Official Eternal IM WAMC Thread

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Med School: US MD - low ranked school in NE
Step 1: 250+
Step 2 CK: Not taken yet
Rank: most likely 2nd quartile
Clerkship grade: H - medicine SubI, psych, HP - IM, Surgery, ObGyn, P - peds, FM
Research: 10 posters/pubs/papers (4 papers, 1 is 1st author), 2 1st author papers in the works.
EC: average stuff

Wondering what my chances are at academic programs on the East and West Coasts (CA-native)

Super reaches - Stanford, UCSF, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard programs
Reaches - UCLA, UCSD, UW, Yale, NYU
More realistic - California community programs, UCI, UCD, Tufts, BU, GW

Had a similar profile to this. Though your step score and research are good, HP in medicine at a non-top tier school will limit you. UCLA and UW would probably be in the 'super reaches' category but you should be in good shape for your 'more realistic' list.

 

[oswaddup]

Med School: Unranked US MD school (newer school)
Step 1: 248
Step 2 CK: Waiting on score
Step 2 CS: Pass
Rank: 1st quartile
Clerkship grade: Honors in medicine, HP in everything else
Research: A couple 2nd-4th author basic science publications, a few poster presentations, lots of wet lab experience
ECs: Volunteering and club involvement

Any advice for preparing an application list would be hugely appreciated. Interested in training at an academic program and pursuing Hem/Onc fellowship. I am wondering about my chances at programs like UC Denver, Emory, BU, Jefferson, UMiami, USC - prefer East Coast to West but not picky. Concerned about not coming from a top/established med school and possibly not rocking Step 1 hard enough.

 

[whoknows2012]

Med School: Unranked US MD school (newer school)
Step 1: 248
Step 2 CK: Waiting on score
Step 2 CS: Pass
Rank: 1st quartile
Clerkship grade: Honors in medicine, HP in everything else
Research: A couple 2nd-4th author basic science publications, a few poster presentations, lots of wet lab experience
ECs: Volunteering and club involvement

Any advice for preparing an application list would be hugely appreciated. Interested in training at an academic program and pursuing Hem/Onc fellowship. I am wondering about my chances at programs like UC Denver, Emory, BU, Jefferson, UMiami, USC - prefer East Coast to West but not picky. Concerned about not coming from a top/established med school and possibly not rocking Step 1 hard enough.

Below are some good options as well

Brown
Dartmouth
Tufts
Montefiore (aecom)
NSLIJ
RWJ
Temple
Maryland
Georgetown

In addition to the ones you inquired about. With you app you should be able to match at a solid academic program certainly of the caliber of Jefferson BU etc. it’s still worth applying to reaches but don’t expect a ton of love from those programs

 

[Milotic]

Med School: Unranked US MD school (newer school)
Step 1: 248
Step 2 CK: Waiting on score
Step 2 CS: Pass
Rank: 1st quartile
Clerkship grade: Honors in medicine, HP in everything else
Research: A couple 2nd-4th author basic science publications, a few poster presentations, lots of wet lab experience
ECs: Volunteering and club involvement

Any advice for preparing an application list would be hugely appreciated. Interested in training at an academic program and pursuing Hem/Onc fellowship. I am wondering about my chances at programs like UC Denver, Emory, BU, Jefferson, UMiami, USC - prefer East Coast to West but not picky. Concerned about not coming from a top/established med school and possibly not rocking Step 1 hard enough.

Just basing your stats compared to myself an others in my Low-tier MD school.

Safeties: USC (people sub-230 matched here)

Target: Denver, Emory, BU, Jefferson, Miami

Reach: If northeast is your goal, The big 4 in NYC, Harvard hospitals in Boston.

I think other targets in the Northeast for you would be Brown, Tufts, Montefiore.

 

[Milotic]

Med School: US MD - low ranked school in NE
Step 1: 250+
Step 2 CK: Not taken yet
Rank: most likely 2nd quartile
Clerkship grade: H - medicine SubI, psych, HP - IM, Surgery, ObGyn, P - peds, FM
Research: 10 posters/pubs/papers (4 papers, 1 is 1st author), 2 1st author papers in the works.
EC: average stuff

Wondering what my chances are at academic programs on the East and West Coasts (CA-native)

Super reaches - Stanford, UCSF, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard programs
Reaches - UCLA, UCSD, UW, Yale, NYU
More realistic - California community programs, UCI, UCD, Tufts, BU, GW

I was also Low ranked MD school with lower stats than you. This is based on myself and classmates with their stats.

You actually have a good shot at the big 4 in NY (Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Mt Sinai)
The Harvard programs have this weird AOA fetish so if you can get that then you may get interviews there.

Super reaches: I'd say UCLA, Harvard ones, UCSF. These like name branded med schools
Reaches: NYC Big 4, Stanford
Targets: UCSD, Yale, UW.
Target-Safeties: UCI, BU, Tufts, GW, Montefiore (Just because all the top applicants Apply/Interview at these ones as backup to Top tiers)
Mega Safety: USC, Cedars, Scripps, Kaisers, (I got interviews at all of these).

 

[Milotic]

Anyone have any thoughts?

Of the ones you listed:
Reach: OHSU, UW, BIDMC
Target (You should def get interviews here): BU, Tufts. UPMC and Hopkins-Bayview (most likely)
Safety: Cedars and Scripps. You may want to email these guys if you aren't from california because they didn't seem to interview over-qualified applicants from out of state unless they expressed interest.

 

[manofmen]

Med School: US MD top 20
Step 1: 260+
Step 2 CK: will take after ERAS submit
Rank: not sure
Clerkship grade: high pass medicine, OBGYN, rest honors
Research: 1 poster, 4 ongoing projects that unlikely to be published by ERAS submit time
ECs: Pretty significant involvement in community health orgs, volunteering

CA native, wondering what changes are like on academic programs on West and East Coast. Will the lack of publications by 9/15 severely hurt my application or can I update programs as papers accept/are published? I'm also concerned about the Medicine HP/lack of junior AOA; how much does this limit my application? Thanks so much for the help!

