Official Eternal IM WAMC Thread

[vomitcom]

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I updated my post given more information, how does my program list look?

Med School: T-10-15ish USMD
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 27X
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Unsure yet (probably top quartile)
Research: 4 mid-author pubs, 3 abstracts at national conferences (1 first author), 3 poster presentations, 2 papers that will be submitted at time of app (1 first author)
LORs: One from well known cardiologist at my institution, one from Sub I attending, one from outpatient medicine rotation attending
Gold Humanism: Yes
AOA: No
ECs: Significant leadership at free clinic, significant work with homeless population during gap year, lots of teaching/mentoring
Red flags: No AOA?
Career goals: Cards

School list:
Reaches: MGH, BWH, Penn, Hopkins, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford
Target: Mt. Sinai, Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Northwestern, UChicago, Yale, UVA, UMich, Mayo (MN), Pittsburgh
Safety: Georgetown, GWU, BU, Jefferson, Brown, Tufts, VCU, Hofstra, RWJ, Monte

 

[OncOncOnc]

I updated my post given more information, how does my program list look?

Med School: T-10-15ish USMD
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 27X
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Unsure yet (probably top quartile)
Research: 4 mid-author pubs, 3 abstracts at national conferences (1 first author), 3 poster presentations, 2 papers that will be submitted at time of app (1 first author)
LORs: One from well known cardiologist at my institution, one from Sub I attending, one from outpatient medicine rotation attending
Gold Humanism: Yes
AOA: No
ECs: Significant leadership at free clinic, significant work with homeless population during gap year, lots of teaching/mentoring
Red flags: No AOA?
Career goals: Cards

School list:
Reaches: MGH, BWH, Penn, Hopkins, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford
Target: Mt. Sinai, Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Northwestern, UChicago, Yale, UVA, UMich, Mayo (MN), Pittsburgh
Safety: Georgetown, GWU, BU, Jefferson, Brown, Tufts, VCU, Hofstra, RWJ, Monte

Great application, very appropriate list.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I updated my post given more information, how does my program list look?

Med School: T-10-15ish USMD
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 27X
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Unsure yet (probably top quartile)
Research: 4 mid-author pubs, 3 abstracts at national conferences (1 first author), 3 poster presentations, 2 papers that will be submitted at time of app (1 first author)
LORs: One from well known cardiologist at my institution, one from Sub I attending, one from outpatient medicine rotation attending
Gold Humanism: Yes
AOA: No
ECs: Significant leadership at free clinic, significant work with homeless population during gap year, lots of teaching/mentoring
Red flags: No AOA?
Career goals: Cards

School list:
Reaches: MGH, BWH, Penn, Hopkins, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford
Target: Mt. Sinai, Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Northwestern, UChicago, Yale, UVA, UMich, Mayo (MN), Pittsburgh
Safety: Georgetown, GWU, BU, Jefferson, Brown, Tufts, VCU, Hofstra, RWJ, Monte

I know there's no AOA but you're also coming from a T20, I can't imagine you won't get interviews to at least a couple or more of them.

 

[OncOncOnc]

Thoughts on my program list? Regionally signaling West Coast, and NYC/NJ/PA and IL/OH/MI/IN region. Open to adding more programs or removing likely low-yield programs.

Delusional: BWH, MGH, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, UCSF, UCLA, Duke, Columbia, Michigan, Mayo (MN), U Washington
Reaches: UPMC, WashU, Vanderbilt, Beth Israel, Cornell, Northwestern, UChicago, Stanford, Baylor, Yale, UTSW
Targets: NYU, Emory, Miami, Mount Sinai, USC, Mayo Clinic (Florida), UNC, UCLA Harbor, UCLA Olive View, Boston U, UCSD, UAB, UC Davis, Mayo (AZ), MUSC, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State, Tufts, OHSU
Safeties:? Cedars Sinai, Temple, Jefferson, UC Irvine, UT Memphis, Meharry

I think you’re right that your grades, test scores, and publications will open doors - and that you need to apply broadly as a specialty changer/reapplicant. This list seems reasonable. You could add places like UC Irvine, UC Davis, Montefiore, Hofstra, Rush, UIC at the lower end if you’re nervous.

 

[sleeperstepscores]

Move UCSD and UCLA to reach from delusional (normally they would be targets but i am unsure you have ties to CA) and move Duke and Columbia to delusional category although i dont think your delusional category is completely delusional haha thats a little harsh i think they are definitely reaches though (Duke Penn Columbia UCSF). NYU Cornell and Sinai i think are high targets but still targets. MUSC GW USF and Mayo Jax are safeties. Colorado Maryland and Georgetown are targets. Add Dartmouth Brown Cleveland Clinic Main Emory UNC BU Tufts Monte Wake Forest and UVA to targets

What exactly is a tie to California? I have family there, albeit distant, and my family knows an older surgeon at one of the big cali schools but those things dont feel like connections since they aren't within IM. Thanks for your response!

 

[vomitcom]

I know there's no AOA but you're also coming from a T20, I can't imagine you won't get interviews to at least a couple or more of them.

Thanks! I was bummed to not get AOA and it is nice to hear it won’t throttle my app too much.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Thanks! I was bummed to not get AOA and it is nice to hear it won’t throttle my app too much.

How is AOA determined at your school? Seems crazy you didnt qualify

 

[vomitcom]

How is AOA determined at your school? Seems crazy you didnt qualify

It is a combo of grades, research, service and secret spice (aka schmoozing with the admin who are on the committee, which I didn’t do since I am not active in class leadership or admissions)

 

[Deecee2DO]

I updated my post given more information, how does my program list look?

Med School: T-10-15ish USMD
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 27X
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Unsure yet (probably top quartile)
Research: 4 mid-author pubs, 3 abstracts at national conferences (1 first author), 3 poster presentations, 2 papers that will be submitted at time of app (1 first author)
LORs: One from well known cardiologist at my institution, one from Sub I attending, one from outpatient medicine rotation attending
Gold Humanism: Yes
AOA: No
ECs: Significant leadership at free clinic, significant work with homeless population during gap year, lots of teaching/mentoring
Red flags: No AOA?
Career goals: Cards

School list:
Reaches: MGH, BWH, Penn, Hopkins, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford
Target: Mt. Sinai, Cornell, NYU, BIDMC, Northwestern, UChicago, Yale, UVA, UMich, Mayo (MN), Pittsburgh
Safety: Georgetown, GWU, BU, Jefferson, Brown, Tufts, VCU, Hofstra, RWJ, Monte

Move UVA to safety. Add Vandy to target

 

[randommedstudent24]

I’m not gonna be one of these top applicants, and posting my entire list would doxx me. I’m more looking to answer 2 questions: 1) Can I match IM? and 2) How many programs should I apply to? I’m geographically limited to VA, WV, NC, SC, PA, TN.

Med School: DO
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 500-510
Clerkship grades: School doesn’t do honors, mostly As, a few Bs (1 A 1 B in IM, letters from both)
Class rank: none
Research: summer project, no publication
LORs: Two from sub-I (one is PD, one is attending), one from 3rd year attending, chair letter
Gold Humanism: school doesn’t have it
AOA: school doesn’t have it
ECs: tutoring, mentoring, extensive non-medical volunteering, club leadership
Red flags: repeat semester (LOA), no class rank, low Level 2 score
Career goals: general IM (no fellowship)

I’m looking at mostly community programs, maybe a few lower tier academic places that fit in my geographical area.

Do I have a chance for IM? Will 30 program be enough or should I expand to 50?

 

[Deecee2DO]

I’m not gonna be one of these top applicants, and posting my entire list would doxx me. I’m more looking to answer 2 questions: 1) Can I match IM? and 2) How many programs should I apply to? I’m geographically limited to VA, WV, NC, SC, PA, TN.

Med School: DO
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2 / Level 2: 500-510
Clerkship grades: School doesn’t do honors, mostly As, a few Bs (1 A 1 B in IM, letters from both)
Class rank: none
Research: summer project, no publication
LORs: Two from sub-I (one is PD, one is attending), one from 3rd year attending, chair letter
Gold Humanism: school doesn’t have it
AOA: school doesn’t have it
ECs: tutoring, mentoring, extensive non-medical volunteering, club leadership
Red flags: repeat semester (LOA), no class rank, low Level 2 score
Career goals: general IM (no fellowship)

I’m looking at mostly community programs, maybe a few lower tier academic places that fit in my geographical area.

Do I have a chance for IM? Will 30 program be enough or should I expand to 50?

