Official 2014 IM Match Results!!!

[BadRobot]

Well it appears to me that a 2014 thread for IM match results does not yet exist - so I'm gonna go ahead and get the ball rolling on this one.

Feel free to share your match results along with any info/stats about yourself/your school/interviews/etc that you feel like sharing. I don't know about everyone else, but judging by some of the results at my school, it seems that the match in general was pretty damn competitive this year.

Anyway, I'm pretty freaking excited about my results (and half drunk) so here goes:

School: Unranked Midwest School
Step Scores: Upper 240s/Upper 250s/Pass
Clinical Grades: 4/7 Honors 3rd year/All Honors 4th year including IM and Surg AIs
Research: 1 poster, 1 paper
AOA: Yes, Senior
Rank: Top 5 in class
Interview Invites include: Mayo Rochester, U Minnesota, U Wisconsin, Wash U, U Michigan, OHSU, Wake Forest, U Colorado, Yale, Loyola, UIC, U Chicago, U Kansas, Medical College Wisconsin, Mayo Arizona, Abbott Northwestern, Hennepin County - Interviewed and ranked 11 programs

Matched: Mayo! (Rochester) - My number 1. I loved this program and am extremely excited. Hoping to stay for Cards Fellowship.

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[gutonc]

I will sticky this now and in 72 hours, ban everybody who posted in the "WAMC" or "Rank List Help" threads who doesn't also post their match result.

 

[disorder]

bishes better be getting drunk right now... and then posting in the AM tomorrow.

 

[GTV]

Well, I accidentally posted this in the last year's thread that someone updated (I was too drunk earlier to realize it was last year's thread, so I am reposting below):

School: Low/mid-tier Northeast (NOT top 50)
Step1: 245
Step 2: 267/pass
Clinical: All Honors 3rd and 4th year
Class rank: Top 5-10%
AOA: Senior
Extras: Summer basic science research project w/ cash award between 1st and 2nd years (but no pub), pretty interesting prior career experience before medical school

Interview invites: Stanford, Columbia, UCLA, U Michigan, UW, Yale, Northwestern, BIDMC, UTSW, UCSD, UC Davis, Mt. Sinai, OHSU, Wash U, UNC, UVA, Emory, Baylor, Brown, Tufts, BU, Dartmouth, home institution (went to/ranked 14 of these)

Rejected: UCSF, MGH, B&W, Hopkins, U Penn, Duke, U Chicago

Matched: U Michigan! (#4)

Advice: I am very excited to be part of such an amazing program. I really liked a lot of the places I visited over the past few months, but this was one that I really felt "clicked," and I am sure I will get excellent training there to prepare me for the next stage. However, I do have some thoughts:
- IM is getting damn competitive
- I think the name of your medical school probably matters more than you would expect for IM
- Do not put any weight into post-interview correspondence
- Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst (i.e. rank enough programs). I'm just glad I ended up somewhere I really loved.

Congrats to everyone who matched where they wanted!

 

[Rock Lobster]

School: Low-mid tier NE program, MD
Step Scores: 220s, 260s, pass
Grades: basic sciences - all pass, clerkships - all pass, honors medicine subI/pulm/cardio/consult
Research: 1 poster presentation, no pubs
AOA: No
Rank: Average
Red flags: None
Interview Invites
-CA: USC, loma linda, harbor-UCLA, Kaiser-LA, Kaiser-oakland, Kaiser-santa clara, Kaiser-fontana, olive view-UCLA, Huntington memorial, SCVMC, st. mary LBC, st. mary SF, santa Barbara cottage, alameda, Eisenhower, kern, white memorial, UCSF-fresno
-AZ: banner good sam, mayo, Maricopa, st. joseph
-UT: univ of Utah
-MA: u.mass, mt. auburn
-TX: Baylor COM
-NV: univ of NV-vegas, univ of NV-reno
-OR: legacy emanuel, st. Vincent

Rejections (bolded were unexpected)
-UCSF, UCSD, UCLA, Stanford, cedars, UCR, CPMC, scripps green, scripps mercy, Kaiser-SF, UCI, UCD, B&W, MGH, tufts, BU, Univ of AZ, UTSW, OHSU

Matched: harbor-UCLA (#2)

Advice
-IM increasingly competitive: more applicants, more applications per applicant
-grades/steps/research/school reputation (which I lacked) are impt in university programs
-doesn’t hurt to apply to a lot of programs: you never know what interviews you’ll get
-do well in interviews: don’t be a dick to applicants/program coordinators/interviewers/residents, smile, show enthusiasm and interest, always sell yourself when answering Q’s, never be negative, don’t trash talk your program or other programs or other people, have key points about yourself you want to get across, go over freq asked interview Q’s
-block regional interviews together to save $$ on airfare
-schedule interviews immediately as they come
-schedule your desirable programs in the middle of the season: interview burnout is real for a lot of people
-generally IM interviews are very low key, conversational, and predictable
-any red flags on your app will put you at a significant disadvantage so avoid them at all costs (ie: class/clerkship/any step failures, taking time off, legal issues)
-if you ask for help in the WAMC thread, be courteous and post on match results when the time comes

 

[ERASmus01]

School: Top 25
Step Scores: Step1 248, Step2 277/Pass
Grades: Honors 5/6 (including IM) during third year and Sub I
Research: Abstract, poster
AOA: Yes
Rank: Top quartile
Interview Invites
Wash U, Michigan, U Chicago, Northwestern, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, Brigham, Cornell, Mt. Sinai, Vanderbilt, UCSD, Colorado, Wisconsin

Rejections
MGH, Hopkins, Duke, Columbia, BIDMC

Matched: Penn! (#2)

Advice
- Thrilled to be matching to Penn; I think it helped that my interviews seemed to go well. I also did not send a "I am ranking you highly" email
- I would have been happy at nearly all of the programs where I interviewed; there are a lot of good IM programs
- I got burned out by the end, so I would schedule the interviews that you're most excited about early on, or in the middle
- All of my interviews were conversational - "tell me about yourself" and "what questions do you have for me"
- I think it helped to have a great CK score early on despite doing well on Step 1; I would encourage everyone to take it early

 

[NaOut]

School: mid tier, MD
Step Scores: 255, 251, pass
Grades: basic sciences - all honors. clerkships - P in Fm, Hp psych, Honors for the rest and H in subi
Research: 2 pubs, 2 posters, 3 presentations
AOA: Yes
Rank: First quartile
Red flags: None
Interview Invites UCSF, MGH, Columbia, Duke, mt Sinai, stanford,BIDMC, Cornell, Yale, NYU, Northwestern, UOC, UTSW, Washu,UPMC, BU, Tufts, Emory, Georgetown, UCSD

Rejections (BWH, JHH, Penn, Thomas Jefferson)

Matched: UCSF (#1)

Advice
Apply broadly and go to as many interviews as you can. I never saw myself in California until I visited so I wouldn't have known If I didn't go for it. My personal statement seemed to have stood out a lot as I've had several Pds and interviewers tell me it was the best they ever read. I had an interesting story to tell I guess. Seems like interview performance plays a big role as well because I know some non-AOA kids match at places that traditionally only recruit AoA from my school but at same time AoA kids who did not match at those places. I am guessing this can only be due to interview performance and research experience. I am still in shock and disbelief and I am really happy I didn't find out via the source code because, my reaction, I had never react to anything like that before. To want something so bad, and getting it, and knowing that you worked so hard to get it, it's a good feeling.

