interviews, board scores and clinical grades

[realruby2000]

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Hey everyone,

I think we're far enough into the interview season to ask some of the M4s about their stats. I know a thread like this pops up every year. if you guys can share some of your info for next year's class we all will greatly appreciate it!!

good luck!!

 

[realruby2000]

Hey everyone,

I think we're far enough into the interview season to ask some of the M4s about their stats. I know a thread like this pops up every year. if you guys can share some of your info for next year's class we all will greatly appreciate it!!

good luck!!

105 views and no replies? come on guys, the class that came before you was willing to share this info. It's only fair to keep the trend going

 

[po' boy]

okay, i'll bite.

Honors: 1 class preclinical, 1 3rd year rotation (pediatrics), both EM 4th year rotations.

Extras: highly involved in med student committees, activities, multiple outside interests to talk about.

Research: during college only

School: "top ten" med school, whatever that means

Step 1: 241/97

Interviews: everywhere I applied.

EM values well-rounded people. LOR's are the key.
I think if you also do well on boards, write a good personal statement and be an interesting person instead of a robot, you'll get interviews.

 

[Short Bus]

Grades: No third year honors (all PC's and one P+ in my first clerkship), Honors on EM elective, waiting for grade on second EM elective. Honors on a 2 month critical care clerkship.

Step I: 219, step II: pending

Interviews at 15/30 schools, 2 rejections, the rest are pending

 

[jannakins]

Everyone knows that there is so much more than numbers involved but, for all of the type A personalities out there....

StepI/II: 238/254
Involvement: Class president and one research poster
Grades: Honors on all of third year rotations and on EM and Toxicology in 4th year
Class rank: 11
Interviews: Applied to 18. Interviews from 14. Rejected from UNC. Still waiting on Carolinas, Houston, and Brown

There you go.

 

[jonahhelix]

First thing: J-kins, seems like you got a raw deal from UNC... oh well, goes to show how unpredictable these things can be!
=======

Ok, this makes me feel a little dirty, but if it's helpful somehow:

School: Top 20
Grades: mixed H/P years 1 and 2
all H for 3rd and 4th so far
AOA
Boards: 236 Step I
?? Step II (but I must admit I'm a little nervous waiting for this one)
Research: 2 papers, 2 abs pre-med school (Master's Deg)
1 paper submitted, 1 abs in med school
Extras: a heckuva lot of comm serv and mentorship stuff
Letters: strong, i hope!

Interviews: 13/14, with the one left being that mellow prog in Charlotte still sipping on sweet tea rather than sending out the 'vites. 😉

 

[dchristismi]

Ok, fine.

Step 1 - 216
Step 2 - 245

Top 25% of class
Plain ol' state school
Grades: Ours is a minimally disguised A-F system. A's and B's years 1-2; A's in medicine, surg, OB, peds. A in home EM rotation, "high pass" at away rotation.
Letters: per my first interviewer's comments, pretty strong. I'll take his word for it.
Research: 2 papers in the works (which I should be working on right now, but I'd rather feverishly check my email); 1 presentation at a lesser-known national conference.
Extras: Crisis domestic violence advocate, involved in EMIG, adrenaline junkie, couple of unusual hobbies
Interviews: 14 of 20 so far, still waiting on the rest.

 

[WakeMedHeel]

Step I: 233
Step 2: 225
1st/2nd year Grades: Top 1/3rd
3rd year: No honors, but very close in 3 rotations
Emergency Med rotation: Pass...but was told it was very close to honors and our program doesn't hand out honors on EMed.
Away rotation in Jan.

Apparently letters are very strong...and I have a strong personal experience that I was able to discuss in my personal statement that I think helps too.

So far 16 offers out of 33 applied to. Two rejections, 15 pending.

 

[dlung]

... plus, I'll take any excuse I can to not study. 😀

School: Bottom half I'd guess.
Rank: 3rd quartile
Grades: HP/P all years (I hate SHELF exams). 3.8 MPH GPA.
EM Rotations: HP x 2.
Step I: 215/mean
Step II: soon... too soon... or not soon enough...
Research: undergrad + med school. one project got me multiple poster presentations and is currently being reviewed for publication.
LORs: Must be good, with the interviews I've been getting.
Other stuff: Usual extracurricular stuff. MD/MPH program. EMT-Basic. Can throw a wicked one-handed tie. Sharp wit. Strikingly handsome. I like candle-lit dinners and long walks on the beach...... oh wait... that's for a different website.

