WAMC/ Advice

[Luka75]

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Hey guys, I was just hoping to get some input regarding my chances at matching at certain programs.

Academic background: MS3 at US MD school, Step 1: mid 260's, AOA, A's on clerkship so far (including internal; school doesn't have a neuro rotation)
,
Research: Summer project in Neuro that I got a poster out of.
Currently working on a couple of papers but I'm not first author on any of them. (one of them is suspended because of COVID)

msc: Avg extracurricular outside of being co- founder of a fairly active 501c3 org.

The programs I intend to apply to (Like Johns Hopkins) seem to be very research- oriented and outside of away rotations, is there anything more that I can do to improve my odds? or should I just hope for the best at this point?

Thank you!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Golden

 

[Luka75]

Golden

Thank you!

 

[Thama]

260s is great but step isn't everything. If you have no neurology clerkship then a) you need to find a way to make up for the checkbox that says "neurology clerkship grade", b) you need to get multiple good letters from well-known neurologists, and c) the reputation of your med school may be a negative as most well known med schools have a neurology clerkship. People are going to ask things like "if you haven't done a neurology rotation how do you know you want to be a neurologist", and answers about your research or how interesting the brain is are going to fall very flat.

Aways are going to be beyond critical for you, and the earlier the better. A poster and a couple of middle author publications will look good for some programs but they aren't going to stand out at Hopkins/Penn/Wash U/Columbia. If you are set on the elite research institutions then you need to seek out more opportunities to set yourself apart. If you just want to match somewhere solid then a good away or two with rec letters and you're great.

 

[Luka75]

260s is great but step isn't everything. If you have no neurology clerkship then a) you need to find a way to make up for the checkbox that says "neurology clerkship grade", b) you need to get multiple good letters from well-known neurologists, and c) the reputation of your med school may be a negative as most well known med schools have a neurology clerkship. People are going to ask things like "if you haven't done a neurology rotation how do you know you want to be a neurologist", and answers about your research or how interesting the brain is are going to fall very flat.

Aways are going to be beyond critical for you, and the earlier the better. A poster and a couple of middle author publications will look good for some programs but they aren't going to stand out at Hopkins/Penn/Wash U/Columbia. If you are set on the elite research institutions then you need to seek out more opportunities to set yourself apart. If you just want to match somewhere solid then a good away or two with rec letters and you're great.

Hey Thanks for the feedback! Just to clarify, though my school doesn't have a dedicated Neurology clerkship, we do rotate in Neurology as past of internal medicine for about 2- 3 weeks, which is how I got interested. I am pretty close to 2 neurologists, (one of them is pretty well known) who will be willing to write me LORs.
But I do agree that my research is avg at best but given what's going on right now, what are my options in terms of what I'll be able to do to beef up my application? Both research and Clinical experiences for students are seriously limited right now and I'm not sure if things will be back to normal before I apply.

 

[Thama]

You honestly aren't likely to do anything over the next few months that will make a big research splash for those places. That would likely involve taking a research year at least, preferably in the lab you're already familiar with to get first author pubs and presentations at international conferences. Hopkins et al aren't salivating over token research, if they are considering you for your research background it's because you've done things that make them think you have real promise as a funded scientist down the road. If that's what you want to do with your life (chase NIH grants) then taking some time off for research isn't just a resume builder, it's a chance to jumpstart your career. If you're just looking to pad your resume for top programs and mainly want to be a clinician, then you have to ask yourself if going to Hopkins instead of a slightly less famous but still very good program (let's say Pitt or Case) is worth 1-2 years of doing something you don't actually want to do long term.

That said, not everyone who matches at those places has tons of research on their CV, it's just preferred. If you have great scores, great letters, a strong away and you interview well, you will have a chance.

 

[Luka75]

You honestly aren't likely to do anything over the next few months that will make a big research splash for those places. That would likely involve taking a research year at least, preferably in the lab you're already familiar with to get first author pubs and presentations at international conferences. Hopkins et al aren't salivating over token research, if they are considering you for your research background it's because you've done things that make them think you have real promise as a funded scientist down the road. If that's what you want to do with your life (chase NIH grants) then taking some time off for research isn't just a resume builder, it's a chance to jumpstart your career. If you're just looking to pad your resume for top programs and mainly want to be a clinician, then you have to ask yourself if going to Hopkins instead of a slightly less famous but still very good program (let's say Pitt or Case) is worth 1-2 years of doing something you don't actually want to do long term.

That said, not everyone who matches at those places has tons of research on their CV, it's just preferred. If you have great scores, great letters, a strong away and you interview well, you will have a chance.

Thank you!