Official Eternal IM WAMC Thread

[PTFoolUS]

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Before I answer, what does "top" mean?

my ideal programs i would want to match at.

 

[PTFoolUS]

Yes


Yes

Yes

Pick 15 programs. Be done with it.

thanks, should i cut out the community programs?

 

[gutonc]

my ideal programs i would want to match at.

You'd rather match at Winthrop or Lenox Hill than Real Mt. Sinai? Not sure what to do with your list at this point.

 

[PTFoolUS]

You'd rather match at Winthrop or Lenox Hill than Real Mt. Sinai? Not sure what to do with your list at this point.

I mean, i'd rather match at the top place possible, is Mt sinai a reasonable match for me?

 

[gutonc]

I mean, i'd rather match at the top place possible, is Mt sinai a reasonable match for me?

Why not apply and find out.

Your list is basically just a list of every program in the geographic areas you want to be in. Use some critical reasoning skills and narrow down the list.

Where have people from your school matched in those areas?

What do the resident classes look like at the places on your list?

What kind of career do you want after residency?


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[Prime17]

.

 

[whoknows2012]

Hello! I am a female who recently decided to switch to IM from OB/GYN. I just finished my OB/GYN sub-internship and definitely need to get out of there!

-Middle of the road M.D. school in the northeast
-Preclinical - honors in everything
-Clinical - honors in every clerkship except pediatrics (high pass)
-Step 1 = 229
-Step 2 = 238
-Rank = top of the class
-AOA/GHHS = nope!
-Research = no publications from my one medical school research project; two publications from my undergrad research
-4th year schedule = will not have any 4th year IM courses before applications due to the late switch (doing Sub-I and CC next)
-LOR = IM chairmen, IM from 3rd year clerkship, and I guess I will just add one OB/GYN
(under-represented minority if that means anything)

I have a meeting with the IM chair at my school this upcoming week and they want me to make a list of programs I am applying to.

I want to go to an academic place in the northeast, but really do not know where to start since I am late to the game.

My board score are slightly below average whereas my clinical grades are great, so I would love some advice from people on realistic programs to apply to!

Thank you!

bu
Tufts
Brown
Monte
Nslij
Rutgers rwj
Nyu
Upmc
Jefferson
Temple
Hopkins bayview
Maryland
Georgetown

The above are all within reach for you. Reaches (but still worth applying to) would be;

Mgh
Bwh
Bidmc
Columbia
Cornell
Mt Sinai
Upenn
Hopkins

Can include some solid community programs in there as well such as st lukes/Roosevelt in nyc. Don't have a ton of other good community programs I feel like you'd probably match at a solid academic program

 

[VCorp]

Hi everybody. I'm trying to make my list, but I'm wondering how should I go about researching which programs I can qualify for or not? Do I just go through the ERAS list and cross reference the programs on their IM residency page, call them and ask, or use Freida? I'm just concerned about Freida's cutoffs being old and not updated. Do I have a good shot at a good program with these scores:

US-IMG; no Visa needed.
Step 1: 229; first attempt
CS: First Pass
CK: Not taken yet
Grades: No class rank
AOA: No
EC: 3 case reports. 1 published. 2 pending answers.
LORs: 4 of them.

Is it possible to get into a good University program? I was looking at Drexel, which is IMG friendly, and well known as well. Thoughts?

 

[gutonc]

Hi everybody. I'm trying to make my list, but I'm wondering how should I go about researching which programs I can qualify for or not? Do I just go through the ERAS list and cross reference the programs on their IM residency page, call them and ask, or use Freida? I'm just concerned about Freida's cutoffs being old and not updated. Do I have a good shot at a good program with these scores:

US-IMG; no Visa needed.
Step 1: 229; first attempt
CS: First Pass
CK: Not taken yet
Grades: No class rank
AOA: No
EC: 3 case reports. 1 published. 2 pending answers.
LORs: 4 of them.

Is it possible to get into a good University program? I was looking at Drexel, which is IMG friendly, and well known as well. Thoughts?

The universal advice for USIMGs is to look where people from your school have matched in the last couple of years and target those programs (and those like them).

 

[VCorp]

The universal advice for USIMGs is to look where people from your school have matched in the last couple of years and target those programs (and those like them).

That's funny. I just finished looking at my school's last 5 year residency list, along with other schools in the Caribbeans and saw where those students matched as well. Official list ended up being at 101 spots, thus far.

Edit: Sigh, the benefits of being enrolled in a med school as an AMG. It truly is comparable to being part of a country club. Amazing perks.

 

[gutonc]

That's funny. I just finished looking at my school's last 5 year residency list, along with other schools in the Caribbeans and saw where those students matched as well. Official list ended up being at 101 spots, thus far.

Edit: Sigh, the benefits of being enrolled in a med school as an AMG. It truly is comparable to being part of a country club. Amazing perks.

Focus on the last 2 years.


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[VCorp]

Focus on the last 2 years.


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Because those residents will now be chief residents, especially those from two years ago, and can potentially have some say on my application?

 

[gutonc]

Because those residents will now be chief residents, especially those from two years ago, and can potentially have some say on my application?

No, because you have to start somewhere. And 2 years should give you plenty of information to work with.