Interviews: regional ones + a bunch of real reaches for me including Cincinnati, Jacobi, and Yale... it's unbelievable.

Take Home Point: You can really really stink on paper and still get interviews at great programs.

 

[la gringa]

1st 2 years: top 1/3
3rd year: honors in medicine, rest pass (no high pass for us, alas)
EM: pass at home (see WMH's comment %&$# it) and honors away - go figure!
step 1 241, step 2 243
other: lots of community/service oriented and peds oriented extracurriculars
research: only in college
LOR's: all from EM faculty, 3 at home and 1 from visiting rotation. I assume they are good, as interviews have turned out better than expected.... 18/30 offers, no outright rejections yet but expect a handful when it's over.

 

[cowbydoc]

School: Oklahoma State-COM
Rank: Top 15%
Grades: A"s and B's in 3rd and 4th; A in home EM month
Step I: COMLEX: (98th%tile) USMLE: 247
StepII: Yet to be taken
Research:Microbiology techno stuff, 1 poster
LOR's: 2 good, 2 are bland-make sure you pick people who will put in the effort to write a good rec
Extras: Lots of community service, plus I was the first kid on the block with a Nintendo.
Interviews: 13/32 5 or so rejects including EVMS, BIDMC, BU, NW, and ABC's and 123's. The rest are pending. I thought I would get more interviews, maybe my LOR's say I am the Kevorkian of our med school or something to that effect.

 

[sigep628]

School: Ross University (FMG)
Rank: Unknown, but 3.52 GPA
Grades: A on all but Radiology (B+) and Trauma Surgery (C, don't know what happend one of the attendings was a d--k and didn't like me)
EM Rotations: A, A, HP
Step I: 208
Step II: 215
Research: None
LORs: Great as far as I know
Other stuff: Usual extracurricular stuff. Paramedic/Flight medic, bunch of other stuff doesn't really matter(I'll send you a CV if you want 😛 )
Interviews: 6 EM, 1 EM/IM, 1 IM
Rejections: 15 so far still waiting on 62 or so...

Take Home Point: You don't have to be a good test taker to treat patients well.

 

[las olas]

School: regular good ol' cheap state school in southeast(doesn't make sense to pay extra $25,000/year for private)
step 1 220
step 2 225
Clinical grades: all B's except Neurosurg (A)
Em: 2 A's (honors)
Research: try to avoid the stuff if at all possible. doing first research project at Everest base camp this spring. we'll see if I can handle this research thing.

LORs: 3 EM from home school and 1 away EM, strength: wish I knew
Extra: director of national adventure race, lots of international work, worked in ED for awhile, pride myself on spending more time playing outside than in the library in school.

Interviews: 17 out of 27 with only 3 rejections so far. waiting on the rest. rejected from UCSD, Highland, and UNC. My programs have a heavy western slant so I expect more rejections to be coming but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. I have heard from most of the southeast programs and waiting on the last few western programs.

EM wants well rounded folks. they will work with you everyday in a stressfull environment, so you need to have cool things that you do outside of work. key point is to be the world class kayaker/rock climber or whatever who also has time to make awesome grades

 

[docflanny]

School: MSUCOM, Top Ten in Primary Care (Few Years) If you buy into US News and World Report
Rank: Top quartile, I believe. Our school frowns on ranking/grades. P/F
Grades: All passes, baby!
EM Rotations: 2 Allopathic Honors
Comlex I: 95%
Comlex II: 98%
Research: Read a lot of interesting stuff. Big question for others- how much is washing glassware or tabulating data that constitutes (your) research?
LORs: 4 EM letters (one as an intern). Believe they're all good.
Other stuff: Already an osteopathic intern (experience, but not fully funded in the last year- plus/minus) Speak Spanish. Lots of community involvment/leadership.

