Neurology WAMC/Program List Help

[frozenyogurt123]

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USMD, low/mid-tier school in the midwest, originally from california
Preclin/Clin Grades: preclinical passed everything. clinical grades: 0H, 5 HP (including neuro), 2 P (including IM)
Sub-I Grades: honored neuro sub-I
Class Rank: fourth quintile
Step Scores: P / 245
Activities: very strong teaching experience. 3 solid service activities. 1 leadership position.
Publications: 3 first-author pubs, 2 other pubs, 4 abstracts.
Geo Preferences: Pacific, ENC, Mid Atlantic (ties to PA) also ties to MA
Program Preferences: diverse patient population, well-rounded training / large breadth/depth of training, bonus if there are med ed opportunities. would prefer urban/suburban over rural but otherwise don't care too much about location. have a vague interest in NIR so would like it if the program offered exposure to that but it's not a must.

Current List:
- safety/targets (median step ≤251): Carle, MetroHealth, JFK, DMC, Riverside, Wright State, Loyola, Henry Ford, Rutgers, Harbor UCLA, UChicago, Loma Linda, Toledo, Arrowhead, MCW
- reaches (252-255): UCI, UCD, OSU, Sutter Roseville, Cincinnati, Kaiser SoCal, CWRU
- high reaches: Temple, UW, USC/LA General, Boston, UCSD, UCSF

I'd appareciate any feedback - definitely need to cut down on the reaches but not sure if there are programs I'm missing that would be good fits.

 

[s5260205]

You are USMD with no apparent red flags. You will have no issues with matching provided that your LORs and interview performance are decent.

Most programs nowadays will provide you with good training, so the real difference comes down to geographic region (you will want to live in a place that you can enjoy for 4 years, and even more ideally where you will want to work eventually) and prestige (know that this doesn't matter unless you are looking into academic careers).

Your list has a mixture of programs that are scattered all over, both in terms of prestige and location (e.g., Temple and Boston are in no way high reach for you; Arrowhead and JFK are safety for sure, but are they really programs that you would want to go to, both in terms of location and prestige).

You should definitively apply widely but be more strategic with regards to locations. Look into individual program offering - do they have a good representation of the subspecialty you will be interested in? Even better, do they have a fellowship in that area? For those interested in NIR, look into programs that have neurologists on staff for NIR. I would recommend focusing on programs that have diverse representation in all subspecialties within neurology (including the niche ones such as neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-otology).

I personally prefer mid-sized programs and not those giant ones, as the giant ones often are more scattered, and you are unlikely to establish meaningful connection with your attendings. However, this is also just my personal preference. You will find along the way what is meaningful to you, and especially as you interact with the attendings during interview, are they decent human beings who will be good mentors or egotistical a$$holes.

 

[frozenyogurt123]

You are USMD with no apparent red flags. You will have no issues with matching provided that your LORs and interview performance are decent.

Most programs nowadays will provide you with good training, so the real difference comes down to geographic region (you will want to live in a place that you can enjoy for 4 years, and even more ideally where you will want to work eventually) and prestige (know that this doesn't matter unless you are looking into academic careers).

Your list has a mixture of programs that are scattered all over, both in terms of prestige and location (e.g., Temple and Boston are in no way high reach for you; Arrowhead and JFK are safety for sure, but are they really programs that you would want to go to, both in terms of location and prestige).

You should definitively apply widely but be more strategic with regards to locations. Look into individual program offering - do they have a good representation of the subspecialty you will be interested in? Even better, do they have a fellowship in that area? For those interested in NIR, look into programs that have neurologists on staff for NIR. I would recommend focusing on programs that have diverse representation in all subspecialties within neurology (including the niche ones such as neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-otology).

I personally prefer mid-sized programs and not those giant ones, as the giant ones often are more scattered, and you are unlikely to establish meaningful connection with your attendings. However, this is also just my personal preference. You will find along the way what is meaningful to you, and especially as you interact with the attendings during interview, are they decent human beings who will be good mentors or egotistical a$$holes.

These are all great considerations, thank you! I'll rework the list.
One question, Temple and Boston were in the reach tier due to their median step scores (258 and 260 respectively); Boston's floor is 245 so I just missed the mark from being screened out. If median step isn't a good filter then what should I look at to make sure I'm applying widely?

 

[s5260205]

These are all great considerations, thank you! I'll rework the list.
One question, Temple and Boston were in the reach tier due to their median step scores (258 and 260 respectively); Boston's floor is 245 so I just missed the mark from being screened out. If median step isn't a good filter then what should I look at to make sure I'm applying widely?

Board score is only part of consideration, and a small part at it. Programs do set filters on applications, but those are usually years of graduation or board failures. For most programs, no fails + average score are more than sufficient. The rest comes down to your CV/LOR/PS/MSPE. Remember neurology is still not competitive. We do not have to rely on pure scores to screen out applicants.

You can often look at the resident cohort, in terms of medical schools they graduated from. The more competitive programs will often have residents from higher ranked USMD schools, while the less competitive programs will have more DOs and IMGs. Having DOs and IMGs however does not mean this is a "bad" program, only that there are less desirable characteristics, such as locations, that make them less attractive and hence less competitive.