 

[LovelyBRass]

Congratulations to everyone on their match!! Such an exciting day

I see the trend in general is that people are noticing that scores, rank, and school reputation are playing a huge role in medicine matches, I hope the word keeps spreading!

 

[10987654321]

School: Not top 50 Southern school
Step Scores: Step1 250s, Step2 low 260s/Pass
Grades: Honors in all (including IM) except OBGYN and Psych during third year; honored Sub I
Research: very minor research, non-published, just enough to have some experience
AOA: Nope
Rank: Top 1/3
Interview Invites
Wash U, Vanderbilt, UAB, UTSW, UNC, UVA, MUSC, Tulane, Baylor (Houston), Wake Forest, Emory, Iowa, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western, VCU, OHSU (attended all but the last 5). Ranked all of the ones I attended.
Rejections
The Top 5, Mayo, Northwestern, UChicago, Michigan, Pitt, UW (there were quite a few, I think I listed them all)

Matched: UVA! (#2)

Advice:
In the end, I ranked Vanderbilt at #1 in front of UVA because it was much closer to home and of course also a great program. If I had "gone with my gut" I would have had UVA at #1. So I guess I got lucky in a sense that I fell to #2, though I'm sure I would have been very happy and very well trained at Vandy. I would advise future applicants to not get so caught up in program "rankings" as they are largely bull****. There are many programs out there that will train you very well and not limit your career plans as long as you put in the work. I found this to be true during my interviews. I would have been happy to match at nearly all of my rank list.

Don't stress over the actual interviews. The majority are very conversational (Tell me about yourself; Any Questions?).

It appears internal medicine is becoming very competitive at a lot of the top programs. It will never hurt to be AOA and have a lot of research but there are also other factors in play. If you want a top spot you should try to have great Step scores, be AOA, and have research experience (in my very limited experience). There are plenty of great applicants, the programs have to find a way to filter through the masses.

This may sound silly to the stereotypical SDN applicant who posts, but really just do your best. Give yourself every advantage that you can control and then just see what happens. I promise the world of internal medicine does not cease to exist outside of the "Top 5". I saw plenty of proof of that on my interview trail.

Also, thanks to all of the SDN posters who help and give advice throughout this process. I found it to be more relevant and helpful than the more traditional routes (school officials, their advice seems to be a little dated: "Oh sure, you're very competitive for Hopkins!" Uh, not so much.).

 

[ABatOutofHeck]

School: Low-mid tier NE program, MD
Step Scores: 255, 251, pass
Grades: basic sciences - all honors. clerkships - P in Fm, Hp psych, Honors for the rest and H in subi
Research: 2 pubs, 2 posters, 3 presentations All from NIH
AOA: Yes
Rank: First quartile
Red flags: None
Interview Invites UCSF, MGH, Columbia, Duke, mt Sinai, stanford,BIDMC, Cornell, Yale, NYU, Nwern, UOC, UTSW, Washu

Rejections (BWH, JHH, Thomas Jefferson)

Matched: UCSF (#1)

Advice
Apply broadly and go to as many interviews as you can. I'm from the Northeast and never saw myself in California until I visited so I wouldn't have known If I didn't go for it. My personal statement seemed to have stood out a lot as I've had several Pds and interviewers tell me it was the best they ever read. I had an interesting story to tell I guess. Seems like interview performance plays a big role as well because I know some non-AOA kids match at places that traditionally only recruit AoA from my school but at same time AoA kids who did not match at those places. I am guessing this can only be due to interview performance and research experience. I am still in shock and disbelief and I am really happy I didn't find out via the source code because, my reaction, I had never react to anything like that before. To want something so bad, and getting it, and knowing that you worked so hard to get it, it's a good feeling.

Congrats! One of my classmates is also headed to UCSF, and she is pretty much the kindest, awesomest person I encountered in medical school so it looks UCSF is selecting for that (out of all the baller applicants).

 

[wamcp]

School: Low tier allopathic
Step Scores: Step1 240s, Step2 250s/Pass
Grades: 1 Honor in 3rd year (not IM), honored subI
Research: 1 first author pub including poster presentation
AOA: Nope
Rank: Top 1/3 (surprised by this, since I only had 1 honor during 3rd year!)
Interview Invites
Cornell, UVA, VCU, Baylor (Real), UTSW, Emory, Iowa, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western, Brown, Dartmouth, UWisconsin, UMaryland (these are the ones I actually went on, too many to list the all the invites!)
Rejections
Mayo, Northwestern, UChicago, Michigan, Pitt, Northwestern, Penn, UNC, Duke, Mayo, MGH, Yale, Columbia

Matched: #1

Advice:
Even though I matched number 1, I felt that I would have been super thrilled matching at any of my top 6 choices! I think this is important - try to find as many programs you think you would thrive at. Don't be close minded like some of my classmates who focus on the subtle differences between their 1st/2nd/3rd choice and then think they're disappointed at match day - that's bullcrap, you'll be a fine physician at the majority of the places you interview.

Maybe this is blasphemy on SDN, but.....I sent a total of ZERO thank you cards and sent ZERO emails to programs saying "I rank you my top choice/number 1/please please let me in" and I honestly don't think that sort of communication matters an iota. Some programs sent love letters but I never responded either, and I still got number 1.

Interviews are incredibly important in avoiding being placed on the unranked list. I do NOT think interviews are likely to increase your order on their rank list UNLESS they just want to clarify certain things on your app that will help you. The interviews are intended to weed out the weirdos/dbags/awkwards who somehow got into med school. I strongly believe your rank is heavily determined by your app otherwise.

And I also don't think extracurriculars matter, in the sense that they only do if it really is something you participated/enjoyed (like intramural sports). For example, when an interviewer asks you what you enjoy in your free time, saying you love to organize fundraisers for your internal med student interest group is the most cringeworthy thing you can say. They ask questions not for you to brag about your CV but to make sure you're not a boring awkward person.

 

[gutonc]

I am happy to post anonymous submissions sent by PM however there's likely to be a delay as I'm on vacation as of 15 minutes from now.

