Some options to consider:
My STEP1 score was low---
(a) Start PGY1 and murder Step3 (a bit ambitious)
(b) Do research / pre-residency You have to publish, no ifs ands or buts, but perhaps more importantly, you have to hope that your PI takes the time to specifically address your issues in his letter. Lets face it, when you have low board scores, people assume you have difficulty learning information (some assume you arent bright enough unfortunately). Your PI needs to write something like, Rods ability to master difficult concepts and integrate them into novel hypothesis generation is far advanced than his peers. Now just because you publish, doesnt mean you will get that comment in the letter that will put your residency committee evaluators at ease. You actually need your PI to speak to this. Understand ?
(c) If you know yourself, and know you cant last/thrive in a research environment, then start Prelim somewhere, get the best letters you can, spend your Vacation month blowing up an ophtho rotation somewhere. Apply next cycle, and hope you are successful or that a spot opens up.
My Letters are Weak:
Letters. If you failed to match, you need a big-wig letter. It stinks to hear this. But you do. And the bigger the better. How will you impress a big name to write you an amazing letter. After all the big name has probably worked with more competitive students right. Yes, so you work your tail off (like off, till only the nub remains) and you pray. The story here is GO BIG or GO HOME!. Dont waste time doing research for a no-name if your end goal is to match. Additionally, Id wager that MD-research (simply because of their connections and perpetual presence at MD-attended conferences ) is probably more advantageous than PhD research.
Also.... Apply Early. This is not a joke. You dont want to be the last weak applicant whose application gets downloaded. You want to be the first.
I DONT KNOW WHY I DIDNT MATCH
Please examine your Interview performance. I have received a few PMs from persons with competitive scores. If you have 15+ interviews and you didnt match . That is an anomaly that is difficult to explain. There is no data to explain your situation. Identify a person with a similar story. There is at least one person who has publicly posted his/her situation. Amazing scores, multiple interviews no match. Consider PMing that individual and perhaps said person will respond.
If I have to speculate, it is possible that (a) you got really unlucky. It does happen. Or (b) you are a poor interview. Interviewing was my blind spot. I had no idea that was the case. Sometimes, stellar applicants (I wasnt one of them) dont pay as much attention to their interview performance. Read a book on body language (I did). Ask someone who isnt very close to you (perhaps a mentor, or clinician with whom you have worked--- they will likely give you some meaningful feedback particularly after not matching) do you at times come across distant, fake, or arrogant ( I did). Additionally, you may have to ask yourself if your interview approach was appropriate for your statistics. Please take this with a grain salt. Ms. 270+ AOA might have not prepare very much for her interview. Or she may be a natural. You didnt match, you are by definition not a natural Many times, we take interviewing for granted. Even if you are a gifted public speaker, an extrovert, and excelled in Med school interviews, you might still be a poor interview for residency. It is worth your attention.
SHOULD I extend Graduation:
I did. It depends. Next Years Cycle is right around the corner. Many of you will have to make decisions very quickly. Consider pre-residency programs. I am only familiar with Uof Utahs. Tufts also has an OCT fellowship. Some of you might want to consider extending graduationparticularly if you are at a namebrand school with namebrand PIs. I have been where you have been, and I recognize the enormity of the decision before you. The advice provided above is not designed to provide you with a specific path, but to enable you to survey the multiple challenges involved in matching again. Whatever advice you received for the first time, understand that you are now in a completely different pool. . You really do want to plan and get this next step right. Dont spend a year in a lab and then realize your PI was a minor big-wig. You dont want to embark on a pre-residency fellowship and then realize that no one cares about your submitted pub, because your letters are still mediocre. Identify the issue, address it appropriately. Re-apply.
My STEP1 score was low---
(a) Start PGY1 and murder Step3 (a bit ambitious)
(b) Do research / pre-residency You have to publish, no ifs ands or buts, but perhaps more importantly, you have to hope that your PI takes the time to specifically address your issues in his letter. Lets face it, when you have low board scores, people assume you have difficulty learning information (some assume you arent bright enough unfortunately). Your PI needs to write something like, Rods ability to master difficult concepts and integrate them into novel hypothesis generation is far advanced than his peers. Now just because you publish, doesnt mean you will get that comment in the letter that will put your residency committee evaluators at ease. You actually need your PI to speak to this. Understand ?
(c) If you know yourself, and know you cant last/thrive in a research environment, then start Prelim somewhere, get the best letters you can, spend your Vacation month blowing up an ophtho rotation somewhere. Apply next cycle, and hope you are successful or that a spot opens up.
My Letters are Weak:
Letters. If you failed to match, you need a big-wig letter. It stinks to hear this. But you do. And the bigger the better. How will you impress a big name to write you an amazing letter. After all the big name has probably worked with more competitive students right. Yes, so you work your tail off (like off, till only the nub remains) and you pray. The story here is GO BIG or GO HOME!. Dont waste time doing research for a no-name if your end goal is to match. Additionally, Id wager that MD-research (simply because of their connections and perpetual presence at MD-attended conferences ) is probably more advantageous than PhD research.
Also.... Apply Early. This is not a joke. You dont want to be the last weak applicant whose application gets downloaded. You want to be the first.
I DONT KNOW WHY I DIDNT MATCH
Please examine your Interview performance. I have received a few PMs from persons with competitive scores. If you have 15+ interviews and you didnt match . That is an anomaly that is difficult to explain. There is no data to explain your situation. Identify a person with a similar story. There is at least one person who has publicly posted his/her situation. Amazing scores, multiple interviews no match. Consider PMing that individual and perhaps said person will respond.
If I have to speculate, it is possible that (a) you got really unlucky. It does happen. Or (b) you are a poor interview. Interviewing was my blind spot. I had no idea that was the case. Sometimes, stellar applicants (I wasnt one of them) dont pay as much attention to their interview performance. Read a book on body language (I did). Ask someone who isnt very close to you (perhaps a mentor, or clinician with whom you have worked--- they will likely give you some meaningful feedback particularly after not matching) do you at times come across distant, fake, or arrogant ( I did). Additionally, you may have to ask yourself if your interview approach was appropriate for your statistics. Please take this with a grain salt. Ms. 270+ AOA might have not prepare very much for her interview. Or she may be a natural. You didnt match, you are by definition not a natural Many times, we take interviewing for granted. Even if you are a gifted public speaker, an extrovert, and excelled in Med school interviews, you might still be a poor interview for residency. It is worth your attention.
SHOULD I extend Graduation:
I did. It depends. Next Years Cycle is right around the corner. Many of you will have to make decisions very quickly. Consider pre-residency programs. I am only familiar with Uof Utahs. Tufts also has an OCT fellowship. Some of you might want to consider extending graduationparticularly if you are at a namebrand school with namebrand PIs. I have been where you have been, and I recognize the enormity of the decision before you. The advice provided above is not designed to provide you with a specific path, but to enable you to survey the multiple challenges involved in matching again. Whatever advice you received for the first time, understand that you are now in a completely different pool. . You really do want to plan and get this next step right. Dont spend a year in a lab and then realize your PI was a minor big-wig. You dont want to embark on a pre-residency fellowship and then realize that no one cares about your submitted pub, because your letters are still mediocre. Identify the issue, address it appropriately. Re-apply.