Youll match IM. Apply community only as you had mentioned. Apply to 50-70 community programs

 

[throwinitawayafter]

Med School: DO (west coast)
Step 1 / Level 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Level 2: 680-690
Clerkship grades: 3 honors in non IM rotations, rest are HP.
Research: Nope
LORs: 1 chair, 2 FM from outpatient, 1 IM from APD
Gold Humanism: Nope
AOA: Nope
ECs: A few fillers but nothing crazy.
Red flags: Nope
Career goals: Want to work in a rural area/semi rural area. Interested in Cards, GI, PCCM. Would be happy as a hospitalist if that doesn't pan out.

School has historically matched peeps to the pacific region and doesn't have much data on programs in the midwest, southeast, and southwest. I have ties to the midwest and southwest. Wouldn't mind training in the southeast either. I'm not sure what programs I should target at this point. Hoping to attend a mid to low tier academic program that will keep fellowship options open.

 

[terpfan15]

Med School: Northeast DO school
M1-M2 grades: Graded, Top-Quartile
M3-4 grades: High Pass (EM, Psych, OBGYN), Pass (IM, FM, Surgery)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 24x
Class rank: 1st Quartile


Research:
- 1 abstract
- 3 research projects

Extracurriculars: Volunteering in the community, Leadership of non school related extracurricular, homeless shelter, mentoring for younger high school students

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M3 IM Preceptor
- M3 IM Attending
- M4 IM Sub-I Letter

Geographic Signaling: Mid-Atlantic (Hometown and family located here, undergrad attended in mid-atlantic region as well)

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in fellowship after completion of IM residency, goal of either cardiology or infectious disease fellowship

Program List:
- Need some help forming program list
- Interested in Mid-Atlantic hospitals --> GW, Georgetown, MedStar Baltimore, Hopkins (Bayview), Innova, WVU, Cristiana Care DE, UMD
- Potential interest in PA and Jersey as well. Unsure about how this will work with signaling and geographic preferences. Will a New Jersey/PA hospital give me the time of day if I put down the Mid-Atlantic region as geographic preference

 

[Zobo135]

Med School: Midwest DO school
M1-M2 grades: Pass
M3-4 grades: Honor (FM, OB/Gyn, IM, EM), High Pass (Surgery, Psych), Pass (Peds)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 25x
Level 2: 64x
Class rank: 2nd Quintile
Sigma Sigma Phi: Yes

Research:
- 2 research projects
- 3 poster presentations

Extracurriculars: Class Governement Leadership, Church Volunteering, Homeless shelter volunteering, Work, hobbies

LORs :
- Strong Non-Clinical letter from Cardiology professor
- IM Letter from APD
- FM PD Letter
- Letter from Department Chair
- Audition Letter

Geographic Signaling: Mid-west, specifically I want to stay in SE Michigan so does anyone have any recommendations or advice regarding Michigan programs?

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Cardiology or Pulm/Crit but desire to be a really well trained General Internist first

Program List:
- Applying to all MI programs with fellowship opportunities, prefer academic/community-academic over strict community
- I want a sick patient population and I like to be hands on with procedures
- Looking for DO friendly programs
- Really looking at HF Main versus Beaumont RO as my top 2 right now but if anyone else has any recommendations please let me know
- Any with moonlighting opportunity if possible

Thanks everyone

 

[strider lose]

Med School: Low tier MD in Florida
M1-M2 grades: Pass
M3-4 grades: High pass in surgery and psych
Class rank: Middle of the pack
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 255
AOA: No
GHHS: No

Research: None
Extracurriculars: Some leadership positions. Serving on adcom. Lots of volunteering, one thats unique and extensive.
LORs:
- M3 subspecialty physician
- M3 Surgery preceptor
- M4 Sub-I hospitalist
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Really want to stay around the area for finacee/family.
Red flags: None
Goals: Considering fellowship.

Delusional: Duke, UNC, UTSW, Baylor
Reach: Emory, UAB
Target: UF, USF, UM, CC of FL, UF Jax, Mayo Jax, Mt. Sinai Miami, FAU, Orlando Regional.
Safeties: UCF gainesville/orlando, other community programs in FL.

Unsure of where to apply. Prefer to train at a university program, but I don't know what I'm competive for without research.

 

[obiwan]

Med School: Low tier MD in Florida
M1-M2 grades: Pass
M3-4 grades: High pass in surgery and psych
Class rank: Middle of the pack
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 255
AOA: No
GHHS: No

Research: None
Extracurriculars: Some leadership positions. Serving on adcom. Lots of volunteering, one thats unique and extensive.
LORs:
- M3 subspecialty physician
- M3 Surgery preceptor
- M4 Sub-I hospitalist
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Really want to stay around the area for finacee/family.
Red flags: None
Goals: Considering fellowship.

Delusional: Duke, UNC, UTSW, Baylor
Reach: Emory, UAB
Target: UF, USF, UM, CC of FL, UF Jax, Mayo Jax, Mt. Sinai Miami, FAU, Orlando Regional.
Safeties: UCF gainesville/orlando, other community programs in FL.

Unsure of where to apply. Prefer to train at a university program, but I don't know what I'm competive for without research.

Like you said, overall middle of the pack type applicant. Would probably add programs like Wake Forest, Tulane, UT Houston, MUSC if we're sticking to the South/southeastern parts as target programs. Good luck

 

[hopefullydoc117]

Med School: Mid-tier MD school in midwest
M1-M2 grades: All Pass
M3-4 grades: Honors in IM, Psych, Neurology, Family Med, High pass in surg, obgyn, peds
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 24X 🙁
AOA: Yes
GHHS: Yes

Research:
NIH-funded summer grant with prospective patient data collection-focused research; a few global health-focused projects, a surgery project from M1
3 papers (2 first-authored) + 1 in review + 1 will be submitted prior to eras; 15 posters (including 4 first-author at national conferences)

Extracurriculars: first-gen college student and lots of volunteering with my community and immigrants, one experience that is pretty unique and extensive; national leadership position, lots of advocacy, longitudinal student government

LORs:
- M4 sub-i hospitalist/APD
- M4 sub-i hospitalist
- M4 elective/research - sub-specialty (PD for fellowship)
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Don't have geographic limitations. Was planning on signalling Midwest, new England, mid-atlantic (or pacific). Family is around minnesota, california, and NYC. Don't need to stay close to family.

Red flags: None
Goals: Like research and academic medicine, considering fellowship

Delusional: UMich, UChicago, Northwestern, UPenn, UWashington, Mt. Sinai, Yale, BIDMC
Reach: Emory, UPMC, Boston, Sidney Kimmell, UWisconsin
Target: Henry Ford, Wayne State, OHSU, Rush, UIC, Loyola, Georgetown, GWU, Jefferson, RWJF, Tufts, Montefiore, UMaryland, SUNY-Downstate, Med College of Wisconsin, UMinnesota
Safeties: 10 community programs in IL/MI, SIU, others??
Unsure of my list. Would prefer academic since I enjoy research and want to do a fellowship in the future, but my step 2 score is below average.
Loved my ICU rotation... enjoyed sick patient populations
X + Y schedule would be great

Thank you!

 

[gutonc]

Med School: Mid-tier MD school in midwest
M1-M2 grades: All Pass
M3-4 grades: Honors in IM, Psych, Neurology, Family Med, High pass in surg, obgyn, peds
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 24X 🙁
AOA: Yes
GHHS: Yes

Research:
NIH-funded summer grant with prospective patient data collection-focused research; a few global health-focused projects, a surgery project from M1
3 papers (2 first-authored) + 1 in review + 1 will be submitted prior to eras; 15 posters (including 4 first-author at national conferences)

Extracurriculars: first-gen college student and lots of volunteering with my community and immigrants, one experience that is pretty unique and extensive; national leadership position, lots of advocacy, longitudinal student government

LORs:
- M4 sub-i hospitalist/APD
- M4 sub-i hospitalist
- M4 elective/research - sub-specialty (PD for fellowship)
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Don't have geographic limitations. Was planning on signalling Midwest, new England, mid-atlantic (or pacific). Family is around minnesota, california, and NYC. Don't need to stay close to family.

Red flags: None
Goals: Like research and academic medicine, considering fellowship

Delusional: UMich, UChicago, Northwestern, UPenn, UWashington, Mt. Sinai, Yale, BIDMC
Reach: Emory, UPMC, Boston, Sidney Kimmell, UWisconsin
Target: Henry Ford, Wayne State, OHSU, Rush, UIC, Loyola, Georgetown, GWU, Jefferson, RWJF, Tufts, Montefiore, UMaryland, SUNY-Downstate, Med College of Wisconsin, UMinnesota
Safeties: 10 community programs in IL/MI, SIU, others??
Unsure of my list. Would prefer academic since I enjoy research and want to do a fellowship in the future, but my step 2 score is below average.
Loved my ICU rotation... enjoyed sick patient populations
X + Y schedule would be great

Thank you!

I don't love the new "delusional" category this year. Not sure where it came from, but it needs to go away.