 

[drjackbauer]

School: Top 50 Allopathic
Step Scores: Step1 240s, Step2 260s
Grades: 3/6 honors in clerkships (including medicine), all honors fourth year
Research: 2 publications, masters degree in biomedical research
AOA: No
Rank: Top 1/4
Interview Invites
Cornell, Wash U, Yale, NYU, UNC and many others
Rejections
MGH, Brigham, Hopkins, Michigan, Penn, Columbia, Sinai, BIDMC
Matched: Duke (#1)
Advice:
-apply to as many places as possible, including all reaches because it is so easy for good applications to fall through the cracks especially if you don't pass certain screens that are probably used at top places (such as AOA status, top tier medical school, or high board scores)
- I think excellent letters of recommendations from people that know you very well are in fact taken extremely seriously and possibly make up for lack of "honors"
- Interviews probably more important than people think
- I think I had a very well-rounded application with a lot of interesting hobbies and past experiences, which probably helped make my application more memorable
Congrats to everyone and good luck!!

 

[timbuktu]

School: mid-tier Southeast allopathic (NOT top 50)
Step1: 224
Step 2: 240/pass
Clinical: H in about half
Class rank: middle third
AOA: nope
Extras: Away rotation at one of my top 3 (didn't match there)

Interview invites: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia Mason, home institution, assorted community programs

Interview rejections: Oregon, UC Davis, and some obvious long shots

Matched: Virginia Mason! (#3)

Advice:
-I definitely underestimated how competitive IM was becoming. I had talked to my advisors after M2/Step1 and they thought my rank list would get me plenty of academic interviews. whoops.
-I underestimated how much "vibe" would matter. I should've applied more broadly in order to accommodate for this.

 

[Pseudopseudonym]

NM

 

[Deferoxamine]

Also, thanks to all of the SDN posters who help and give advice throughout this process. I found it to be more relevant and helpful than the more traditional routes (school officials, their advice seems to be a little dated: "Oh sure, you're very competitive for Hopkins!" Uh, not so much.).

I LOL'd at this. I still remember being an early MS4 and talking to a bunch of advisors and the person who would ultimately write my MSPE. One dean (who was also IM) gave me pretty decent advice. But most of the rest were just flat-out terrible with generalizations ("apply to the Ivies"). I'm actually glad to see IM becoming so competitive.

Many of you guys are nailing it with the feedback, too. Yes, the interview matters, a lot. In fact, after the program gives you the ticket to an interview, I'd argue it's the thing that matters more than anything else. Programs can tell if you're feigning interest and planning to rank the program #9... they just can. As a resident now, I can also tell when an applicant isn't very interested (not that I have much of a say in who our program picks).

 

[explorer22]

School: Top 50 allopathic
Step Scores: Step1 230s, Step2 260s/Pass
Grades: High pass surg/ob/peds; honors for the rest of third year; honored Sub Is
Research: 2 peer-reviewed and other professional publications prior to med school, several ongoing projects in school
AOA: Yes
Interview Invites
MGH, BWH, Tufts, BU, Hopkins, Northwestern, U-Chicago, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, U-Wash, UC-Davis, UCSF, UCLA
Rejections
Stanford, BI, Penn

Matched: BWH (#2) -- I am delighted. I kept switching my #1 and #2 programs, and would not wish any other outcome.

Advice:
This process is really stressful: make the stress bring out the best in you. The best part of my interview season was definitely the other applicants. I had one really dreadful interview day, and the kindness and compassion of the other applicants got me through it. At lunch that day, after telling my interview horror study, the guy sitting next to me said, "We're here for you." I really hope that guy got his top choice. Yes, you are competing for positions, but they (and we) are your future teammates. That realization helped me transition from terror to excitement about residency.

My only regret from interview season was not sending out prompt thank you notes. I don't think it would have made a difference in outcome -- and wouldn't want it to -- but feel that it's polite, and a good way to make connections with future colleagues. I just got overwhelmed by tasks and travel. I wish I had made it part of my routine that day. I'm not a fan of post-interview communications aside from thank you's and information exchange, and I hope it is banned in the future.

I did feel that internal medicine was ridiculously competitive this year. I think that further demonstrates that there are a ton of outstanding programs because there are a ton of outstanding people.

Congratulations on the match!

 

[yoyopa]

School: Top 25
Step Scores: Step 1: 220's; Step 2: 240's; CS: pass
Grades: Mixture of HP and H
Research: Several first-author pubs (research was my apps strength)
AOA: Nope
Rank: 1st quartile
Interview Invites
Applied to 31 programs (a bit overboard), visited U of Washington, Northwestern, U of Chicago, Washington University, Vanderbilt, Duke, Yale, Cornell, Sinai, Mayo-Rochester, Pitt, UW-Madison, UCLA, and UVA in person. Declined interview invites from many others (mid and top tier).
Rejections
UCSF, Stanford, Brigham, Colorado, and OHSU (first three weren't a big surprise, last two were)

Matched: Mayo-Rochester (#1)

Advice:
I was very fortunate to receive interviews at a number of great places and would have been happy at almost every program I visited. Within the top 10-25 the big variable I noticed is how hard the residents are worked (e.g. the education to service ratio) and the flavor of each respective institution/city. Faculty, facilities, conferences, and reputation are all roughly equivalent once you are comparing between "top" programs.

Advice:
1) A balanced application with one area of strength/passion (e.g. research, service, etc.) can make up for mediocre step scores if your clinical grades and letters are strong, but with how competitive IM is getting these days probably won't consistently land you interviews at the "big 4".

2) It seems to be a tough pill for many SDN folks to swallow, but great programs exist on both coasts and in the fly-over zone. Decide when scheduling interviews if location trumps quality or you will waste a lot of $$$ and possibly end up unhappy.

3) Try to not let the "ranked to match" communications mess with your head, I heard from several of the top places I interviewed at, but felt the best "fit" for me at the end of the day was Mayo (despite my lukewarm feelings about Rochester, the unique opportunities and more humane approach to GME at Mayo were tough to pass up). It was very tempting to move some of the programs generally considered to be "better" on SDN up my list, but I think in 3 years (or 3 months) I'll be very happy I resisted those temptations!

4) IM interviews are generally pretty chill, but come prepared and interested (this gets increasingly tougher to do once you hit January so don't save those dream programs until January).

 

[not so calm now]

School: Mid-tier state school
Step Scores: 250s/260s/Pass
Clinical Grades: Honors in all but 2 which were high passes, Honors in IM sub-I
Research: multiple co-authorships, no first authors, all before med school
AOA: nope
Rank: 1st quartile
Interview Invites Attended: JHH, JH Bayview, NYU, Mt Sinai, Montefiore, Cambridge Health Alliance, U Colorado, Yale, Virginia Mason, VCU, UVA, UNC, Boston U, Brown
Interview Invites Declined: OHSU, UIC, UC Davis, UMD
Rejected: Stanford, U Chicago, UCSF, U Washington, Temple, MGH, BID, BWH, U Penn
Matched: JHH

Lessons Learned: I have one big regret from the interview trail. At one program I was extremely excited about, I was told by the residents at that program that I should tell the faculty and PD that it was my #1 (which it was..at the time.) I did tell them that but after further reflection and discussion with SO and friends/family and school faculty several weeks later I changed the order of my rank list. I got caught up in the moment and should NOT have told them that. I would encourage other applicants to not say this even if you feel like you're sure because things can and do change during this incredibly stressful high-stakes process. I doubt that PDs put much confidence into these types of things but integrity is is very important to me and I feel guilty about it - so avoid these feelings and dont say it.

