Just received my Step 2 score (247) and very disappointed. Should I still apply ophtho?

[Gonio5]

I think an underrated comment is Slide also mentioning tier bias. Name brand programs know that people will pack up and move to them. Middle and lower tier, it’s less likely and you don’t want to go way down your match list. They’re more likely to try to attract the locals. I was told by a mid/low program PD out of my region that they knew there was no way I’d go there. This may not be completely true at the very low tier spots if they’re trying to avoid having an unmatched position.

That all leads to people seeing the same fellow interviewees at pretty much every stop. I don’t know how many buckets there are, but you end up in one.

Whoa, that explains a lot! I trained at a program in a different region. During the interview, somehow I accidentally introduced into the conversation topics a local would know. One part of that conversation was companies that had larger factories in the areas. At the time, I thought I was geeky but the conversation kept going and going.

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[eyeeye_captain]

Whoa, that explains a lot! I trained at a program in a different region. During the interview, somehow I accidentally introduced into the conversation topics a local would know. One part of that conversation was companies that had larger factories in the areas. At the time, I thought I was geeky but the conversation kept going and going.

This brings up another point for why programs may stay regional - culture. If I’m faculty at Mississippi, Shreveport, Nebraska, etc. I would worry that a NYC native might struggle with culture shock, homesickness, etc. if they did match with us. There could even be communication issues with patients - a thick Bronx accent and a thick Cajun accent may not mix. It goes both ways. I had a friend from the middle of nowhere go to Academy in Chicago who told me their mind nearly exploded walking around downtown.

Your example (which is really cool btw) shows how you might be able to stretch to other areas, but there usually needs to be some form of connection. Always nice to have a great interview, but you have to get the interview first.

 

[threeroses]

So is it safe to say, unless you're really a top tier applicant, you will most likely match at programs within the vicinity of your home med school - even if I'm from the west coast, if my med school is in the south, I will have to best chances near the south?

Statistically, most medical students match within the same region of their medical school. However, plenty of people match outside their region. My med school was in the southeast and I matched in the northeast (where I did an away).