*Official* "IM Interviews Offered" Thread

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Thanks for the reassurance, its just a bit unnerving when everyone and their mother seems to be getting interviews at these northeast programs. I haven't had any trouble getting interviews from the midwest though (U chicago, northwestern, wash U, mayo-roch). Seems peculiar, the geographic distribution...but I suppose patience is a virtue. Maybe I'll just sniff some coke...its a helluva drug.
 
metastatic dz said:
Thanks for the reassurance, its just a bit unnerving when everyone and their mother seems to be getting interviews at these northeast programs. I haven't had any trouble getting interviews from the midwest though (U chicago, northwestern, wash U, mayo-roch). Seems peculiar, the geographic distribution...but I suppose patience is a virtue. Maybe I'll just sniff some coke...its a helluva drug.

Well, I personally have given up waiting for interviews. I'm tired of checking ERAS and getting no more love.

So I've decided to check SDN more often instead, and see what other interview offers people have gotten and be happy for them instead. 😀
 
InternalWhizzzz said:
Well, I personally have given up waiting for interviews. I'm tired of checking ERAS and getting no more love.

So I've decided to check SDN more often instead, and see what other interview offers people have gotten and be happy for them instead. 😀


Amen.
 
Here goes with my first post in four years (since the good ol AMCAS days)...

Interviews:
Northwestern (Evanston)- a couple months ago
Northwestern (Chicago)- a few weeks ago
U of Chicago- 11/7
Wash U- a couple months ago
Mayo (Rochester)- 10/31
UCSF- several weeks ago
Stanford- 11/7
UCLA- 11/4
UPenn- 11/7
Duke- 11/4
BIDMC- 11/8
JHU- 11/9
Columbia- a few weeks ago
Cornell- 10/31

Await: BWH, MGH, U Wash

Good luck everyone!
 
This is going to sound extremely bizarre...almost surreal...but i just got an interview from cornell...email sent at 945 pm...just hours after I was griping about not getting interviews from the northeast. woah...thats creapy

interviews thus far:
USF-Tampa
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
U of Chicago
Wash U
Mayo-Rochester
UNC
Pitt
Baylor
Cornell
 
metastatic dz said:
This is going to sound extremely bizarre...almost surreal...but i just got an interview from cornell...email sent at 945 pm...just hours after I was griping about not getting interviews from the northeast. woah...thats creapy

Congrats on Cornell! Maybe we should all start griping more to see if it works for us, too! 😉 Except I don't think it's possible to gripe more than I already have.

To answer your previous question, I am at a school in the northeast and have heard nothing from California - not even UC Davis, which I'm pretty sure isn't as competitive as UCSF and Stanford. On the other hand, I have heard from a good number of NE programs (though not the biggies), so maybe there is a regional component.

My latest theory is that programs just have a big pile of applications and go through it from top to bottom, so the order of invites is actually pretty random and we are just wasting our time trying to figure out the method to their madness. I know that's probably not the case but it makes me feel better about the ones that haven't come in yet. 🙂
 
InternalWhizzzz said:
Well, I personally have given up waiting for interviews. I'm tired of checking ERAS and getting no more love.

So I've decided to check SDN more often instead, and see what other interview offers people have gotten and be happy for them instead. 😀

Well, you are a much better person than I am. I have been thinking about doing the opposite and decreasing my SDN time because when I come here I just get jealous of everybody. But now you've reminded me that I need to get a better attitude. Tomorrow I will make an effort to be happy for everyone, even the people that get Brigham and UCSF. 🙂
 
Adding NYU by email at 10 pm yay!

agree about the whole east coast vs west coast...im on the east and have not heard from ucsf or stanford (heard from ucla and cedars though)...i think regions do make differences, but at the same time I think randomness is important too...