Interviews: 10/30, so far. Heard from the ones I really wanted too, plus a few that I never thought I'd hear from.

Rejections: 4- UNC, UCSD, BIDMC, Vandy

 

[EMApplicant]

Hmmm, let's see....

My parents assure me that i'm "special", although hopefully not in the sense that I require a telethon. I brush after meals. I hold doors open for other people. I'm a firm believer in med-student solidarity; i.e. I don't make my team-mates look bad. Actually, now that I think of it, most of my team-mates probably look good in comparison to me... 😉

As for stats: better than some, worse than others; 239,244; top quarter, clinical grades = honors. Combined degree. Lots of unique extra-curricular adventures. I've received invites from most of the programs I was really interested in, with the exception of Harbor who I have not yet heard from. At this point, I'm guessing it's likely a rejection, but time will tell... Otherwise, rejected from Highland and UT-Houston officially.

Oh yes, one more thing. I concur with the above - J'kins was most definitely 'robbed' by UNC! What were they thinking??? 😕

 

[joaquin13]

School: MSUCOM, Top Ten in Primary Care (Few Years) If you buy into US News and World Report
Rank: Top quartile, I believe. Our school frowns on ranking/grades. P/F
Grades: All passes, baby!
EM Rotations: 2 Allopathic Honors
Comlex I: 95%
Comlex II: 98%
Research: Read a lot of interesting stuff. Big question for others- how much is washing glassware or tabulating data that constitutes (your) research?
LORs: 4 EM letters (one as an intern). Believe they're all good.
Other stuff: Already an osteopathic intern (experience, but not fully funded in the last year- plus/minus) Speak Spanish. Lots of community involvment/leadership.

Interviews: 10/30, so far. Heard from the ones I really wanted too, plus a few that I never thought I'd hear from.

Rejections: 4- UNC, UCSD, BIDMC, Vandy

If you don't mind me asking, I am a also a DO student. I was wondering which ones you never expected to hear from but did?

 

[jonwilli]

Osteopathic Student
Class Rank-top 25%
GPA around 3.50
COMLEX I 87% COMLEX II 93%
Clinical Grades-All A's except one B (we don't have honors, high pass, etc.)
One publication, several other research projects pending publication
Interviews 10/33, Rejections from 2 programs

 

[WilcoWorld]

But I'll post ayway:

I go to an average allopathic medical college.

I honored a few classes during both 1st & 2nd years.

I honored a few rotations as an M3.

Did 2 EM rotations, got B's in both, but strong comments.

Step 1 = 230's Step 2 = TBA

3 EM LOR's & one glowing LOR from an FP who has known me for years.

Wrote what one PD called a "ballsy" personal statement & have a full & interesting life outside of medicine

Applied to 35, invites from 17 so far (some from "top" programs) rejected by Maine, UNC & Northwestern.

Here's the point: If you're a less than spectacular student this thread will do little but needlessly scare you. If you're AOA it could offer you false hope. It's been said ad nauseum, & is now approaching ad infinitum, that EM looks at the whole applicant, so there is no magic formula. I know how bad you want one though, I was there just a couple months ago. The most consistent advice I've gotten was to rotate where you really want to go & work your butt off while you're there. Beyond that, diffferent programs look at different things.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Wilcoworld: I couldn't have said it better myself....so I won't. Well put, well put indeed.

 

[Kazu]

my application sucks. I'll probably scramble for anesthesia.

rank: after 2nd year middle third, after 3rd year bottom third
step 1: 233
step 2: tba
2 EM grades: 1 excellent and 1 honors
no research experience

applied to 30
interviews: 5 (3 charity interviews)
rejections: 3 in CA, Harvard, Northwestern

any non-competative programs in major cities that I should be sure to apply to?

 

[Trajan]

my application sucks. I'll probably scramble for anesthesia.

rank: after 2nd year middle third, after 3rd year bottom third
step 1: 233
step 2: tba
2 EM grades: 1 excellent and 1 honors
no research experience

applied to 30
interviews: 5 (3 charity interviews)
rejections: 3 in CA, Harvard, Northwestern

any non-competative programs in major cities that I should be sure to apply to?