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[noncompliant2meds]

US-IMG: Caribbean 4th year finishing clinicals
Step 1: 243
Step 2: 263
CS: Pass
Grades: Top 5%
USCE: Second half of med school is at US hospitals
Research: 2 large on-going projects at a well known institution but no pubs as of yet, 2 case reports, 1 case series, 1 poster at regional convention
EC: Mainly tutoring and stuff, lots of volunteering at clinics on-island, not much since I've been stateside
LORs: 1 Chairman's letter, 1 IM PD at a community hospital, 1 sub-specialist letter at large university hospital

Hopes: university program or large community academic program in the Northeast.
Note - at best my uni has really only placed at the lower to mid-tier university level in the past

WAMC at the following NE academic programs?
Montefiore, St. Lukes Roosevelt, Lenox Hill, Northwell LIJ, UMDNJ, RWJ, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, BU, Tufts, U Conn, U Mass
And I'm open to suggestions too for other academic programs
(I have a bunch of community back-ups too, just trying to see if any of these programs are realistic).

Thanks in advance guys

 

[Mikkus]

US-IMG: Caribbean 4th year finishing clinicals
Step 1: 243
Step 2: 263
CS: Pass
Grades: Top 5%
USCE: Second half of med school is at US hospitals
Research: 2 large on-going projects at a well known institution but no pubs as of yet, 2 case reports, 1 case series, 1 poster at regional convention
EC: Mainly tutoring and stuff, lots of volunteering at clinics on-island, not much since I've been stateside
LORs: 1 Chairman's letter, 1 IM PD at a community hospital, 1 sub-specialist letter at large university hospital

Hopes: university program or large community academic program in the Northeast.
Note - at best my uni has really only placed at the lower to mid-tier university level in the past

WAMC at the following NE academic programs?
Montefiore, St. Lukes Roosevelt, Lenox Hill, Northwell LIJ, UMDNJ, RWJ, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, BU, Tufts, U Conn, U Mass
And I'm open to suggestions too for other academic programs
(I have a bunch of community back-ups too, just trying to see if any of these programs are realistic).

Thanks in advance guys

Your step 1 and pubs are a bit low for a mid tier university match. I would assume you will get an interview from Drexel, RWJ and a few of the ny ones listed. Best advice is to apply to any place that has taken more than 1 Carib IMG in the past year or two. There are tons of different reasons schools might invite you for an interview, so I cannot give you a concrete list. If you are from the area certain programs might send you an invite, or if you meet their mission. I would not rule out decent community programs, as some are better than the lower tier IMG mill university programs.

 

[235009]

US-IMG: Caribbean 4th year finishing clinicals
Step 1: 243
Step 2: 263
CS: Pass
Grades: Top 5%
USCE: Second half of med school is at US hospitals
Research: 2 large on-going projects at a well known institution but no pubs as of yet, 2 case reports, 1 case series, 1 poster at regional convention
EC: Mainly tutoring and stuff, lots of volunteering at clinics on-island, not much since I've been stateside
LORs: 1 Chairman's letter, 1 IM PD at a community hospital, 1 sub-specialist letter at large university hospital

Hopes: university program or large community academic program in the Northeast.
Note - at best my uni has really only placed at the lower to mid-tier university level in the past

WAMC at the following NE academic programs?
Montefiore, St. Lukes Roosevelt, Lenox Hill, Northwell LIJ, UMDNJ, RWJ, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, BU, Tufts, U Conn, U Mass
And I'm open to suggestions too for other academic programs
(I have a bunch of community back-ups too, just trying to see if any of these programs are realistic).

Thanks in advance guys

Monte, Jefferson, BU and Tufts probably won't even look at your application
You need to add Stony Brook, SUNY downstate, programs in upstate NY like Albany, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Buffalo

 

[VCorp]

Monte, Jefferson, BU and Tufts probably won't even look at your application
You need to add Stony Brook, SUNY downstate, programs in upstate NY like Albany, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Buffalo

Your step 1 and pubs are a bit low for a mid tier university match. I would assume you will get an interview from Drexel, RWJ and a few of the ny ones listed. Best advice is to apply to any place that has taken more than 1 Carib IMG in the past year or two. There are tons of different reasons schools might invite you for an interview, so I cannot give you a concrete list. If you are from the area certain programs might send you an invite, or if you meet their mission. I would not rule out decent community programs, as some are better than the lower tier IMG mill university programs.

Do you guys know what the minimum Step 1 score is for Drexel? Will a 229 make the cut?

 

[whoknows2012]

Do you guys know what the minimum Step 1 score is for Drexel? Will a 229 make the cut?

Hard to say. The cut off is def not above 230 for an amg but it could be for img/fmg. Can't hurt to apply

 

[whoknows2012]

.

 

[Imagoober]

Hi Everyone. Would really appreciate some help as I want to make sure to match into a decent IM program with possibility of fellowship down the road. I've chosen to apply only in TX, OK, LA, CA, and IL because of family reasons (wife and son in Texas, school in IL, originally from soCA and undergrad in noCA). Thanks for reading!

Questions:
1) Do I need to add or drop any programs?
2) Should I broaden my geographical range?
3) Any other tips or insider advice?