still praying for a few big bostonians...and a little love from New Haven

Peace out everyone...time to get my arse onto some USMLEWORLD

Columbia
cornell
UPitt
UPENN
JHU
NYU
Tufts – NEMC
BU
Brown
Mt Sinai
Emory
Cedars Sinai
UCLA
U Chicago
St vincents NY
Westchester Med NY
UMDNJ - NJMS
UMDNJ - RWJMS
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Einstein - Montefiore

Waiting for: MGH, B/W, Duke, UCSF, Stanford, Yale, BIDMC
 
metastatic dz said:
This is going to sound extremely bizarre...almost surreal...but i just got an interview from cornell...email sent at 945 pm...just hours after I was griping about not getting interviews from the northeast. woah...thats creapy

interviews thus far:
USF-Tampa
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
U of Chicago
Wash U
Mayo-Rochester
UNC
Pitt
Baylor
Cornell

Congrats on the cornell man...maybe I'll see you on the trail over there...dont stress, I think lots more interviews will come over hte next few weeks...Just sux that we will lose out on cheap airfares and hotels...
 
BigBadBix said:
Well, you are a much better person than I am. I have been thinking about doing the opposite and decreasing my SDN time because when I come here I just get jealous of everybody. But now you've reminded me that I need to get a better attitude. Tomorrow I will make an effort to be happy for everyone, even the people that get Brigham and UCSF. 🙂

aah, it's human nature, I figure the more top programs these individuals get interviews at, hopefully they will rescind the interviews from the middle tier schools, so at least I could interview there 😉

I wouldn't have a donkey's ass chance of matching to JHU, WashU or Brigham...so when they are happy, I'm happy..

I just hope that program directors realize this and don't send any rejections until March 😀

cuz as you can see, the same top notch applicants are getting like 30 interviews...now how they are going to pay for all the flying, hotels...that I don't know 😱 I guess some people are well off...

the funniest thing is, my advisor told me I needed average step scores to get into medicine...looking at this board with all the 250 scores and AOA...I'm wondering, if I'm applying to the right field 😕

I'm begining ot doubt that I'm still on the internal medicine forum...I think the derm people are applying to internal as their backup 😀

which makes me wonder, y r you brilliant people applying to medicine? have you guys not done a rotation in a MICU? the night calls?

are you pple aware that derm has no night call? what's the worst thing that you can get paged for as a derm resident? breakout acne before the prom?

what's the matter with you people? if I had those scores, I'd be doing radiology or derm right now 😎
 
glad i'm not the only one thinking how random this process is.

updated list: (no order)

brown
bidmc
upenn
columbia
mt. sinai
jhu
u chicago
northwestern
ohsu
ucsf
mayo-scottsdale
u of arizona

still waiting to hear from stanford, bwh, and mgh. starting to give up on stanford and bwh, though. =(
 
InternalWhizzzz said:
the funniest thing is, my advisor told me I needed average step scores to get into medicine...looking at this board with all the 250 scores and AOA...I'm wondering, if I'm applying to the right field 😕

I'm begining ot doubt that I'm still on the internal medicine forum...I think the derm people are applying to internal as their backup 😀

which makes me wonder, y r you brilliant people applying to medicine? have you guys not done a rotation in a MICU? the night calls?

are you pple aware that derm has no night call? what's the worst thing that you can get paged for as a derm resident? breakout acne before the prom?

what's the matter with you people? if I had those scores, I'd be doing radiology or derm right now 😎
ha ha ha, yeah, and what we really need is a bunch of genious dermatologists! And radiology is the most shallow field you can think of, no patient interaction, no leadership, no community activism...a desk job you can do from home! You know when we said all the crap about making a difference and helping people on our medical school interviews...well some of us actually started to believe ourselves...hope I feel that way after 10 months of call!
 