I don't think your application is bad at all. Your step I is outstanding and your EM grades are excellent. Unless you have a horrible personality that kills you in interviews, how could you not match? Remember there are over 1000 EM spots every year.

Med students crack me up.

 

[Jeff698]

I can't believe I'm posting this, but here goes:

State medical school
decent grades (few honors and a few passes but mostly high passes)
218/214
H in home EM rotation, grades in two away rotations pending
16 years as a paramedic (yeah, I'm old), two publications
13/30 with two rejections

Oh, and my best feature...I can say that old McDonald's thing really fast (two all beef patties...).

I agree with Jonah...I need a bath now.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[deleted52758]

state school
no honors preclinical
honors in peds/family, advanced in medicine, surgery, psych
2nd quartile
EM: advanced in home, outstanding at away
step I: 213, step II: pending
no research or extracurriculars
international experience
interviews: 13/33 rejections: northwestern, boston, unc, vandy, highland

 

[EctopicFetus]

BUMP... The info should now be more complete. Can you folks please please drop some info for us who will be applying next yr?

Thanks!!!
The Ectopic ONE!

 

[waterski232002]

Preclinical rank: Top 1/3
Clinical rank: Top 1/3 (all pass, honors in psych & neuro)
USMLE I: 238
USMLE II: 239
EM Research (publication pending)
EM rotation: honors

Interviews I attended or will attend:
Northwestern
U Chicago
Cook County
U Penn
Stanford
UCLA
Johns Hopkins
Mass Gen/Brigham
Boston Med Ctr
Yale
Wake
NYHQ-Cornell
North Shore

Got many other interviews including... Mayo, UMich, Cinici, GW, Wash U, UCSD, UCSF, UMD, Pitt
Got rejected from... Colorado, BIDMC, NY Presbyterian, UCLA-Harbor, Jacobi

 

[dlung]

School: Midwest location, bottom half I'd guess.
Rank: 3rd quartile
Grades: HP/P all years (I hate SHELF exams). 3.8 MPH GPA.
EM Rotations: HP x 2.
Step I: 215/mean
Step II: 221/mean
Research: undergrad + med school. one project got me multiple poster presentations and is currently being reviewed for publication.
LORs: Must be good, with the interviews I've been getting.
Other stuff: Usual extracurricular stuff. MD/MPH program. EMT-Basic. Can throw a wicked one-handed tie. Sharp wit. Strikingly handsome. I like candle-lit dinners and long walks on the beach...... oh wait... that's for a different website.

Interviews: 18/34, 15 accepted, 3 turned down, 4 still in holding pattern
Sexiest Interview Offers: Cincinnati, Jacobi, GW, Drexel, Henry Ford, Hopkins, UMD

As a side note, I've interviewed way too much. I got a small, late, second bolus of interviews that kind of threw things off. I'm very, very happy with my interviews, but with a bit more clarvoiance, could have hacked it down to 12 without sacrificing anything.

 

[Hercules]

Like everyone else I really don't like posting this, but I know I wanted to see everyone's info last year, so I guess I'll disrobe:

Med school: Top 25
Preclinical rank: Middle 1/2
Clinical rank: Top 1/4 (all A's)
USMLE I: 246
USMLE II: not taken yet
Research: Nothing significant (minor project in between 1st and 2nd year)
EM rotation: honors at away, P/F at home
LOR: strong letters (from what I hear in interviews) from well-known faculty
Extracurriculars: pretty extensive

Interview offers from all applied to:
UAB
George Washington
Jacksonville
Orlando
USF
Emory
MCG
LSU-Charity
WashU
Mississippi
UNC
Carolinas
Duke
Wake Forest
Palmetto
Vandy
UVa

I think getting a letter or two from some well-known people in the field goes a long way. I think that's what got me an interview at some of these programs.

 

[MasterintuBater]

DO applicant .....$$29000 per year

Top half of class (barely) A's and B's first two years.....Worked just hard enough

No such thing as honors/high pass/pass in our system. Just P/F.....Lucky me.

No research.........I'd rather get a root canal

Board scores (COMLEX) 53% and 73% (I and II)......won't be a nobel prize winner.