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Med School: US MD top 20
Step 1: 260+
Step 2 CK: will take after ERAS submit
Rank: not sure
Clerkship grade: high pass medicine, OBGYN, rest honors
Research: 1 poster, 4 ongoing projects that unlikely to be published by ERAS submit time
ECs: Pretty significant involvement in community health orgs, volunteering

CA native, wondering what changes are like on academic programs on West and East Coast. Will the lack of publications by 9/15 severely hurt my application or can I update programs as papers accept/are published? I'm also concerned about the Medicine HP/lack of junior AOA; how much does this limit my application? Thanks so much for the help!

You will get a lot of IVs and match somewhere great. The high pass in medicine is more than made up for by stellar step scores, medical school rank, and ECs (if they're as significant as you make them out to be). I would suggest tailoring your application to emphasize those interests.

On a side note, it is completely acceptable to put down manuscripts if you've submitted them and update programs once you get a decision. What you should NOT do is to list "submitted" if you're furiously working on it still. Maybe not so much for IM at a lot of institutions but the ones you're targeting have faculty who are on the editors of journals and they just may call BS if you haven't actually submitted.

Good luck, you'll get many IVs to the tier of top programs that are not the big-4, who tend to like research/AOA a little bit more.

 

[djohnmustard]

Non-US IMG here.

Im going for a shotgun approach and will be applying to numerous community programs and want to know if I should bother applying for university programs or if it will be a waste of money. If university programs are within reach, what ‘tier’ programs are reasonable to apply for in my situation ? Thanks !

Step 1 : 244
CK : 252
CS : 1st pass
Step 3 : will be taking this fall
USCE : 3 months clerkship with LORs
Pubs : 6 all first authors
YOG : 2018

 

[W19]

Non-US IMG here.

Im going for a shotgun approach and will be applying to numerous community programs and want to know if I should bother applying for university programs or if it will be a waste of money. If university programs are within reach, what ‘tier’ programs are reasonable to apply for in my situation ? Thanks !

Step 1 : 244
CK : 252
CS : 1st pass
Step 3 : will be taking this fall
USCE : 3 months clerkship with LORs
Pubs : 6 all first authors
YOG : 2018

I think low tier university programs are within reach. For instance, I think you will have a good shot at Florida Atlantic, University of Central Florida etc...

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Med school rank: USNews in the 20s somewhere
USMLE Step 1: 257
USMLE Step 2: 269
Class rank: no idea, I don’t think we do that
AOA: nope
Grades:

B in OBGYN
B+ in IM🙁, peds, neuro
A in Surgery, EM, psych.​

Research: 3 case reports published online. Presented those at national conference. Ongoing research project (systematic review) which will not have anything submitted until late this year at the earliest.
LOR: solid but who really knows
ECs: few leadership things, a couple somewhat unique things, nothing out of this world.

Don’t care THAT much about geography, I’ll go to the best program that I could see myself happy at.

I’d be totally thrilled: UMich, UTSW, UChicago, Northwestern, Duke, Vandy, UWash, BIDMC, Cornell, Mt sinai, NYU, Yale, Mayo, UCSD

Targeting: Emory, UVA, UNC, Baylor, Colorado, Cleveland Clinic, Wisconsin, UCI, UC Davis

Total reaches probs: WashU, Duke, Columbia, UCLA, Penn, Stanford, UCSF

Those programs I listed first where “I’d be thrilled at”, do I have decent shot at getting interviews at any of those?

Yes. Top medical school, stellar step scores, and published research should open up plenty of doors in that list. Lack of AOA will hurt you at some institutions but provided you are not a total snooze during interviews, you'll probably match somewhere in that list.

Also, I like how Duke made it onto your list twice.

 

[aafisahar]

Med school rank: USNews in the 20s somewhere
USMLE Step 1: 257
USMLE Step 2: 269
Class rank: no idea, I don’t think we do that
AOA: nope
Grades:

B in OBGYN
B+ in IM🙁, peds, neuro
A in Surgery, EM, psych.​

Research: 3 case reports published online. Presented those at national conference. Ongoing research project (systematic review) which will not have anything submitted until late this year at the earliest.
LOR: solid but who really knows
ECs: few leadership things, a couple somewhat unique things, nothing out of this world.

Don’t care THAT much about geography, I’ll go to the best program that I could see myself happy at.

I’d be totally thrilled: UMich, UTSW, UChicago, Northwestern, Duke, Vandy, UWash, BIDMC, Cornell, Mt sinai, NYU, Yale, Mayo, UCSD

Targeting: Emory, UVA, UNC, Baylor, Colorado, Cleveland Clinic, Wisconsin, UCI, UC Davis

Total reaches probs: WashU, Duke, Columbia, UCLA, Penn, Stanford, UCSF

Those programs I listed first where “I’d be thrilled at”, do I have decent shot at getting interviews at any of those?

med school: yale, lol not harvard
usmle: 250s+, lol not 260s+
class rank: not aoa is this an app killer
grades: P in everything because my school is dumb!!!1 lol
research: just two first authors in JAMA, lol not very gud amirite guys
LOR: just LORs from DOM chief, couple full professors, probably not gud though guys

WAMC at local state university program? should I apply to 30 back-up community programs?????//

 

[Shams al Deen]

med school: yale, lol not harvard
usmle: 250s+, lol not 260s+
class rank: not aoa is this an app killer
grades: P in everything because my school is dumb!!!1 lol
research: just two first authors in JAMA, lol not very gud amirite guys
LOR: just LORs from DOM chief, couple full professors, probably not gud though guys

WAMC at local state university program? should I apply to 30 back-up community programs?????//

Sarcasm kinda missed the mark there. I got great board scores, that gets you looked at, sure. Doesn’t guarantee much of anything. It matters more for competitive specialties like ortho, not IM. Are you a med student?