Hey man, I ask myself everyday why I am not doing derm...in fact the derm chair at my school really likes me too...but the honest reason is, it wouldn't feel like a good use of what I learned in four years of med school...I will complain like a mofo, and curse and scream every day, but I suppose somewhere in the end, I would be happier running differentials, and really reading the new england journal...that's not to say we dont need dermatologists...cuz lets face it, when you get acne before the prom who are you going to...but we still need bright internists and specialists...If I'm going to get some wierd disease I want to have someone like House MD or Internalwhizzzzz or bigbadbix or pickybicky or tuffgong, or every other amazing candidate on this board to treat me...and in the end, we will all match well...it's just stress along the way...I'm going to go to bed now, and ponder away my stresses, til tomorrow when I will be refreshing my email every 18.5 seconds...=) cheers everyone and goodnight...
 
jadedbearsprite said:
glad i'm not the only one thinking how random this process is.

updated list: (no order)

brown
bidmc
upenn
columbia
mt. sinai
jhu
u chicago
northwestern
ohsu
ucsf
mayo-scottsdale
u of arizona

still waiting to hear from stanford, bwh, and mgh. starting to give up on stanford and bwh, though. =(


C'mon, Stanford and B&W just started giving out interviews this week. I got UCLA 1 wk after they started giving out interviews and Harbor 2 weeks after. You've got tons of interviews people here would love to have (UCSF, JHU, etc.) Who's to say Stanford and B&W won't come thru for you .... or for me.
 
Step 1: Below the mean
Step 2: 226/92
Top 50 med school
All honors 3rd, 4th year
Several publications and presentations
Solid CV & LORs
Not AOA (like a few others, missed it by a few points on step 1)

Old

UCI
Kaiser SF
UCSF
Tufts
Cedars Sinai
UCLA

New: UCLA-Harbor

Waiting: Stanford, Harbor, B&W, MGH

C'mon guys, I sense tons of negativity. Interviews are still rolling in and will continue to do so. You guys are all bright and will match well, and more importantly, will do well in residency and will take good care of patients, and in the end, isn't that most important? Most everyone is supportive of one another and I would happy to work with y'all at any of the programs I am lucky enough to match into.

There is always hope - I mean look at me and my crappy step 1 - so low, I shouldn't even be matching into medicine but my interviews aren't too shabby. Is there really going to be a big difference between JHU and UCLA and Sinai and NYU etc?

And we shouldn't bag on derm and rads. I can't count the number of times rads has found something that completely changed the management plan. And derm isn't for me, that's for sure, but someone's got to do it! All I know is that Steven-Johnsons is bad news (picked that one up from step 2 studying)

This process is random!
 
phatfarm said:
Step 1: Below the mean
Step 2: 226/92
Top 50 med school
All honors 3rd, 4th year
Several publications and presentations
Solid CV & LORs
Not AOA (like a few others, missed it by a few points on step 1)

Old

UCI
Kaiser SF
UCSF
Tufts
Cedars Sinai
UCLA

New: UCLA-Harbor

Waiting: Stanford, Harbor, B&W, MGH

C'mon guys, I sense tons of negativity. Interviews are still rolling in and will continue to do so. You guys are all bright and will match well, and more importantly, will do well in residency and will take good care of patients, and in the end, isn't that most important? Most everyone is supportive of one another and I would happy to work with y'all at any of the programs I am lucky enough to match into.

There is always hope - I mean look at me and my crappy step 1 - so low, I shouldn't even be matching into medicine but my interviews aren't too shabby. Is there really going to be a big difference between JHU and UCLA and Sinai and NYU etc?

And we shouldn't bag on derm and rads. I can't count the number of times rads has found something that completely changed the management plan. And derm isn't for me, that's for sure, but someone's got to do it! All I know is that Steven-Johnsons is bad news (picked that one up from step 2 studying)

This process is random!

yep..someone gotta do derm...you know it's really funny, you spend 4 years learning all this stuff in medical school, and then what it boils down to is, this wise sage I learned from this dermatologist:

if it's wet, dry it...
if it's dry, wet it,
everything in between is glucocorticoid cream 😛
 
Eh, why not.