It was also very strange that I got rejected from so many "top" IM programs but then matched at JHH. Just goes to show how variable the process can be. Just be thick-skinned and don't take things personally.

Funny story: During one interview lunch they gave us sodas and had a (quiet) presentation during which I accidentally burped, unfortunately quite loudly. Good times!!

 

[padastra]

I doubt that PDs put much confidence into these types of things but integrity is is very important to me and I feel guilty about it - so avoid these feelings and dont say it.

This makes me happy you got in to Hopkins.

 

[not so calm now]

This makes me happy you got in to Hopkins.

Thanks It's something I did that was wrong, and I hope other people can learn from this mistake. SDN has helped me quite a bit over the years, probably even avoid some mistakes by reading about what other people did , so here's to moving forward.

 

[235009]

Congratulations to all who matched.

A lot of great advice from those posting in this thread. Basically if there is a rule of thumb I can come up with from the match experiences these past two years is that you need two of the following three to be in the running for a top-tier program: top med school, high step 1/2, top quartile/quintile or AOA.

Another point is that I was trying to make less eloquently last year (by attacking gutonc) is that IM has gotten way more competitive just over the past couple of years so advisers and even "young" attendings can be severely misinformed with regards to application competitiveness.

 

[IM2GI]

Man, IM is serious business these days. I'm only a few years out and I don't know if I could match at my home program anymore.

 

[timbuktu]

Another point is that I was trying to make less eloquently last year (by attacking gutonc) is that IM has gotten way more competitive just over the past couple of years so advisers and even "young" attendings can be severely misinformed with regards to application competitiveness.

im obviously a newbie at this game, but i'm inclined to agree. my advisor (late 30s), M3 clerkship director (late 30s) and student affairs dean (old guard) were all floored at some of my interview rejections.

 

[NaOut]

Congrats! One of my classmates is also headed to UCSF, and she is pretty much the kindest, awesomest person I encountered in medical school so it looks UCSF is selecting for that (out of all the baller applicants).

Amazing! Looking forward to working with such a wonderful person.

 

[gte770m]

School: IU
Step Scores: 250s/240s/Pass
Clinical Grades: All honors or high pass except psych and OB
Research: nope
AOA: nope
Rank: 1st quartile
Interview Invites Attended: OHSU, Dartmouth, UAB, Emory, Ohio State
Rejected: Mayo, UW
Matched: Dartmouth

Lessons Learned: I actually didn't talk to my home program PD at all during this process because I had no intention of applying to my home program (wanted to move to a new city and experience something different), and looking back, I probably should have talked to him about how to interview well, and how many places to apply to. I talked to my advisor who, I think, was not really up to date on how competitive IM residencies have become. I love that guy, and he did some great advices on other things, so not laying any blames on him, though. At any rate, following his advice, I applied to just a handful of major academic programs with one back up, and was surprised to get any rejections. Only on the interview trail did I realize how competitive things really were.

Very happy to have matched at Dartmouth, which was my #3, but all the places I interviewed at except Ohio State was at one point my #1 and even at OSU I would have been happy, so just grateful that I matched, and I knew the Match Day was going to be a good day as soon as I found out that I matched at all.

As I probably didn't play this game very wisely, don't have a lot of advices, but I would say definitely talk to your home PD before applying. Also by the time you start interviewing, there aren't a lot of things you can change about yourself or your resume, so just try to relax, enjoy the whole process (it really is a lot of fun) and not worry about what is out of your control.

Congratulations to all those who matched, and for any junior students reading this thread, the interview season will be an exciting time for you. There really are a lot of great programs out there, and if you have put the time and hard work in, I think things will work out well for you!

 

[FOLFOX6]

School: Top 50 East coast
Step Scores: 250s, 250s, pass
Grades: 1st and 2nd year mostly HP, third year all H except surgical subs and pediatrics
Research: 1 Summer at top research institution, productive year in biotech before medical school, multiple projects in undergrad and in medical school. One book chapter, one patent, one first authored review, 2nd author large clinical trial, several abstracts.
AOA: yes
Rank: unknown?
Red flags: None
Interview Invites
Stanford, MGH, BWH, yale, northwestern, Uchicago, WashU, UW. BIDMC, Penn, Cornell

Rejections
UCSF,columbia, NYU, Duke,

Matched: JHH (#1)

Advice
I did an away at my #1 on a subspecialty service and found the experience to be very helpful as I saw the resident interaction (which was not as apparent on my interview day), and made great faculty allies who advocated on my behalf. It can be scary trying to rapidly learn a new system, but I found that on a subspecialty service with no other medical students and residents who weren't really interested in the field, it was easier to shine than it may have been on the general medicine wards.

I literally sent no thank you notes and honestly didn't feel like it hurt my chances anywhere.

I got interviews that many people in my class did not, and others in my class got interviews I did not get, its an interesting mix and as I mentioned above one of the few very key pieces you can control is doing an away at an institution if you desire it strongly.

 

[Scean]

School: Top 25-ish
Step Scores: Step1 251, Step2 262
Grades: H in Medicine, Peds, Surgery, Outpt Med. HP in others
Research: Year off for clinical research, couple of pubs, none first author, poster presentation, stuff in the works.
AOA: Yes
Rank: No class rank at school

Applied broadly with slight NE bias.

Interview Invites
MGH, BID, Penn, Brown, Columbia, NYU, Sinai, Yale, Emory, Vanderbilt, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, Georgetown, UChicago, Northwestern, Pitt, UNC, Michigan, UW, UVA

Rejections
Email: JHH, BWH
Silent: Duke, Jefferson, USC

Attended interview/ranked 11 programs

Matched: Columbia! My number 2

Advice
- Very excited with my match - as others have said there are a TON of fantastic programs out there and each seem to look for different things. No one, it seems, is interviewed by everyone and often schools are interviewing all sorts of folks - so don't count yourself out no matter what. However - definitely more competitive as this thread already shows.

- Aside from the year off for research (which was usually talked about but not always) I didn't feel I had any stand out/interesting/exceptional points to my application - but I did hit the "well rounded/package" that seems to be the norm at top programs and already mentioned here - grades, scores, AOA, school rep, research, no red flags.

- I sent almost zero post-interview communication, including thank you's. I did send numero-uno a very brief email. Some programs asked us not to (I hope this trend continues).