US MD from Midwest (school not ranked)
Class Rank: Bottom 25%
Step 1: 209
Step 2CK/CS: scheduled for Oct/Dec
M3: All Pass, except for High Pass in FM and Peds
Research: 1 pub and 1 presentation before medical school and 1 presentation during medical school
EC: Lots of activities

Super Reach:
UTSW
BCM
BUMC
University of Chicago
Cedars-Sinai
-applying because either I will rotate here or my school has sent students here within the last year or two

Still a Reach:
USC
Harbor/UCLA
Olive View/UCLA
Scripps Green
UC Irvine
UC Davis
Rush
Loyola
Methodist Houston

Safer, but still not out of the woods:
Loma Linda
Kaiser - Oakland, SF, Santa Clara, LA
Santa Clara Valley
Scripps Mercy
Huntington Memorial
CPMC
Santa Barbara Cottage
UIC
University of Chicago North Shore
UT Houston, San Antonio, UTMB
Texas A&M Scott & White
Texas Health Presbyterian
Texas Tech Lubbock
LSU - New Orleans
LSU - Baton Rouge
Tulane
Univ of Oklahoma

Finally Safe?
UC Riverside
UIC Peoria
Advocate Christ
Advocate Masonic
Advocate Lutheran
UT Austin
Methodist Dallas
Plaza Medical Center

 

[hiliter]

.

 

[Kumaon]

Very broad question to keep it simple: to what degree does a failed comlex PE affect chances of interview at acgme community programs? im applying to all the 20-30 in state programs, money be damned, do i need to branch out farther than that?

For context, usmle 219/237 and comlex 550/660 (60th and 90th percentile, approximately). And repeat PE already passed.

 

[IMPD]

Very broad question to keep it simple: to what degree does a failed comlex PE affect chances of interview at acgme community programs? im applying to all the 20-30 in state programs, money be damned, do i need to branch out farther than that?

For context, usmle 219/237 and comlex 550/660 (60th and 90th percentile, approximately). And repeat PE already passed.

The failed CS/PE exam matters only if you are extremely awkward in person.

If this is the case, your application may get severely downgraded. As most often happens, however, it was a case where you didn't understand some instruction and/or had some weird interaction. I've never met any student that I'd downgrade for failing this exam (ONCE). I've met many awkward as heck students. Passing the CS/PE exam actually helps them.

 

[hiliter]

.

 

[Murfdaddy1288]

Curious if anyone had any thoughts, as I didn't really much of a reply earlier.

School: top 30
Step 1: 246
Step2 CK: pending
Class rank: top half, not AOA
Third year: HP medicine, mostly HP's with some P's and H's
Research: 6 publications (3 first author), multiple poster presentations and research grants (4 from current institution and 2 national from the American Medical Association and AOA)

I know the non-AOA and HP in internal will more than likely hurt my chances at places like MGH, Brigham, Duke, etc but any suggestions in regards to other programs to consider applying to and chances at such as Beth Israel, Cornell, Mayo etc?

Worried that my list may be a little top heavy.

Thanks!


U. Alabama
UCLA Medical Center
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
Stanford
U. Colorado
Yale
U. of Iowa
Northwestern
U. of Chicago
U. Kentucky
Beth Israel
Brigham
MGH
Johns Hopkins
U of Michigan
Mayo Clinic
Washington University
UNC
Duke
Icahn School at Mt. Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
New York University
University of Rochester
Cleveland Clinic
OHSU
U. Penn
UPMC
MUSC
Vanderbilt
UT Southwestern
Baylor
U. Utah
UVA
U Washington
University of Wisconsin

 

[NoLollipops4U]

I think your list is very reasonable. You already have plenty of community programs so not sure why you have to add 30 more. Your list is all over the map but one place that's missing is SUNY downstate.


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Thanks for getting back to me. I think I will be adding a few more community programs and removing most of the reach. I got my Step 2 CK score today and got in the 220s unfortunately. Computer crashed during my exam for half hour and threw me off. It is what it is. I would probably not release my Step 2CK score but I was planning to release my ERAS app tonight, so by timing of my Step 2CK results today......it will be included in my app during submission. COMLEX level 2 felt a lot better so hopefully that helps somehow.

But yeah, Step 2 definitely through off my plans.

 

[Kumaon]

The failed CS/PE exam matters only if you are extremely awkward in person.

If this is the case, your application may get severely downgraded. As most often happens, however, it was a case where you didn't understand some instruction and/or had some weird interaction. I've never met any student that I'd downgrade for failing this exam (ONCE). I've met many awkward as heck students. Passing the CS/PE exam actually helps them.

thanks, much appreciated

 

[bullethead]

Hey US img here I have applied over 80 programs that are img friendly my stats are:

Step1: 240
Step2: 232
Cs: pass

I'm looking to match into nyc. Do I have a good shot? And should I release my step 2 scores even though it dropped 8 pts?
Some advise is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[gutonc]

Hey US img here I have applied over 80 programs that are img friendly my stats are:

Step1: 240
Step2: 232
Cs: pass

I'm looking to match into nyc. Do I have a good shot? And should I release my step 2 scores even though it dropped 8 pts?
Some advise is greatly appreciated, thanks!

You're an IMG. You need to release all your scores or you won't get a single look.

 

[AnastomoSteve]

US MD low tier Midwest
Step 1- 245
Step 2- ???
Class rank: Top quartile
3rd year grades: Honors in all clerkships
AOA: Yes
Research:
-Year off - considered PhD but nah. Secured 30K+ funding for research year - no pubs, one oral presentation
-Totals - 2 Pubs, 5 oral presentations, 3 posters, 1 national med student research fellowship
EC: Strong service, leadership, and teaching
LOR: Should all be good

Wondering chances at higher tier programs:
BWH
MGH
UCSF
Duke
Vanderbilt
UMich
Mayo
UPenn
Yale
WashU
UChi
UPMC

Thanks!

