Would really appreciate some advice...

[ortholegoo]

4th year DO student here hoping to match rads. My school has very little help available to me when it comes to applying rads so turning here for some help. Here are my stats for reference:

Step 1: 254

Step 2: 257

Preclinicals: Top 10%

Clinicals: All honors besides HP in psych and FM

Research: One publication as second author in med school. Poster presentation as first author.

I am in the process of deciding where to apply and am stuck. I am from the northwest (Idaho), so my dream match would be University of Utah as it is close to home. Saw they took two IMG last year, so maybe that gives me some hope as a DO? Aside from Utah I will probably apply to all the schools west excluding California. I am just looking for advice on how many programs I should apply to and good programs to shoot for. I want to avoid east coast if at all possible. Right now I am thinking applying to 50 programs (10 reach, 30 decent, 10 community for safety net). Does this sound reasonable? Also, any advice on programs I should look at as a DO is very much appreciated. Thanks for any help in advance!

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[JJArms22]

4th year DO student here hoping to match rads. My school has very little help available to me when it comes to applying rads so turning here for some help. Here are my stats for reference:

Step 1: 254

Step 2: 257

Preclinicals: Top 10%

Clinicals: All honors besides HP in psych and FM

Research: One publication as second author in med school. Poster presentation as first author.

I am in the process of deciding where to apply and am stuck. I am from the northwest (Idaho), so my dream match would be University of Utah as it is close to home. Saw they took two IMG last year, so maybe that gives me some hope as a DO? Aside from Utah I will probably apply to all the schools west excluding California. I am just looking for advice on how many programs I should apply to and good programs to shoot for. I want to avoid east coast if at all possible. Right now I am thinking applying to 50 programs (10 reach, 30 decent, 10 community for safety net). Does this sound reasonable? Also, any advice on programs I should look at as a DO is very much appreciated. Thanks for any help in advance!

You have a GREAT chance. Your application is great and rads really isn't that competitive anymore. My friend matched to Utah last cycle, but she was an excellent candidate. Junior AOA, etc. I would definitely apply because I think you have a good chance. As far as just matching to a good program, you're more than good enough. Relax. You're gonna do great, man.

 

[DrfluffyMD]

You have a GREAT chance. Your application is great and rads really isn't that competitive anymore. My friend matched to Utah last cycle, but she was an excellent candidate. Junior AOA, etc. I would definitely apply because I think you have a good chance. As far as just matching to a good program, you're more than good enough. Relax. You're gonna do great, man.

He's a DO candidate and that unfortunately may cause it to be more difficult for him.

 

[JJArms22]

He's a DO candidate and that unfortunately may cause it to be more difficult for him.

Sure, but he's not applying to ENT or Plastics. He also has great stats w/a step 1 2 deviations above average. I think he will be fine.

 

[DrfluffyMD]

Sure, but he's not applying to ENT or Plastics. He also has great stats w/a step 1 2 deviations above average. I think he will be fine.

There is one DO out of maybe 30-40 rad resident at Utah and that person was matched in the year where radiology was least competitive. I was referring to that it maybe hard to match into utah.

 

[Shifty B]

Yes, it may be a little tough for you, but you have a chance. For better or worse, DO is a little bit of hurdle, especially when there are MD candidates with the same credentials as you.

California may be very hard to match into, but you should certainly apply both there and Utah. For more safety options look to the midwest where the density of programs/interested applicants is much higher.

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

While true that DO will have a tougher time than an MD, DO still do get into rads on a regular basis.

Considering your stats, that DO will probably be you. Nice job, and good luck applying.

 

[qxrt]

With rads, the question is not if you will get into a radiology program, but where you get in. There are many bad programs out there.

 

[spacegun]

With rads, the question is not if you will get into a radiology program, but where you get in. There are many bad programs out there.

Do you mean community programs? (Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm a med student and trying to get a feel of things.)

 

[freddydpt]

I think the OP has a great chance of matching at a great program... don't sell yourself short.

 

[qxrt]

Do you mean community programs? (Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm a med student and trying to get a feel of things.)

No. I mean programs that use residents to perform scut duties and cover night float and give little educational experience or breadth/depth of pathology needed for radiology. Most of these programs tend to be community programs, but on the flip side, there are quite a few community programs that are better than quite many academic programs. Community vs academic is not a very useful delineation.