-I would advise that even if you aren't geographically limited - think very carefully what your geographic preference might be. To be sure, it feels sexy and romantic to apply and travel all over the country but in the end I had multiple programs I loved in very different places. My final list was difficult to piece together and though I now feel relieved and right with where I am - during the process I was always wondering and second guessing nearly up until the ROL deadline. Point being - if something, anything gives you some direction - use it - things will be easier and it's really true that these programs all have great things to offer and it truly is splitting hairs.

Congrats to everyone - I don't post a ton but I read a lot, thanks to those who asked interesting questions and everyone who weighed in both with their advice or relaying the current experiences as we went along.

 

[wunderland]

School: Top 50 allopathic
Step Scores: Step1 240, Step2 264
Grades: Honors in all except FM; HP & Honors in all 4th year
Research: none published
AOA: No
Interview Invites
Attended: UCLA, UCSF, UCSD, OHSU, UWash, UVA, UNC, Vanderbilt, Duke
Declined: Penn, BID
Rejections: BWH
Matched: UCSF (#1)

Advice: The process is long and you will want to cancel multiple interviews at the end. It helps to enjoy the process (i.e. do cool stuff while you are traveling) and remember that the last interview you are scheduled for may be absolutely where you want to go. Unless you're 100% sure already, don't cancel them. I really like 2 out of my last 3 and they were in serious contention at the end. I think the most important part of interview day (showing off yourself) is to be pleasant. Being friendly and like-able goes SO far and PDs see that on interview day. Good luck!

 

[Aeterni]

School: Top 40ish, midwest
Step Scores: Step1 high 250s, Step2 mid-260s
Grades: Middle of class, mix of HP and H throughout, H in medicine rotation
Research: none published
AOA: No
Applied: All over the place...39 programs!
Interview Invites: Colo, UTSW, Baylor, Emory, OSU, Case, Cincy, Indy, UIC, Loyola, Brown, USC, AE-Monte (cancelled)
Rejections: All the big ones, other places like UNC, Vandy, OHSU, UCSD, NYU that I was hoping to get a crack at. Probably a slight regional bias...which is understandable. But do take it into account.
Matched: Colorado!! (#1)

Advice:
1) Apply broadly - especially if you're not limited geographically. I got invites from Emory, UTSW and Baylor, and those were three programs I initially wasn't going to apply to.
2) Have enough "safer" interviews - why risk going unmatched because you're proud or overconfident? I applied to programs that were driving distance away, and by crashing on my friend's couches I probably spent about $500 combined on interviewing at these programs. What's more, I liked all of them and therefore I felt great going into Match Week. It gives you an opportunity to practice your interviewing and is way better than going unmatched.
3) Don't take it personally - the interview process is definitely a crapshoot, and I got rejected from some places I thought I may get an interview and got interviews at others where I didn't think I stood a chance. I was very clear about what I wanted in my personal statement and on my interview days and I noticed that I got interviews from programs that fit that (and matched to one!). So it worked out well.
4) Personal statements matter - mine related a unique hobby of mine to why I wanted to practice internal medicine, and I got asked about it on every interview I attended. Spend some time on and try to make it reflect something about who you are.
5) Have fun - IM interviews are chill, relax and enjoy meeting people and seeing programs. If you represent yourself honestly you'll be fine.

Also don't freak out about not getting anything post-interview - I got one call and a couple generic (but nice!) letters. Just send your thank-you notes and make your list reflect how you actually feel, because that's how programs do it too.

 

[not so calm now]

You guys who are posting about not sending thank you letters - I know many people view these as part of their Machiavellian checklist but these extremely busy faculty members are taking a substantial amount of time to get to know YOU better. It's just a nice thing to do (if the program doesn't explicitly forbid it), and who knows, you might feel better after sending them.

 

[dogenthusiaist]

School: Top 40
Step Scores: Step1 240s, Step2 230's /Pass
Grades: Honors in Sub I, HP all third year
Research: Abstract, poster, manuscript in process
AOA: no
Rank: bottom 50%
Invites: umass, uab, baylor, musc, usf, uflorida, cincinnati, osu, case, louisville, vcu, uic and loyola

Matched: Baylor Houston number #1!

Advice
-Make sure you have constant access to email right after you submit ERAS i recived my first invite the day after i submitted
-also i didnt send a single thank you to anyone and still matched number one so...idk what that really shows lol

 

[nmfms]

School: Allopathic, Not top 50, State school
Step Scores: Step 1: 225ish, Step 2CK: 235ish, CS: pending
Clinical Grades: H in Surgery, HP in psychiatry, P in the rest
Research: A little.. involved in a senior project that had an interesting topic.. required minimal work on my end but almost every interviewer asked about it. Medicine nerds love QI projects.
AOA: No
Rank: 3rd quartile
Interview Invites Attended: Dartmouth, Iowa, MCW, Wisconsin, Minnesota, UIC, Rush, Ohio State, Louisville, Utah, Tulane, Baylor, Colorado, Brown, Hennepin, St. Joe/Exempla, Creighton
Rejected: Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan etc etc
Matched: #2

Lessons Learned:
--Applied pretty broadly (40ish programs).. received 30ish interviews. I would do it again... it helped me sleep at night for the 6 months between Sept 15th-March 21st.
--Retrospectively, based on where I matched on my list I did not need to go on 13+ interviews, but I would do it again. Helped ease my mind, and if you can fight the fatigue, it was nice to see different programs/meet different people.
--Added a couple "safer" programs (community programs, lower tier university programs w/ FMG's) so that I felt more assured that I would match. And yes, I would rather work at a place with FMG's and good in-house fellowship placement than not match and have to pay back 200K+ while working at mcdonalds
--Change the email alert on your phone to something loud and obnoxious so when you receive an interview at 8AM and you're sleeping because you're on nights... it'll wake you up and you won't be waitlisted because you called 4-5 hours after getting the offer
--Contrary to what other people have been saying, I did send a hand-written thank-you note to everyone I interviewed with, and to every program director. I also sent thank-you emails to the coordinators. The people above are right.. the thank-you notes don't help. But... I felt grateful for all the opportunities, and that was the way I chose to convey my thankfulness to the programs.
--Sent an email to my top 4 programs in early February just to say "hey, I would be so happy to be a resident at X".. 2 sent incredibly nice and personal emails back just basically saying "we'd love to see you here too", 1 sent a "we're currently making our list, good luck!" email, and the 4th sent a generic email to all applicants saying they would not respond to post-interview communication unless there was a specific question.
--Try to compartmentalize the day. While my detailed spreadsheet approach to ranking programs quickly fell apart, there were some bad reasons that I did not like some places. Some residents & interviewers will be tired/not enthusiastic/annoying.. and that swayed what I thought about the program. Also on more than 1 occasion, d-bag applicants soured my mood and left me with a skewed perception of the place. I hope I was able to combat that, but with so many people talking about "gut feeling".. I'm not sure if I ever got over some of those knee-jerk feelings.
--I hope this helped some lurkers here on SDN. I learned a lot of useful information on this place over the past year. PAY IT FORWARD to those below you.
--It gets old reading about the usual 260+ crowd freaking out about MGH vs JHH vs UCSF , but don't worry, there are plenty of great places for us normals