 

[IM88]

US MD low tier Midwest
Step 1- 245
Step 2- ???
Class rank: Top quartile
3rd year grades: Honors in all clerkships
AOA: Yes
Research:
-Year off - considered PhD but nah. Secured 30K+ funding for research year - no pubs, one oral presentation
-Totals - 2 Pubs, 5 oral presentations, 3 posters, 1 national med student research fellowship
EC: Strong service, leadership, and teaching
LOR: Should all be good

Wondering chances at higher tier programs:
BWH
MGH
UCSF
Duke
Vanderbilt
UMich
Mayo
UPenn
Yale
WashU
UChi
UPMC

Thanks!

You'll almost definitely get interviews at some of these programs. Another factor is whether other students from your school have interviewed or matched in the past.

 

[gutonc]

US MD low tier Midwest
Step 1- 245
Step 2- ???
Class rank: Top quartile
3rd year grades: Honors in all clerkships
AOA: Yes
Research:
-Year off - considered PhD but nah. Secured 30K+ funding for research year - no pubs, one oral presentation
-Totals - 2 Pubs, 5 oral presentations, 3 posters, 1 national med student research fellowship
EC: Strong service, leadership, and teaching
LOR: Should all be good

Wondering chances at higher tier programs:
BWH
MGH
UCSF
Duke
Vanderbilt
UMich
Mayo
UPenn
Yale
WashU
UChi
UPMC

Thanks!

You'll get IV offers from 1/3 to 1/2 of those places, maybe more.

I'm going to put on my "Amazing Kreskin" hat (look it up) and say:
Probably MGH, Mayo, Yale, WU and UPMC
Maybe UC, UMich, Vandy, BWH
Probably not Duke, UCSF, Penn

As long as that's not your entire list, you're fine.

 

[xoggyux]

Hello,
I know there are dozens if not hundreds of threads on this topic but many are old and many are not quite have same specifics as my problem so it is hard for me to judge.
I am applying to internal medicine and family medicine (I understand this is IM part so I only expect IM part of my question answer which should cover my whole question anyhow) with a preference for internal medicine (reasons which include the ability to specialize into more areas if I do choose to in 3 years, at the moment I'm thinking about hospitalist/primary practice work mostly).
My major issue is that I had academic problems during my first 2 years of medschool and low step 1 as an IMG.
Here is a breakdown if my good/bad news.

The bad:
Poor performance in first 2 years. In particular I had to repeat on probation 3rd and 4th semester at my school due to performance issues.
Low step 1 score (first pass) of 196
IMG (Caribbean medical school, Ross University if that makes any difference)

The good:
Excellent clinical clerkship performance since my problem. (Got the highest grade in all clinical clerkship so far and I only have 1 more to go which i don't expect to be any different). My school records them as A but i think in the MSPE will show as honors or high honors whatever is considered the highest.
Improved Step 2 CK: I got a 247
I expect my letters of recommendation to be good/very good. Obviously I have not read anything on them but my IM preceptor during my core rotation was more than happy and she has helped me a lot and has advised also about application (and recommended me to apply also to family medicine before I had my step 2 results which I was going to do anyway). Other letters writers actually offered themselves to do it for me before I even asked them and I expect those to be great as well.
I speak Spanish fluently and many of the programs I applied to have large Hispanic population.
I have green card (expect to have citizenship by the time program begins as im at the end of my citizenship process, bio metrics taken already)
I am graduating this year (November 30 i believe is graduation date) so long time after graduation should not be a problem.
I had a publication prior to medical school in a major scientific journal (Scientific Reports, which is part of the Nature journal) about stem cells in which i'm listed in the authors section. (probably won't matter but i think it helps show that I have always been a dedicated student which happen to have a bad period).

I bit more about my situation:
I am usually a good/great student. I had problems during the first 2 years of medical school which began when between semester 2 and semester 3 started having a bother in my mandible that turned out to be an keratocyst. I had to take 1 semester off for surgery and recovery and upon my return to the island it was hard for me to re-adjust, I had lost the rhythm, my friends which I used to study moved on to higher semester etc. All of that was compounded when I started having family problems back at home, my grandfather got terminally ill (later passed away), my grandmother's husband also got terminally ill and also passed away, my grandmother herself was found to have a breast mass (CA, but after surgery she is doing ok). Well in conclusion everything came together like a perfect storm and I ended up repeating semester 3/4 with an additional gap semester due to probation. I barely passed step 1 but on the good side of the story it was a first time pass. I am not saying all of this as an excuse but rather as an explanation. The plain and simple truth is that I was overwhelmed and I did not know how to handle being away from home, having all this studying to do and family problems on top of it. Practice and time taught me to deal with all of this but they certainly took a toll in my performance before I was able to adapt (the problems did not simply disappear when I got to 3rd year, they were there but I was better able to handle them). I did not explain any of this in my PS, I do not/did not want to seem defensive or making up excuses but I do fully expect this topic to be part of my interview (was not mentioning it in the personal statement an error?)
For a while I was at the edge of giving up for obvious reason but medicine is really the only thing i want to do so that was not much of an option for me. I worked hard during my clerkship and did average (US average as reported by NBME) or above average in my shelf and finally a step 2 of 247.
I have spoken with my school offices and heads of FM and IM departments and they don't seem to preoccupied (even without knowing my improved step 2 score) since they claim our school has a 90% first time match for applicants and that number goes up to 95% if no board exam was failed. Regardless of whether those numbers are accurate or has gone through some kind of "statistical enhancement technique" they seem fairly good but I am still worried (as I should since i know how bad my application is).