U of Colorado
U of Washington
Wash U
Northwestern
Rush
U of Michigan

Waiting to hear from UCSF, U of Chicago, OHSU (that makes it 6/9).

I have the interview at my first choice so everything beyond that is just seeing if anything blows me away. If I have to scrable and go to Maine, so be it (I hear it's a nice place and a strong IM program anyhow). 🙂
 
Realistically I would lover 2 more interviews from great programs, like UC and BIDMC, and I think I would be happy. If MGH came, I don't even know if I would go b/c I would spend all my years being intimidated and that doesn't sound like fun.
 
alright...I've finally figured it out. The more you bitch...the more interviews you get. Last night, I was getting frustrated about not getting interviews in the northeast...I've gotten 3 in the past 12 hours. (cornell last night, and BIDMC and Mt Sinai this morn) so...to update the list (total of 12 now)

Interviews:
USF-Tampa
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
Baylor
U of Chicago
Wash U
Mayo-Rochester
UNC
U of Pitt
BIDMC
Mt Sinai
Cornell

I'm officially half way through my list, waiting on 12 more programs

man, this is stressful.
 
Has anyone heard from UCSD? I haven't seen it mentioned here along with the other UC programs that are offering interviews.
 
have seen 1 person w/ interview at UCSD on this thread.
 
DrNick2006 said:
have seen 1 person w/ interview at UCSD on this thread.

Really? Somehow I totally missed that. Do you know how long ago it was?
 
Post deans letter, maybe the 3rd-ish
 
post to add BIDMC this morning...I know very little about this program except its the "third" harvard hospital...anyone know how it is compared to the big bostonians or big NYC hospitals (cornell, columbia) or Penn or hopkins...if this thread isnt the right place to discuss please feel free to pm me your opinions...I read a lot about the program, but dont know its rep in general...

So far:
No particular order:

Columbia
cornell
UPitt
UPENN
JHU
BIDMC
NYU
Tufts – NEMC
BU
Brown
Mt Sinai
Emory
Cedars Sinai
UCLA
U Chicago
St vincents NY
Westchester Med NY
UMDNJ - NJMS
UMDNJ - RWJMS
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Einstein - Montefiore

Waiting for: MGH, B/W, Duke, UCSF, Stanford, Yale
 
DrNick2006 said:
Post deans letter, maybe the 3rd-ish

Searched this thread over the first week post-Dean's letter, and the only mentions were from folks waiting to hear from UCSD. I could've missed it though.
 
InternalWhizzzz said:
yep..someone gotta do derm.......what it boils down to is....

Boil, derm........ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Get it? Man, there really is nothing better than internal medicine. This "window into disease" crud the derm folks throw around is just pathetic. I never was sold on that arguement. Okay, so you've diagnosed the etiology of "that rash?" Now what are you gonna do about it? Just like I was never sold on the arguement by the people interested in plastics who say, "it's the reconstructive aspect that I really want to be involved with."

Rads folks though....they are a smart group of people. I would sooner sell burgers than sit in the closet all day, now matter how much someone was willing to pay me. Still, I have alot of respect for them.

The bottom line for me is what I can wake up every morning to do for the next 40 to 50 years. To each their own. We all know people who cringe at the thought of being an internist....... but let me tell you, the first time I see a named physcial finding....take quincke's pulsations or Beau's lines as examples, I get a kick that lasts me an entire day. Funny that the two examples that popped into my head were both nail findings....

