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Probably too late to add prelims, you think?
I added one just a couple days ago. At least it's well before the dean's letter, right?
Probably too late to add prelims, you think?
Probably too late to add prelims, you think?
I don't think it's too late. I wouldn't feel comfy w/o 15-20 prelims if they were in at all desirable locations.
No love from Penn today.
Don't know if my app wasn't strong enough or regional bias or lack of med school pedigree or combo of all 3. Glad I ended up applying to 45 programs. No love from Penn, Wake, UVA, or Michigan. Too early to tell if it's the randonmess or if the holes in my app are overshadowing the strengths
No love from Penn today.
Don't know if my app wasn't strong enough or regional bias or lack of med school pedigree or combo of all 3. Glad I ended up applying to 45 programs. No love from Penn, Wake, UVA, or Michigan. Too early to tell if it's the randonmess or if the holes in my app are overshadowing the strengths
No love from Penn today.
Don't know if my app wasn't strong enough or regional bias or lack of med school pedigree or combo of all 3. Glad I ended up applying to 45 programs. No love from Penn, Wake, UVA, or Michigan. Too early to tell if it's the randonmess or if the holes in my app are overshadowing the strengths
+2.
Just so you guys don't feel like you're alone, I'll be pretty honest about my app. So I also was rejected from Mayo. No invite from Penn today. I am what I would consider a strong applicant, at least on paper (you can look at my post history for details if interested), so I'm not sure why I've gotten a few top tier invites but not others. Seems random. But perhaps my less than prestigious med school and geographic location have some role
. I will say that as soon as I updated my AOA status, I received an invite from a place on what seemed like an "off day" for this program to send invites, at least according to auntminnie. So, it seemed like they screened by AOA status, or that was the deal breaker until I had it.
I have also not heard from UVA or Wake. However, I was notified that my app was now under review at both places, despite being complete since day one. So, hang tight if you haven't heard from them yet. They're still sending waves out.
Also, sounds like Iowa will be sending invites out this week, if you applied there.
Pretty sure some of these programs will be sending out more invites- i wouldn't freak out yet.
And I could be wrong but I dont think that there were anywhere close to 200 260 plus step 1 scores, and im positive not all of them are applying to rads...
There's much more than 200 260+ step scorers overall but I think in 2011 the numbr doing rads was around 100 something. AOA percentage in the high 20's.
I honestly have no idea how much stuff besides step 1 and AOA matter and that's why I don't seem as confident about my app strength as many expect me to. Nobody did rads at my school last year and no one from my school has matched a top 10 rads program since I've been there.
Thank God that crap is over.
Just checked my CS score report...... took forever to load.... damn near syncoped waiting for it. Thank God that crap is over.
Ugh I have to schedule that thing yet 🙁
Step2cs is a total lose-lose for applicants. It's one of those things that could absolutely sink an otherwise stellar applicant if they fail it, but if they pass, it means absolutely nothing. One of the dumbest hoops we've had to jump through yet.
Correct. Even though I passed it without difficulty, Step 2 CS has been the biggest waste of time and source of unnecessary anxiety in my entire medical school career.
As for interviews - I've gotten several top interviews but got flat rejected at UAB today. Such is life.
UAB waitlist. Bummer!
Me and 2 of my other classmates all got straight up rejections.
Ditto'd.
I was really surprised by one of my classmates not getting an invite. He's born and bred in the South and wasn't some 270s/AOA/10 pubs/cured cancer applicant that would use them as a backup.
I thought I would get some love being at a Southern med school but I guess not. Just the first of many and it didn't anger me as much as I thought it would. Hopefully I'm starting to become less neurotic/insane about this process
I didn't feel so bad after I saw their resident list. Every single resident from the south.
2012mdc - I think you are my applicant twin.
California exiles in the house!
Seems like a lot of interview invites are being sent out now. When should you start freaking out if you are not getting enough?
Seems like a lot of interview invites are being sent out now. When should you start freaking out if you are not getting enough?
In order to get a Step 2 CS result in December, according to the 2011 reporting schedule you will need to take the exam before November 5th (exams taken before then, results will be reported on December 7th, 2011). If you take it from Nov. 6 through Dec. 31, you won't get your result until Feb 1, 2012 or later. UCSF states on their website that they hold their rank meeting in late January. Unless you take CS before November 5th, you will not have your results in time for their rank meeting, and they require it to rank you. You did an away rotation at UCSF and have the credentials to get an interview and potentially match there, so I assume this is relevant information for you. Step 2 CS dates are often booked up several months in advance. I would get on that ASAP.
So $700 for a plane ticket to f-ing Houston later, I'm taking step 2 cs Monday... Hopefully I pass this sht. I guess I'll have to deal with it if mgh doesn't like me not having step 2 cs/ck scores until dec.
Read through First Aid CS. Have a "script" that you follow for each encounter to ensure that you get all the stupid points even if you aren't sure what's going on. Keep the physical exam to a minimum, the checkboxes are heavily weighted toward history, review of symptoms. Heart and lungs on pretty much everybody, then focus on the relevant organ system. Don't screw with the blood pressure cuff or do anything fancy like orthostatics or dix-hallpike, though you can mention and put in your note). Always counsel (potential areas: smoking, drugs, alcohol, sex, domestic violence including elder abuse, lifestyle modifications (diet/exercise/etc.), financial stressors) -- just find some BS to talk about. Always close. Practice on a dummy, timing is the most important thing.
I find it really hard to believe that MGH would require that everyone have both their Step 2 scores in hand to get an INTERVIEW. UCSF is the only place that requests to RANK, so requesting for an interview invitation is even more ridiculous.
