WAMC superthread

[BLADEMDA]

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Thanks Blade. Just a clarification, I took Step 1 following the change to pass/fail, and got a pass. Do you mean my Step 2 is low? I thought it was fairly on par with many mid tier anesthesia programs based on data I've seen. Thanks!

I was incorrect. I assumed you had a low Step 1 rather than a PASS. The class of 2023, most of them, have actual numeric scores for Step 1. Your step 2 is fine for Mid Tier programs. In fact, I would say your chance of matching a mid tier program is greater than 95% and a top tier program is even possible. You should focus exclusively on top and mid tier applications. Your virtual preference tokens should go to mid tier programs and 1-2 top tier programs.
Also, 80 applications is unnecessary as you only need 60 applications but if you really want a top tier program then still stick with 80 applications because the "meat" for you are the mid tier programs. 30 top tier applications combined with 50 mid tier programs.

Again, I have little doubt you will MATCH somewhere in the SE. I think an upper mid tier program or top tier program is well within your grasp. Do you have any programs in mind?

 

[painballer27]

I was incorrect. I assumed you had a low Step 1 rather than a PASS. The class of 2023, most of them, have actual numeric scores for Step 1. Your step 2 is fine for Mid Tier programs. In fact, I would say your chance of matching a mid tier program is greater than 95% and a top tier program is even possible. You should focus exclusively on top and mid tier applications. Your virtual preference tokens should go to mid tier programs and 1-2 top tier programs.
Also, 80 applications is unnecessary as you only need 60 applications but if you really want a top tier program then still stick with 80 applications because the "meat" for you are the mid tier programs. 30 top tier applications combined with 50 mid tier programs.

Again, I have little doubt you will MATCH somewhere in the SE. I think an upper mid tier program or top tier program is well within your grasp. Do you have any programs in mind?

Thanks Blade. Yeah I haven't researched programs too extensively yet but based on what I know right now I am looking at UAB, MUSC, Wake, Vandy, UF... what do you think?

 

[jqueb29]

Thanks Blade. Yeah I haven't researched programs too extensively yet but based on what I know right now I am looking at UAB, MUSC, Wake, Vandy, UF... what do you think?

Strong programs that you're definitely competitive for. Can't speak for the others but UAB takes lots of folks with similar profile to you each year. The others are likely good choices too from what I've heard.

 

[sleepyboy]

Posted here a while back, and really appreciated the advice. I was just curious as to what some mid tier programs in the NE would look like? Probably not anything in Manhattan I’m assuming.

 

[JimBone905]

Posted here a while back, and really appreciated the advice. I was just curious as to what some mid tier programs in the NE would look like? Probably not anything in Manhattan I’m assuming.

I think there are lots of mid tier programs in Manhattan from what I saw on eras

 

[JimBone905]

DO
Step 1 227
Step 2 245
Level 1 540
Level 2 520

3 posters 1 pub
Decent EC and one (maybe 2 GAS letters)

Wamc to match anesthesia? Not picky on specific program

 

[holdthemayo]

DO
Step 1 227
Step 2 245
Level 1 540
Level 2 520

3 posters 1 pub
Decent EC and one (maybe 2 GAS letters)

Wamc to match anesthesia? Not picky on specific program

You will match. Especially if you aren't picky and aren't weird.

 

[gaspasserlol]

MD, 228 step 1, 260 step 2, AOA, mostly honors in clinical. Not gunning for a top program, from the mid-atlantic region and hoping to stay in the area.
How many programs should I apply to? I've been told 70, 50, 30-40. I don’t know what to do lol

 

[Darth Revan93]

DO
Step 1 221
Step 2 259
Level 1 546
Level 2 620

7 honors, 3 high-pass in clinical grades. No research or pubs, but lots of work/volunteer experience.

What are my chances at matching into anesthesiology? I applied to 129 programs and 60+ TYs/prelims, but I have yet to hear back from any programs.

 

[BLADEMDA]

DO
Step 1 221
Step 2 259
Level 1 546
Level 2 620

7 honors, 3 high-pass in clinical grades. No research or pubs, but lots of work/volunteer experience.