Leaving aside the fact that your categories are all kinds of mixed up and mostly illogical, I think you have a pretty good list. Kimmell and Jefferson are the same place. And Downstate has no business being on your list (I say that as a proud Downstate alum).

No harm in adding places like MGH and BWH if you're already doing BIDMC. For NYC programs, it won't hurt to apply to NYU and Cornell. I'd skip Columbia personally, but it's just money and ego at risk. If small towns don't bother you that much, Dartmouth should get an app (that place would have been my #1 if I hadn't been married at the time and trying to keep a spouse happy). Why not hit up Johnny Hop and Baby Hop since you're looking in the DC area anyway? Iowa, Indy and Cinci if you're looking at the midwest. Throw all those places in there and you probably don't need to bother with your safeties (of which half your target list counts anyway).

 

[GotToGetThatGPAUp]

Med School: Low-tier MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors
Class rank: Top Quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 266
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 1 published abstract, 5 posters
Extracurriculars: Lots of hobbies, leadership, teaching, interesting jobs and service.
LORs: Probably decent enough
Geographic Signaling: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific
Red flags: None

I'd appreciate any tips on what my reaches, targets, and safeties are!

 

[Adjet]

Med School: Low-tier MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors
Class rank: Top Quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 266
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 1 published abstract, 5 posters
Extracurriculars: Lots of hobbies, leadership, teaching, interesting jobs and service.
LORs: Probably decent enough
Geographic Signaling: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific
Red flags: None

I'd appreciate any tips on what my reaches, targets, and safeties are!

Seems like you are at/near the top of your class and are AOA so no program is necessarily out of reach. Apply to the top X programs in the regions you like (MGH, BWH, Penn, Columbia, UW, JHH, etc.) and then a handful of mid-tier programs in those cities and you should be in good shape.

 

[tkr234]

UPDATE: Ended up matching at one of my reaches, first choice

Med School: Mid-tier MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F
M3-4 grades: P/F 3rd year, Honors in Gen Surg Sub-I and Cardiology Sub-I. Awaiting grades for MICU Sub-I.
Class rank: No class ranks reported per school.
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 266
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 12 published peer-reviewed articles, 3 peer-reviewed book chapters, 10 poster presentations and 5 oral presentations in national and international conferences.
Extracurriculars: Heavy on mentorship and teaching, enough community service, only undergraduate work experience because of no gap years at any point.
LORs: 1 IM chair letter, 2 letters from cardiologists, 1 pending from nephrologist
Geographic Signaling: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South-Atlantic
Red flags: None

I've made a switch from applying to a surgical subspecialty to internal medicine (hoping to purse cardiology eventually), so my research is very surgical heavy. Because I made the switch in my 4th year, I did not get to do an actual Medicine Sub-I because all the slots were filled. Instead, I did General Surgery Sub-I, Cardiology Sub-I, and MICU Sub-I. Another concern is not having a general IM letter and only submitting two cardiology + chair IM letter if my Nephrology attending doesn't end up submitting on time.

Here are the programs I am thinking of so far:

Delusional: BWH, MGH, JHH
Reach: Penn, Duke, Columbia, Michigan, Yale, U Chicago, Northwestern, Cornell, BIDMC, UPMC, Mayo
Target: UVA, UNC, Case, Brown, BU, Cleveland Clinic, Jefferson, Hopkins Bayview, Dartmouth
Safeties: Penn State, Temple, Maryland, Tufts, Rochester, Rutgers, U Mass

 

[OncOncOnc]

Med School: Mid-tier MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F
M3-4 grades: P/F 3rd year, Honors in Gen Surg Sub-I and Cardiology Sub-I. Awaiting grades for MICU Sub-I.
Class rank: No class ranks reported per school.
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 266
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 12 published peer-reviewed articles, 3 peer-reviewed book chapters, 10 poster presentations and 5 oral presentations in national and international conferences.
Extracurriculars: Heavy on mentorship and teaching, enough community service, only undergraduate work experience because of no gap years at any point.
LORs: 1 IM chair letter, 2 letters from cardiologists, 1 pending from nephrologist
Geographic Signaling: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South-Atlantic
Red flags: None

I've made a switch from applying to a surgical subspecialty to internal medicine (hoping to purse cardiology eventually), so my research is very surgical heavy. Because I made the switch in my 4th year, I did not get to do an actual Medicine Sub-I because all the slots were filled. Instead, I did General Surgery Sub-I, Cardiology Sub-I, and MICU Sub-I. Another concern is not having a general IM letter and only submitting two cardiology + chair IM letter if my Nephrology attending doesn't end up submitting on time.

Here are the programs I am thinking of so far:

Delusional: BWH, MGH, JHH
Reach: Penn, Duke, Columbia, Michigan, Yale, U Chicago, Northwestern, Cornell, BIDMC, UPMC, Mayo
Target: UVA, UNC, Case, Brown, BU, Cleveland Clinic, Jefferson, Hopkins Bayview, Dartmouth
Safeties: Penn State, Temple, Maryland, Tufts, Rochester, Rutgers, U Mass

Looks fine. I think you have a good shot at your reaches with AOA and research productivity.

As faculty, I have no idea how I’d evaluate most applicants from your school. P/F clerkship grades seem like a disservice to students who are average to above average but not AOA.

 

[DevinBookerMD]

updated with all my info now
School: Mid tier US MD (a Univ. of California school)
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 257
Pre-clinical: P/F first year; 3/5 honors in 2nd year
Clinical grades: 6/7 honors (everything except peds) with great evals
Class Ranking: Top 10%
AOA: Yes
GHH: No
Research:
4 publications (all primary research articles in cardiology and nephrology) two of which I am first author.
8 abstracts/presentations including one oral presentation at major cardiology conference.
NIH grant
Excellence in Research scholarship at school

ECs:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee member on California chapter of American College of Cardiology. President/Founder of Cardiology Interest Group. Basketball podcast in undergrad. Barista. 2-3 other cookie cutter ECs

LORs:
2 cardiology, 1 sub-i

Random:
low SES with various awards and scholarships

School list: Is my list too top heavy? Any additions or subtractions?
Reaches

1. Massachusetts General Hospital
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. University of California, San Francisco
4. Brigham and Women’s
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. New York Presbyterian (Columbia)
7. UCLA
8. University of Washington
9. NYU
10. McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
11. Stanford University
12. Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai
13. Emory University
14. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
15. University of Chicago
16. Yale-New Haven Medical Center
17. UPMC
18. Baylor
19. New York Presbyterian (Cornell)

Targets:

1. USC
2. University of Colorado
3. UCSD
4. Boston University
5. Sidney Kimmel Medical College
6. OHSU
7. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Safeties

1. UCLA Harbor
2. University of California, Davis
3. Olive View UCLA
4. University of California, Irvine
5. Scripps Clinic
6. Loma Linda University
7. Kaiser Permanente (Los Angeles)

 

[OncOncOnc]

updated with all my info now
School: Mid tier US MD (a Univ. of California school)
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 257
Pre-clinical: P/F first year; 3/5 honors in 2nd year
Clinical grades: 6/7 honors (everything except peds) with great evals
Class Ranking: Top 10%
AOA: Yes
GHH: No
Research:
4 publications (all primary research articles in cardiology and nephrology) two of which I am first author.
8 abstracts/presentations including one oral presentation at major cardiology conference.
NIH grant
Excellence in Research scholarship at school

ECs:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee member on California chapter of American College of Cardiology. President/Founder of Cardiology Interest Group. Basketball podcast in undergrad. Barista. 2-3 other cookie cutter ECs

LORs:
2 cardiology, 1 sub-i

Random:
low SES with various awards and scholarships

School list: Is my list too top heavy? Any additions or subtractions?
Reaches

1. Massachusetts General Hospital
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. University of California, San Francisco
4. Brigham and Women’s
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. New York Presbyterian (Columbia)
7. UCLA
8. University of Washington
9. NYU
10. McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
11. Stanford University
12. Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai
13. Emory University
14. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
15. University of Chicago
16. Yale-New Haven Medical Center
17. UPMC
18. Baylor
19. New York Presbyterian (Cornell)

Targets:

1. USC
2. University of Colorado
3. UCSD
4. Boston University
5. Sidney Kimmel Medical College
6. OHSU
7. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Safeties

1. UCLA Harbor
2. University of California, Davis
3. Olive View UCLA
4. University of California, Irvine
5. Scripps Clinic
6. Loma Linda University
7. Kaiser Permanente (Los Angeles)

Your approach of applying to a bunch of top programs, a bunch of California programs, and a smattering of other mid-tier programs is fine. UCLA, Baylor, UPMC, Emory probably belong with targets rather than reaches. You’ll probably get more interview invitations than you’re able to schedule, at which point you should make sure that your final interview list still includes a mix of reaches, targets, and safeties.