Lots of extracurricular crap.......no programs seem to care.

AWESOME letters of recommendation from well known faculty......PRICELESS

For everything else.........plan on scrambling.

I only applied to MD programs

Programs applied to: 31 (with a good mix of competitive and less competitive)

Interviews: 11

I'm further convinced that the whole interview process is somewhat of a crapshoot. I also believe that nothing will bolster a weak applicants' chances more than having strong LORs. From this point I'm just hoping that acting like a normal human being will give me a good chance at getting in somewhere.

Good luck to all!!!!!!!!

 

[WakeMedHeel]

Step I: 233
Step 2: 225
1st/2nd year Grades: Top 1/3rd
3rd year: No honors, but very close in 3 rotations
Emergency Med rotation: Pass...but was told it was very close to honors and our program doesn't hand out honors on EMed.
Away rotation in Jan.

Apparently letters are very strong...and I have a strong personal experience that I was able to discuss in my personal statement that I think helps too.

So far 16 offers out of 33 applied to. Two rejections, 15 pending.

Just to update...

Taking or scheduled to take interviews at:
Jefferson, Bellevue, North Shore, Wake, Maryland, Hopkins, MCV, Emory, GWU, Duke, UNC, U Chicago, U Illinois Chicago, Boston, Ohio State (Will probably drop 2...I know it's a lot but I was able to block all my trips together)

Cancelled or did not schedule:
LIJ, Wash U, USF, UVA, U Michigan

Haven't heard from:
MGH/BW, Penn, Orlando

Denied:
Stanford, Irvine, UCLA-Olive View, Christ Advocate, Northwestern, Carolinas, Pitt, Vandy, BIDMC, Denver

I think you'll notice that if you're trying to go West with decent but not great stats....good luck. I wasn't, but I would've liked to interview out there, had I received multiple offers.

All in all, very happy with my offer list. Hope this helps those who are applying next year.

 

[ThinkFast007]

School: Ross University (FMG)
Rank: Unknown, but 3.52 GPA
Grades: A on all but Radiology (B+) and Trauma Surgery (C, don't know what happend one of the attendings was a d--k and didn't like me)
EM Rotations: A, A, HP
Step I: 208
Step II: 215
Research: None
LORs: Great as far as I know
Other stuff: Usual extracurricular stuff. Paramedic/Flight medic, bunch of other stuff doesn't really matter(I'll send you a CV if you want 😛 )
Interviews: 6 EM, 1 EM/IM, 1 IM
Rejections: 15 so far still waiting on 62 or so...

Take Home Point: You don't have to be a good test taker to treat patients well.

sig ep i pmed you

 

[roja]

but it underlines the general point, that its not all scores, etc.


I just finished interviewing some applicants and talking with others that have done the same, your scored help, but its the interview that's key.. and if you know you are 'weak' numbers wise, a rotation can clinch you.

And LOR will get you far as well...

On several occasions, we have had applicants with outstanding scores, letters, etc but were horrible interviewees.. ie 'no rank' or 'bottom 1/3' (essentiall no rank for our program)

We also have a select group of interviews who have 'poorer' scores that are alloted interviews secondary to good ps and strong lor.

And then we save about 20 spots forpeople who rotate... one will most definately be ranked in the top 1/3 because of rotation here.... was an excellent rotater with incredible responses from the residents (our word goes far) as well as an exellent shift or two with the PD. applicant had 'mediocre' numbers.

 

[gogo_racer]

On several occasions, we have had applicants with outstanding scores, letters, etc but were horrible interviewees.. ie 'no rank' or 'bottom 1/3' (essentiall no rank for our program)

just curious as to what you consider a bad interviewee ... obnoxious and arrogant? poor conversationalist? lack of knowledge of the program? or just a lack of a "you had me at hello" feeling?

 

[NinerNiner999]

just curious as to what you consider a bad interviewee ... obnoxious and arrogant? poor conversationalist? lack of knowledge of the program? or just a lack of a "you had me at hello" feeling?

All of the above, and I've met some who have all of those bad things combined. Arrogance will get you nowhere and probably spells trouble for intern year. If you can't sell yourself with conversation, why are you interviewing? Maybe Pathology should be your field. Lack of Knowledge of the Program - not as bad as the others, but if an interviewee looks surpised when you tell them you are a three-year program... Thanks for playing.