Obviously I applied broadly (200+ IM programs, 100+ FM programs) with focus on programs that have taken students from my school or other Caribbean schools. And obviously I am doing and will continue to do as much "networking" as I can.

I would like to know basically how "screwed" am I really. I mean do I stand a chance go get a handful (4-5+?) interview to have a decent chance at matching into IM? I believe if I am interviewed I have a good chance as I believe I interview well. I mean if I go by what my school said when they did not even know I did much better in step 2 it should be a fairly good chances of matching into FM and a low but still acceptable chance into IM. I am hoping my step 2 ck significantly raises my chances.
By the way. I did do step 2CS in Aug and should have results by october 14th or so. I am fairly certain that I passed it, I really got out of it thinking it was pretty good.

Finally, again I understand this is IM section so im only expecting for IM response, but if anyone has an opinion about FM please let me know.

Anyhow, thank you for your help. Sorry for the long post.

 

[tantacles]

Hello,
I know there are dozens if not hundreds of threads on this topic but many are old and many are not quite have same specifics as my problem so it is hard for me to judge.
I am applying to internal medicine and family medicine (I understand this is IM part so I only expect IM part of my question answer which should cover my whole question anyhow) with a preference for internal medicine (reasons which include the ability to specialize into more areas if I do choose to in 3 years, at the moment I'm thinking about hospitalist/primary practice work mostly).
My major issue is that I had academic problems during my first 2 years of medschool and low step 1 as an IMG.
Here is a breakdown if my good/bad news.

The bad:
Poor performance in first 2 years. In particular I had to repeat on probation 3rd and 4th semester at my school due to performance issues.
Low step 1 score (first pass) of 196
IMG (Caribbean medical school, Ross University if that makes any difference)

The good:
Excellent clinical clerkship performance since my problem. (Got the highest grade in all clinical clerkship so far and I only have 1 more to go which i don't expect to be any different). My school records them as A but i think in the MSPE will show as honors or high honors whatever is considered the highest.
Improved Step 2 CK: I got a 247
I expect my letters of recommendation to be good/very good. Obviously I have not read anything on them but my IM preceptor during my core rotation was more than happy and she has helped me a lot and has advised also about application (and recommended me to apply also to family medicine before I had my step 2 results which I was going to do anyway). Other letters writers actually offered themselves to do it for me before I even asked them and I expect those to be great as well.
I speak Spanish fluently and many of the programs I applied to have large Hispanic population.
I have green card (expect to have citizenship by the time program begins as im at the end of my citizenship process, bio metrics taken already)
I am graduating this year (November 30 i believe is graduation date) so long time after graduation should not be a problem.
I had a publication prior to medical school in a major scientific journal (Scientific Reports, which is part of the Nature journal) about stem cells in which i'm listed in the authors section. (probably won't matter but i think it helps show that I have always been a dedicated student which happen to have a bad period).

I bit more about my situation:
I am usually a good/great student. I had problems during the first 2 years of medical school which began when between semester 2 and semester 3 started having a bother in my mandible that turned out to be an keratocyst. I had to take 1 semester off for surgery and recovery and upon my return to the island it was hard for me to re-adjust, I had lost the rhythm, my friends which I used to study moved on to higher semester etc. All of that was compounded when I started having family problems back at home, my grandfather got terminally ill (later passed away), my grandmother's husband also got terminally ill and also passed away, my grandmother herself was found to have a breast mass (CA, but after surgery she is doing ok). Well in conclusion everything came together like a perfect storm and I ended up repeating semester 3/4 with an additional gap semester due to probation. I barely passed step 1 but on the good side of the story it was a first time pass. I am not saying all of this as an excuse but rather as an explanation. The plain and simple truth is that I was overwhelmed and I did not know how to handle being away from home, having all this studying to do and family problems on top of it. Practice and time taught me to deal with all of this but they certainly took a toll in my performance before I was able to adapt (the problems did not simply disappear when I got to 3rd year, they were there but I was better able to handle them). I did not explain any of this in my PS, I do not/did not want to seem defensive or making up excuses but I do fully expect this topic to be part of my interview (was not mentioning it in the personal statement an error?)
For a while I was at the edge of giving up for obvious reason but medicine is really the only thing i want to do so that was not much of an option for me. I worked hard during my clerkship and did average (US average as reported by NBME) or above average in my shelf and finally a step 2 of 247.
I have spoken with my school offices and heads of FM and IM departments and they don't seem to preoccupied (even without knowing my improved step 2 score) since they claim our school has a 90% first time match for applicants and that number goes up to 95% if no board exam was failed. Regardless of whether those numbers are accurate or has gone through some kind of "statistical enhancement technique" they seem fairly good but I am still worried (as I should since i know how bad my application is).

Obviously I applied broadly (200+ IM programs, 100+ FM programs) with focus on programs that have taken students from my school or other Caribbean schools. And obviously I am doing and will continue to do as much "networking" as I can.

I would like to know basically how "screwed" am I really. I mean do I stand a chance go get a handful (4-5+?) interview to have a decent chance at matching into IM? I believe if I am interviewed I have a good chance as I believe I interview well. I mean if I go by what my school said when they did not even know I did much better in step 2 it should be a fairly good chances of matching into FM and a low but still acceptable chance into IM. I am hoping my step 2 ck significantly raises my chances.
By the way. I did do step 2CS in Aug and should have results by october 14th or so. I am fairly certain that I passed it, I really got out of it thinking it was pretty good.

Finally, again I understand this is IM section so im only expecting for IM response, but if anyone has an opinion about FM please let me know.