What are my chances at matching into anesthesiology? I applied to 129 programs and 60+ TYs/prelims, but I have yet to hear back from any programs.

Today 159 anesthesiology programs

So, you didn't apply to the top 30 programs but all the rest? You seem like a strong candidate for the community level programs.

 

[lakewood23]

Hi everyone,

I'm a USMD at a T25 with the following scores/grades:
Step 1 223
Step 2 229
1 Near Honors

I'm taking a research year in anesthesiology and am president of my school's Anesthesiology student interest group.

What are my chances at matching into anesthesiology? I plan to apply very broadly. Thank you in advance.

 

[holdthemayo]

Hi everyone,

I'm a USMD at a T25 with the following scores/grades:
Step 1 223
Step 2 229
1 Near Honors

I'm taking a research year in anesthesiology and am president of my school's Anesthesiology student interest group.

What are my chances at matching into anesthesiology? I plan to apply very broadly. Thank you in advance.

If your goal is just to match, you likely don't need to take a research year unless you are trying to match somewhere more competitive.

I don't know what near honors means.

 

[lakewood23]

If your goal is just to match, you likely don't need to take a research year unless you are trying to match somewhere more competitive.

I don't know what near honors means.

Thanks for the quick response! Yes, just trying to match. Near honors is similar to high pass in that it’s between pass and honors.

Sorry, I’m not sure I understand what your thoughts are on my chances.

 

[holdthemayo]

Thanks for the quick response! Yes, just trying to match. Near honors is similar to high pass in that it’s between pass and honors.

Sorry, I’m not sure I understand what your thoughts are on my chances.

I'm saying your chances of matching are good if you aren't too picky. I don't think you need the research year unless you are hoping to target a more competitive program. Apply broadly and you should do alright.

 

[lakewood23]

I'm saying your chances of matching are good if you aren't too picky. I don't think you need the research year unless you are hoping to target a more competitive program. Apply broadly and you should do alright.

This is great to hear. Thank you so much!

 

[PieceOfGum1]

How bad would failing a single M1 preclinical class (Anatomy) and remediating it successfully over the summer look? What if besides that, there are no more red flags, I do well on Step 2, average class rank, and have a couple research publications?

 

[BLADEMDA]

How bad would failing a single M1 preclinical class (Anatomy) and remediating it successfully over the summer look? What if besides that, there are no more red flags, I do well on Step 2, average class rank, and have a couple research publications?

Smoke Step 2 and you will Match. A low Step 2 score may mean community programs. These days Step 2 means a lot more than ever.

 

[Fpg1245]

Current attending in practice out 3 years

Step scores: 250+ all 3 exams
AOA
Board certified
No professional red flags
Publications: outside anesthesia
Exposure: anesthesia tech in college

 

[SweetBurger]

Chances, i have not a lot of anything showing interest in anesthesia other than some shadowing, am trying to get ICU/anesthesia rotations for 4th year

Current Status: MS3
School: ~T70 MD in the NE
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: TBD
Pre-clinical: P/F
Clinical grades: Mix of H, HP, and 1 P in surg (all very positive comments on MSPE)
Class Ranking: i think upper 1/3rd at best, at worst top 1/2
AOA: unlikely? nominated though
Research:
- 2 oral presentations in rads, 1 winning an abstract award (middle author)
- 1 poster presentation in rads, won award (presenting author)
- 1 poster in basic science presented at 2 conferences (middle author)
- 1 case report rads (first author)
- 1 poster in surgical subspecialty (middle author)
- 1 poster in IM (first author)
- book chapter rads related (1st author) published hopefully by eras
- workin on 2 manuscripts rads and 1 manuscript surgical subspecialty that may or may not be accepted by eras
- 2 submitted rads abstracts waiting for acceptance
EC’s:
1 community outreach related leadership position
tutoring
LORs:
Letter from someone ive done research with for sometime (not in anesthesia)

PLZ no copy paste as likely gonna delete later

 