 

[Anicetus]

Sarcasm kinda missed the mark there. I got great board scores, that gets you looked at, sure. Doesn’t guarantee much of anything. It matters more for competitive specialties like ortho, not IM. Are you a med student?

To be fair, you have a good shot at almost all IM programs. AOA matters more if you’re at a lower tier medical school, which is the pattern from last year’s cycle. So I wouldn’t sweat those things. Your only job at this point is to not come off like a weirdo in your interview. Just smile, be good looking and make your interviewer laugh and you’re golden.

 

[IMreshopeful]

med school: yale, lol not harvard
usmle: 250s+, lol not 260s+
class rank: not aoa is this an app killer
grades: P in everything because my school is dumb!!!1 lol
research: just two first authors in JAMA, lol not very gud amirite guys
LOR: just LORs from DOM chief, couple full professors, probably not gud though guys

WAMC at local state university program? should I apply to 30 back-up community programs?????//

This is gold hahaha

 

[Harvey Harvardson]

Hi guys, hoping someone can help me with my residency application list.
Med school: DO school in the South
USMLE Step1: 243, COMLEX1: 651
USMLE Step 2: 248, COMLEX 2: Pending
COMLEX PE (CS equivalent): pass 1st attempt
Clinicals: All H's except HP in surgery and geriatrics
SSP (AOA equivalent for DOs)
Research/publications: None
LORs: should be good/ok
ECs/volunteer: average

I'm looking for an IM residency (academic or community) that will leave doors open to future fellowship possibilities (GI/cards) as I'm undecided if I want to pursue one.
My list is very location biased: So far I've got about 50 programs (big or small) from the following places, but I'll only list a few. If anyone wants to suggest others in these area or tell me which ones I have a good chance of getting in/which are reaches, I'd really appreciate it!

Seattle: UW (reach), Virginia Mason
Oregon: OHSU (reach?), and the other 3 in portland
Cali: UCSD, UCI, USD, UC Davis, Kaiser, Cedars-Sinai, a few others
NY: Montefiore, Coney Island, Hofstra/Northwell, a few others (none from big 4)
NJ: Rutgers, Beth Israel
Boston: Boston University ?
Philly: Drexel, Jefferson, Upenn (reach), Albert Einstein, Temple,
DC: George Washington, Georgetown

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Hi guys, hoping someone can help me with my residency application list.
Med school: DO school in the South
USMLE Step1: 243, COMLEX1: 651
USMLE Step 2: 248, COMLEX 2: Pending
COMLEX PE (CS equivalent): pass 1st attempt
Clinicals: All H's except HP in surgery and geriatrics
SSP (AOA equivalent for DOs)
Research/publications: None
LORs: should be good/ok
ECs/volunteer: average

I'm looking for an IM residency (academic or community) that will leave doors open to future fellowship possibilities (GI/cards) as I'm undecided if I want to pursue one.
My list is very location biased: So far I've got about 50 programs (big or small) from the following places, but I'll only list a few. If anyone wants to suggest others in these area or tell me which ones I have a good chance of getting in/which are reaches, I'd really appreciate it!

Seattle: UW (reach), Virginia Mason
Oregon: OHSU (reach?), and the other 3 in portland
Cali: UCSD, UCI, USD, UC Davis, Kaiser, Cedars-Sinai, a few others
NY: Montefiore, Coney Island, Hofstra/Northwell, a few others (none from big 4)
NJ: Rutgers, Beth Israel
Boston: Boston University ?
Philly: Drexel, Jefferson, Upenn (reach), Albert Einstein, Temple,
DC: George Washington, Georgetown

In previous posts I have always advocated for spending extra $$ and applying to mega-reach programs to not have any regrets. However, and I don't mean to sound rude, but your list contains programs that are futile. You have ZERO chance at UW, UCSD, Penn, etc and OHSU, Monte, Jefferson, etc are mega-reaches.

The DO bias is real. You have good but not great scores, lack research, and exhibit no confidence in your LORs. Your ceiling will be mid tier university programs. If I were you, I'd apply to more than 50 programs and apply across the country especially if you want academic training with fellowship opportunities. Good luck.

 

[Harvey Harvardson]

In previous posts I have always advocated for spending extra $$ and applying to mega-reach programs to not have any regrets. However, and I don't mean to sound rude, but your list contains programs that are futile. You have ZERO chance at UW, UCSD, Penn, etc and OHSU, Monte, Jefferson, etc are mega-reaches.

The DO bias is real. You have good but not great scores, lack research, and exhibit no confidence in your LORs. Your ceiling will be mid tier university programs. If I were you, I'd apply to more than 50 programs and apply across the country especially if you want academic training with fellowship opportunities. Good luck.

Are there any on the list that I do have a chance at?

 

[DrWhozits]

To piggy-back on the last poster a little:

3rd year DO Student
USMLE Step 1: low 240s
COMLEX Level 1: 615-625
Grades/Rank: 2nd Quartile
Research: 4 projects, should have two 1st author pubs, 3 poster presentations at least.
EC: nothing remarkable

I should have a letter from a sub-sub-specialty PD that I am doing research with at an ACGME program.

All this to say: I’m trying to figure out generally what places I should put on my preliminary list and as a DO I’d really like to do at least 1 away somewhere that I could get a letter from an academic program. So from the following list, are there any of these I just have no shot at or some that I should focus on more than others:

USF, Wake, MCG, UT-Houston, UTSA, U of Florida, U of Kentucky, U of Tennessee, VCU, Georgetown, George Washington, Ohio State, LSU, Cincy, Miami

And any others you can think of please let me know!