 

[belugaaa]

Med School: low-to-mid MD
M1-M2 grades: Pass, no honors
M3 grades: Honors in Neuro, Psych. High Pass in IM, Family, Obgyn. Pass surgery, peds.
M4 grades: Honors IM sub-I, ICU
Class rank: middle
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: high 250s
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: 1 poster presentation, 1 published abstract, 1 upcoming poster presentation. Manuscript in process unlikely to be published before applying.
Extracurriculars: Heavy on mentorship and teaching, good amount of leadership positions and community service.

LORs: 1 MICU, 1 Sub-I, 1 Cardiology through research, IM Chair letter, 1 extra nephro
Geographic Signaling: East North central, South Atlantic, and either New England or pacific
Red flags: None

Going to be couples matching. Partner is also applying IM (Step 2 260+, AOA).
Here are the programs I am thinking of so far:

Far reach: Mayo MN, NYU, UChicago, UWash
Reach: Michigan, Emory, Mayo AZ, Yale, Northwestern, Rutgers, UCLA, Cornell, UT SW
Target: Brown, OSU, Loyola, Rush, Cleveland Clinic, Casewestern, Boston U, Mayo Fl, Ford, UCLA Harbor, Georgetown, UC san diego, Kaiser SF, USC/LA, Colorado, UNC, Dartmouth, Icahn Mount Sinai, U cincinnati, Sidney Kimmel, UPMC
Safeties: DMC, Hopkins Bayview, Beaumont (RO), U Indiana, Penn state, Temple, UTennessee Nashville, Baylor Dallas, Virginia Mason Fransciscan, UFlorida, George Washington

Having a hard time figuring out competitiveness and what target schools vs safety schools should be so this is still a preliminary list as I figure it out. Planning on applying to around 40 programs most likely. Any advice/help is appreciated!

 

[OncOncOnc]

Med School: low-to-mid MD
M1-M2 grades: Pass, no honors
M3 grades: Honors in Neuro, Psych. High Pass in IM, Family, Obgyn. Pass surgery, peds.
M4 grades: Honors IM sub-I, ICU
Class rank: middle
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: high 250s
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: 1 poster presentation, 1 published abstract, 1 upcoming poster presentation. Manuscript in process unlikely to be published before applying.
Extracurriculars: Heavy on mentorship and teaching, good amount of leadership positions and community service.

LORs: 1 MICU, 1 Sub-I, 1 Cardiology through research, IM Chair letter, 1 extra nephro
Geographic Signaling: East North central, South Atlantic, and either New England or pacific
Red flags: None

Going to be couples matching. Partner is also applying IM (Step 2 260+, AOA).
Here are the programs I am thinking of so far:

Far reach: Mayo MN, NYU, UChicago, UWash
Reach: Michigan, Emory, Mayo AZ, Yale, Northwestern, Rutgers, UCLA, Cornell, UT SW
Target: Brown, OSU, Loyola, Rush, Cleveland Clinic, Casewestern, Boston U, Mayo Fl, Ford, UCLA Harbor, Georgetown, UC san diego, Kaiser SF, USC/LA, Colorado, UNC, Dartmouth, Icahn Mount Sinai, U cincinnati, Sidney Kimmel, UPMC
Safeties: DMC, Hopkins Bayview, Beaumont (RO), U Indiana, Penn state, Temple, UTennessee Nashville, Baylor Dallas, Virginia Mason Fransciscan, UFlorida, George Washington

Having a hard time figuring out competitiveness and what target schools vs safety schools should be so this is still a preliminary list as I figure it out. Planning on applying to around 40 programs most likely. Any advice/help is appreciated!

Your tiers are off, but more importantly, for couple’s matching I’d prioritize applying to lots of programs in cities or regions where you and your partner are both likely to get multiple interviews. It looks like you’ve done some of that but omitted some programs in high-yield cities and included some places that don’t make a ton of sense geographically. Also, you don’t lose much by aiming high (as well as more realistic places) and seeing if you can ride your partner’s coattails a little.

For NY programs, I’d add Montefiore (target). Rutgers is NY-area target; Columbia, Cornell, Sinai, and NYU are all reaches.
For Boston, add Tufts (target) and Beth Israel Deaconess (reach).
You could consider adding Christiana in Delaware and Cooper in NJ as Philly-area safeties.
Add Maryland (target) and maybe INOVA (safety) to your Baltimore/DC list.
Add UIC in Chicago.
Add UC Irvine to your LA-area list.

 

[goose23]

School: Low tier MD
Step 1: 245
Step 2: 250
Pre-clinical: P/F first and second year
Clinical grades: 8/8 honors
Class Ranking: Top quartile
Research:
5 publications two of which I am first author

ECs/randoms:
Awarded a $75,000 grant for a free clinic, Excellence in healthcare award for my volunteer work at free clinic, featured on PBS regarding work at free clinic, AirBNB host, founded and run an event company and dessert company

LORs:
2 IM, 1 FM

Geographic Signaling: Pacific, Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, East North Central
School list: Do I need more safeties??
Reaches

1. UTSW
2. UCLA
3. University of Washington
4. NYU Grossman
5. Northwestern
6. Stanford
7. Baylor
8. USC
9. New York Presbyterian (Cornell)
10. University of Colorado
11. UCSD
12. OHSU

Targets:

1. Rush
2. Cedars Sinai
3. UCLA Harbor
4. UC Davis
5. Cook County
6. University of Illinois Chicago
7. UCLA Olive View
8. UCI

Safeties

1. Scripps Green
2. University of Arizona- Tucson
3. University of Hawaii
4. Loma Linda
5. Kaiser LA
6. Kaiser Santa Clara
7. Scripps Mercy
8. Huntington Memorial

 

[expicept]

School: Low tier MD
Step 1: 245
Step 2: 250
Pre-clinical: P/F first and second year
Clinical grades: 8/8 honors
Class Ranking: Top quartile
Research:
5 publications two of which I am first author

ECs/randoms:
Awarded a $75,000 grant for a free clinic, Excellence in healthcare award for my volunteer work at free clinic, featured on PBS regarding work at free clinic, AirBNB host, founded and run an event company and dessert company

LORs:
2 IM, 1 FM

Geographic Signaling: Pacific, Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, East North Central
School list: Do I need more safeties??
Reaches

1. UTSW
2. UCLA
3. University of Washington
4. NYU Grossman
5. Northwestern
6. Stanford
7. Baylor
8. USC
9. New York Presbyterian (Cornell)
10. University of Colorado
11. UCSD
12. OHSU

Targets:

1. Rush
2. Cedars Sinai
3. UCLA Harbor
4. UC Davis
5. Cook County
6. University of Illinois Chicago
7. UCLA Olive View
8. UCI

Safeties

1. Scripps Green
2. University of Arizona- Tucson
3. University of Hawaii
4. Loma Linda
5. Kaiser LA
6. Kaiser Santa Clara
7. Scripps Mercy
8. Huntington Memorial

You are selling yourself short. While your STEPs aren't going to blow anyone away, I think your ECs will get a fair amount of attention on the interview trail. No AOA/GHHS may limit your chances at some of your reaches, but I think you'll match one of those 12. You don't need any more safeties. I'm assuming your preference is to match within California. If so, your safeties are fine. I would be shocked if you ended up matching at either Scripps hospital, Kaiser SC, or HM. Also, I would move USC, Colorado and Baylor into the target tier.

 

[keelhaul]

Med School: Low-tier US MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F (all passes)
M3-4 grades: 5/6 Honors M3 Clerkships (just High Pass in FM). Honors in M4 IM AI rotation
Class rank: N/A
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: Mid-260s
AOA: No 🙁
GHHS: No
Research: Couple of articles (1 first author), couple of published abstracts, and a poster presentation
Extracurriculars: Pretty decent volunteering + a good leadership position, but nothing breaking the mold
LORs: 1 M3 IM rotation, 1 other M3 rotation, 1 M4 AI rotation (latter should be particularly strong)
Geographic Signaling: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South-Atlantic
Red flags: None

Program List
Reach: Duke, Columbia, UPenn, NYU, Sinai, Emory, Yale, UPMC, Cornell
Target: UNC, UVA, Georgetown, Tufts, BU, Monte, Brown, Temple, Maryland, Thomas Jeff, GWU, Wake
Safeties: Hopkins Bayfield, Rutgers RWJ, Penn State, VCU, Carolinas, Inova, EVMS, West Virginia

Would love to add more in target range but idk what. Having a hard time judging how competitive I am + how many safeties I need (or what even should be considered as a safety for me)

 

[Adjet]

Med School: Low-tier US MD
M1-M2 grades: P/F (all passes)
M3-4 grades: 5/6 Honors M3 Clerkships (just High Pass in FM). Honors in M4 IM AI rotation
Class rank: N/A
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: Mid-260s
AOA: No 🙁
GHHS: No
Research: Couple of articles (1 first author), couple of published abstracts, and a poster presentation
Extracurriculars: Pretty decent volunteering + a good leadership position, but nothing breaking the mold
LORs: 1 M3 IM rotation, 1 other M3 rotation, 1 M4 AI rotation (latter should be particularly strong)
Geographic Signaling: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South-Atlantic
Red flags: None

Program List
Reach: Duke, Columbia, UPenn, NYU, Sinai, Emory, Yale, UPMC, Cornell
Target: UNC, UVA, Georgetown, Tufts, BU, Monte, Brown, Temple, Maryland, Thomas Jeff, GWU, Wake
Safeties: Hopkins Bayfield, Rutgers RWJ, Penn State, VCU, Carolinas, Inova, EVMS, West Virginia

Would love to add more in target range but idk what. Having a hard time judging how competitive I am + how many safeties I need (or what even should be considered as a safety for me)

I think the list is reasonable -- you have enough mid-tier programs and safeties on there that you should have invites from without relying on reaches. Can't think of other 'targets.' Would consider adding Vanderbilt if you're looking in that region.