[Monster-Mormon]

US DO at a program in the Midwest

Current status: M4
Step 1 and Comlex 1: Pass on first attempt
Step 2: Ended up with a 268 (super happy with that score)
Pre-Clinical: P/F ranked in top quartile
Clinical: 4 honors (OBGYN, FM, Osteopathic principles, Surg) in top quartile of my class both preclinical and clinical years. Solid Deans letter comments so far. Sigma Sigma Phi all 4 years (osteopathic honor society). In the Emergency medicine honors track, there was no anesthesia track.
Red Flags: None that I can see.
Research: 1 pub in critical care, 2 presentations. Expecting another publication and presentation in June on perioperative outcomes.
EC: Lots of volunteering, student run clinic, etc.
LORs: Strong letter in IM, one coming from Surgery, one from an anesthesiologist. No home anesthesia program.

 

[weekendwarrior14]

US MD program at T25 in the SE - Class of 2024

Preclinical: Passed (P/F)
Clinical: Honors in everything except for a high pass in peds; should finish in top quartile
Step 1: Passed (P/F)
Step 2: 240 (honestly devastated by my score)
Research: 1st author publication in a major surgery journal; 2nd author publication in a low-impact journal; 2 poster presentations; starting a new anesthesia research project this month
ECs: lots of volunteering; leader of student gov, a free clinic, and an interest group
LORs: have 3 anesthesia letters lined up from home institution; may try to get a 4th letter from an away rotation this summer

I really want to stay in the SE if possible, but there are only a few programs in my home state. I know that my step 2 score was super low and I'm losing hope at this point. Should I consider a backup specialty?

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

USMD (no name recognition, lower tier)

No red flags.

Step 2ck: 260
Clinicals: Honored 2 rotations (surgery and psych), high passed everything else.
Research: 3 second author pubs in orthopedics, 1 abstract in anesthesia
ECs: Just personal hobbies. No volunteering since undergrad.
LORs: Strong letter from PD and chair as well as from away rotation

Positives: Good personal skills and interview well.

The PD at the program I did an away with said that as of this year their program will only interview students who signal their program. She also said that many other PD's have the same view as her. Seeing that we only have 15 signals I want to make the most of them. What programs should I be targeting for interviews? Are the high tier schools like duke and vandy out of my league? According to ERAS my step2ck score is above average for all the anesthesia programs so I am not quite sure how to formulate a list and what programs I should target.

 

[bluethroat]

Asking for a friend:

No red flags.

USMSD, state school
Step 2ck: 247
Clinicals: Honored all rotations but 1, first quartile
Research: 2 anes abstracts, 2 book chapters, 1 poster unrelated anes
ECs: lot of e-board and volunteering (about 7 total, high level board positions)
Dual degree, getting my MPH
LORs: Strong letter pain faculty and 2 IM, 1 general anes letter

Positives: very personable, lot of hobbies and x factor is MPH with unique concentration

Main concern for my friend is step score, is it valid for an anes application?

 

[terpfan15]

DO
Step 2CK 245
Pre-Clinical Grades: 1st quartile of class
Clinical Grades: 3 HP, 3P
Research: 3 projects, 1 abstract
Volunteering: Leadership role in out of school organization, volunteering in school based community

Want to match east coast, ideally mid-atlantic

Any help in forming a program list? WAMC?

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

URM, US MD at T20, no red flags
Step 1: First time pass
Step 2: 250

Preclinical: (P/F) All Pass
Clinical Grades: All HP with 1 P in Surgery, but clinically 75% were honors
Research: 4 pubs, one first author and anesthesia related
Volunteering: Soup kitchen volunteer, minority mentoring
Good LORs

You are definitely in range to match. It's impossible to give you a school list similar to med school admissions, but I still think it's fair to say that with your application the "top" programs like MGH, Duke, Mich will all be reaches. I imagine you will be most competitive for the mid tier academic programs. I don't foresee you getting passed up and ending up a low tier HCA program, but that will all depend on how you interview. Really look at the data from last years match when it is available to determine how to best utilize your signals. TLDR; competitive for anesthesia, high probability of matching, apply broadly.