 

[IMreshopeful]

Are there any on the list that I do have a chance at?

NJMS, GWU, Georgetown, Newark BI, Temple, Albert Einstein, Drexel should all be considered

Monte, UCSD, OHSU, Jeff not happening

 

[Anicetus]

Hi guys, hoping someone can help me with my residency application list.
Med school: DO school in the South
USMLE Step1: 243, COMLEX1: 651
USMLE Step 2: 248, COMLEX 2: Pending
COMLEX PE (CS equivalent): pass 1st attempt
Clinicals: All H's except HP in surgery and geriatrics
SSP (AOA equivalent for DOs)
Research/publications: None
LORs: should be good/ok
ECs/volunteer: average

I'm looking for an IM residency (academic or community) that will leave doors open to future fellowship possibilities (GI/cards) as I'm undecided if I want to pursue one.
My list is very location biased: So far I've got about 50 programs (big or small) from the following places, but I'll only list a few. If anyone wants to suggest others in these area or tell me which ones I have a good chance of getting in/which are reaches, I'd really appreciate it!

Seattle: UW (reach), Virginia Mason
Oregon: OHSU (reach?), and the other 3 in portland
Cali: UCSD, UCI, USD, UC Davis, Kaiser, Cedars-Sinai, a few others
NY: Montefiore, Coney Island, Hofstra/Northwell, a few others (none from big 4)
NJ: Rutgers, Beth Israel
Boston: Boston University ?
Philly: Drexel, Jefferson, Upenn (reach), Albert Einstein, Temple,
DC: George Washington, Georgetown

DO bias is unfortunately real. Gastroenterology is not a DO friendly fellowship at all, but it can be possible with getting into a solid academic program (probably not as much with an academic affiliate).
Virginia Mason and the 3 Portland ones will be DO friendly. UW and ohsu won’t.
UCD, Kaiser’s take DOs. The rest of California ones probably won’t. I don’t believe those ones listed took DOs this year.
Monte and Hofstra take a couple superstar DOs.
Boston is like the least friendly DO city in America. Tufts and BU don’t even interview DO from what I remember.
The rest (except UPenn) I believe have taken a couple DOs before but all in all you have insanely competitive cities for DO. If your goal is GI/cards, broaden the geography to places that are big academic programs that take DOs every year (looking at you Cleveland clinic).

 

[gutonc]

Virginia Mason and the 3 Portland ones will be DO friendly. UW and ohsu won’t.

People keep saying this, but, over the past 5-10 years, ~10-15% of each intern class has been DO...this year it's nearly a quarter of the class.

 

[RaginMD]

I'm average all around,
STEP 1: 218
STEP 2: hopefully way better than that in 1 year
Lots of volunteer work
I need more research
Middle of my class somewhere
AOA absolutely not
Trying to stick to the South East region

I'm doing internal medicine and so is my boyfriend who is applying right now and made a 236 on STEP1. I'm asking about this early because I'm trying to find places that I could also get in to since I am definitely not competitive as an applicant but we are trying to stick together even though we can't couples match.

Anyone have some recommendations?

 

[Dr. Death]

3rd year DO student with the eventual goal of getting into a heme/onc or GI fellowship.
Top quartile
245-250 Step 1
By application time I'll have 6-8 publications, half a dozen poster presentations, several of which are in IM
ECs are meh

I'm looking to end up in a solid program with fellowships in house. Honestly really don't care about geography.

WAMC at places like Vandy, Tennessee, Pitt, Penn St., Temple, Drexel, Colorado, Ohio State, Minnesota, UMASS, Louisville, Kentucky, Tulane, LSU, UMKC, Rush, UF, Medical College of Wisconsin, Indiana, I have about 100 places I'm thinking of applying to but these are probably my top choices

 

[gutonc]

3rd year DO student with the eventual goal of getting into a heme/onc or GI fellowship.
Top quartile
245-250 Step 1
By application time I'll have 6-8 publications, half a dozen poster presentations, several of which are in IM
ECs are meh

I'm looking to end up in a solid program with fellowships in house. Honestly really don't care about geography.

WAMC at places like Vandy, Tennessee, Pitt, Penn St., Temple, Drexel, Colorado, Ohio State, Minnesota, UMASS, Louisville, Kentucky, Tulane, LSU, UMKC, Rush, UF, Medical College of Wisconsin, Indiana, I have about 100 places I'm thinking of applying to but these are probably my top choices

Vandy, Pitt and CU probably not. But the rest are reasonable.

Add:
Iowa, UW-Madison (a reach, but worth it), Wake, SLU, MCG, Nebraska, Creighton, UIC (based on location of the ones mentioned above0. But with the list you have, you'll probably do just fine.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

Just trying to feel the competitiveness out...

3rd year MD - Top 40 school in SE
Strong ties to PA/NY/NJ
239 Step 1
4-6 pubs. (1 while at MGH)
Interested in applying all east coast (from Boston to Florida). Here is my list (with a decent amount of obvious reaches):

MA: MGH, Tufts, BU, Beth Israel, BWH
CT: Yale
NY: Big 4, Hofstra, NYMC, Stony Brook. Any others you would recommend?
NJ: Rutgers, Monmouth, Jersey Shore
PA: Thomas Jefferson, Temple, UPenn
MD: JHU, Maryland
DC: Georgetown, GWU
NC: Carolinas Medical, Wake Forest, UNC, Duke
GA: Medical College of GA, Emory
FL: UF Gainesville, UF Jax, Mayo Jax, Florida Hosp, Orlando Health, USF, FSU, Jackson Memorial

- What schools are out of reach even with a 250+ Step 2?
- Any underrated programs not listed here?