Anyhow, thank you for your help. Sorry for the long post.

Merging with IM WAMC thread.

 

[unleash500]

TLDR. Do you have a summary version? I hope your application wasn't this wordy.

Hello,
I know there are dozens if not hundreds of threads on this topic but many are old and many are not quite have same specifics as my problem so it is hard for me to judge.
I am applying to internal medicine and family medicine (I understand this is IM part so I only expect IM part of my question answer which should cover my whole question anyhow) with a preference for internal medicine (reasons which include the ability to specialize into more areas if I do choose to in 3 years, at the moment I'm thinking about hospitalist/primary practice work mostly).
My major issue is that I had academic problems during my first 2 years of medschool and low step 1 as an IMG.
Here is a breakdown if my good/bad news.

The bad:
Poor performance in first 2 years. In particular I had to repeat on probation 3rd and 4th semester at my school due to performance issues.
Low step 1 score (first pass) of 196
IMG (Caribbean medical school, Ross University if that makes any difference)

The good:
Excellent clinical clerkship performance since my problem. (Got the highest grade in all clinical clerkship so far and I only have 1 more to go which i don't expect to be any different). My school records them as A but i think in the MSPE will show as honors or high honors whatever is considered the highest.
Improved Step 2 CK: I got a 247
I expect my letters of recommendation to be good/very good. Obviously I have not read anything on them but my IM preceptor during my core rotation was more than happy and she has helped me a lot and has advised also about application (and recommended me to apply also to family medicine before I had my step 2 results which I was going to do anyway). Other letters writers actually offered themselves to do it for me before I even asked them and I expect those to be great as well.
I speak Spanish fluently and many of the programs I applied to have large Hispanic population.
I have green card (expect to have citizenship by the time program begins as im at the end of my citizenship process, bio metrics taken already)
I am graduating this year (November 30 i believe is graduation date) so long time after graduation should not be a problem.
I had a publication prior to medical school in a major scientific journal (Scientific Reports, which is part of the Nature journal) about stem cells in which i'm listed in the authors section. (probably won't matter but i think it helps show that I have always been a dedicated student which happen to have a bad period).

I bit more about my situation:
I am usually a good/great student. I had problems during the first 2 years of medical school which began when between semester 2 and semester 3 started having a bother in my mandible that turned out to be an keratocyst. I had to take 1 semester off for surgery and recovery and upon my return to the island it was hard for me to re-adjust, I had lost the rhythm, my friends which I used to study moved on to higher semester etc. All of that was compounded when I started having family problems back at home, my grandfather got terminally ill (later passed away), my grandmother's husband also got terminally ill and also passed away, my grandmother herself was found to have a breast mass (CA, but after surgery she is doing ok). Well in conclusion everything came together like a perfect storm and I ended up repeating semester 3/4 with an additional gap semester due to probation. I barely passed step 1 but on the good side of the story it was a first time pass. I am not saying all of this as an excuse but rather as an explanation. The plain and simple truth is that I was overwhelmed and I did not know how to handle being away from home, having all this studying to do and family problems on top of it. Practice and time taught me to deal with all of this but they certainly took a toll in my performance before I was able to adapt (the problems did not simply disappear when I got to 3rd year, they were there but I was better able to handle them). I did not explain any of this in my PS, I do not/did not want to seem defensive or making up excuses but I do fully expect this topic to be part of my interview (was not mentioning it in the personal statement an error?)
For a while I was at the edge of giving up for obvious reason but medicine is really the only thing i want to do so that was not much of an option for me. I worked hard during my clerkship and did average (US average as reported by NBME) or above average in my shelf and finally a step 2 of 247.
I have spoken with my school offices and heads of FM and IM departments and they don't seem to preoccupied (even without knowing my improved step 2 score) since they claim our school has a 90% first time match for applicants and that number goes up to 95% if no board exam was failed. Regardless of whether those numbers are accurate or has gone through some kind of "statistical enhancement technique" they seem fairly good but I am still worried (as I should since i know how bad my application is).

Obviously I applied broadly (200+ IM programs, 100+ FM programs) with focus on programs that have taken students from my school or other Caribbean schools. And obviously I am doing and will continue to do as much "networking" as I can.

I would like to know basically how "screwed" am I really. I mean do I stand a chance go get a handful (4-5+?) interview to have a decent chance at matching into IM? I believe if I am interviewed I have a good chance as I believe I interview well. I mean if I go by what my school said when they did not even know I did much better in step 2 it should be a fairly good chances of matching into FM and a low but still acceptable chance into IM. I am hoping my step 2 ck significantly raises my chances.
By the way. I did do step 2CS in Aug and should have results by october 14th or so. I am fairly certain that I passed it, I really got out of it thinking it was pretty good.

Finally, again I understand this is IM section so im only expecting for IM response, but if anyone has an opinion about FM please let me know.

Anyhow, thank you for your help. Sorry for the long post.

 

[xoggyux]

TLDR. Do you have a summary version? I hope your application wasn't this wordy.

Haha, fair enough. Short version i think:
Bad step 1 (196, but first time pass), and semesters 3/4 probation during basic sciences. US-IMG (Ross University if that makes a difference)
Good: Step 2 improved to 247, all clinical clerkship great grades, Spanish fluent (native), no need of visa (im permanent resident and likely citizenship by the time I interview almost certainly by the time I start the program).
More info in the previous post as needed or you can ask me again if you want.
Basically I want to know if my how much of an impact the improved step 2 and clerkship performance will help me.

