where to apply with 202 score?

[flipflopsnsnow]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Me: Third year, passionate about pediatrics, Passing grades in most courses, 202 on Step I, not sure what my Letters of rec will say, but likely between average and good. Doing 2 away rotations at schools I'd like to go to (because of location mainly)
What peds residencies should I look into? I know top places like Harvard and Stanford are out, but I would like to get an idea of places where I might 😕 have a chance of ending up. Should I look at places with larger programs? Places in BFE? Places that had unmatched spots in past years?
Any ideas or advice would be great!

 

[StringBean]

Me: Third year, passionate about pediatrics, Passing grades in most courses, 202 on Step I, not sure what my Letters of rec will say, but likely between average and good. Doing 2 away rotations at schools I'd like to go to (because of location mainly)
What peds residencies should I look into? I know top places like Harvard and Stanford are out, but I would like to get an idea of places where I might 😕 have a chance of ending up. Should I look at places with larger programs? Places in BFE? Places that had unmatched spots in past years?
Any ideas or advice would be great!

Just a few ideas...

1. Think about taking Step 2 early & ROCK IT! This can do wonders for a below average Step 1 score.

2. LORs that are average to good should not be what you are looking for... try to get a letter from people that you're pretty sure will write you a GREAT letter... do what you have to do on a rotation to get a GREAT letter. If you are just a 3rd year you still have time to do this with 4th year electives in peds & perhaps a sub-i.

3. Doing rotations at a desirable program can make a very big difference as long as you
a. kick butt on that rotation
b. be sure that the get to know you AND like you. Try to find the opportunity to work w/ 1 or 2 individual attendings so that they really get to know you and how good you are. They can later speak up for you during rank meetings if they feel strongly about you.

4. Don't disregard top programs just because you don't think you have a shot... apply everywhere you'd like to go... you NEVER know!

 

[ruthmd]

Don't be discouraged and think a 202 on step one will keep you out of your dream program- I got a 200 and got interviews at all the programs I applied to, including Northwestern, U of Chicago, UCLA and Colorado, and I matched at my #1 choice. I didn't even do that much better on step 2 (209). However, as StringBean suggested, I did have some amazingly nice letters (including one from a PD at an away rotation), and I've been involved extracurricularly. I guess some programs DO look at other stuff- so don't be discouraged and don't limit yourself. They may LOVE you when you go for your interview, or you may decide you'd rather be somewhere else.
Good luck to you!!

 

[futureped]

I think it is really important to understand that likely you'll end up where you fit in. Before I matched, people said this and I didn't understand. I matched at my second choice and was disappointed. I started looking at my program's information again and now I'm seeing how it really is the perfect fit for me.

I had a 219 on step I, which I thought my limit me, so I took step II early and got a 250. I'm not sure if anyone really cared about my step II score because no one ever mentioned my scores. I interviewed at 15 places, including quite a few top ten programs (only one didn't interview me).

I say do your best in your fourth year electives and rotations.

 

[StringBean]

I had a 219 on step I, which I thought my limit me, so I took step II early and got a 250. I'm not sure if anyone really cared about my step II score because no one ever mentioned my scores. I interviewed at 15 places, including quite a few top ten programs (only one didn't interview me).

No offense Futureped...

but Flipflopnsnow please do not let the posts that read "I got a 4367 on Step 1 and I felt this limited me, so I took Step 2 early and got a 7351. I think I may still have an issue matching" discourage you. This is not the norm (and may not even be the truth... badbad Bean for speaking up). Yes, your Step 1 is a bit below average (average is usually around 217-218) but it is a REALISTIC score and will in now way severely limit you chances at many of the programs you are interested in if you have other great things going for you as I mentioned in my above post.

And they ABSOLUTELY DO look at your Step 2 score... especially if it is an improvement over your Step 1 score. I had many people on my interviews mention my Step 2 score & stated that they were impressed with my improvement. It can help you EMORMOUSLY! It did for me.

Sorry for the mini rant... but I'm sure many of you can understand the reasoning! 🙄

 

[carpe diem]

Doing away rotations at big name places can help even if you don't make a great impression on the key people there. You'll probably will still be able to get a decent letter out of the rotation, and you never know who the seemingly not influential person who writes your letter knows across the country.