 

[whoknows2012]

Just trying to feel the competitiveness out...

3rd year MD - Top 40 school in SE
Strong ties to PA/NY/NJ
239 Step 1
4-6 pubs. (1 while at MGH)
Interested in applying all east coast (from Boston to Florida). Here is my list (with a decent amount of obvious reaches):

MA: MGH, Tufts, BU, Beth Israel, BWH
CT: Yale
NY: Big 4, Hofstra, NYMC, Stony Brook. Any others you would recommend?
NJ: Rutgers, Monmouth, Jersey Shore
PA: Thomas Jefferson, Temple, UPenn
MD: JHU, Maryland
DC: Georgetown, GWU
NC: Carolinas Medical, Wake Forest, UNC, Duke
GA: Medical College of GA, Emory
FL: UF Gainesville, UF Jax, Mayo Jax, Florida Hosp, Orlando Health, USF, FSU, Jackson Memorial

- What schools are out of reach even with a 250+ Step 2?
- Any underrated programs not listed here?

For NY would omit nymc (my alma mater) they are nearly exclusively fmgs. Would add monte (Albert Einstein college of medicine’s university program) which is the best ny program outside the 4 Manhattan programs.

Would take away jersey shore and ?monmouth (not sure what program that is). Would take off mayo jax. You’ll get into an academic program on that list. As far as reaches, these are the obvious programs including Harvard’s, UPenn, nyc programs (maybe an IV at NYU as opposed to others) Hopkins Emory and Duke. Even if you have a 270 on step 2 a lot of those big name programs will remain reaches.

 

[PleaseCallMeDoc]

For NY would omit nymc (my alma mater) they are nearly exclusively fmgs. Would add monte (Albert Einstein college of medicine’s university program) which is the best ny program outside the 4 Manhattan programs.

Would take away jersey shore and ?monmouth (not sure what program that is). Would take off mayo jax. You’ll get into an academic program on that list. As far as reaches, these are the obvious programs including Harvard’s, UPenn, nyc programs (maybe an IV at NYU as opposed to others) Hopkins Emory and Duke. Even if you have a 270 on step 2 a lot of those big name programs will remain reaches.

Thank you for this advice. I'll definitely change my list a bit to reflect this.

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Are there any on the list that I do have a chance at?

Seattle: UW (reach) - NO, Virginia Mason - DONT KNOW
Oregon: OHSU (reach?) - NO, and the other 3 in portland
Cali: UCSD - NO, UCI - NO, USD - NO, UC Davis - NO, Kaiser - DONT KNOW, Cedars-Sinai - NO, a few others
NY: Montefiore - NO, Coney Island - DONT KNOW, Hofstra/Northwell - DOUBTFUL, a few others (none from big 4)
NJ: Rutgers - DOUBTFUL, Beth Israel - DONT KNOW
Boston: Boston University ? - NO
Philly: Drexel - DONT KNOW, Jefferson - NO, Upenn (reach) - NO, Albert Einstein - DONT KNOW, Temple - DONT KNOW
DC: George Washington - DONT KNOW, Georgetown - DOUBTFUL

Legend: NO=no chance, DOUBTFUL=imo super reaches but I don't think you'll get IVs there, MAYBE=I'm not sure, DONT KNOW=I don't know those institutions so can't comment

You should consider programs in the south since that is where your school is located

 

[Happyfeet1234567890]

DO Student here. Looking to see what my chances are for landing an IM residency in either NY or CA.
I go to a random DO school not located in neither of the states above.
Step1/2: 24x/24x.
No research. Good LORs. All H's in 3rd year.
I don't care if I get into a community or academic program, as long as the training is sufficient.

 

[theriverman]

4th year DO, newer program
H both IM rotations
218 step 1, 574 COMLEX
246 Step 2, level 2 unknown
3 posters accepted to conferences, 1 personally presented, possibly 1 extra poster or journal submission on a case coming before apps go out.
PD letter from AOA program that is ACGME accredited. Chair letter. Have a psych letter but will be asking for an ICU one to use instead.
WAMC: UF, Tennessee (all 4), Wake, Kentucky, Louisville, University of Texas system (preferably Austin and SW), Baylor, Indiana, Cincinnati, UPMC, Iowa, Medical College of Wisconsin, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State

Really want southeast, but open to anything from Texas to Pittsburgh. Prefer academic, but know my Step 1 will limit me. Also, how many community programs should I apply? I was thinking 10ish, plus 10ish satellite campuses (like Uf-Jacksonville, UT-Nashville/Knoxville, Carolina Medical Center, etc.).

 

[Jinxapotato]

4th year DO student, AZCOM
Special situation: I am a Canadian, I need a VISA, geographically I would prefer north, closer to Canada, but I wound't mind moving anywhere really
Step 1 248
COMLEX 1 611
Step 2 250
COMLEX 2 pending
Rotation: we run letter grades...all A/A-
Research: 1 first author pub in ophthalmology (my master's thesis, carried into medical school, finally published...), 1 poster
EC: nothing cray cray
Recs: 1 chair letter, 1 letter from Harvard ophthalmology prof who was my pub's PI, my Master mentor, and my rotation preceptor. Sseveral other IM/subspecialty doctors

Honestly I don't really know the gauge of different programs (ie. what's a upper mid tier or what's a lower tier) so I just put together a list based on whether they took DO or not...
But I want to end up in an university/community with inhouse fellowship program with possible subspecialty
so I really would like to hear what you guys think. Thank you in advance!

