Suddenly worried about my current situation

[parzone]

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Hello everyone- I've debated for a while about posting, but I decided to go ahead as I'm getting a bit more anxious as time draws closer to applications. I am finishing up my third year now and planning on entering the ophtho match next year. I feel as I've been a pretty strong student; my step 1 is at 249, I have some pretty neat extracurriculars, 8+ years of ophtho background, no pubs but 2nd author ARVO poster and several projects again without pubs, and my 3rd year grades have been my one personal downfall- HP with one H (I was hoping for some more of those H's I gotta admit).

This coming year, I will be rotating through my home institution and was initially scheduled for an away at a top program, but as of today it seems as if there has been some confusion with scheduling and I may be stuck with no aways. I am currently scrambling to find another away, if its not too late. So now that I am down to my application year, I'm starting to question my decision to truck on through without a year of research. I'm not the person who must get a top 10 residency or else they will burst, but I've been interested in retina since early highschool, and I've heard these rumors (they may be just that), but that some residencies make it pretty hard to match into retina. Beyond that, I'm pretty neutral when it comes to clinical vs academic experience.

I apologize for the long post, but I would love any input anyone might have on my situation. I had rather not take a year for research, but if it likely needs to be done, I'm all for whatever places me into a program. I've loved everything about ophtho for a long time, and now that I'm down to gametime, I'm tensing up a bit. Thank you all very much.

 

[Tiburon]

With your years of Ophtho experience, Step 1 score, and hopefully good LORs you should be fine. The lack of research will hurt you at some of the top top programs, but mid-tier programs should certainly take a good hard look at you. Some of the top ones may too, I don't know. I personally don't think the 3rd year grades are too big of a deal, it's more important what was said about you in the comments.

A year of research may help, as would an away, but I know many, many people that matched without doing either of those. Just apply broadly and see what happens. If you aren't happy with the interviews you're getting around Oct/Nov, then you can consider doing more research to prepare for the next cycle.

 

[doctortom]

You have good scores, dedication to the field and some research that will definitely help you. If you are interested in retina, there are PLENTY of great programs out there that will help you land a retina fellowship. What you do in residency is more important than where you train. Assuming that you will get good LORs, I would definitey apply this cycle.

 

[MR1]

Don't stress. Any program can get you a retina fellowship. Obviously the better the program the better your chances at a top retina fellowship but that doesn't mean a top 10 residency is necessary. What you do I residency matters the most.

 

[cubsrule4e]

Doing an away is by no means a prerequisite to match. It might get you an extra interview, but it has more value for personally evaluating a program to see whether nor not youd be happy working there. Someone with mediocre scores might need those extra interviews, but your app should get you in the door at many places.

 

[guttata]

Dude, you need to relax. Go ahead and apply this year. You don't need an away.

 

[mydodger]

Dude, you need to relax. Go ahead and apply this year. You don't need an away.

Seriously I hope this is a troll. If this guy can't match this cycle I'm completely screwed.

 

[RestoreSight]

I apologize for the long post, but I would love any input anyone might have on my situation. I had rather not take a year for research, but if it likely needs to be done, I'm all for whatever places me into a program. I've loved everything about ophtho for a long time, and now that I'm down to gametime, I'm tensing up a bit. Thank you all very much.

First, breathe. You will match so don't stress. Taking a year off for research is probably unnecessary and frankly, there is no good data on whether it will actually help or not. Its one of the many assumptions med students have going into their fourth year.

For fellowships, it is important where you go for training, but its not the same as applying to residency. Besides, you may change your mind on what fellowship you want after being exposed to all the fields. Keep an open mind.

 

[mudphudstud]

It is surprisingly difficult to get a substantial amount of work done in a year. By the time you get IRB approval, collect data, write it up, submit it, wait for decision, make revisions, and get the research accepted, a year (or longer) may pass. You have solid scores and dedication to the field. Just get good letter and apply BROADLY. The only way not to get a spot is to apply to too few places or do horribly on interviews. I hope you won't have a problem in either of those areas.

 

[Visionary]

Agree with above. With your numbers and background, you don't really need an away, and a year off for research would likely not benefit you. Unless you have academic aspirations, you should do fine as you are. Swing away!

 

[parzone]

Thanks for the responses everyone; it's comforting for sure and given a boost of needed confidence. I wasn't trolling; out of six future ophthos in my class, four are taking a year off for research. Around the same time I found this out, my advisor told me 40% of last years matched applicants were AOA which I will not be, and I discovered I would not get my away I wanted, so I just had a mini freak out. Thanks though y'all

 

[Visionary]

Thanks for the responses everyone; it's comforting for sure and given a boost of needed confidence. I wasn't trolling; out of six future ophthos in my class, four are taking a year off for research. Around the same time I found this out, my advisor told me 40% of last years matched applicants were AOA which I will not be, and I discovered I would not get my away I wanted, so I just had a mini freak out. Thanks though y'all

2/3 doing a research year? Geez. The road is already long enough. And the pay is only going down. Unless your app is really weak or you are dead-set on academics, I don't really see the utility in taking a whole year for research. Despite what many may think, a year is not a lot of time to do quality research. Getting involved in some small projects in med school will typically yield a similar amount. I speak from experience, having obtained a 5-year PhD prior to med school. Real research takes a lot of planning, failure, adjusting, and retrying. Then there is the publication process. Most of what you see in the journals is already at least a year old.