 

[OncOncOnc]

I think the list is reasonable -- you have enough mid-tier programs and safeties on there that you should have invites from without relying on reaches. Can't think of other 'targets.' Would consider adding Vanderbilt if you're looking in that region.

Agree that it’s a good list. If they aren’t too cold for you, could consider adding U Mass, Rochester, Dartmouth, Vermont.

 

[Vyzzle]

Med School: lower tier MD
M1-M2 grades: Pass/Fail: all passes
M3 and M4 grades: All honors
Class rank: “Top of first quartile”
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: >276 (I don’t want to dox myself by posting the exact number)
AOA: No chapter at my school.
GHHS: Have a chapter at my school; I did not receive it.
Research: 4 middle author publications. 1 first author manuscript currently under review. 4 first author presentations.
Extracurriculars: Heavily focused on mentorship, teaching, and research. Good amount of leadership positions and community involvement.
LORs: 1 from home IM Sub-I, 1 from home MICU rotation, IM Chair letter, 1 from my P.I. who’s at a top school.
Geographic Signaling: New England, mid Atlantic, south Atlantic.
Red flags: I chose not to do away rotations (not actually sure if this is a red flag; but, per my advisor, this will hurt my candidacy for top programs).

Reach: MGH, Brigham, Hopkins, UCSF, Cornell, Columbia, Mt. Sinai, NYU, Yale, BIDMC, UPenn, UPitt, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Northwestern, UChicago, UMich, Mayo MN, WashU, UWash, UCLA, Stanford.

Target: Tufts, BU, UMass, Hofstra, Montefiore, URochester, Thomas Jefferson, Brown, UVA, UVM, UNC, Wake, Dartmouth, UMaryland, UColorado.

Safety: UConn, Stamford Hospital/Columbia, SUNY Downstate, Stony Brook.

I built this list with the intent to try and land at a T30 program, with other programs specifically in the northeast included. I’m unsure what is a reach or a target program since I have good grades/step 2 score, but coming from a lower tier school and not doing aways (and thus having no letters from aways) will likely hurt my application. The list could use more targets/safeties, recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Not doing aways will have little to no impact on your application.

Your only 'ding' is coming from a low tier med school. There's absolutely nothing more you could've done for your app besides more research, but yours is sufficient and higher than most.

Most of your "reaches" are targets.

 

[obiwan]

Med School: lower tier MD
M1-M2 grades: Pass/Fail: all passes
M3 and M4 grades: All honors
Class rank: “Top of first quartile”
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: >276 (I don’t want to dox myself by posting the exact number)
AOA: No chapter at my school.
GHHS: Have a chapter at my school; I did not receive it.
Research: 4 middle author publications. 1 first author manuscript currently under review. 4 first author presentations.
Extracurriculars: Heavily focused on mentorship, teaching, and research. Good amount of leadership positions and community involvement.
LORs: 1 from home IM Sub-I, 1 from home MICU rotation, IM Chair letter, 1 from my P.I. who’s at a top school.
Geographic Signaling: New England, mid Atlantic, south Atlantic.
Red flags: I chose not to do away rotations (not actually sure if this is a red flag; but, per my advisor, this will hurt my candidacy for top programs).

Reach: MGH, Brigham, Hopkins, UCSF, Cornell, Columbia, Mt. Sinai, NYU, Yale, BIDMC, UPenn, UPitt, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Northwestern, UChicago, UMich, Mayo MN, WashU, UWash, UCLA, Stanford.

Target: Tufts, BU, UMass, Hofstra, Montefiore, URochester, Thomas Jefferson, Brown, UVA, UVM, UNC, Wake, Dartmouth, UMaryland, UColorado.

Safety: UConn, Stamford Hospital/Columbia, SUNY Downstate, Stony Brook.

I built this list with the intent to try and land at a T30 program, with other programs specifically in the northeast included. I’m unsure what is a reach or a target program since I have good grades/step 2 score, but coming from a lower tier school and not doing aways (and thus having no letters from aways) will likely hurt my application. The list could use more targets/safeties, recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I am curious about your step score now lol. your list is fine. you will land somewhere in those reach programs. agree with the poster above, your application is as optimized as possible, there is nothing else that you need to do. good luck

 

[LetsMakeADecision]

Med School: Low Tier MD
M1-M2 grades: Top 10%
M3 grades: All Honors
M4 grades: All Honors (Sub-I + Away)
Class rank: Top 10%
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: ~270
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 2-3 publications, 6-7 posters
Extracurriculars: Lots of EC, extensive work
LORs: 1-2 are definitely very strong letters
Geographic Signaling: Mid-Atlantic, ??Not sure for other two
Red flags: None

I'm couples matching and was hoping to get ideas on a good list, preferably wanting to match in a large urban center I at least would like to land at a T20 to open up fellowship and academic options. Partner is applying to a slightly more competitive field, Step 2 is ~255, URM, ~2nd quartile, better research than me though little work done during med school itself.

 

[gutonc]

Med School: Low Tier MD
M1-M2 grades: Top 10%
M3 grades: All Honors
M4 grades: All Honors (Sub-I + Away)
Class rank: Top 10%
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: ~270
AOA: Yes
GHHS: No
Research: 2-3 publications, 6-7 posters
Extracurriculars: Lots of EC, extensive work
LORs: 1-2 are definitely very strong letters
Geographic Signaling: Mid-Atlantic, ??Not sure for other two
Red flags: None

I'm couples matching and was hoping to get ideas on a good list, preferably wanting to match in a large urban center I at least would like to land at a T20 to open up fellowship and academic options. Partner is applying to a slightly more competitive field, Step 2 is ~255, URM, ~2nd quartile, better research than me though little work done during med school itself.

You'll be fine with wherever and whatever. Pick places your partner is likely to be able to match and just go for it. It's easier to do this in Boston/NYC/Chicago/LA/Dallas/DC but possible anywhere.

 

[OncOncOnc]

Med School: MD mid-low tier Northeast
M1-M2 grades: P/F (all passes)
M3-4 grades: 4/6 Honors (High Pass Gen Surg/Peds), SubIM - Honors
Class rank: Second Quintile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 249 🙁
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: Two first author publications, one poster presentation, currently working on a multi-year clinical trial paper but will not be submitted for publication prior to apps
Extracurriculars: Great leadership position with good volunteering, curriculum work and other institutional service, focused on teaching (with one unique teaching experience) and research
LORs: IM chair, SubI-IM APD, FM faculty, PI Heme/Onc (well known in their field)
Geographic Signaling: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic
Red flags: None

Reach: Columbia, Cornell, Yale, UPMC, UChicago, UPenn, CCF, Duke, Northwestern, Ohio State, BU, UNC, NYU

Target: Brown, Dartmouth, Tufts, Wake Forest, Georgetown, GWU, MUSC, Sidney-Kimmel TJ, Temple, UCinn, UFlorida, URoch, Virginia Commonwealth

Safety: Maine, NYU LI, Stonybrook, Kaiser Permanente-Mid Atl, UMass

Feel like my list is too top heavy, was wondering if there are programs I should be adding to my list/removing. Thanks!

I think your list is reasonable. Columbia, Cornell, Duke are long shots but there’s minimal cost to applying. You could also consider (given your apparent geographic preferences) Vermont, Montefiore, RWJ, Maryland, Hopkins Bayview, Georgetown, UVA, Rush, UIC, Miami, Case Western.