West: Wash U (very reach), OHSU, Kaiser, Cedar Sinai?
Mid:
->Illinois: Rush, U Illinois at Chicago OR Peoria, Loyola U
->Ohio: Cleveland Clinic, U Cincinnati, Case Western, OSU
->Michigan: Wayne State, MSU
East:
-> Rutgers, George Washington, U Conn, Yale (lol yeah I'm just gambling)
->NY: Albany Medical center, U Buffalo, Stony Brook, Winthrop, Montefiore, Maimonides, Albert Einstein U
->Penn: Albert Einstein Medical Center, Lehigh Valley, Temple U, UPMC, Drexel U
South:
->AZ: U of Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson),
->TX: U Texas, Baylor
As I said, please please please help me expand my list... Thank you so much

 

[gutonc]

4th year DO student, AZCOM
Special situation: I am a Canadian, I need a VISA, geographically I would prefer north, closer to Canada, but I wound't mind moving anywhere really
Step 1 248
COMLEX 1 611
Step 2 250
COMLEX 2 pending
Rotation: we run letter grades...all A/A-
Research: 1 first author pub in ophthalmology (my master's thesis, carried into medical school, finally published...), 1 poster
EC: nothing cray cray
Recs: 1 chair letter, 1 letter from Harvard ophthalmology prof who was my pub's PI, my Master mentor, and my rotation preceptor. Sseveral other IM/subspecialty doctors

Honestly I don't really know the gauge of different programs (ie. what's a upper mid tier or what's a lower tier) so I just put together a list based on whether they took DO or not...
But I want to end up in an university/community with inhouse fellowship program with possible subspecialty
so I really would like to hear what you guys think. Thank you in advance!
As I said, please please please help me expand my list... Thank you so much

Your list makes it very clear that you don't know how to gauge different programs. So let's try to help:

West: Wash U (very reach), OHSU, Kaiser, Cedar Sinai?

WashU is in St. Louis. UW is in the West. But you won't get an interview at either of them. OHSU is a maybe. There are about 25 other West Coast programs that you might be competitive for that you didn't list.

Mid:
->Illinois: Rush, U Illinois at Chicago OR Peoria, Loyola U
->Ohio: Cleveland Clinic, U Cincinnati, Case Western, OSU
->Michigan: Wayne State, MSU

Iowa, Indy, SLU, MCW, UMinn and UWMad are probably worth an app.

East:
-> Rutgers, George Washington, U Conn, Yale (lol yeah I'm just gambling)
->NY: Albany Medical center, U Buffalo, Stony Brook, Winthrop, Montefiore, Maimonides, Albert Einstein U
->Penn: Albert Einstein Medical Center, Lehigh Valley, Temple U, UPMC, Drexel U

Sure. Why not? All reasonable, except maybe Pitt.

South:
->AZ: U of Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson),
->TX: U Texas, Baylor

There are like half a dozen UT programs. Was there a particular one you were interested in?

 

[Jinxapotato]

Your list makes it very clear that you don't know how to gauge different programs. So let's try to help:

WashU is in St. Louis. UW is in the West. But you won't get an interview at either of them. OHSU is a maybe. There are about 25 other West Coast programs that you might be competitive for that you didn't list.

Iowa, Indy, SLU, MCW, UMinn and UWMad are probably worth an app.

Sure. Why not? All reasonable, except maybe Pitt.


There are like half a dozen UT programs. Was there a particular one you were interested in?

Hey Gutonc, thank you for helping me out, I have stalked your posts in IM forum for a while now, I really appreciate you taking your time to go through these lists with us.
1)West: yep I'm also bad at US geography lol. Speaking of the 25 West Coast programs, are we referring to the Californian programs? I looked it up and I probably can apply to Kaiser, Cedar, UC Irvin, UC Davis and Loma Linda, but I heard they are hugely competitive, especially for DOs?
2)Mid: so everything on my list plus yours should be considered?
3)East: gotcha
4)South: Texas - I'm referring to Baylor University Medical Center + UT Houston/San Antonio

 

[siliso]

All you DOs with good grades and steps (230s and up) looking for an academic program should consider Indiana. Chances good, fellowship match good, good training and QOL generally.

 

[IM2cardsfella]

Hi all, would appreciate some genuine advice. App cycle coming up:

4th year MD - Upper mid-tier in SE
Step 1 250
Step 2 243 (sigh, big discrepancy from the practice test scores)
Clerkship Grades: H in IM; mix of H/HP in other clerkships
Sub-I: H
No AOA
No class rank
Research: 1-2 non-first author paper(s), 4 abstracts, 3 case reports, 1 book chapter, three research projects with no timely pubs.
ECs: leadership and volunteering positions

It would be a dream come true to match anywhere in the top 40-50 programs in the East Coast.
My weakness are a weaker Step 2CK, no AOA, not top 20 medical school, and maybe solid but not great research.

What are some of my targets? My list so far is (applying East Coast or Chicago for personal reasons):

High reach: UPenn, JHH, MGH, BWH, Columbia, Duke

Reach: Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Vandy, Emory, UNC, Pitt, Mount Sinai, UChicago, Northwestern, Yale

Target (and a few safeties): TJ, Wake, BU, Tufts, Montefiore, Brown, OHSU, Rush, MUSC, UAB, Darthmouth, UMass, Lahey, GW, Georgetown, U Maryland.

Does this list look alright or do I need to recalibrate expectations? Any others I should be thinking about? Worth tossing an app to any of the top 10 at all? Thoughts appreciated. @gutonc

 

[medstudent2088]

Hey guys, just wanted to gauge which programs are my target schools and realistic shot at so any help/advice would be great!

4th year DO student
Step 1: 247
Step 2: 250-255
COMLEX 1: 651
COMLEX 2: pending
3rd year: all P's only (we don't do HP, can only H if u honored shelf exam, which i didn't)
Extracurriculars: good amount of consistent volunteer experiences thru 1st/2nd year
Research: none
LOR: 3 solid

Would like to go to west coast CA and AZ (grew up in CA) and will put CA address and express my interest. My goal is a mid-tier university program/solid community program that would keep fellowship options open.