-PB
 
DrJ-Bond said:
Hey man, I ask myself everyday why I am not doing derm...in fact the derm chair at my school really likes me too...but the honest reason is, it wouldn't feel like a good use of what I learned in four years of med school...I will complain like a mofo, and curse and scream every day, but I suppose somewhere in the end, I would be happier running differentials, and really reading the new england journal...that's not to say we dont need dermatologists...cuz lets face it, when you get acne before the prom who are you going to...but we still need bright internists and specialists...If I'm going to get some wierd disease I want to have someone like House MD or Internalwhizzzzz or bigbadbix or pickybicky or tuffgong, or every other amazing candidate on this board to treat me...and in the end, we will all match well...it's just stress along the way...I'm going to go to bed now, and ponder away my stresses, til tomorrow when I will be refreshing my email every 18.5 seconds...=) cheers everyone and goodnight...

AMEN
 
Since whining on this forums seems to produce interviews for some people, I'll go ahead and whine some.

I haven't heard from UChicago or Northwestern.

My current list includes
Emory
Baylor
Pitt
Case Western
UMich
WashU
UTSW
UNC

I'm from a big school in the south. The chicago schools are shutting me down. What's up with that?

(If this works, I'll move on to whining about Harvard programs...)
 
things seem really quiet today. have there been any offers this AM?

i'm having a real hard time scheduling things.... and i'm still kind of holding out for the programs i haven't hear from (~10) before buying tickets and booking hotels... i don't know how much later i can stall, things might get messy soon...

Z
 
hey zolpidem,

I got BIDMC this am...I think they trickle in as they review the apps is my guess...in terms of scheduling...I'm having a tough time too...and I know getting an airfare/hotel discount this late and near holidays is going to be tough...I think they plan this with airlines to maximize everyone making money off us young docs hehe...
 
When do you think it would be good to start worrying about the brigham...I know its not yet because I only heard they started giving interviews this week so its still early...when is a good time to call the office for the "whats the status of my app" question...maybe third week of november?? or fourth week? any opinions
 
In reviewing last year's theads, the number of posts about new interviews decreased dramatically over 11/10 to 11/17, BUT interviews at big programs still went out as late as mid december. I plan on waiting untill the 17th and then contacting programs. I am planning on making travel arrangements this week, and assume that at the most I will get only 2 or 3 more interviews at programs I am really interested in, which I can add in (I have 9 scheduled and plan on canceleing 2 or 3, six interviews is plenty if I really like each program)
 
as a side note...not a lot of yale interviews right? I mean the categorical IM new haven program...seems only a couple people got them...I suppose they are also in the big program list? I guess I will do like you nick and wait it out another week or so...give everyone a chance to settle in...
 
Pheeeeew! Just before I was going to start whining, I got some love this morning 🙂

New:
Columbia
UCLA

Old:
Northwestern
UTSW
Rush
Cedars Sinai
Harbor-UCLA
USC
 
Added Cornell today....

GWU
UC Irvine
Miami
Tufts-NEMC
BID
Stanford
UCLA
Cedars-Sinai
Mt Sinai
Cornell
 
Regarding UCSD, I know someone who has gotten an interview for a preliminary medicine spot (Anesthesiology candidate), but I do not know of anybody who has gotten a categorical interview. I have seen the invitation e-mail that they sent out.....it is a generic e-mail to both prelim and categorical people, so it is unclear to me if they have started mailing categorical offers.

I too am axiously waiting the UCSD decision.


My summary:

Heard from: Wash U, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Pittsburgh, UNC, Duke, Hopkins, Mayo Rochester, Michigan, U. Washington, Stanford, UT Southwestern.

Haven't heard from: UCSF, UCSD, MGH, Brigham.
 
cait7 said:
So I'm a little embarassed to actually say what they are but knowing that the average step I was around 215ish and passing is like 180, I did in between there on both steps. My dean says I didn't get AOA because of my board scores (which I'm real happy about if you can imagine), but other than that I always hope that people aren't always judged by numbers alone...despite the fact that we always are. It's really nice to know that some programs think that way too. Just because I don't test well shouldn't mean that I'm a less qualified applicant and I'd guess that my LOR's probably say something like that. I just wanted to give some hope to everyone else that was like me out there that is reading everyone's awesome scores and just getting scared...good luck to you all!

