OMFS Chances?

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Thunderdome23

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Hypothetical (asking for a friend who is too lazy to make her own damn account!):

What are the chances of a Harvard student with a 90 on part 1, several publications, and 2 externships matching into first choice for OMFS?

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Hypothetical (asking for a friend who is too lazy to make her own damn account!):

What are the chances of a Harvard student with a 90 on part 1, several publications, and 2 externships matching into first choice for OMFS?

Gary "Probability is your friend" Ruska here,

Here are the factors that go into the OMFS match decision for your "friend":

School attended: mostly not a factor. Maybe a Harvard grad will have some additional appeal because they functionally go to medical school for the first two years of their dental education (i.e. are more likely to do a rectal exam than a periodontal exam). They probably will do better on USMLE Step 1

Board Score: 90 on Part 1 is probably acceptable for OMFS, with the following caveat. For people who are currently third or fourth year students (which GR assumes your friend is), and took their boards in the last two years, the scale for NBDE 1 that goes from passing scores is 75 - 99. It was only in one year (three years ago?) that everything got messed up, since the scale that year was from passing scores of 75 - 94. GR's department has just been adding 5 points to everyone's score from that one year and GR suspects other programs are similar since there are some ads that NBDE Part 1 > 86 is required (86 + 5 > 90). Bottom-line: If your friend is in the correctly scaled boards (75 - 99), then they are probably okay; if they are in the 1-year messed up group (75 - 94), then they are great.

Publications: This really used to be something spectacular, but it seems that nowadays, with the advent on multiple online journals, having 1-2 publications is really nothing truly exceptional. Fortunately, attendings are aware of this and have ways of separating the true stellar applicants from the rif-raff. The following critera are generally used: a) applicant can speak intelligently about the projects, their role, the findings and results as well as limitations, b) the papers are in reputable journals (i.e. peer-reviewed and such that the attendings reviewing your application have actually heard of the journal before) and c) the projects are not "mickey-mouse" projects (i.e. something that the reader will believe took no more than 1 month to do). Added bonus if it is in OMFS and has been presented at the AAOMS meeting.

Externships: Also great exposure and will likely help the applicant, provided that she: a) worked hard and wasn't lazy and b) showed a genuine interest in learning. OMFS is a very small community and a great applicant on paper can be blackballed quite quickly if they are perceived to be dishonest, careless or just plain lazy. Conversely, a less-than-stellar applicant can be elevated to near perfection by working hard, being a team player and always striving to do better. Residents remember both these types of people and will not hesitate to facilitate their rejection/acceptance, respectively.

GR
 
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Hypothetical (asking for a friend who is too lazy to make her own damn account!):

What are the chances of a Harvard student with a 90 on part 1, several publications, and 2 externships matching into first choice for OMFS?

Looking at past few (many) years of matching list, you will be fine.
 
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From my limited knowledge, the actual interview will also be important. The applicant must interview well. A first choice match is not always guaranteed even with excellent scores/extracurriculars/research. It is a challenging specialty, but your friend does seem to have good chances of matching into a program.
 
So I spoke with my friend, and yes this really is my friend, not me pretending I'm asking for a friend (that would be pretty lame). But in all honesty I have been listening to her freak out about this and so much that I turned to this forum to find answers that may help her out. In all honesty though I really don't get the big hype with Harvard. Do you guys actually think an OMFS residency would pick someone from Harvard over someone else, all things being equal? And why? Isn't it just an overrated snob school for rich kids who need their egos rubbed (yes I make fun of my friend for going there all the time!).
 
So I spoke with my friend, and yes this really is my friend, not me pretending I'm asking for a friend (that would be pretty lame). But in all honesty I have been listening to her freak out about this and so much that I turned to this forum to find answers that may help her out. In all honesty though I really don't get the big hype with Harvard. Do you guys actually think an OMFS residency would pick someone from Harvard over someone else, all things being equal? And why? Isn't it just an overrated snob school for rich kids who need their egos rubbed (yes I make fun of my friend for going there all the time!).

