into places like UCSF Fresno, Scripps Mercy, Loma Linda, and Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. All have DOs and are known for having good programs.

Thanks! Do you think mid to lower tier academic IM programs outside of Cali possible for me? My preference is to stay on the west coast but I definitely wouldn’t mind moving wherever if it would improve my chances of getting a fellowship.

 

[diesel2202]

Your scores are definitely good enough to get into an academic program. But most applicants have good scores, so you are going to want other things that help get you noticed (e.g. stellar PS, LORs from well known individuals, research, etc). Volunteer and club activities are normally just fluff that don't matter much, but there are exceptions. If you really are interested in cards or PCCM then trying to get involved in some research can be beneficial, especially for the former. Find a cool case and present it at a conference, or get involved in a project that you find interesting.