Read through First Aid CS. Have a "script" that you follow for each encounter to ensure that you get all the stupid points even if you aren't sure what's going on. Keep the physical exam to a minimum, the checkboxes are heavily weighted toward history, review of symptoms. Heart and lungs on pretty much everybody, then focus on the relevant organ system. Don't screw with the blood pressure cuff or do anything fancy like orthostatics or dix-hallpike, though you can mention and put in your note). Always counsel (potential areas: smoking, drugs, alcohol, sex, domestic violence including elder abuse, lifestyle modifications (diet/exercise/etc.), financial stressors) -- just find some BS to talk about. Always close. Practice on a dummy, timing is the most important thing.
I find it really hard to believe that MGH would require that everyone have both their Step 2 scores in hand to get an INTERVIEW. UCSF is the only place that requests to RANK, so requesting for an interview invitation is even more ridiculous.
From my internet lurking, it seems pretty clear that you need to be a CA resident, and/or do an away rotation and impressed, and/or have a personal tie (LOR from a former prominent UCSF rads faculty for example) or otherwise have some distinguishing characteristic to get an interview at UCSF ON TOP OF scores, grades, research, the whole package. DrizzT basically doubled down likely knowing this and gunning for the tip-top places by doing aways at both Brigham and UCSF, both notoriously stingy with interviews, to try and nab a spot (250s step 1 and a midwest state school, AOA and generous research aside, would be a questionable proposition for UCSF which is inundated with 260s and 270s MD/PhDs some of whom grew up in California), so after an investment of that magnitude it makes sense in his case to move it up. I was just trying to help him since he went through the trouble of an away and has the ridiculous research credentials to make a go for UCSF. I'm not sure if it's worth spending a ton of money if you are just generically praying to get back to california in some form or fashion, even if you are from cali, unless you have a ridiculous resume to back it up. It's not even clear that you absolutely have to take it before Nov. 5 -- maybe they will have the rank meeting in Late January but will tentatively rank some individuals with pending scores and let people have the opportunity to send in their CS/CK pass up until they actually have to submit the rank list in late February -- in which case getting you scores back on February 1st would be fine. The bottom line is we don't know how they do it, and when they have so many qualified applicants it's easier for them to just not rank (or even not interview) the person who they're worried about pending Step 2 scores because of the GME requirement of that institution.
I spoke to the PC for the MGH radiology program- an applicant does NOT need to have Step 2 for an interview invitation or prior to rank list submission.
Thanks for the advice, time to cram, luckily my school has a in-house (but harder) version of cs we had to do in June (66% of the class has to remediate at least part of it) so that helps me be somewhat prepared, since I passed that the first time.
I agree about that, I guess I'm not surprised about mgh given my experience with them to date, hms programs have a lot of hoop jumping in general, it's not mgh specific so much.
Yup, this sort of elegant analysis is right on. Any process that seems random or arbitrary usually simply involves too many factors of unknown significance. Nothing in the application process seems to be truly random or arbitrary. I would also add that programs tend not to send rejection letters because applicants may reply to them. Lack of MSPE release is likely responsible for your not hearing from your top picks. If they have already invited and rejected others, then you are on the interview wait list, so to speak.
As far as being worried, if you look at the match statistics with your scores, you are practically locked. Granted you only have 2 interviews so far, but come ranking time, people of course rely most on hard data (regardless of crappy predictive value).![]()
A poster on this forum (will let them remain anonymous if they want) PM'ed me after they saw a post on AM and it got me thinking.
Stats - 260, AOA, no research, low tier school in the South, permanent address in Cali. 2 aways at Emory (adopted home program) and 1 at UCSF (shoot for the stars)
Applied to 45 programs (almost all university based) all over the country with the West and South having the highest number. App complete and submitted except LOR's on September 1st. 3rd clinical letter was in around September 15th and 1st and only rads letter was in around September 22nd.
Invites - Pitt, UTSW (Pitt received last week, UTSW this week)
Rejections - UAB
Nothing heard - Penn, MIR, UVA, Wake, UNC, Florida, Miami, Michigan, UT Houston, Baylor Dallas, MUSC.
Intern years - good news from UCLA Harbor, Einstein Philly, and Northshore Chicago TY's. Rejected from Kaiser LA IM. Nothing from TY's at Arrowhead, Santa Clara, Resurrection, and Methodist Houston.
So I'm 2 for 14 on rads programs that have sent out invites but 2 quality programs and only 1 rejection. Is it too early to worry? 14/45 is a decent sample size but it's hard to know which of those programs have rejected me outright. Been having better luck with the TY's.
I see all these ppl on AM ranging from a handful to a boatload of invites. I know it's only Mid October but 2/14 is kind of concerning when I think about it. Not freaking out like I was when I had nothing but the PM did get me thinking.
Regionality at play? Not getting Southern love bc I'm from Cali and they assume I want to go back? No love from the elite programs because of no research and/or lack of med school pedigree? No love from the mid tier because they assume they are low on my list?
I know this process is random and none of the schools that I haven't heard from are in my ideal/shoot for the stars top 10 (Penn probably the closest) but I thought I should have more at this point after thinking about it.
Anyone want to e-mail ucsf? : )
Hey, as an aside, when were you rejected from Kaiser LA prelim IM? I was expecting a rejection from them since I have never lived in Cali so the e-mail may have gotten caught in my filter. 😳
October 10th.
Did you receive the original email
"Thank you for your recent application to Kaiser Permanente's Internal Medicine - Preliminary Residency Program Los Angeles. We will begin notifying applicants in October of their application status"
after you applied? I got one on September 9th