I think sometimes the place (hence, the letterhead effect) the letter comes from (especially for DOs) matters more than the particular person who wrote or what they put in it, as long as it's not a lukewarm letter.

Carpe

 

[Rael]

Absolutely do not let a low step 1 score discourage you. Peds is not a very competitive field. There are always enough spots left open in the match. The kind of people who go into peds are, I'd like to believe, people-oriented and have the kind of warm personalities that enable them to patiently deal with a difficult patient population - kids. So I would think they would look beyond mere board scores and see what kind of person you are...just do well on your rotations, get good letters and you will match.
I know plenty of people who went into good peds programs...some with good scores, some without. If you have other things to offer, board scores will definitely be overlooked. You do NOT need a 250, or even anything near that, on step 2. Just work hard and do your best.

 

[thos]

Step I = 211 (in '99). Step II = 224.

Don't try to predict where your score will place you come interview season. Two schools of 21 did not invite me: CHOP and Denver. I believe that these were based on an arbitrary boards cut-off score I didn't meet, although ruthmd's post above makes me second guess that for Denver. What I don't get is that a number of other top tier programs did invite me, and at all the reception I received was very positive (i.e., I felt that if I ranked #1 I had a good chance of matching). In some cases, non-academic factors play almost as large a role. I'm in the South, and across specialties my friends have been told by programs that they don't offer many interviews to Southern candidates because the candidates rarely rank them (admittedly, it's true). Definitely have your "reach" programs, and outside of that mix it up a bit. I'm a believer that, in most cases, we should look to equal or better the program at our med school, considering it's usually a safety.

 

[futureped]

No offense Futureped...

but Flipflopnsnow please do not let the posts that read "I got a 4367 on Step 1 and I felt this limited me, so I took Step 2 early and got a 7351. I think I may still have an issue matching" discourage you. This is not the norm (and may not even be the truth... badbad Bean for speaking up). Yes, your Step 1 is a bit below average (average is usually around 217-218) but it is a REALISTIC score and will in now way severely limit you chances at many of the programs you are interested in if you have other great things going for you as I mentioned in my above post.

And they ABSOLUTELY DO look at your Step 2 score... especially if it is an improvement over your Step 1 score. I had many people on my interviews mention my Step 2 score & stated that they were impressed with my improvement. It can help you EMORMOUSLY! It did for me.

Sorry for the mini rant... but I'm sure many of you can understand the reasoning! 🙄

WOW! I don't think my post deserved a RANT!! I was NOT saying I had trouble matching! I don't think I had a great shot at Top tier schools though. I hardly find that a reason to doubt the TRUTH!

Obviously step II did help some other posters. I was simply stating that no one even mentioned my Step II score on the interview trail. Instead, they mentioned my experiences, my volunteer work and research. Numbers are numbers, it is the other things that set you apart.

If you read Contemporary Pediatrics from January, the PD from Hopkins wrote a piece on the pediatric applicants from this year. Basically, she talks about the life experiences--starting volunteer programs, research projects in the context of how impressive pediatric applicants are.

I think that a research month or advocacy month would give you tons to talk about during an interview. I would recommend that. It also helps when you are passionate! But you don't have to believe me--I was simply trying to share my experience.

 

[Sohalia]

2. LORs that are average to good should not be what you are looking for... try to get a letter from people that you're pretty sure will write you a GREAT letter... do what you have to do on a rotation to get a GREAT letter. If you are just a 3rd year you still have time to do this with 4th year electives in peds & perhaps a sub-i.

Yes, your letters should be excellent because you should only ask people you have a good relationship with and feel confident would do their best to help you. When I asked I would always say something like: "I was wondering if you would feel comfortable writing me an excellent letter of recommendation?" I gave each letter writer a folder with my PS, CV, articles I had written, etc. so they would be able to be detailed as well as glowing. 🙂

 

[fourthyearmed]

Apply anywhere you want. You never know what they are looking for and peds is not that competitive.