 

[gutonc]

Haha, fair enough. Short version i think:
Bad step 1 (196, but first time pass), and semesters 3/4 probation during basic sciences. US-IMG (Ross University if that makes a difference)
Good: Step 2 improved to 247, all clinical clerkship great grades, Spanish fluent (native), no need of visa (im permanent resident and likely citizenship by the time I interview almost certainly by the time I start the program).
More info in the previous post as needed or you can ask me again if you want.
Basically I want to know if my how much of an impact the improved step 2 and clerkship performance will help me.

Does it really matter now? You've dropped $5K or more on apps. Let the chips fall where they may.

 

[IMreshopeful]

Haha, fair enough. Short version i think:
Bad step 1 (196, but first time pass), and semesters 3/4 probation during basic sciences. US-IMG (Ross University if that makes a difference)
Good: Step 2 improved to 247, all clinical clerkship great grades, Spanish fluent (native), no need of visa (im permanent resident and likely citizenship by the time I interview almost certainly by the time I start the program).
More info in the previous post as needed or you can ask me again if you want.
Basically I want to know if my how much of an impact the improved step 2 and clerkship performance will help me.

I'm not sure how much I believe the 90% figure that your administration is quoting in terms of match rate (they have every incentive to lie) but you have a lot going against your application. That said your significant improvement should work in your favor.

 

[hiliter]

.

 

[HST48]

AMG - Low to Mid Tier Midwestern State School

Step 1- 245
Step 2- 253
Grades: GPA: ~ Top 10%, GPA ~3.9, No Class Rank
Clinical Grades:
- Honors: Medicine: IM, Surgery, Peds, Ob/Gyn, Psych, Family Medicine 2, Infectious Disease (Away), Endocrine/Diabetes (Away)
- High Pass: Family Medicine 1 (My School Requires 2 Family Med Rotations)
AOA: Elections Held in Senior Year
Research: Overall, probably below average.
- 2 Month Out of Town Research Assistantship Resulting in 1 Oral and 1 Poster Presentation at a International Conference.
- 1 Current Ongoing Project.
Extracurriculars: Overall above average
LOR: 3 solid letters all from IM
Other: My fiance just started law school in Boston, so I am targeting Boston/New England area as my number 1 choice.

Programs Being Considered
1. Boston/New England: BIDMC, Brigham & Women's, Tufts, Boston University, Brown, Dartmouth Yale, U. Conn, Tufts Baystate
2. Washington D.C Area: Georgetown University, Georgetown Washington Medical Center , GW, Hopkins Bayview, UVA
3. Philly: Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson
3. Other Rutgers (Both RWDJ and NJM), SUNY-UB, Univ. of Rochester, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, Pitt., Univ. of Michigan, Emory, USF, Duke, UNC

 

[gutonc]

AMG - Low to Mid Tier Midwestern State School

Step 1- 245
Step 2- 253
Grades: GPA: ~ Top 10%, GPA ~3.9, No Class Rank
Clinical Grades:
- Honors: Medicine: IM, Surgery, Peds, Ob/Gyn, Psych, Family Medicine 2, Infectious Disease (Away), Endocrine/Diabetes (Away)
- High Pass: Family Medicine 1 (My School Requires 2 Family Med Rotations)
AOA: Elections Held in Senior Year
Research: Overall, probably below average.
- 2 Month Out of Town Research Assistantship Resulting in 1 Oral and 1 Poster Presentation at a International Conference.
- 1 Current Ongoing Project.
Extracurriculars: Overall above average
LOR: 3 solid letters all from IM
Other: My fiance just started law school in Boston, so I am targeting Boston/New England area as my number 1 choice.

Programs Being Considered
1. Boston/New England: BIDMC, Brigham & Women's, Tufts, Boston University, Brown, Dartmouth Yale, U. Conn, Tufts Baystate
2. Washington D.C Area: Georgetown University, Georgetown Washington Medical Center , GW, Hopkins Bayview, UVA
3. Philly: Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson
3. Other Rutgers (Both RWDJ and NJM), SUNY-UB, Univ. of Rochester, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, Pitt., Univ. of Michigan, Emory, USF, Duke, UNC

It's way easier to get back and forth between Boston and NYC than Boston and Philly or DC. Just saying.
Monte (could also do other NYC programs if you're so inclined)
UMass
Dartmouth
UVM
Albany

Also, USF? WTF?

 

[235009]

AMG - Low to Mid Tier Midwestern State School

Step 1- 245
Step 2- 253
Grades: GPA: ~ Top 10%, GPA ~3.9, No Class Rank
Clinical Grades:
- Honors: Medicine: IM, Surgery, Peds, Ob/Gyn, Psych, Family Medicine 2, Infectious Disease (Away), Endocrine/Diabetes (Away)
- High Pass: Family Medicine 1 (My School Requires 2 Family Med Rotations)
AOA: Elections Held in Senior Year
Research: Overall, probably below average.
- 2 Month Out of Town Research Assistantship Resulting in 1 Oral and 1 Poster Presentation at a International Conference.
- 1 Current Ongoing Project.
Extracurriculars: Overall above average
LOR: 3 solid letters all from IM
Other: My fiance just started law school in Boston, so I am targeting Boston/New England area as my number 1 choice.

