What are my chances

[kwu]

Hello everyone,

I am very interested in applying to Urology, but I like to get some input into my chances before I fully commit and finalize my 4th-year electives. Currently, my schedule is heavily focused on Urology

Medical school: low-mid tier, however, home urology is program is pretty good

STEP1: 238

Pre-clinical grades: second quartile

Clinicals:
Psychiatry: high pass
OB/GYN: high pass
Surgery: average
Family medicine: high pass
Medicine: pending
Pediatrics: pending

I have to wait until I finish all of my clerkships to know if I got any honors (this is how it works at my school)

Research:
4 Urology abstracts (submitted to AUA and international urology conference)
1 Urology/ plastic surgery case report
1 plastic surgery/ Oncology publication
2 presentations

Multiple Urology research projects still in the works

EC:
Leadership roles in multiple student interests groups
Multiple volunteer projects


I have been working for years with multiple faculty physicians at my home Urology program on research other projects. I believe I can get great letters of recommendation from them. I also have a great relationship with the residents in the department.

I understand that my application isn't the most competitive. I don't have a commitment to any particular geographic area so I am willing to apply broadly.

I would appreciate your input and any advice to strengthen my application

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[daenschl]

Sounds like you are aware of your application’s strengths and weaknesses. Board score and clinical grades will make this an uphill battle. Research is good and will help.
If still possible, try to honor your last rotations obviously. Also, if you can fit it in your schedule, doing really well on step 2 could soften the Step 1 score. But having said that, people with your score do match, it just won’t help you.
Away rotations, if they are happening, will be key. Go somewhere and do really, really well and get a great letter. That alone will do a lot for you.
And yes, apply broadly.
I admit, pretty generic advice, but I want to highlight that aways will be key. Academic urology is a fairly small field; people know each other and there is a decent amount of weight out into letters and personal conversations about applicants between chairs/program directors.
Finally, and don’t overlook this: having now been part of the applicant selection committee, I know that the actual interview is absolutely huge. In order to match, you need to do well on the interviews you do get

 

[kwu]

Sounds like you are aware of your application’s strengths and weaknesses. Board score and clinical grades will make this an uphill battle. Research is good and will help.
If still possible, try to honor your last rotations obviously. Also, if you can fit it in your schedule, doing really well on step 2 could soften the Step 1 score. But having said that, people with your score do match, it just won’t help you.
Away rotations, if they are happening, will be key. Go somewhere and do really, really well and get a great letter. That alone will do a lot for you.
And yes, apply broadly.
I admit, pretty generic advice, but I want to highlight that aways will be key. Academic urology is a fairly small field; people know each other and there is a decent amount of weight out into letters and personal conversations about applicants between chairs/program directors.
Finally, and don’t overlook this: having now been part of the applicant selection committee, I know that the actual interview is absolutely huge. In order to match, you need to do well on the interviews you do get

I appreciate your advice. I was relieved to know that based on my scores, earning a residency spot in Urology is not impossible, however, it's not easy. I will do my best in the upcoming months before the match.

Currently, we are only allowed one away rotation. I am trying to pick programs that I might have a decent chance at. Any advice on how to approach this?

Again, I really appreciate your input

 

[daenschl]

I honestly don't have too much insight here. I had decided on Urology so late that I couldn't get any aways and applied without any (ended up doing one later in the year mainly for fun).
But in general, aim for a program/location that you might be interested in doing, but probably avoid the "top" programs. Some of them have tons and tons of rotators who are all there to either match there or get a letter from some important name, but that can dilute the impression you can make there. Those programs get tons of students rotating there and many of them are superstars. Just harder to get a good letter. Rotate somewhere solid where you can enjoy the experience, do really well and get a great letter of recommendation. And many places, not just top ranked programs, have faculty on staff that are well known nationally and can carry some weight with letters

 

[cpants]

Ask your home program director for some advice. Agree that a lower tier program in your geographic area of choice is probably your best bet. Somewhere without a lot of rotators is also advantageous as long as you are going to shine on your rotation. Why did you perform poorly on your surgery rotation, as that is certainly a warning sign? You definitely aren't closed out from matching, but your home program and away opportunities are probably your best chance.

 

[kwu]

I honestly don't have too much insight here. I had decided on Urology so late that I couldn't get any aways and applied without any (ended up doing one later in the year mainly for fun).
But in general, aim for a program/location that you might be interested in doing, but probably avoid the "top" programs. Some of them have tons and tons of rotators who are all there to either match there or get a letter from some important name, but that can dilute the impression you can make there. Those programs get tons of students rotating there and many of them are superstars. Just harder to get a good letter. Rotate somewhere solid where you can enjoy the experience, do really well and get a great letter of recommendation. And many places, not just top ranked programs, have faculty on staff that are well known nationally and can carry some weight with letters

Thank you very much for your input.

Ask your home program director for some advice. Agree that a lower tier program in your geographic area of choice is probably your best bet. Somewhere without a lot of rotators is also advantageous as long as you are going to shine on your rotation. Why did you perform poorly on your surgery rotation, as that is certainly a warning sign? You definitely aren't closed out from matching, but your home program and away opportunities are probably your best chance.

I am definitely looking into a smaller program around my area. My poor performance on Surgery is definitely a red flag. I wasted a lot of time trying to impress the attendings and the team which greatly affected the amount of time I had to study. I spent around 12-13 hours in the hospital. Very bad mistake on my part