 

[10Esmus]

School: Unranked US MD school
Step Scores: Step 1/2: 240's/250's. CS on 1st attempt
Clinical Grades: H in Medicine, P in rest
Research: Some unpublished case reports
AOA: No
Rank: Not sure
Interview Invites: LAC+USC, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Scripps, UC Davis, Loma Linda, Cedars Sinai, UCLA Harbor/OV, Huntington Memorial, Alameda Co, OHSU, Legacy Emanuel, Virginia Mason, Utah, New Mexico, Banner Good Sam, Baylor Houston, UT Southwestern, Rush, UIC, Loyola, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Robert Wood Johnson, Jefferson
Rejected: UW, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, Colorado, Michigan, U Chicago, Northwestern, Drexel
Matched: #1

Some lessons:
-Scout for clinical faculty known to be proficient LOR writers. I really think well-written LOR's (based on a good interaction) helped me tremendously in terms of getting interviews
-Apply early (as in Sept 15)
-Set your phone to push notification so you will see the emails instantly. My average email to response time is <10 min. Have a headset so you can look at calendar while on phone with scheduler
-Check SDN thread on interview invitations, to make sure you're "on par". Request interviews or apply to more programs accordingly
-Give at least a week's notice for interview cancellation. There are many candidates who will be happy to take your spot
-Turn off your phone so you will not be tempted to check it during interview day! It seemed to be the most common transgression

 

[TheCellarDoor]

School: Unranked Allopathic
Step Scores: Step 1: 216. CK: 248. CS: Pass
Clinical Grades: H in most clerkships, except Medicine and Surgery
Research: Two publications, a few posters at regional and national conferences.
AOA: No
Rank: 2nd 25% (I think).
Interview Invites: 15 (went to all, ranked all, applied to 38) including Temple, Bayview, GW, Tufts, LIJ NS, WVU, Tulane, LSU-NO, Baystate-Tufts, INOVA Fairfax, Marshall U etc.
Rejections: I'll list the "higher ranked" programs that rejected me: VCU, UVA, Gtown, UMarlyand, BU, Jeff, UNC etc (I applied to mainly DC, Baltimore, Philly, Boston, and NOLA schools).
Anything that made me stand out: I volunteered with two programs that provide free healthcare for 4 years in the city where I went to school, and with a lot of other organizations throughout my 4 years.
Matched: My second choice, GW!!!! I'm so happy.

Advice (some of it is obvious, sorry!)
1. Do not let a low Step 1 hold you back- make sure you do well on Step 2. Two programs where I interviewed stated on their websites either "We only interview over a 220 on step 1" or "it is strongly recommended if you have over a 220 if you are applying". I obviously didn't see that when I applied to these programs, otherwise I wouldn't have! So maybe being a few points under the cut-off is ok, but make sure you apply to plenty of "safer" programs.
2. Make your application as personal as possible- we all look the same on paper, so try to show what you really love and who you are. I asked for recommendations from letter writers who really knew me, and at almost every interview, I was told how strong and personal my letters were. I spent months on my PS (I was an English major, so I knew I could catch a couple program's eyes with it- the ones that read it, at least). I put hobbies on my app that I actually do (a couple were boring like cooking and reading non-medical literature) but they were great conversation starters in interviews.
3. Interviews (dinners before etc) are very important! Try to relax and have real conversations with the interviewers - know your research projects inside and out so you can talk about them at length. Send thank you emails! Some of mine were a little late, but I tried to get them to everyone.
4. Talk to graduates from your school who are at programs you're interested in. Ask them what they like/dislike about their programs. They will probably tell you where they ranked their program, and they can offer invaluable advice.

Good luck everyone, and congratulations c/o 2014!

 

[JohnnyPearseed]

School: Not top 50 Allopathic
Step Scores: Step 1: 240s. CK: 260s. CS: FAIL, passed 2nd attempt
Clinical Grades: H in 4/6, including medicine and surgery
Research: Pretty good amount of publications and posters.
AOA: No
Rank: 2nd quartile
Interview Invites: ~ 26, went to 24 including BU, Tufts, Wake Forest, UNC, NW, UIC, Rush, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Yale
Anything that made me stand out: I found out I failed Step 2 CS a day before my first interview so I got to carry that with me to all the interviews. Posting mostly in case people in the future fail and wanted someone to talk to about how to approach the subject during interviews and how to get over feeling like an idiot and moving on. Beat myself up pretty bad initially when it happened and couldn't find many end results as far as impact of the match on this sub-forum.
Matched: First choice

 

[disorder]

okay. people. it really doesn't help if you tell us what number you matched. it helps us if you tell us WHERE you matched.
you're essentially just rehashing the WAMC thread otherwise. if you wanna make it anonymous, ask gutonc to post it.

 

[nmfms]

okay. people. it really doesn't help if you tell us what number you matched. it helps us if you tell us WHERE you matched.
you're essentially just rehashing the WAMC thread otherwise. if you wanna make it anonymous, ask gutonc to post it.

I see your point, telling where you matched might add something, but I disagree that it "doesn't help" to tell what number you matched, provided you give a list of where you interviewed/were rejected at.
Doesn't matter if the poster above matched at Yale or Wake Forest. He got his first choice. Applicants in the future with similar stats to him can expect to get similar interviews as he did. Since he matched at a high number on his list, future applicants with similar stats and similar lists can expect that they have a pretty good chance of matching high on their list as well, wherever that ends up being for them.
Also, for all the views/posts that the WAMC and Interview invitation threads got, its pathetic how few posts there are here.. so be happy with who actually decided to contribute.

 

[anbuitachi]

It seems like 90% of the ppl here have over 250s lolll

 

[gflip88]

School: Low-mid tier Southern state school
Step Scores: 251, 260, pass
Grades: basic sciences - mostly A's . clerkships - A's in everything except OB/GYN, all A's 4th year including Sub-I
Research: 1 first author, 1 platform speaker at national conference, several posters
AOA: No
Rank: First quintile
Red flags: None
Interview Invites: BID, Brigham, UW, Michigan, UCSD, Vanderbilt, UTSW, Baylor COM, BMC, Brown, Emory, UAB, Tufts, Georgetown, Cedars-Sinai, UMiami, MUSC, MCG, USC

Rejections: JHH, JHH-Bayview, UChicago, NW, Columbia, Cornell, Mt. Sinai, MGH, Penn, Stanford

Waitlisted: Duke, Yale, UCSF, UCLA

Matched: BID (#1)...sooo happy!!!