 

[Zen Arcade]

Med School: MD mid-low tier Northeast
M1-M2 grades: P/F (all passes)
M3-4 grades: 4/6 Honors (High Pass Gen Surg/Peds), SubIM - Honors
Class rank: Second Quintile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 249 🙁
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: Two first author publications, one poster presentation, currently working on a multi-year clinical trial paper but will not be submitted for publication prior to apps
Extracurriculars: Great leadership position with good volunteering, curriculum work and other institutional service, focused on teaching (with one unique teaching experience) and research
LORs: IM chair, SubI-IM APD, FM faculty, PI Heme/Onc (well known in their field)
Geographic Signaling: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic
Red flags: None

Reach: Columbia, Cornell, Yale, UPMC, UChicago, UPenn, CCF, Duke, Northwestern, Ohio State, BU, UNC, NYU

Target: Brown, Dartmouth, Tufts, Wake Forest, Georgetown, GWU, MUSC, Sidney-Kimmel TJ, Temple, UCinn, UFlorida, URoch, Virginia Commonwealth

Safety: Maine, NYU LI, Stonybrook, Kaiser Permanente-Mid Atl, UMass

Feel like my list is too top heavy, was wondering if there are programs I should be adding to my list/removing. Thanks!

Ohio state, CCF +/- BU are probably targets for you.

 

[wamchelpaccount]

Med School: Mid tier
M1-M2 grades: 2nd quartile
M3 grades: 1 honors in obygyn 2 HP in neuro and surgery, rest pass
M4 grades: Honors Sub-I
Class rank: probably 2nd quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 256
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: 2 (1st author was the PI, and 4th author) publications, 5-6 posters (1 national), 1 abstract
Extracurriculars: supplemental instructor, president of a club, volunteer, also digital artist as a part time job
LORs: 1 letter gastroenterologist (research), 1 sub-i letter, 1 icu letter, chair letter
Geographic Signaling: east coast area (aiming for NY area, but would be happy anywhere in the east coast)
Red flags: None

I'm not sure how to use my signals any suggestions? thank you guys!!

For funnsies:
Duke
Upenn
Yale
Mayo
Vanderbilt
UNC
Emory

Reach:
Boston U
UPMC (signaling) - did research there in undergraduate (went to carnegie mellon) and also did shadowing there
NYU
Cornell
Mt. Sinai (signaling)
UAB

Target:
MUSC (home school)
Thomas jefferson (signaling)
Brown university (signaling)
UVA (signaling)
Ohio State
Temple
Tufts
Albert Einstein
Wake Forest
Dartmouth
Cedar sinai
Rutgers
Rochester

 

[hoopingdocs13]

Med School: USMD, Low-tier (outside top 100)
M1-M2 grades: 1st quartile
M3 grades: 6/8 Honors (including IM), HP in OBGYN, P in FM
M4 grades: don't have them as our M4 school year didn't start till last month
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 250
AOA: Likely yes (AOA won't get decided till the end of the week)
GHHS: No
Research: 1 pub (abstract), 6 posters, a bunch of submitted manuscripts just keep being send back for edits
ECs: Class VP for finance, VP/Chair our student-run clinic, VP for another student-run club, serve as mentor for high-school students in the area for a summer, sit on the academic committee of the school with deans and profs to listen to listen to student's grievances/academic dishonesty cases, watch sports and blogs part-time in my free time
LORs: 1 chair letter, 1 heme/onc letter (I wrote this myself so should be strong), 1 ICU letter, and 1 peds letter (the prof really like me)
Geographic signaling: Midwest (Wisconsin + Illinois area), New York area, and Maryland-Virginia area
Red flags: none
Other: ORM (Asian)
Story: immigrant who came here with a family of 4 living on <1000/month, didn't get our green cards for 10+ years so couldn't work for a while and had to live on other means, had to get full ride to be able to go to college, etc.

I still don't know how to distribute the rest of my signals

Shooting for the stars:
UMich

Reach:
Cornell
Northwestern
UChicago
NYU
UPMC
Emory
Mt Sinai
UNC

Targets:
Wisconsin (signal) - originally from here, brother is still here lots of family around here
CCF (signal) - see above
BU (signal) - some family in the area, aunt is here
Case Western
UVA
Maryland
Georgetown
GWU
Jefferson
Temple
Cincinnati
UIC
Zucker
Rutgers
Rochester
Montefiore
Penn St
Wake Forest
Rush
Loyola
Hopkins Bayview

Safeties:
Medical College of Wisconsin
NYU Long Island
Beaumont (Michigan)
Carolinas Medical Center
Detroit Medical Center
Virginia Tech
Buffalo
Henry Ford
Metrohealth

 

[Adjet]

Med School: Mid tier
M1-M2 grades: 2nd quartile
M3 grades: 1 honors in obygyn 2 HP in neuro and surgery, rest pass
M4 grades: Honors Sub-I
Class rank: probably 2nd quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 256
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: 2 (1st author was the PI, and 4th author) publications, 5-6 posters (1 national), 1 abstract
Extracurriculars: supplemental instructor, president of a club, volunteer, also digital artist as a part time job
LORs: 1 letter gastroenterologist (research), 1 sub-i letter, 1 icu letter, chair letter
Geographic Signaling: east coast area (aiming for NY area, but would be happy anywhere in the east coast)
Red flags: None

I'm not sure how to use my signals any suggestions? thank you guys!!

For funnsies:
Duke
Upenn
Yale
Mayo
Vanderbilt
UNC
Emory

Reach:
Boston U
UPMC (signaling) - did research there in undergraduate (went to carnegie mellon) and also did shadowing there
NYU
Cornell
Mt. Sinai (signaling)
UAB

Target:
MUSC (home school)
Thomas jefferson (signaling)
Brown university (signaling)
UVA (signaling)
Ohio State
Temple
Tufts
Albert Einstein
Wake Forest
Dartmouth
Cedar sinai
Rutgers
Rochester

Your best shot would be at a mid-tier program without the H in medicine and slightly above average performance at a mid-tier school. Your list looks good. Consider Northwell as a target/safety. I matched at a time when signaling didn't exist so not sure how best to strategize, but looks reasonable to me.

Med School: USMD, Low-tier (outside top 100)
M1-M2 grades: 1st quartile
M3 grades: 6/8 Honors (including IM), HP in OBGYN, P in FM
M4 grades: don't have them as our M4 school year didn't start till last month
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 250
AOA: Likely yes (AOA won't get decided till the end of the week)
GHHS: No
Research: 1 pub (abstract), 6 posters, a bunch of submitted manuscripts just keep being send back for edits
ECs: Class VP for finance, VP/Chair our student-run clinic, VP for another student-run club, serve as mentor for high-school students in the area for a summer, sit on the academic committee of the school with deans and profs to listen to listen to student's grievances/academic dishonesty cases, watch sports and blogs part-time in my free time
LORs: 1 chair letter, 1 heme/onc letter (I wrote this myself so should be strong), 1 ICU letter, and 1 peds letter (the prof really like me)
Geographic signaling: Midwest (Wisconsin + Illinois area), New York area, and Maryland-Virginia area
Red flags: none
Other: ORM (Asian)
Story: immigrant who came here with a family of 4 living on <1000/month, didn't get our green cards for 10+ years so couldn't work for a while and had to live on other means, had to get full ride to be able to go to college, etc.

I still don't know how to distribute the rest of my signals

Shooting for the stars:
UMich

Reach:
Cornell
Northwestern
UChicago
NYU
UPMC
Emory
Mt Sinai
UNC

Targets:
Wisconsin (signal) - originally from here, brother is still here lots of family around here
CCF (signal) - see above
BU (signal) - some family in the area, aunt is here
Case Western
UVA
Maryland
Georgetown
GWU
Jefferson
Temple
Cincinnati
UIC
Zucker
Rutgers
Rochester
Montefiore
Penn St
Wake Forest
Rush
Loyola
Hopkins Bayview

Safeties:
Medical College of Wisconsin
NYU Long Island
Beaumont (Michigan)
Carolinas Medical Center
Detroit Medical Center
Virginia Tech
Buffalo
Henry Ford
Metrohealth

Yes/No on AOA could make a significant difference but if you get it you may be selling yourself a tad short. Because of it's non-urban location you may have a better shot at UMich than NW/UChicago and I would consider signaling if you have a strong interest. You have more than enough midtier programs to match and will probably need to cancel interviews from safeties.

 

[880cylon]

Med school rank: low tier MD
USMLE Step 1: pass
USMLE Step 2: 254
AOA: no
Honors: 2 Honors, rest HP during 3rd year
Research: 7 publications(nature, JCI, etc) , 1 poster presentation at national conference
EC: tutor / mentor all throughout medical school
LOR: chair + 2 hospitalist
Other: URM (Hispanic)

Would like to stay in California but do not mind going out of state as long as its a good program. I also have aspirations for fellowship after residency. I am currently undecided about how many programs I should apply to.

