Lost Hope, Planning for match 2018, Need Advice

[Tambukto]

I lost my hope there were only two interviews, one was for prematch so technically one, planning for 2018 match, but tons of questions in mind as what route is best to achieve the goal. Need advice.
My credentials: Canadian citizen, low tier Caribbean school graduate 2016, 2 years USCE, 220/234/Cs all first attempt. Two months research.
1. Find out a volunteer research program in good US university and Ace in step-3 but step -3 takes 4 months and research program search takes time how to fill up the gaps in CV
2. Got admission in MPH program in good university and Ace in step-3 but how to filling gap in CV
3. Write MCEEE and NAC with high marks in first attempt + externship/observer ship in reputed Canadian university or research in university but how to fill gap in CV
4. Write Australian AMC exams with good marks and apply for residency there, I don't know whether this path is possible or not?

Please guide me ASAP as I have to start related exam preparation for either of the selected path.

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[WGSgrad]

You might consider PMing a specific and verified member that is a member of faculty or PD for a faster response.


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[NotAProgDirector]

There's something missing from your story. Your USMLE's are fine -- nothing stellar but not a problem. Need for a visa is a negative but many programs will be happy to sponsor you for a J visa. What field did you apply to? What else is going on in your application?

Trying to get a spot in Canada is almost certainly a dead end.

 

[Tambukto]

There's something missing from your story. Your USMLE's are fine -- nothing stellar but not a problem. Need for a visa is a negative but many programs will be happy to sponsor you for a J visa. What field did you apply to? What else is going on in your application?

Trying to get a spot in Canada is almost certainly a dead end.

I applied 200 programs (120 IM and 80 FM)

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I'm not certain why you haven't gotten more interviews. You should try to get some honest feedback from your school if possible.

At this point, you should:

1. Do everything you can to maximize your chances of getting a spot at the two programs that interviewed you.
2. Plan for SOAP. Consider what you want to do with your career. I'd focus on FM. You might want to get specific FM letters if you haven't done so already, and get them uploaded and ready for SOAP.
3. If that fails, then plan for next year. Another degree is probably not going to be helpful in itself -- your status mentions being an MD/PhD student, so I don't see how an MPH will help, and an MBA or JD from a no-name school will def not help. You need help figuring our what's wrong with your application, and then try to fix it. The best thing is face time at a program that you have a decent chance of getting into, doing something that's not residency but gets you experience there.

 

[Skip Intro]

The farther away you get from graduation, the harder it is to land a spot (unless you've been practicing in another country). Good luck!

-Skip

 

[W19]

As someone with a low step 1 score (215-220), these are the posts that keep me up at night. I was planning to apply to 80 IM programs for the 2018 match, but after reading your post, I think will bump that number up to 120+...

I certainly won't need a VISA (not sure if that will make a big difference), but attending a low tier US MD does not help my case.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There's a huge difference between attending a "low tier" US MD and a Caribbean school.

 

[bedevilled ben]

As someone with a low step 1 score (215-220), these are the posts that keep me up at night. I was planning to apply to 80 IM programs for the 2018 match, but after reading your post, I think will bump that number up to 120+...

US citizen with passing scores from a USMD program? Unless you have some major red flags, you'll be wasting a lot of time and money applying to that many programs. There is a huge difference between your scenario and OP's.

 

[W19]

US citizen with passing scores from a USMD program? Unless you have some major red flags, you'll be wasting a lot of time and money applying to that many programs. There is a huge difference between your scenario and OP's.

No red flags so far and don't anticipate getting any... I think it's worth spending a couple of thousand of $$$ more instead taking a huge risk of not getting matched.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Talk to advisers at your school. They can compare your performance to prior grads, and tell you how many programs to apply to. 120 is much too high.

 

[bedevilled ben]

No red flags so far and don't anticipate getting any... I think it's worth spending a couple of thousand of $$$ more instead taking a huge risk of not getting matched.

It's your time and money, obviously, but it's a very tiny risk. You might regret your decision when you have to research each program and write >100 emails rejecting interview offers.

 

[IslandStyle808]

As someone with a low step 1 score (215-220), these are the posts that keep me up at night. I was planning to apply to 80 IM programs for the 2018 match, but after reading your post, I think will bump that number up to 120+...

I certainly won't need a VISA (not sure if that will make a big difference), but attending a low tier US MD does not help my case.

I'd take your low tier US MD school, over my low tier DO school any day of the week. Your fine, just look at the NRMP reports. 97% of people with your score matched into IM. You do not need to rank 80 programs, there are people who ranked 12 programs and all matched as US MD students.

 

[W19]

I'd take your low tier US MD school, over my low tier DO school any day of the week. Your fine, just look at the NRMP reports. 97% of people with your score matched into IM. You do not need to rank 80 programs, there are people who ranked 12 programs and all matched as US MD students.

Will not rank 80+ programs. Will apply to 80+ programs and rank 15 if I am lucky to get 15 interview offers...

 

[IslandStyle808]

Will not rank 80+ programs. Will apply to 80+ programs and rank 15 if I am lucky to get 15 interview offers...

Sorry, meant to say you don't need to apply to 80 programs. Trust me, this is over kill.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

A similar discussion is happening by programs. In your view, applying to a large number of programs is worth the investment / pain, as you'd rather get too many interviews and cancel than not have enough -- the opportunity cost is too high. In our view, students in general are overapplying and it's forcing us to either interview more people (which is expensive in time, effort, and $$) or be "more selective" in our interview offers, which only fuels the panic. There are other threads talking about this and solutions so I will try not to derail this one.

@W19, you're almost certainly overapplying if you send out 80 applications. From a lower tier school with a Step 1 in that range, you're not going to get any love from the top IM programs -- but you probably know that already. And I can't help you at all until you have your 3rd year clerkship grades, class standing, and perhaps a Step 2 score. So focus on what's in front of you now, make your performance as good as it can be, and then reassess at the beginning of next year. That said, I know you're going to overapply anyway -- that's what will make you feel the most comfortable. If you apply to 80 programs and get 50 interviews and cancel 30, you won't see that as "I wasted lots of money", you'll see it as "Wow, that was fantastic, now I get to pick which interviews I get to go on".