Is it too late to competitively apply to top tier programs? I know that some are closed and other aren't, and I assume that you can't rule it out until they stop taking apps. Also, I just got my step 2 score and I went up 34 points so hopefully that would help as well. I'm new to the forum and I'm curious what you guys think.
If you want to, you are always welcome to apply to more programs. I would check their website to see the deadline when they stop taking applications.
I think Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and UCSF are not going to send out more invites. You could submit a UCSF application tonight
(
http://medicine.ucsf.edu/education/residency/application/uscanada.html) to make the deadline.
Duke is officially closed for business (
http://residency.medicine.duke.edu/modules/medres_admissions/index.php?id=2)... midnight November 2, 2009.
UPenn is officially closed for business on October 31 (
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/medicine/education/resappinfo/application/index.html).
Not to spoil the Step 2 score, but remember that both the measure of central tendency and the standard deviation are elevated compared to Step 1, so scores are not comparable. I'm not going to get into the mathematical discussions here, but be wary of calling it a substantial improvement until you do the math. I cannot state a generalized rule here given that these measures do fluctuate with different test administrations. It sounds like you did have a great improvement, though.
Bottom line:
- Check the websites. Many of the top programs are potentially done.
- For $ 10 - $ 30... you are not risking a ton of cash if you can meet the deadline... so why not? You never know what they are looking for. It might be low probability, but if you get it, it could change your prognosis.
- The USMLE transcript will take some time to upload in ERAS (usually 3 days), so figure it out soon.