Hi, I completely agree with you, I am in the same boat. My step I was slightly below average, haven't taken step II yet, honored everything in 3rd and 4th year, of course didn't make AOA because of my step I ... and I am interviewing at BU, BIDMC, GWU, John Hopkins, Mt Sinai, NYU, Tufts, UCLA, and Yale. So score is definitely not everything.
 
hey cj and others,

just wondering what level of med school you guys attend...I have a theory that board scores count more for some of us who do not attend top tier institutions...I think top tier programs are more forgiving of an avg board score for an applicant from hopkins than one from a middle or lower tier state school...in which case the board score might become a neutralizer...from my school last year, we had a few people with 250+ and AOA (we are a middle or lower tier state school) who did not even get interviews at jhu mgh bwh bid and many others...I think this importance of board score thing is relative to the remainder of your app...
 
I agree, pedigree seems to matter quite a bit. I don't think is has as much to do with a difference in education as it has to do with letter writers at big name schools know PD's at big name programs. I would put my education up against any other school, in fact, I think I have an advantage over some programs with a big name where there are a lot of faculty, fellows etc as I have more of a hands on role as a medical student than at these places (based on exchange clerkship experiences).
Still waiting for many big programs here, but if I don't get anymore interviews would be happy going to mayo or U of M or some of my other interviews right now.
 
Stats:
USMLE Step I: 245
USMLE STEP II CS: Not taken
USMLE Step II CK: Not taken
Not AOA at Top 20 school in the South
Basic Science:Mostly Pass, some honors
Honors: every core rotation except HP in pediatrics
3 research publications
No away rotations
Excellent on MSPE (our school has outstanding, excellent, very good, good)
Neither of my parents are physicians
Application complete with transcripts, letters (except MSPE) since 10/10/05
I never saw my recommendation letters, but they were all from tenured full professors.

Interviews:
Emory (email)
Washington University (email)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (email)
Baylor (email)
UTSW (email)
UCSF (email)
UCLA (email)
BID (email)

Awaiting: JHU (presumably reject since I have not heard anything by their Nov. 9th deadline), UCSD, MGH, BWH, U Washington
 
DrJ-Bond said:
hey cj and others,

just wondering what level of med school you guys attend...I have a theory that board scores count more for some of us who do not attend top tier institutions...I think top tier programs are more forgiving of an avg board score for an applicant from hopkins than one from a middle or lower tier state school...in which case the board score might become a neutralizer...from my school last year, we had a few people with 250+ and AOA (we are a middle or lower tier state school) who did not even get interviews at jhu mgh bwh bid and many others...I think this importance of board score thing is relative to the remainder of your app...

J-Bond,

you hit the nail on the head man.... i've recently spoken with a few PDs on this very issue. people with killer board scores +/- AOA, with honors in most of their stuff... who still fail to get interviews at the big name places. and the one thing that they all seem to agree on is that the single most important thing on your application (assuming you are not a total screw-up) is the name of the medical school you attend. i also go to a middle or lower tier state school. there are some programs that will not even consider me, despite impressive stats. unfortunately, that is just how it works. reputation and prestige carry significant weight in this whole process. of course, there are rare exceptions all the time. you could go to a crappy medical school, but then discover a new vaccine which you synthesized from some rare cactus juice that you got while exploring a desert in Africa. ok, then you'd be a contender anywhere, regardless of your med school.

for me personally, the situation I find myself in is nobody's fault but my own. I did my undergrad at an extremely prestigious place, but at that time i wasn't taking my education seriously enough. i was more interested in partying, and finished with a mediocre college career (at best). which still landed me in medical school, but it had to be a middle to lower tier state school. and though i think everything is going to work out fine in the end, it'll be a climb back up to the top... maybe a residency at a really good place, followed by fellowship at a slightly below elite place, followed by a faculty position somewhere back with the bigs. all this being said, i wouldn't change how i handled college. i'm just reflecting on how it has altered the path i am taking to some as of now ill-defined destination.
 