 

[Tiburon]

I really don't understand this trend of taking a year off for research. I've noticed more and more people doing it and it seems to be becoming more normal. I mean, I get it in certain situations when the rest of your application isn't very good, but when your application is solid like parzones it seems like a huge, unnecessary sacrifice.

Do you, or anybody else, have a link for the fact that 40% of people that matched into Ophtho this year are AOA? Just curious about that. I know you just heard it from a supervisor so you probably don't.

 

[mydodger]

Around the same time I found this out, my advisor told me 40% of last years matched applicants were AOA which I will not be, and I discovered I would not get my away I wanted, so I just had a mini freak out.

So 60% of matched applicants were non-AOA? Hey looks like you're in the majority! That figure makes it seem that for Ophtho it's better NOT to be AOA.

Also a more useful metric would be what percentage of AOA applicants matched, and what percentage of non-AOA applicants matched. This would tell you something about what being AOA means for your chances. Just knowing the percentage of matched applicants that were AOA doesn't say all that much.

 

[DrZeke]

Blaaah...I just spent the last 20 minutes looking over the CAS instructions and filling out random stuff. Now I want to barf. Man, if this guy can't match, I'm definitely screwed. After looking at the section titled "Awards, Honors, and other things you've never achieved" I seriously want to crawl under a rock.

 

[OPPforlife]

Blaaah...I just spent the last 20 minutes looking over the CAS instructions and filling out random stuff. Now I want to barf. Man, if this guy can't match, I'm definitely screwed. After looking at the section titled "Awards, Honors, and other things you've never achieved" I seriously want to crawl under a rock.

haha I can relate. I have a feeling we will hopefully be fine ultimately, that being said, this seems to be the beginning of a six month long roller coaster ride. Sometimes I feel solid about my chances, other times I am forced to realize that I am nothing more than an average, run of the mill ophtho candidate. But hey, I never quiet understood why being average has always carried such a negative connotation??

 

[mydodger]

After looking at the section titled "Awards, Honors, and other things you've never achieved" I seriously want to crawl under a rock.

I'm just going to have one line in that section: "Completed the SFMatch without punching my computer screen." I love that they thought there needed to be a whole separate page for that section by the way. It makes it sting even worse that I have nothing to put in there without some serious stretching of what I might call an "award."

 

[DrZeke]

Seriously...I'm actually totally annoyed right now.
I can't fit my research experiences into the application. I thought we are supposed to put our undergrad research experiences if they were for significant amount of time even if they are NOT ophtho related? Or should I drop off posters where I am not first author...?

grrrr Also, can we write "et al" for authors? i saw that it says "list all authors in chronological"

 

[DrZeke]

I'm just going to have one line in that section: "Completed the SFMatch without punching my computer screen." I love that they thought there needed to be a whole separate page for that section by the way. It makes it sting even worse that I have nothing to put in there without some serious stretching of what I might call an "award."

Oh, I'm putting a med school scholarship and my research award. I have no awards from undergrad. I kind of want to win a few bux in the lottery and list that 😀

 

[RestoreSight]

2/3 doing a research year? Geez. The road is already long enough. And the pay is only going down. Unless your app is really weak or you are dead-set on academics, I don't really see the utility in taking a whole year for research. Despite what many may think, a year is not a lot of time to do quality research. Getting involved in some small projects in med school will typically yield a similar amount. I speak from experience, having obtained a 5-year PhD prior to med school. Real research takes a lot of planning, failure, adjusting, and retrying. Then there is the publication process. Most of what you see in the journals is already at least a year old.

^This👍

 

[cubsrule4e]

Blaaah...I just spent the last 20 minutes looking over the CAS instructions and filling out random stuff. Now I want to barf. Man, if this guy can't match, I'm definitely screwed. After looking at the section titled "Awards, Honors, and other things you've never achieved" I seriously want to crawl under a rock.

Round 2 for SFMatch, now for fellowship, and Eagle Scout Award is still in mine. That's basically what keeps that page from being empty all the time!

 

[DrZeke]

Round 2 for SFMatch, now for fellowship, and Eagle Scout Award is still in mine. That's basically what keeps that page from being empty all the time!

I don't know you, but I kind of love you right now 🙂

 

[Tiburon]

Round 2 for SFMatch, now for fellowship, and Eagle Scout Award is still in mine. That's basically what keeps that page from being empty all the time!

I put Eagle Scout down on mine when I applied, and was surprised when I interviewed that many, many interviewers asked me what my Eagle Scout project was and were generally interested in it. Didn't expect that...