MS3 seeking advice

[622601]

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Hi all, I know it can be bothersome for people like me to do this, but I have been stressing out over matching into PM&R. Can anyone give me an idea of what my chances look like? I'd sincerely appreciate any honest input.

Step 1: 250
Grades: Near Honors
Research: I have a solid amount of both clinical and basic science research, including publications, posters
Extracurriculars: lots of volunteering and being the head of a couple of interest groups; plenty of other things

Only problem is I got into the field late. The only rotations I can secure at this point (in order to get at least one PMR letter of rec) are community rotations. I've been unable to secure any academic rotations (and my school has no PMR department) due to my coming into the field late. For what it's worth, and I'll just ask that you take my word for it, I am in fact passionate about this field, despite arriving late to the party.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts on my competitiveness. I am stressed out that I will be facing an uphill battle due to not having rotated at a "proper" institution like a major academic center. I really don't want to just match anywhere, but to actually be competitive. I was wondering if maybe I should sit out a year and build a stronger application through rotations and PMR-specific research, etc.

 

[lejeunesage]

Dude, any program will be happy to have you. It's not your fault that you're arriving late to the party or that your school has no PM&R department.
You have great stats. It won't matter if your rotation is a community rotation. At the time I applied my have much lower stats, only 1 PM&R letter, and only one all-outpatient rotation. I came from a "major academic center" but there was no inpatient rehab unit. More than half the places I applied to still invited me for an interview. Not having a PM&R department is really common; you won't be the first or last applicant in that situation. Know why you're going into the field and if there's any gaps in your experience, be ready to explain how you'll compensate for that. For instance you could schedule an academic/outpatient/inpatient (whatever you lack) PM&R rotation for after interview season and just tell your interviewers that you scheduled it in order to broaden your experiences before graduating.

You'll be fine. Seriously. It's getting more competitive, but you're competing with plenty of people with scores 30 points below yours. Don't forget that.

 

[622601]

Thanks, man! It's very encouraging to hear that. Much appreciated!

 

[Mog16]

You'll be just fine. My only piece of advice is to apply to more programs than you think you need. A friend of mine got some poor advice that lead to him only applying to 8 programs (with stats that aren't as good as yours but probably average for PMR) and he only got 2 interviews (at strong institutions) but didn't match. The way I look at is that it may cost you a couple hundred extra dollars to send out a chunk more applications but the potential cost of not matching far exceeds that and the worst thing that happens is that you have the opportunity turn down/cancel interviews.

 

[622601]

I appreciate the advice. I will definitely be applying to a lot more programs to help compensate.

 

[lejeunesage]

I'd second that. It's not something you will likely have to worry about, but you should in general apply to double the number of interviews you want. A friend of mine applied to only 9 programs and got only 4 or 5 interviews... she matched thankfully, but it's not a position you want to find yourself in. If I were you, I'd still apply to 20 programs. Better to turn down interviews you don't need later on than not have enough in the first place.

 

[622601]

I was planning to apply to a great amount of programs, maybe 30 or so, but definitely at least 20. That sounds like a solid plan, so I'm glad to hear it.

 

[Xardas]

with your grades, do yourself a favor and apply to 10 programs or less. 20-30 program interviews is a lot of money , a lot of time, and gets stressful at the end. You will probably develop interview fatigue and honestly a lot of the programs will start to look the same.

Remember you ahve internship interviews to go on as well.

Research this board, talk to program directors and chief residents and get the best ones you want based on location and program strengths and go from there.

 

[RangerBob]

with your grades, do yourself a favor and apply to 10 programs or less. 20-30 program interviews is a lot of money , a lot of time, and gets stressful at the end. You will probably develop interview fatigue and honestly a lot of the programs will start to look the same.

Remember you ahve internship interviews to go on as well.

Research this board, talk to program directors and chief residents and get the best ones you want based on location and program strengths and go from there.

Though the odds are in favor of the OP getting interviews at most, if not all, of the programs they apply to, I think having at least 8 interviews/programs on your rank list is ideal. I think 10 is better, but I personally think more than 12 programs is starting to get excessive unless you have some red flags on your application. So I would recommend the OP apply to more than 10 programs to be safe--it's easy to cancel interviews. But I do agree about interview fatigue, cost, etc., and I think the OP doesn't need to interview at more than 10 programs total.

In all honestly, with stats like that, if the OP is a likable person/interviews well, he/she will most likely match at one of their top three choices. But there's always a risk of going lower, so I still think aiming for 8-10 interviews is a good idea.

 

[622601]

You guys bring up great points about interview fatigue and cost. I'll try to find a happy medium of program applications by the time I apply, and I'll definitely keep internship interviews in mind, because I want to take those seriously of course, as well. Thanks for all the advice; you guys are great!

 

[lejeunesage]

I agree that there's not reason why with his stats he would need more than 8 interviews. That said, it would be prudent to still apply to about 15 programs. It's really not that expensive. There's a flat fee for the first 10, I think about $90 and each program after that is about $10? I don't remember but 15 programs would be cheap and provide plenty of insurance. You really don't need to go to all the interview offers you get. You can cancel them or never even schedule them if you wish.
I'd do the same for the prelim programs. They'll be more competitive than the PM&R ones because you'll be competing with people going into ophthalmology, derm, and radiology. Your step 1 is good enough to compete with those folks, so you likely won't have too much trouble, but I'd still apply to 10-15 programs and schedule another 8 interviews. I don't think a total of 16 is unreasonable, even with your stats.

 

[622601]

Hmm, flat fee for first 10 sounds really doable if I'm only applying to a handful more past that. Still likely to apply to a "larger" number, I think. Is there a consensus on the number of prelims people apply to?