Current list:

Loma Linda
USC+LAC
Cedars Sinai
UCSD
UC Irvine
UCSF Fresno
UCLA olive view
UCLA harbor
Santa Clara Valley
MedStar Health
George Washington
Minnesota
Rush
Loyola
Henry Ford
New Mexico
Stony Brook
University of Colorado
University of Utah
Arizona - Tucson
Arizona - phoenix
University of nevada - reno
UNLV Kerkorian
Huntington memorial hospital
Kaiser Fontana
Scripps Green
Emory
Kansas
Iowa
Missouri
U of Illinois
Case Western
Maryland
Jefferson
UT Houston
UT San Antonio
Dell UT Austin
Wake Forest
Dartmouth
Rutgers
Maryland
UPMC
Umass
tufts
UNC
UVA
Virginia Tech
Boston U
Brown
Cleveland Clinic

 

[obiwan]

Med School: East coast DO school
M1-M2 grades: Ranked #1
M3-4 grades: Full honors
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 265
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: No med school research. Two physics journal publications and 2 physics poster presentations from before med school.
Extracurriculars: 7 years of suicide counsellor hotline, amateur boxing, building CT scanner as a hobby
LORs: IM chair, previous director of critical care at Cornell, MICU director, IM attending
Geographic Signaling: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic
Red flags: None

On paper, the real thing that is holding me back is no med school research and obviously that I'm at a DO school. I kinda wanted to do an experiment and just apply to all the prestigious places for IM and see what happens! I know my odds are low as they would be for anyone who doesn't have a great med school name. But still wanted to see what you guys thought or if I should change things around.

Extreme reaches:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Johns Hopkins University

Mass General Brigham

Massachusetts General Hospital

Mayo Clinic

NYU - Main Hospital

Cornell

Columbia

UPenn

University of California San Francisco

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Yale University

Mount Sinai Hospital

Stanford University Hospital

High Reach

Montefiore Medical Center

University of Texas - Southwestern Medical Center

Duke University Hospital

Baylor College

Dartmouth

Brown University

McGaw Medical Center (Northwestern University)

Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center

University of California - Los Angeles

University of California - San Diego

University of California - Irvine

University of California - Davis

University of Michigan

University of Washington

Washington University (St. Louis)

Cleveland Clinic

University of Pittsburgh

Emory University

NYU - Bellevue

Target?

Tufts University

Boston University

Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital

Rush University

Temple University

University of Chicago

University of Maryland

Safety?

Hackensack University Medical Center

University Hospital - Newark

Mount Sinai Morningside/West

Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Maimonides Medical Center

Lenox Hill Hospital

Westchester Medical Center

Jersey City Medical Center

Cooper Medical School University Hospital

I want to expand the list of programs I'm applying at for like mid tier university programs... Any thoughts?

You are more than free to conduct this experiment of yours but before you finalize your list, I would highly highly highly recommend that you go through the housestaff roster for your extreme/high reaches/targets and see how many DOs are at these programs to calibrate expectations and whether it might be more wise to replace those programs that are not DO friendly to those that are (the answer is yes). Even places on your target list like Tufts, Boston Univ, and University of Chicago are not what I consider DO friendly programs. I hope some of the DOs on this thread will be more helpful in telling you which programs are. Off the top of my head I believe Baylor/University of Washington/Emory have at least one DO. The lack of any medical school research is also basically shooting yourself in the foot before this race has started when it comes to trying to get into the big boy academic programs. So, yes, you need to take a different approach to your list. Look at where your peers matched for medicine to see where to apply. As the resident Texan, you can apply to Baylor, UT Houston, UTMB Galveston, UT San Antonio, Baylor University/Scott and White in Dallas and Temple, Texas Tech

 

[WhatAreMyChances IM]

Med School: Northeast low tier MD

M1-M2 grades: P/F, Pass

M3-4 grades: Honors 7/8 3rd year including IM, Honors IM and MICU Sub-I 4th year

Step 1: P

Step 2: 255-260

Class rank: Unsure quartile, at least top 50%, would be surprised if not first quartile

AOA: No

GHHS: No

Research: 2 research experiences, 1 2nd author pub, 1 upcoming poster

Extracurriculars: Decent mentorship/volunteer experiences/prior work experience

LORs: Home program PD (Strong), MICU sub-I (Strong), IM Chair letter, 2 IM Sub-I (anticipated average)

Geographic Signaling: Mid Atlantic, East north central, New England

Red flags: None.

Other: Like to think I have a decent personal statement and story. Mostly worried about my lower amount of research experience comparatively for higher tier programs, no AOA and coming from a low tier MD school. Want to make sure my list isn’t too top heavy and have an appropriate amount of targets and safeties. No ties to California/Texas so didn't plan on applying to any programs in those regions. Also any programs worth cutting out or adding based on my stats?

Goals: Fellowship (One of the more competitive IM fellowships)

School List: Underlined are signals. 44 programs currently which feels like a lot but also have a fair amount of reaches.

Reach: BID, Duke, Emory, Hopkins, MGH, Brigham, Northwestern, Columbia, U Chicago, U Michigan, Penn, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Yale

Target: BU, Brown, Case Western, CCF, IU, Georgetown, OSU, Rutgers RWJ, Jefferson, Temple, Tufts, UPMC, U Cincinnati, UIC, U Maryland, U Minnesota, UNC, Rochester, UVA, U Wisconsin, VCU, Wake Forest

Safety: GWU, Loyola, MCW, Penn State, Rush, U Mass, Wright State, Virginia Tech

Appreciate any feedback, thank you!

 

[Adjet]

Med school rank: low tier MD
USMLE Step 1: pass
USMLE Step 2: 254
AOA: no
Honors: 2 Honors, rest HP during 3rd year
Research: 7 publications(nature, JCI, etc) , 1 poster presentation at national conference
EC: tutor / mentor all throughout medical school
LOR: chair + 2 hospitalist
Other: URM (Hispanic)

Would like to stay in California but do not mind going out of state as long as its a good program. I also have aspirations for fellowship after residency. I am currently undecided about how many programs I should apply to.

Current list:

Loma Linda
USC+LAC
Cedars Sinai
UCSD
UC Irvine
UCSF Fresno
UCLA olive view
UCLA harbor
Santa Clara Valley
MedStar Health
George Washington
Minnesota
Rush
Loyola
Henry Ford
New Mexico
Stony Brook
University of Colorado
University of Utah
Arizona - Tucson
Arizona - phoenix
University of nevada - reno
UNLV Kerkorian
Huntington memorial hospital
Kaiser Fontana
Scripps Green
Emory
Kansas
Iowa
Missouri
U of Illinois
Case Western
Maryland
Jefferson
UT Houston
UT San Antonio
Dell UT Austin
Wake Forest
Dartmouth
Rutgers
Maryland
UPMC
Umass
tufts
UNC
UVA
Virginia Tech
Boston U
Brown
Cleveland Clinic

Did you get a H or HP in medicine? Makes a difference. Assuming H, good research and URM can make some of the academic cali programs within reach (at least UCSD, USC, maybe others as well). You probably have many more programs than you need, like I think it's unnecessary to apply to more than a couple community programs/low tier academic places in undesirable locations outside of CA but I guess you can apply and cancel interviews down the road.

Med School: Northeast low tier MD

M1-M2 grades: P/F, Pass

M3-4 grades: Honors 7/8 3rd year including IM, Honors IM and MICU Sub-I 4th year

Step 1: P

Step 2: 255-260

Class rank: Unsure quartile, at least top 50%, would be surprised if not first quartile

AOA: No

GHHS: No

Research: 2 research experiences, 1 2nd author pub, 1 upcoming poster

Extracurriculars: Decent mentorship/volunteer experiences/prior work experience

LORs: Home program PD (Strong), MICU sub-I (Strong), 2 IM Sub-I (anticipated average)

Geographic Signaling: Mid Atlantic, East north central, New England

Red flags: None.

Other: Like to think I have a decent personal statement and story. Mostly worried about my lower amount of research experience comparatively for higher tier programs, no AOA and coming from a low tier MD school. Want to make sure my list isn’t too top heavy and have an appropriate amount of targets and safeties. No ties to California/Texas so didn't plan on applying to any programs in those regions. Also any programs worth cutting out or adding based on my stats?

Goals: Fellowship (One of the more competitive IM fellowships)

School List: Underlined are signals. 44 programs currently which feels like a lot but also have a fair amount of reaches.

Reach: BID, Duke, Emory, Hopkins, MGH, Brigham, Northwestern, Columbia, U Chicago, U Michigan, Penn, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Yale

Target: BU, Brown, Case Western, CCF, IU, Georgetown, OSU, Rutgers RWJ, Jefferson, Temple, Tufts, UPMC, U Cincinnati, UIC, U Maryland, U Minnesota, UNC, Rochester, UVA, U Wisconsin, VCU, Wake Forest

Safety: GWU, Loyola, MCW, Penn State, Rush, U Mass, Wright State, Virginia Tech

Appreciate any feedback, thank you!