Advice:
-Apply broadly and accept that this whole process is a crapshoot.
-Name of school does matter, but definitely having great board scores and clerkship grades puts you on the map. At many of the "top" programs I interviewed at, I was definitely the David amongst the sea of Goliaths.
-LORs matter A LOT. I was told that my LORs were some of the best they've ever read. I chose attendings who knew me rather than trying to hit up the superstars of our school. My interviewers raved at how personal and in depth my letters were
-Take time to write an awesome PS. Mine was commented at every interview and really fleshed out who I was amongst a sea of numbers and data points
-Have your phone with you at all times during interview invite season. Several institutions utilize Interview Broker and those dates fill up quickly. At one school, I was offered an interview, but all the dates were already booked on Interview Broker that I was put on a waitlist?! I know some classmates who never came off of said waitlist
-Take Step 2 CK early; many institutions during interview day stated that this score weighed more than Step 1!
-Don't be afraid to email the program coordinator a week before your interview to ask who you will be interviewing with. Only 1 school out of the 18 I interviewed at would not disclose this information. It really impressed several of my interviewers and also leveled the playing field; they know SO much information about you, it's only fair to know something about them and can help steer conversation to things you have in common
-Post-interview communication is falling out of favor at many programs. Some specifically said that if you send anything, it will be automatically discarded. So don't worry too much about thank you notes (although I always sent a quick thank you email to programs that allowed it)
-Don't be afraid to network. I knew of a few attendings at my school who did training at my #1 choice and they were able to put in a good word for me to the program. Not sure how much it helped, but it sure doesn't hurt!
-SMILE! This process can be daunting and exhausting, but a smile goes a long way when interacting with programs and other applicants

 

[timbuktu]

I'm assuming an M3 is going to sift thru this thread and construct an updated "Tier System" based on invites, rejections, and matches.

And then gutonc/jdh will point out how such tiers of competitiveness don't necessarily reflect quality of IM training.

Is that how it goes?

 

[20893528]

okay. people. it really doesn't help if you tell us what number you matched. it helps us if you tell us WHERE you matched.
you're essentially just rehashing the WAMC thread otherwise. if you wanna make it anonymous, ask gutonc to post it.

Totally agree - I found last year's thread very helpful for me so saying where you matched really does matter. I would also be happy to post for other users for the sake of anonymity

It seems like 90% of the ppl here have over 250s lolll

We all know this is a very biased sample of medical students - anyone reading this thread should also consult "Charting Outcomes in the Match" There should be a new version coming out this year

 

[20893528]

School: Low tier - NE allopathic state school
Step Scores: Step1 low 240s, Step2 high 260s / Pass
Grades: All honors - SubI wasn't on my transcript when I applied
Research: 1 second author pub, significant work in pharma >18months full time experience
AOA: Yes - Jr
Rank: Top 10%
Interview Invites:
JHH, UMaryland, UPenn, Jefferson, Temple, Rutgers-RWJ, NYU, Mt Sinai, NYP-Cornell, Yale, Brown, UMass, BU, Tufts, BIDMC, BWH
Rejections
MGH, NYP-Columbia

Matched: BWH - my #1 - beyond ecstatic

Advice:
MOST IMPORTANTLY:Take all the BS on here with a grain of salt. I had my heart set on a top tier program in Boston so I did everything in my power to set myself up for that and it worked. Each applicant and application is evaluated on its own merit so be confident in yourself and don't be afraid to apply to reach schools. (No matter what SDN posters tell you)

- Have fun - all of mine were low pressure interviews. Honestly they felt more like information sessions.
- Have constant email access - some places filled interviews within an hour or two of the initial invite. Don't get caught sleeping on this

Some comments for students NOT from top academic medical schools:
- You are definitely fighting an uphill battle to get into a top end residency so you have to try to be that much more impressive
- Some advisors may say you don't need to do aways for IM but I found it helpful in many ways - I did an away at my top 2 choices and I think it really helped me get a feel for the culture ect. I also think they feel more comfortable with you as an applicant. Getting LOR or verbal recs from attendings at your top choice can really make a difference. The only caveat is you have to be honest with yourself - only do the away if you are confident in yourself and feel you can shine.
- Take CK early enough that residencies can see if before they make a decision on your app.
- The goal is to get the interview - at that point anything can happen - you are clearly academically qualified if they invite you to their program

 

[vertclassic]

School: lower ranked allopathic midwest, state school
Step: 258/271/pass
Grades: all honors, had my sub I on there too
Research: 1 pub, 1 poster, no PIs, some undergrad lab experience. All neuroscience related
AOA: yes
Rank: top 10%
Interviews: JHH, BWH, Penn, Duke, Vanderbilt, Michigan, UTSW, UCSD, WashU, Mayo, OHSU, Emory, UIC, MUSC, home school
Declined: OSU, UNC
Rejected: UCSF, Stanford, U of Wash, Cornell, Columbia, Mt Sinai, UPMC, MGH, Colorado

Matched: JHH (stoked)

Advice: (echo, echo)
-Apply broadly. You've come this far, you might as well go all out. Don't sweat how much it will cost.
-Don't be discouraged by rejections. Sometimes you get rejected by Colorado and match at JHH.
-Have fun on interviews. Joke and laugh. Be genuine. Don't be judgmental. Ask meaningful questions. Do a mock interview with your home school. Got great advice from PD, Chair for questions to ask, ways to describe career goals etc. Have stories (travel is a biggie). Know your research in and out, but less people asked about this than I anticipated. Most schools know you're solid academically otherwise they wouldn't let you in the door, so be yourself as you would outside of the hospital with your own home professors (mature, but not up tight) and show your personality.
-Didn't send any thank you cards. I received a few, and sent a couple follow up questions via email. A few places are moving to a "no communications" policy which may catch on with more (hopefully).
-Take CK after your sub I. I finished medicine last, then started sub I immediately after, then took CK after a short break. Worked well.
-Grab a volunteer experience and run with it. One longitudinal is way better than many fun runs or other random stuff. My big things were global health, tutoring (students and kids at the Y), and organizing an event for disabled athletes. The more unique the better. Ask mentors (PD, Deans, advisers) for examples and options.
-Don't take everything you read on SDN to heart; remember these are all people with differing opinions and biases as much as those you meet in real life. That said, much thanks to the guys who spend considerable time on here to give advice. I found a lot of it very helpful.

 

[Rolltide86]

School: Top 25
Step: 240s, 240s, pass
Clinical grades: all pass
Research: 1 poster, 1 paper
AOA: No
Rank: Second quartile
Interview invites included: UAB, Emory, Mayo Rochester, Baylor, Wash U, Wake Forest, Tulane, Mayo Florida, U Louisville, U Kentucky, U Mississippi, VCU, MUSC
Ranked: 13
Matched: My number 1! UAB! I am thrilled!