Three men are in the bathroom peeing. The first one finishes, walks over to the sink, and lathers his hands up really good with soap, getting under his finger nails and everything. After he rinses off thoroughly and dries his hands, he says, "At Yale, they taught us the importance of good hygiene."
The second guy finishes peeing, walks over, gets a decent amount of soap on his hands, rinses, dries off, and says, "At Harvard, they taught us the importance of conserving our resources." The third guy finishes up, walks over to the door, and right before he leaves, the other men ask him why he did not wash his hands. The man replies, "Shoot, down in Alabama they taught us not to piss on our hands."

My girlfriend's dad recently told this one to me, and I couldn't get over it. If it doesn't at least partially answer your question, I hope it tickles you as much as it tickled me :p
 
Hey guess what Sherlock,

The chances of two people who studied together actually getting the same score (you can be within 10 points of a raw score and still get the same composite, she actually had a higher raw than me) and both being friends with a common interest is not really so rare. I'm not sure what the purpose of your post was. Is the point of this forum to try to corner someone who you suspect is not telling you the truth about their identity (we are all anonymous here anyway) or to try to help answer their question. Nice try trying to dig up useless threads, but I think someone has a little too much time on their hands....
 
So I spoke with my friend, and yes this really is my friend, not me pretending I'm asking for a friend (that would be pretty lame). But in all honesty I have been listening to her freak out about this and so much that I turned to this forum to find answers that may help her out. In all honesty though I really don't get the big hype with Harvard. Do you guys actually think an OMFS residency would pick someone from Harvard over someone else, all things being equal? And why? Isn't it just an overrated snob school for rich kids who need their egos rubbed (yes I make fun of my friend for going there all the time!).

That being said, most of the students are pretty chill people. I would hardly describe my friends and colleagues who went there as "snobs"

Also, they consistently match well in all specialties, including OMFS, so they must be doing something right.
 
Hey guess what Sherlock,

The chances of two people who studied together actually getting the same score (you can be within 10 points of a raw score and still get the same composite, she actually had a higher raw than me) and both being friends with a common interest is not really so rare. I'm not sure what the purpose of your post was. Is the point of this forum to try to corner someone who you suspect is not telling you the truth about their identity (we are all anonymous here anyway) or to try to help answer their question. Nice try trying to dig up useless threads, but I think someone has a little too much time on their hands....

That being said, most of the students are pretty chill people. I would hardly describe my friends and colleagues who went there as "snobs"

Also, they consistently match well in all specialties, including OMFS, so they must be doing something right.

OWNED!!!:laugh:
 
Hey Atu14,

Is it a coincidence that your sdn name sorta sounds like "a tool"
 
Hey Atu14,

Is it a coincidence that your sdn name sorta sounds like "a tool"

That's pretty lame.

You're making a big deal out of nothing. If you are your friend, cool, we all have split personalities. If it really is your friend, awesome. Let's not sweat the small stuffs.
 
BTW are all you guys/girls who are posting on this thread interested in OMFS?
 
The question you posed is pretty vague, and hard to answer. It really lacks any info.

Harvard. 90. 2 externships. 2 publications.

Are they 1st author pubs? What are they in/on? Where were the externships? Were they at the #1 school?

What is the #1 school? How many people did they interview? Did she interview well?

The stats you've given, as they are, seem fairly average for a top-tier program. I don't know where she wants her #1 to be though, so if its not a top-tier program, then maybe she has a killer chance.

If she wants to go somewhere they interview 10:1 ratio and all the applicants have her stats, then I don't think Harvard matters much.

I think the Harvard pedigree does have advantages, especially when applications are sorted through and invitations are sent out. THere are few students that go there and most are stellar. A school's reputation DOES matter.

Past the interview however, as most have said before, it's how the faculty feel about the applicant and their "fit," along with the stats and everything else.

Stats wise, she seems average. If her fit is average too, I would say she has a "chance" at her top program. Really depends on which program. But doesn't seem like a situation I would get my heart set on, I would just let the match do its own thing.
 
So I spoke with my friend, and yes this really is my friend, not me pretending I'm asking for a friend (that would be pretty lame). But in all honesty I have been listening to her freak out about this and so much that I turned to this forum to find answers that may help her out. In all honesty though I really don't get the big hype with Harvard. Do you guys actually think an OMFS residency would pick someone from Harvard over someone else, all things being equal? And why? Isn't it just an overrated snob school for rich kids who need their egos rubbed (yes I make fun of my friend for going there all the time!).

lol and you go there yourself?!?!? you're a funny guy!
 
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