Whats important to MATCH

[cbennett]

I did search but i couldent find anything relevant, which i doubt is reality so if this topic has already been discussed please point me in the correct direction. Anyway, what exactly do residencies look for in applicants and what is most important.

Class rank and step 1 are a no brainer but other than those i have heard very contradicting advice.

For instance, many people say 3rd and e4th year grades hold very little importance because they are very subjective and that first and second year is what realy matters. On the other hand i have heard the exact opposite that 3rd and 4th are what matters becasue they are more practical than 1st or 2nd year scores.

Also is step 2 important? I have heard both sides on this as well with the majority saying its not because you can opt to take it late and scores will not be in by match day. Does this change if your applying to a program that you must complete a year of IM before the specialty residency training or are most people accepted into the specialty program during 4th year as well as the im?

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[Bobblehead]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=199542

In fact, most of the specialty forums have a sticky FAQ thread. You need to read those before you ask someone to explain everything to you without any legwork of your own.

 

[BigBadBix]

This is very specialty-dependent, which may be why you see some conflicting responses here. It's probably best to look (and ask questions) in the specialty forums as Bobblehead said.

-BBB

 

[hapahaole123]

I did search but i couldent find anything relevant, which i doubt is reality so if this topic has already been discussed please point me in the correct direction. Anyway, what exactly do residencies look for in applicants and what is most important.

Class rank and step 1 are a no brainer but other than those i have heard very contradicting advice.

For instance, many people say 3rd and e4th year grades hold very little importance because they are very subjective and that first and second year is what realy matters. On the other hand i have heard the exact opposite that 3rd and 4th are what matters becasue they are more practical than 1st or 2nd year scores.

Also is step 2 important? I have heard both sides on this as well with the majority saying its not because you can opt to take it late and scores will not be in by match day. Does this change if your applying to a program that you must complete a year of IM before the specialty residency training or are most people accepted into the specialty program during 4th year as well as the im?

It depends.

1st and 2nd year grades don't matter much.
As a matter of fact, my school doesn't have any grades for M1 M2.
I would say M3 evals matter much as do step 1 scores. Step 2 not so much though passing is good prior to match, though I did not take them before match day and matched pretty ok.
Letters mean a lot in smaller specialties, e.g. ortho.