 

[TheNextLevel]

School: Top 20
Step Scores: 270+, 270+, Pass
Grades: All honors
Research: year of research during med school, 1 basic science publication
AOA: No
Interview Invites
MGH, B&W, BID, Hopkins, UCSD, UCLA, Cornell, WashU, Michigan, UVA, UNC, Duke, OHSU, UW, UTSW
Rejections:
Columbia, UCSF, Penn
Matched:
Duke (#1)

Advice:
- Any program that marks you down for having a good time with your fellow applicants during interview days, smiling and enjoying the pre-interview dinner is not worth going to.
- Go with your gut feeling.
- Take note of places that pressure you to provide you with an indication of where you'll be ranking them. For me, this was a huge red flag. That being said, definitely tell your #1 pick that they are #1. It can only help you.
- Consider location preferences and cost of living when you are thinking about equivalent programs.
- Even if you are a highly competitive applicant, don't expect to get interviews everywhere and don't set your sights on a particular program before getting an interview invite. You might end up disappointed.
- If you're turned off by the interview day or PD, don't be afraid not rank a traditional powerhouse highly.

 

[MDhopeful23]

School: Top 20
Step Scores: 270+, 270+, Pass
Grades: All honors
Research: year of research during med school, 1 basic science publication
AOA: No
Interview Invites
MGH, B&W, BID, Hopkins, UCSD, UCLA, Cornell, WashU, Michigan, UVA, UNC, Duke, OHSU, UW, UTSW
Rejections:
Columbia, UCSF, Penn
Matched:
Duke (#1)

Advice:
- Any program that marks you down for having a good time with your fellow applicants during interview days, smiling and enjoying the pre-interview dinner is not worth going to.
- Go with your gut feeling.
- Take note of places that pressure you to provide you with an indication of where you'll be ranking them. For me, this was a huge red flag. That being said, definitely tell your #1 pick that they are #1. It can only help you.
- Consider location preferences and cost of living when you are thinking about equivalent programs.
- Even if you are a highly competitive applicant, don't expect to get interviews everywhere and don't set your sights on a particular program before getting an interview invite. You might end up disappointed.
- If you're turned off by the interview day or PD, don't be afraid not rank a traditional powerhouse highly.

How were you able to score a 270+ on Step 1 .... Please tell me your ways and secrets !!!!!

 

[gutonc]

School: Top 40
Step Scores: Step1 258, Step2 268/Pass
Grades: All Honors
Research: Some posters
AOA: Yes
Rank: Top quartile
Interview Invites
Stanford, UCSD

Rejections
None (Applied to 2 IM programs and another specialty)


Matched: #1 Stanford

 

[gutonc]

Posted anonmyously

School: Low-tier midwest
Step Scores: 265/265 pass
Grades: All A's in basic sciences and clinical rotations, good comments on dean's letter
Research: 1 poster presentation. Also did some clinical research but no pubs or anything else. Did get a nice letter from him though
AOA: Yes (senior)
Rank: top 5
Red flags: None
Interview Invites duke, wash U, michigan, vandy, mayo among others

Rejections big 4, U of Chicago, northwestern, columbia

Matched: Michigan! (#1) So excited loved everything about the program and the people I met. Cant wait to meet the rest of the interns!

Advice
-Med school name matters a lot. Felt like that was the only thing that held me back, but couldn't be happier where I matched. If you come for a lower-tiered school have to have the numbers to be competetive at top programs

 

[gutonc]

Posted Anonymously

School: Midwest, mid-tier MD
Step Scores: 255/266/Pass
Grades: All H (M3 clerkships, subinternship, M4 consult rotationsx2)
Research: Contributed to 1 pub in med school, 1 in undergrad
AOA: Yes
Rank: First quartile
Red flags: None
Interview Invites Attended: Vanderbilt, UTSW, UWashington, UCLA, OHSU, Stanford, UCSD, Colorado, UMich, Wisconsin, Mayo Rochester, UChicago, Northwestern, UPMC, UIC
Interview Invites, Not Attended: WashU, UVa, NYU, MCW, MUSC
Rejections MGH, BWH, UCSF, JHH, Columbia, Cornell, Mt. Sinai, UNC, Duke, Emory
Matched: Vanderbilt (#1!!!)

Advice:
- IM is likely getting acutely more competitive. It's not quite as severe as most on this forum think, because the national step 1 average is rising, so today's 240 probably woulda been a 230 5-8 years ago, but competing specialties (Rads and Gas) are getting less competitive, which makes IM more attractive in a relative sense. Just be advised.
- In my humble opinion, the importance of factors for obtaining "top" IM interviews goes as follows: Research (if significant, which means you have first author pubs or are MD/PhD) > USMLE > school rep, modulated by the presence or absence of AOA (ie, mid tier + AOA = you'll interview like a candidate from a tier or two up would) > Regional factors > Letters of Rec > Other activities/research if not a first author or MD/PhD > Personal Statement. This changes per program specs dramatically (and I have a theory that it changes by region as well - the NE seems to care a lot about your school, the South about regional ties, West Coast about big numbers. Just in general).
- Also, based on how a decent number of my friends did, I think, ceterus perebus, female applicants can expect slightly better love from interviews at "top" IM programs than males. Not saying it's wrong, just a trend I'm starting to notice.
- Take all of your clinical experiences seriously. Try to act like you're the doctor for your patients and that you are responsible for everything that happens to them. Even though that is not the case, this will cause you to make more meaningful contributions to your team, which means you'll learn more clinically and will get better letters of recommendation/grades to boot.
- Step 2 is important for IM. It can definitely replace or at least modulate a suboptimal Step 1 if taken early. It also probably can help you more for IM than for other specialties. However, unless you're shooting for a 30 point bump, I would strongly recommend against taking an entire month to study for it. If you study hard for all your shelves as an M3 and take the Step 2 relatively early in the year, there is a very low chance that you'll dip below your Step 1 score at all, nonetheless low enough to hurt you. Even if you are shooting for a big scare, don't take too much time; there's a point at which your testing potential maxes out, and too much studying time (particularly during pre-ERAS season, during which I felt very burnt out on studying) can make you forget stuff.
- No harm in applying to a large number of programs, but be sure to be a little stingier about interviews than you want to be. Limit yourself to 10-12. I did 15, and of the 5 that I was last to accept, they topped out at 7 on my rank list. So I wasted a lot of money and, more importantly, time, jetsetting to places there was no realistic chance I'd end up. If you're on the fence about an interview you should probably cancel it
- Even when you think you got it down, sit down before every interview and peruse the program's website. A little preparation can go a long way. Ditto with your application; even when you think you know it cold, there are probably some things buried deep in there that you may have forgotten about. I listed my college publication because I was told by my advisor it was wise to do so, and the first time I was asked about it (yes I was asked about it) I was woefully unprepared.