West: UCI, UC Davis, Scripps Mercy, Scripps Green, UCLA Harbor, UCLA Olive View, U of Arizona Phoenix, U of Arizona Tucson, U of Arizona South, Mayo AZ, White Memorial, Cedars Sinai, Kaiser Northern CA, Kaiser LA, Oregon H&S, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Arrowhead Regional

Rest: UT Houston, UT San Antonio, UT Austin, UIC, KU, Rush, Loyola, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western, UMKC

How competitive am I for these IM programs? This is not my full list, will apply to 40-50 bc I understand i need to because DO student, but these are the ones at the top of my list. Any to add? Thanks!

 

[1713938018]

Would also appreciate some advice!

4th year MD - Low to Mid-tier East Coast
Step 1: 250-255
Step 2: 255-260
Clerkship Grades: H in IM; mix of H/HP in other clerkships
Senior AOA unknown
No class rank
Research: 1 paper, several abstracts, 1 review article in non-IM field (decided IM late)
Extra-curriculars: leadership and volunteering positions

Would love to match at a big name academic institution, ideally east coast, or mid-west.

Having some trouble deciding what would be a reach vs what I might be able to realistically match.

Appreciate the advice!

 

[whoknows2012]

Would also appreciate some advice!

4th year MD - Low to Mid-tier East Coast
Step 1: 250-255
Step 2: 255-260
Clerkship Grades: H in IM; mix of H/HP in other clerkships
Senior AOA unknown
No class rank
Research: 1 paper, several abstracts, 1 review article in non-IM field (decided IM late)
Extra-curriculars: leadership and volunteering positions

Would love to match at a big name academic institution, ideally east coast, or mid-west.

Having some trouble deciding what would be a reach vs what I might be able to realistically match.

Appreciate the advice!

Mid west you should be good to match at some of the bigger/better name programs. East coast it’s a bit of a crap shoot and IMO will depend on AOA. If no AOA you’ll likely get some interviews at the reach schools (see big 4 nyc programs, Hopkins, UPenn, Harvards,) and maybe an outside chance at matching vs with aoa more likely to match at one of these “top 20” programs. Obviously this will include interviewing well but that’s a given at this point

My advice? Apply broadly because you’d be surprised even with aoa how competitive it is at the top of IM. For east coast I’d recommend;

BU
Monte
Jefferson
Maryland
Hopkins-bayview
Yale
Georgetown

+/-
Temple
NSLIJ
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth

Midwest I’m not as well versed but know Indiana, osu, NW, u of Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, wash u, are all great programs.

 

[Adjet]

Hi all, would appreciate some genuine advice. App cycle coming up:

4th year MD - Upper mid-tier in SE
Step 1 250
Step 2 243 (sigh, big discrepancy from the practice test scores)
Clerkship Grades: H in IM; mix of H/HP in other clerkships
Sub-I: H
No AOA
No class rank
Research: 1-2 non-first author paper(s), 4 abstracts, 3 case reports, 1 book chapter, three research projects with no timely pubs.
ECs: leadership and volunteering positions

It would be a dream come true to match anywhere in the top 40-50 programs in the East Coast.
My weakness are a weaker Step 2CK, no AOA, not top 20 medical school, and maybe solid but not great research.

What are some of my targets? My list so far is (applying East Coast or Chicago for personal reasons):

High reach: UPenn, JHH, MGH, BWH, Columbia, Duke

Reach: Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Vandy, Emory, UNC, Pitt, Mount Sinai, UChicago, Northwestern, Yale

Target (and a few safeties): TJ, Wake, BU, Tufts, Montefiore, Brown, OHSU, Rush, MUSC, UAB, Darthmouth, UMass, Lahey, GW, Georgetown, U Maryland.

Does this list look alright or do I need to recalibrate expectations? Any others I should be thinking about? Worth tossing an app to any of the top 10 at all? Thoughts appreciated. @gutonc

Your list looks pretty reasonable. Not a whole lot of programs I would add besides UVA, and maybe UIC/Temple

 

[AnalisCanalis]

Med school: FMG (europe)
Step 1: 267
Step 2 CK: 272
Step 2 CS: Pass
Research: 1 publication in IM related field.
USCE: 2 months with LORs
ECs: Lots of fluff

WAMC at:
East coast:
Montefiore, Jacobi, St Lukes, Downstate, Hofstra, Rutgers, BU, Tufts, UMass, Yale, Brown, Darthmouth, UPMC, Drexel, Temple, Einstein PA, U Maryland, Georgetown, TJ, GW, Emory
Midwest:
U Minnesota, Mayo, U Iowa, CCF, Case Western, OSU, U Cincinnati, Rush, Loyola, UIC, Henry Ford, MSU, U Colorado
South:
UTs, Baylor, U Florida, Cleveland clinic (florida), Jackson memorial

This list is intentionally all over the place in terms of geography and competitiveness. I'm applying everywhere except CA. Looking to pursue cards fellowship.

Questions:
- Am I aiming too high?
- Are there any good community programs or mid/lower tier university programs that I should add to my list?
- Are big name programs a waste of application fees?

Any input appreciated.

 

[nontrad78]

My goal is to match in Texas. I am doing all of my clinical rotations here, and have lived here my entire life, save for the first two years of med school. Given my basic application information below, I'd like to know a few things:

1. How do my chances look for programs in Houston (UTMB, Methodist, UT Houston mostly), Austin (UT Austin, S&W Round Rock), San Antonio (UTHSCSA), and S&W in Temple?
2. How much should I really expand out of state if I'd likely take an in-state community program over wherever I applied out of state? There are 26 programs in-state, and conventional wisdom seems to recommend applying to closer to 50-60.