DrJ-Bond said:
hey cj and others,

just wondering what level of med school you guys attend...I have a theory that board scores count more for some of us who do not attend top tier institutions...I think top tier programs are more forgiving of an avg board score for an applicant from hopkins than one from a middle or lower tier state school...in which case the board score might become a neutralizer...from my school last year, we had a few people with 250+ and AOA (we are a middle or lower tier state school) who did not even get interviews at jhu mgh bwh bid and many others...I think this importance of board score thing is relative to the remainder of your app...

When I was interviewing for different medical schools, a couple faculty interviewers mentioned to me that it would be to my advantage to go to a school on the East or West Coast because the names of the schools would give me an advantage when applying to residencies. Furthermore they mentioned to me that some schools look down on schools in the midwest and the south because they felt that the schools were less established (whatever that means). However I had a lot of student loans from undergraduate and I did not want to incur a significant amount of debt for medical school so I ended up going to school in the South (without any regrets).
 
just got UCSD, finally
 
Zolpidem and Bart

In some ways, I kind of look down on that mentality...I mean I see why med school name gets you stuff, but don't you think board scores and aoa and all those other factors should outweigh it...I mean name of med school only means what did you do in college...your board scores and aoa is what you learned in med school which is more relevant to the residency program...I guess what I am coming down to saying is, maybe more merit should be placed on everything...equally

I'm not complaining, since I already got interviews that many people at my school have historical problems getting...just makes me wonder, had I gone to another school (more expensive, more debt, with lesser hands on training) would my interviews come more regularly? When I decided to go to med school, people told me med school name doesnt matter, its how you do in med school, and so I chose this considerably less expensive option given the scholarship opportunities etc...my training was strong also I believe...

Ok enough reflecting...who got love from BWH today...come out with it...I know someone here lurking has some love...tell it to Dr. J...
 
Legend said:
Ha...

I just heard from UCSD too.

But REJECTION !!!
🙂

rejection letter says "Best wishes in OUR future endeavors. Sincerely,"
 
Hey everybody,

I totally agree with the "where you come from" deal. I was talking to one faculty friend I have at Harvard and she did med school at Dartmouth and eventually fellowship at MGH and is currently faculty there. She said that as far as MGH goes, in order to get an "in" you really need to: 1) be from a big name school, 2) have an MD/PhD, or 3) have the AOA/All 3rd yr honors with killer board scores to be considered. She was just saying for better or worse that's the way it is. However, she also said that she really feels like there is a mix of residents at MGH in terms of quality and that she honestly has seen more consistency in quality in many 2nd tier programs like Mayo or UCLA (she's known people to get into MGH because of family connections and a lot of "obnoxious, big-headed jerks" (her words, not mine) who can get a 275 on the USMLE but have zero analytical ability when it comes to clinical stuff).

Anyway, I'm from a mid to low tier state school as well. My USMLE I is below average, my II is a bit above average. I've gotten places like Yale as early as 11/4 but am also waiting on places like BWH/Duke/Columbia. I'm not AOA either and only have 1 honor during 3rd year (psych) in addition to my medicine subinternship. I don't presume to be a "great" candidate but I know I'm being helped by a letter from the dean of my school that states he's never seen anybody like me after decades in medical education and also a LOT of publications and research experience that I was involved in during medical school. I also have 2 amazing LOR's from people outside my school that are well respected in their fields and affiliated with higher tier places.

Anyway, we'll see how things go for everybody. It stinks in some ways that this is the way things go, but a lot of life is a choice about where we choose to go, etc. I know I was asked by one PD WHY I chose to go to the school I went to rather than going to a more "prominent" place. I told him flat out that I haven't paid a dime in 4 years and am close to my family so I don't care.

Alright back to work. Good luck to everybody.
 
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