Programs Being Considered
1. Boston/New England: BIDMC, Brigham & Women's, Tufts, Boston University, Brown, Dartmouth Yale, U. Conn, Tufts Baystate
2. Washington D.C Area: Georgetown University, Georgetown Washington Medical Center , GW, Hopkins Bayview, UVA
3. Philly: Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson
3. Other Rutgers (Both RWDJ and NJM), SUNY-UB, Univ. of Rochester, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, Pitt., Univ. of Michigan, Emory, USF, Duke, UNC

I disagree that it's "easier" to get to boston from nyc. While it's closer it's very difficult and expensive to fly out of nyc and the traffic when taking the bus can be a nightmare. Whereas there are cheap direct flights from Baltimore and DC to boston.

Regardless I think with your stats if you add UMass to the rest of your new England list you're essentially guaranteed to match there as long as you are very clear and upfront about your regional preference. With your scores MGH is also reasonable. I would then drop many if not all of the programs you listed under "other".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[gutonc]

I disagree that it's "easier" to get to boston from nyc. While it's closer it's very difficult and expensive to fly out of nyc and the traffic when taking the bus can be a nightmare. Whereas there are cheap direct flights from Baltimore and DC to boston.

Acela Express

Flying from anywhere into Boston is expensive and annoying.

But I agree that matching north of Connecticut shouldn't be a problem.

 

[235009]

Acela Express

Flying from anywhere into Boston is expensive and annoying.

But I agree that matching north of Connecticut shouldn't be a problem.

Acela is more expensive than flying
Regular train is $50 each way if you buy well in advance but not during holidays

The airport in boston is very accessible and not crazy congested compared to many other American airports. Flights from Baltimore are as low as $40 each way. A bit more from DC.

This is all from experience. Not just theoretical.




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[HST48]

It's way easier to get back and forth between Boston and NYC than Boston and Philly or DC. Just saying.
Monte (could also do other NYC programs if you're so inclined)
UMass
Dartmouth
UVM
Albany

Also, USF? WTF?

I completely agree that NYC is a reasonable and do-able option, and has many fantastic programs. I am applying to a few programs that I did not list in NYC... Not applying as heavily in NYC was more of a personal preference than anything.

I forgot to list UMass to my list and I am applying there.

As for USF, I know it seems random, but I have a ton of family that lives in Tampa and I had lived there for a couple of years which is why it is on the list (I also have family in Philly).

 

[hiliter]

.

 

[235009]

Didn't get a reply so just bumping it up.. just want to know if I should add more programs (especially safer)...thanks!

Switched from surg to medicine.

US MD low tier Northeast
Step 1- 247
Step 2- 248
Class rank: 2nd quartile
3rd year grades: H: Surg, FP HP: IM, Peds, Ob/gyn, Psych P: neuro
4th year grades: H: surgery subI at home institution and away HP: sub I IM 🙁
AOA: No
Research: 1 Pub (1st author), 2 oral presentation, 2 poster presentation
EC: average-to-good volunteer etc.
LOR: decent-good. 2 from IM, 1 from surgery

Reach: BIDMC, Mt. Sinai, Cornell, Columbia, Yale
Target: BU, Pitt, Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth, Georgetown, JHU Bayview, Montefiore, NYU, Temple, Jefferson, Maryland
Safer: UMass, Rutgers, NSLIJ

Looks fine to me


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[hiliter]

Appreciate it MeatTornado!

 

[jklop90]

Hi everyone,
This is my first time using SDN ( I don't know how I made it 4 years w/o this resource). Will definitely pay it forward with the 2017 Match thread! I know it's kinda late to post, but I'm seeking some advice...

AMG
Med school: Top 40 NE
Step 1: High 230s
Step 2: High 240s
Class rank: not sure (prob top quartile)
Grades: H in everything except FM and IM (just didn't work out in my favor), H in sub-I
AOA: yes
GHHS: yes
Research: 4 publications (non first author), 2 oral presentations, 2 poster presentations, other ongoing research
Extracurricular: exceptionally strong, leader in many groups, teaching, tutor, lots of community service
LORs: strong

Programs Applied:
1. Boston/New England: BIDMC, Brigham & Women's, MGH, Tufts, Boston University, Brown, Yale
2. NYC: Columbia, Cornell, Mt. Sinai, NYU, Montefiore
3. D.C Area: Georgetown University, GW, John's Hopkins, Hopkins Bayview, Howard, University of Maryland
4. Philly: Temple, Penn, Thomas Jefferson, UPMC
5. South: Duke, Emory, Vandy, UNC, Emory
6. Other: Northwestern, UChicago

I have no ties to the west coast, but I am not regionally limited...

The questions I have are:
1. Is my list too top-heavy? If so, what are other strong (but safe) NE programs?
2. Will my non-H in Medicine screen me out of most of the programs I applied to given my overall app?
3. Should I consider adding programs like Mayo and WashU, given their strong reputation but more leniency when it comes to screening?

Any advice is greatly appreciated (I'm looking at you gutonc ;-) ) ! Thanks guys and good luck with the interview process 🙂

 

[Studentdoctor1793]

Hi. Just received my Step 1 score of 198. Interest in IM/neuro (child or adult - undecided). I have done one internship with an IM doctor who I think will give me an LOR; an elective with a community paediatrician who I believe will also give me an LOR. That's it for USCE. Overall quite an average medical student. Any hope in continuing?

Also I keep reading about people getting Honors on their clerkship evaluations - there is no such thing in my school. We just do our rotations in our various departments and have an exam that we have to pass/fail at the end. How will these help?

(Part of me is hoping for sympathy as dreams crushed etc. plus my dad won't speak to me because of this. But please give it to me straight. Honesty is appreciated!)

Thank you in advance.