-Non-traditional applicant (obviously), with interesting history of working in homeless services.
-Probably around top 1/3-ish of class, but all A’s and B’s (3.5 almost exactly)
-566 level I; 214 step I; level/step ii pending.
-Sigma Sigma Phi and GHHS member with good amount of volunteer experiences.
-LORs should be pretty decent.
-will be working on some (2) case studies to include as research, but nothing else in that area.

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Med school: FMG (europe)
Step 1: 267
Step 2 CK: 272
Step 2 CS: Pass
Research: 1 publication in IM related field.
USCE: 2 months with LORs
ECs: Lots of fluff

WAMC at:
East coast:
Montefiore, Jacobi, St Lukes, Downstate, Hofstra, Rutgers, BU, Tufts, UMass, Yale, Brown, Darthmouth, UPMC, Drexel, Temple, Einstein PA, U Maryland, Georgetown, TJ, GW, Emory
Midwest:
U Minnesota, Mayo, U Iowa, CCF, Case Western, OSU, U Cincinnati, Rush, Loyola, UIC, Henry Ford, MSU, U Colorado
South:
UTs, Baylor, U Florida, Cleveland clinic (florida), Jackson memorial

This list is intentionally all over the place in terms of geography and competitiveness. I'm applying everywhere except CA. Looking to pursue cards fellowship.

Questions:
- Am I aiming too high?
- Are there any good community programs or mid/lower tier university programs that I should add to my list?
- Are big name programs a waste of application fees?

Any input appreciated.

1.Your list is reasonable (see #3)
2. No (see #3)
3. I'd add a few big name programs. Probably a waste of money but you have excellent scores and at least a chance at landing some interviews if your ECs and PS are interesting. You should also add the Wisconsin programs and Indiana.

 

[IMreshopeful]

My goal is to match in Texas. I am doing all of my clinical rotations here, and have lived here my entire life, save for the first two years of med school. Given my basic application information below, I'd like to know a few things:

1. How do my chances look for programs in Houston (UTMB, Methodist, UT Houston mostly), Austin (UT Austin, S&W Round Rock), San Antonio (UTHSCSA), and S&W in Temple?
2. How much should I really expand out of state if I'd likely take an in-state community program over wherever I applied out of state? There are 26 programs in-state, and conventional wisdom seems to recommend applying to closer to 50-60.

-Non-traditional applicant (obviously), with interesting history of working in homeless services.
-Probably around top 1/3-ish of class, but all A’s and B’s (3.5 almost exactly)
-566 level I; 214 step I; level/step ii pending.
-Sigma Sigma Phi and GHHS member with good amount of volunteer experiences.
-LORs should be pretty decent.
-will be working on some (2) case studies to include as research, but nothing else in that area.

You should expand to out of state. Your step 1 score is going to be an issue when applying

 

[nontrad78]

You should expand to out of state. Your step 1 score is going to be an issue when applying

I’m planning on that for sure. I guess the more direct question then is, how necessary is it to put out 50+ apps when there are multiple in-state community programs that I’d be happy to match into?

 

[2019DOGrad]

Hello everyone, could I get some feedback on this list of programs?

DO school in NE; originally from FL
Step 1: 253
Step 2: 255
COMLEX 1: 709
Top 1/2 of class with Honors in IM, FM, peds, and surgery core clerkships
No Research
Minimal extracurriculars
Couples matching with another DO who is applying to peds (Step 1 and 2 in 250s with quite a bit of research)

Reaches: Rochester, Tulane, Dartmouth, Maryland, Northshore LIJ, Thomas Jefferson, Case Western Reserve, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota

Good match: LSU, Miami, USF, U of Florida, U of Florida-Jacksonville, Mayo Clinic - Jacksonville, U of Illinois - Chicago, Loyola, Rush, Cook County, Rosalind Franklin, Indiana, Ohio State, Cleveland Clinic, Cincinnati, Louisville, MCW, Stony Brook, RWJ, NJMS, Cooper Rowan, Temple, Drexel, NYU Winthrop, Carilion Clinic, Inova Fairfax, Georgetown, and George Washington

Safeties(?): UConn, UMass, Baystate, Buffalo, Albany, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, NYMC - Westchester, Staten Island University, and Geisenger Health

One of my goals is to match in a location with nearby academic peds program for my SO. This is most of my list so far and I think I'll end up applying to about 70 or so programs to feel comfortable, including more safety programs. I am only looking to apply to programs from the East Coast to the Midwest.

Am I appropriately assessing my competitiveness for these programs?

 

[W19]

@2019DOGrad

You dont need to apply to 70 programs. ~50 programs should be ok with your stats. I think your 'reaches' and 'good match' are more than enough.

 

[sherry1006]

Which programs should I apply to?
US IMG
All US clinical experience, in LA
Step 1 224
Step 2 242
CS Pass
2 Publications
Rank 3rd quartile didn't perform well in preclinical years, but fourth yr rotation all HP
YOG 2018

Only has ties to California, but willing to go anywhere for residency
I know I am a very average/below average applicant and will focus mostly on community programs, what are some university programs that are reachable to me?

 

[residentt]

Hi there, I am applying for this match and here my stats:

• Non-US IMG
• Step 1 272
• Step 2 CK 274
• Step 2 CS pass
• Step 3 -
• YOG 2016
• IM residency in homecountry for 1.5 years now
• USCE -
• Research -
• LORs all from my homecountry (1 from dean, 1 from pd, 1 from IM professor)

As I don't have any USCE nor research what are your opinions about my possibility to match university programs or good community programs which can lead me to a fellowship. And what do you suggest me to improve my overall application? Thank you for your interest and honest opinions.

 

[Redpancreas]

Ya'll are overestimating the competitiveness. 220/260 from a top tier school will get you your top 30 IM.