 

[biff_webster16]

M4 at mid-tier MD on the East Coast
Pre-Clinical Grades: All pass (P/F curriculum)
Clinical Grades: 5 Honors, 1 HP (psych, FWIW) // well into top quartile
Step 2: mid-260s
Research: slim with 1 poster and 1 more forthcoming (unrelated fields)
Volunteering: reasonably solid, founded a service org that met an unmet need at my home institution
Misc: various med ed/related leadership positions at my school. Fun ECs.
Looking to stay on the East Coast.

My preliminary take: strong grades/numbers, below-avg research activity. Probably in good shape for "mid-tier" university programs but stay away from academic powerhouses?

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

M4 at mid-tier MD on the East Coast
Pre-Clinical Grades: All pass (P/F curriculum)
Clinical Grades: 5 Honors, 1 HP (psych, FWIW) // well into top quartile
Step 2: mid-260s
Research: slim with 1 poster and 1 more forthcoming (unrelated fields)
Volunteering: reasonably solid, founded a service org that met an unmet need at my home institution
Misc: various med ed/related leadership positions at my school. Fun ECs.
Looking to stay on the East Coast.

My preliminary take: strong grades/numbers, below-avg research activity. Probably in good shape for "mid-tier" university programs but stay away from academic powerhouses?

Definitely in good shape for solid university programs. You will likely match very well assuming you are normal for interviews. I would consider looking into a 3 or so "top tier" or in other words, highly competitive, programs and use your signals on those programs. You can then use the majority of your signals targeting mid-tier academic programs. I really wouldn't waste a lot of your signals applying too low because your stats and application show you will match somewhere good. No HCA programs.

 

[AnestheHopeful]

M4 at T20
Pre-Clinical Grades: All pass (P/F curriculum)
Clinical Grades: 2 Honors, 3 HP, 1 P, sadly in the 4th quartile
Step 2: mid-260s
Research: 8ish posters ~1/2 are first author, 2 mid author pubs. All this research is in an unrelated surgical subspecialties that I was previously interested. Currently trying to get involved in some projects at my home institution.
Volunteering: Some tutoring/mentorship for premeds
Location wise, I'm pretty open to anywhere as I long as I match. Mostly thinking in the midwest or east coast/

Really unsure about how to feel about the poor clinical grades coupled with the high step score. I am hoping that coming from a top ranked med school would help, but my deans are making it seem like clinical grades matter a ton. I am pretty hopeful that I will have decent letters

Any advice about what types of programs to signal would also be pretty valuable.

 

[mrbeansboi]

Trying to get a realistic read on my competitiveness given the changes over the last few years.

MD student at an average school, no red flags.
Pre-clinical grades: mostly just pass, but we were on a graded scale with HP and honors.
Clinical grades: honored 6/7, high pass in FM. No AOA.
Step 2: mid 270's.
Research: 9 published manuscripts (half of them are just case reports/reviews) and 3 posters. 2-3 1st or 2nd author. unrelated surgical subspecialties and gen surg stuff. Did manage to get in one quick poster for ASA.
Volunteering, pretty minimal: volunteered at school's free clinic here and there, helped create medical educational content for surgical subspecialty.
Misc: president of surgical subspecialty interest group in preclinical. Lots of hobbies.

Would like to end up on the West Coast if possible, open to most places. My school is not on the west coast.

What programs should I be signaling/what distribution of higher tier schools & how competitive am I given high academic stats but an app that does not scream anesthesia? I am doing an away rotation and a rotation at my home program that should show up on my application. Thanks!

 

[Darrow O'Lykos]

Trying to get a realistic read on my competitiveness given the changes over the last few years.