EM is a field where being well-rounded speaks miles for your ability to succeed. Numbers get you your interview, your personality gets you your job.

 

[la gringa]

1st 2 years: top 1/3
3rd year: honors in medicine, rest pass (no high pass for us, alas)
EM: pass at home (see WMH's comment %&$# it) and honors away - go figure!
step 1 241, step 2 243
other: lots of community/service oriented and peds oriented extracurriculars
research: only in college
LOR's: all from EM faculty, 3 at home and 1 from visiting rotation. I assume they are good, as interviews have turned out better than expected.... 18/30 offers, no outright rejections yet but expect a handful when it's over.

to update mine...

have interviewed at: vandy, wash u, cook county, suny-downstate, indiana, jacobi, temple, penn, GW

scheduled in jan (aka subject to debate in some cases): emory, brown, christiana, hopkins, maryland, drexel, boston medical [last one b/c i rotated there, known quantity]

cancelled: einstein-philly, north shore, LIJ, UChicago, UIC, jefferson

rejected: denver, pitt, carolinas (charlotte native and UNC alum w/ above stats and such gets you a rejection... slightly bitter)

no offer/no rejection: bellevue, northwestern, umass, harvard-mgh, sl-r

 

[8744]

Grades: Mediocre

Class Rank: 96/102

Step 1: 219

Step 2: 213

EM rotations at: Shreveport and Baton Rouge where I presumably did very well but I don't actually know because I am indifferent to grades as long as I am not failing. (And I have never failed so much as a quiz.)

LORs: Presumably mostly decent. Excellent letter from the head of trauma at our hospital. One apparently, while not "bad," manges to damn me with faint praise.

Applied: 22 Three-year programs, mostly in Texas and the Southeast.

Interviews: 8

Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Little Rock, Arkansas
Shreveport, Louisiana (a gimme, because it is my school)
El Paso, Texas
Temple, Texas
Morgantown, West Virginia
Omaha, Nebraska (A wild card. I'd really like to match there.)
Louisville, Kentucky

First Choice:

Baton Rouge


Still waiting to hear from (but not holding breath):

Lexington, Kentucky
Richmond, Virginia
Charlottesvile, Virginia

Totally skunked in:

North Carolina

Rejected Twice by:

Vanderbilt, who sent me a rejection then followed it up with another one two weeks later, presumably to make sure that I was really dead. (In the Marines we called this "double tapping.")

Mitigating Factors:

Age: 41
Miltary Experience: Seven years active duty as a Marine infantryman.
Professional: Structural Engineer for six years.
Family: Wife, three kids, five dogs.

 

[Emergen-C]

Just wanted to thank you guys for doing this. it's very helpful! 🙂

 

[castaway]

I just returned from the SAEM conference in NYC. It was very helpful in getting me to realize how to line things up for my 4th year. The residency fair on Saturday was amazing--90 or more programs attended, PDs and all.

One thing that threw me off was the insistence on the competitiveness of EM by faculty from well-known programs who talked to us at the student symposium. With a match rate of 94% for US seniors applying to EM programs, how bad can it get? Am I missing something here?

 

[roja]

No.


Glad you had fun. It was good to see so many med students at the fair! Although I think the programs outnumbered the MS's. 😀

 

[dikoerastenie]

All of the above, and I've met some who have all of those bad things combined. Arrogance will get you nowhere and probably spells trouble for intern year. If you can't sell yourself with conversation, why are you interviewing? Maybe Pathology should be your field. Lack of Knowledge of the Program - not as bad as the others, but if an interviewee looks surpised when you tell them you are a three-year program... Thanks for playing.

EM is a field where being well-rounded speaks miles for your ability to succeed. Numbers get you your interview, your personality gets you your job.

damn. Does it mean maybe I should aim for pathology instead of EM? I kind of wanted to do EM so I could improve my sociability for when I do things outside of work. To become a more positive person who enjoys life. But as it is right now I am only capable of doing "robotic" things like studying and doing something "stupid".