You did great in clinicals which helps quite a bit. I think your list is solid and you have reasonable expectations of 'target' and 'reach'

 

[880cylon]

Did you get a H or HP in medicine? Makes a difference. Assuming H, good research and URM can make some of the academic cali programs within reach (at least UCSD, USC, maybe others as well). You probably have many more programs than you need, like I think it's unnecessary to apply to more than a couple community programs/low tier academic places in undesirable locations outside of CA but I guess you can apply and cancel interviews down the road.


You did great in clinicals which helps quite a bit. I think your list is solid and you have reasonable expectations of 'target' and 'reach'

HP in medicine.

 

[gutonc]

Med School: East coast DO school
M1-M2 grades: Ranked #1
M3-4 grades: Full honors
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 265
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: No med school research. Two physics journal publications and 2 physics poster presentations from before med school.
Extracurriculars: 7 years of suicide counsellor hotline, amateur boxing, building CT scanner as a hobby
LORs: IM chair, previous director of critical care at Cornell, MICU director, IM attending
Geographic Signaling: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic
Red flags: None

On paper, the real thing that is holding me back is no med school research and obviously that I'm at a DO school. I kinda wanted to do an experiment and just apply to all the prestigious places for IM and see what happens! I know my odds are low as they would be for anyone who doesn't have a great med school name. But still wanted to see what you guys thought or if I should change things around.

Extreme reaches:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Johns Hopkins University

Mass General Brigham

Massachusetts General Hospital

Mayo Clinic

NYU - Main Hospital

Cornell

Columbia

UPenn

University of California San Francisco

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Yale University

Mount Sinai Hospital

Stanford University Hospital

High Reach

Montefiore Medical Center

University of Texas - Southwestern Medical Center

Duke University Hospital

Baylor College

Dartmouth

Brown University

McGaw Medical Center (Northwestern University)

Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center

University of California - Los Angeles

University of California - San Diego

University of California - Irvine

University of California - Davis

University of Michigan

University of Washington

Washington University (St. Louis)

Cleveland Clinic

University of Pittsburgh

Emory University

NYU - Bellevue

Target?

Tufts University

Boston University

Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital

Rush University

Temple University

University of Chicago

University of Maryland

Safety?

Hackensack University Medical Center

University Hospital - Newark

Mount Sinai Morningside/West

Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Maimonides Medical Center

Lenox Hill Hospital

Westchester Medical Center

Jersey City Medical Center

Cooper Medical School University Hospital

I want to expand the list of programs I'm applying at for like mid tier university programs... Any thoughts?

You can expand the "target" list easily since at least 1/3 of your high reach programs belong there (Irvine and Davis, Baylor, Dartmouth, Brown, RWJ and CCF are all great programs, they're just not reaches TBH). U of C and Duke both belong in the "high reach" tier.

You ignored a ton of great midwest programs that would go in your target category including Wisco, UMinn, Iowa, Indy, SLU, Cinci, Chicago-Northshore (or whatever it's called this week), MCW, Case...I could go on, but I'm bored...you get the point.

That list is more than long enough. And I totally support your plan to throw money at the dream programs. You'll never know if you don't try.

 

[OhFlDO]

Med School: East coast DO school
M1-M2 grades: Ranked #1
M3-4 grades: Full honors
Class rank: 1st quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 265
AOA: No
GHHS: No
Research: No med school research. Two physics journal publications and 2 physics poster presentations from before med school.
Extracurriculars: 7 years of suicide counsellor hotline, amateur boxing, building CT scanner as a hobby
LORs: IM chair, previous director of critical care at Cornell, MICU director, IM attending
Geographic Signaling: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic
Red flags: None

On paper, the real thing that is holding me back is no med school research and obviously that I'm at a DO school. I kinda wanted to do an experiment and just apply to all the prestigious places for IM and see what happens! I know my odds are low as they would be for anyone who doesn't have a great med school name. But still wanted to see what you guys thought or if I should change things around.

Extreme reaches:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Johns Hopkins University

Mass General Brigham

Massachusetts General Hospital

Mayo Clinic

NYU - Main Hospital

Cornell

Columbia

UPenn

University of California San Francisco

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Yale University

Mount Sinai Hospital

Stanford University Hospital

High Reach

Montefiore Medical Center

University of Texas - Southwestern Medical Center

Duke University Hospital

Baylor College

Dartmouth

Brown University

McGaw Medical Center (Northwestern University)

Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center

University of California - Los Angeles

University of California - San Diego

University of California - Irvine

University of California - Davis

University of Michigan

University of Washington

Washington University (St. Louis)

Cleveland Clinic

University of Pittsburgh

Emory University

NYU - Bellevue

Target?

Tufts University

Boston University

Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital

Rush University

Temple University

University of Chicago

University of Maryland

Safety?

Hackensack University Medical Center

University Hospital - Newark

Mount Sinai Morningside/West

Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Maimonides Medical Center

Lenox Hill Hospital

Westchester Medical Center

Jersey City Medical Center

Cooper Medical School University Hospital

I want to expand the list of programs I'm applying at for like mid tier university programs... Any thoughts?

I’m a DO applicant with essentially the exact same step 2 and class rank. Applying to the same big name/top tiers just to see what happens as well. We can do this experiment together lol

 

[Adjet]

Med School: USMD, Low-tier (outside top 100)
M1-M2 grades: 1st quartile
M3 grades: 7/8 Honors (including IM), HP in surg
M4 grades: Honors sub-I
Class rank: 2nd quartile
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 263
AOA: no
GHHS: No
Research: 4th author on 2 manuscripts, 8 abstracts (first author on 1), no presentations (told you cant double count abstracts and presentations?)
ECs: lots of education/tutoring, good leadership, good volunteering i guess
LORs: 1 chair letter, 1 IM rotation letter, 1 sub-I (he said its really strong)
Geographic signaling: middle atlantic, new england, East North Central
Red flags: none
Other: ORM

Delusional:
Columbia (signal lol)

Reach:
Cornell (signal)
Northwestern
UChicago
NYU (signal)
UPMC
Emory
Mt Sinai (signal)
yale
Kaiser LA
Kaiser SF
UCSD
UCLA
Rush
tufts

Targets:
Montefiore (signal)
Zucker Northwell LIJ (signal)
RWJ (signal)
Wisconsin
CCF
BU
Case Western
UVA
Maryland
Georgetown
GWU
Jefferson
Temple
Cincinnati
UIC
Rutgers
Rochester
Penn St
Wake Forest
Rush
Hopkins Bayview

Safeties:
Stony
Lenox hill
Mount sinai M/W
Jacobi
Brooklyn Methodist
NYU LI
Buffalo
Westchester
Zucker staten island
Hackensack



Would really appreciate any advice on my candidacy/how rank list looks/ anything to change/add? Thanks

It can be tough to crack into the tippy top places without AOA at a low tier medical school, but your clinical grades and scores are great. Your list looks reasonable. Rush, Tufts, and Kaiser are def not 'reaches' more safety/targets. If you don't have an aversion to the cities Brown and BIDMC are worth adding. Can also consider WashU and Indiana in midwest. You don't need so many safeties.

 

[Zen Arcade]

You can expand the "target" list easily since at least 1/3 of your high reach programs belong there (Irvine and Davis, Baylor, Dartmouth, Brown, RWJ and CCF are all great programs, they're just not reaches TBH). U of C and Duke both belong in the "high reach" tier.

You ignored a ton of great midwest programs that would go in your target category including Wisco, UMinn, Iowa, Indy, SLU, Cinci, Chicago-Northshore (or whatever it's called this week), MCW, Case...I could go on, but I'm bored...you get the point.

That list is more than long enough. And I totally support your plan to throw money at the dream programs. You'll never know if you don't try.

Be careful about some of the 'target' programs as a DO. I know both Wisconsin and Iowa take pretty much zero DO's.

 

[gutonc]

This is such a frustrating thing to anticipate in a sense when making lists. On one hand, I feel that I have a competitive application, but some programs will simply see DO and throw it away. There are programs more competitive than Wisconsin and Iowa that will consider me and there are programs less competitive that won't. Very difficult to traverse.

Currently the goal is to be just broad thanks to everyone's advice and patrolling this forum. I'll make sure I have enough programs that take DO applicants seriously enough that I'll match but still get a chance at applying to the places where it's unclear how I'll be received and they may simply be donations.

The problem is, you can't really predict which programs are/not going to give you app a shot. But you've got a much better chance at a place like Iowa than you do at Duke.

I will also say that just because a program doesn't have DOs in it's current/recent class, doesn't mean they don't consider DOs for interview/ranking.