MD student at an average school, no red flags.
Pre-clinical grades: mostly just pass, but we were on a graded scale with HP and honors.
Clinical grades: honored 6/7, high pass in FM. No AOA.
Step 2: mid 270's.
Research: 9 published manuscripts (half of them are just case reports/reviews) and 3 posters. 2-3 1st or 2nd author. unrelated surgical subspecialties and gen surg stuff. Did manage to get in one quick poster for ASA.
Volunteering, pretty minimal: volunteered at school's free clinic here and there, helped create medical educational content for surgical subspecialty.
Misc: president of surgical subspecialty interest group in preclinical. Lots of hobbies.

Would like to end up on the West Coast if possible, open to most places. My school is not on the west coast.

What programs should I be signaling/what distribution of higher tier schools & how competitive am I given high academic stats but an app that does not scream anesthesia? I am doing an away rotation and a rotation at my home program that should show up on my application. Thanks!

...bruh

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Trying to get a realistic read on my competitiveness given the changes over the last few years.

MD student at an average school, no red flags.
Pre-clinical grades: mostly just pass, but we were on a graded scale with HP and honors.
Clinical grades: honored 6/7, high pass in FM. No AOA.
Step 2: mid 270's.
Research: 9 published manuscripts (half of them are just case reports/reviews) and 3 posters. 2-3 1st or 2nd author. unrelated surgical subspecialties and gen surg stuff. Did manage to get in one quick poster for ASA.
Volunteering, pretty minimal: volunteered at school's free clinic here and there, helped create medical educational content for surgical subspecialty.
Misc: president of surgical subspecialty interest group in preclinical. Lots of hobbies.

Would like to end up on the West Coast if possible, open to most places. My school is not on the west coast.

What programs should I be signaling/what distribution of higher tier schools & how competitive am I given high academic stats but an app that does not scream anesthesia? I am doing an away rotation and a rotation at my home program that should show up on my application. Thanks!

Apply wherever you want. No HCA programs. You can definitely be liberal with your signals rather than conservative. I would still look at throwing in programs you would have close ties to based on geography or other reasons. Are you competitive for all the top programs, yes of course, but that doesn't mean I would waste all your signals on them just because you should hedge yourself. So, if I was in your position and you want west coast then definitely UCSF and Stanford, but you could throw in mass gen, hopkins, and michigan/duke if you wanted. Those would be like your elite schools. Then I would fill in the remaining 10 with just high quality academic programs, no community programs. You will match just fine assuming you are a normal person and aren't weird on interview day.

 

[AnestheHopeful]

M4 at T20
Pre-Clinical Grades: All pass (P/F curriculum)
Clinical Grades: 2 Honors, 3 HP, 1 P, sadly in the 4th quartile
Step 2: mid-260s
Research: 8ish posters ~1/2 are first author, 2 mid author pubs. All this research is in an unrelated surgical subspecialties that I was previously interested. Currently trying to get involved in some projects at my home institution.
Volunteering: Some tutoring/mentorship for premeds
Location wise, I'm pretty open to anywhere as I long as I match. Mostly thinking in the midwest or east coast/

Really unsure about how to feel about the poor clinical grades coupled with the high step score. I am hoping that coming from a top ranked med school would help, but my deans are making it seem like clinical grades matter a ton. I am pretty hopeful that I will have decent letters

Any advice about what types of programs to signal would also be pretty valuable.

I guess I wanted to follow up about this. My advisors are pretty pessimistic about my chances this year and really reccomending that I dual apply, but I am not sure if that is because my program cares more about clinical grades vs step scores compared to other programs in the country? Is my application really that bad that I would need to dual apply even if I apply to lower ranked programs and signalled strategically?

 

[Darrow O'Lykos]

I guess I wanted to follow up about this. My advisors are pretty pessimistic about my chances this year and really reccomending that I dual apply, but I am not sure if that is because my program cares more about clinical grades vs step scores compared to other programs in the country? Is my application really that bad that I would need to dual apply even if I apply to lower ranked programs and signalled strategically?

Be normal on auditions and interviews and you'll match.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

could anyone comment on the following question - is "2 Honors, 3 HP, 1 P, sadly in the 4th quartile" somehow low clinical grades?

You are compared against your peers, so it sounds like this program is just passing out honors like candy on halloween. In this case, those grades would be low.