2013 match n my chances ?

[xxmcstu]

Hi every one ,,
I am planning to apply for 2013 match .
My credential is as such,
step 1 -214, step 2 -208 , cs - giving soon ,2009 grad, visa- GC ,USCE- not yet done ,will be doing after cs but want to make sure what specialty should i apply so that i can apply for observship in that paticular specility.
With my scores ,i am planning for FM , Ped ..Should i also include IM ? What are my chances for IM or FM or PED. Please give me yr expert views ..
sometimes i think i should only apply in Pead or only in FM . Sometimes i feel i should also apply some IM . what should i do .
I dont know how to proceed .Can any one help me please .
Thank you so much

[rokshana]

I thought you know how to read: The stats I mentioned above are different from OPs. Are you a resident by any chance?

Eh, actually is similar...yeah your ck is a little higher but your III is crappy and you graduated a while back....same as the OP...your chances...about the same...apply widely and broadly to A LOT of programs and pray...and be ready to answer questions about your red flags...

And before you ask...no not a resident...I'm an attending hon...(and if YOU were paying attention you would have realized that RJ is an anesthesia resident ).

[medgeek143]

Well.. I don't think I asked you what you are. I don't care whether you are a resident or an attending . Thanks for the advice though!!

My red flags are due to :1. Deception by PD and University 2. My time spent as a mom (which I cherish) I hope that PDs will understand these well!!!

And yes... I have learnt from several PDs that Step 3 score DOES NOT MATTER, as long as I pass it in first attempt.

[medgeek143]

and I dont see anywhere where RussianJoo says he is anesthesia resident (just cos u said I should have paid more attention).. Regardless, asking you guys an opinion is worse than going to a psychic. You guys have not been useful to me. "Apply widely?" Everyone says so.. "Scores are low?" everyone says so..

When I ask specific questions about IMG friendly no one seems to know or at least no replies.. Why do you have a a forum which does not help where its needed? Someone said I need to search each one's website and find it myself.. I know that very well.. I reached this forum by searching and if you cant give me an advice shut up and keep quiet.

By the way, OP is not done with his/her CS, step 3, and has no USCE.. But I still think that her chances are more than mere <5% as predicted in this forum..

I am not coming back to this forum.. I have wasted enough of my time..

Also.. you predicted my English to be poor too, the first time I wrote something in this forum.. Let tell you that your english also sucks!! My communication skills are excellent and I dont need a judgement from this forum on that.

You guys should by all means close this forum, instead of wasting people's time.

[RussianJoo]

You are correct our opinions don't really matter and are only opinions yet people like you continue to ask for advice, when you know for certain that we're not Program Directors or Chairman of departments. So why do you continue to ask?

People don't hear the good news that they're hoping for and get upset like you just did. But the reality is your step1 score sucks, especially as an IMG and especially now that there's no more pre-matching and an increase US grads. Also taking 3 years off to raise your child might be very important for you but will not be a good reason why you took 3 year off for a program director, the only ones who might be okay with that is Family Medicine, even still 3 years is way too long to be out of medicine especially if all you did was graduate med school. I would bet that you forgot a lot of medicine unless you were constantly reading Medical Journals and Text books even then you need constant clinical exposure to stay on par with people who just graduated medical school, and taking your child to the pediatrician doesn't count. There are more than enough people graduating every year with either the same board scores or better than yours who didn't take a 3 year vacation from medicine to fill every single residency spot, so what makes you so special that a program director should pick you over someone who is fresh out of med school and still remembers what they learned in med school.



No one will list what programs take IMGs for you because of multiple reasons two main ones are 1) it's hard to get a residency interview if people list on a public forum that a program accepts IMGs, especially IMGs with low scores or who took some time off for personal reasons then there would be a few thousand extra applicants, and that would reduce that person's chance of matching there. So all those programs will stay a secrete and only be shared with close friends and family members not strangers on a public forum. 2) The type of people who match at a program change every year, and will especially change next year now that there's no more pre-matching. Meaning 2 years ago they might have had a class of 100% IMGs and this year they got more applicants and only had 1 or 2 IMGs match, so really it doesn't matter who matched into a program before because everything is changing. These changes weren't so drastic a few years ago.



So the only real advice people can give you is based off the NRMP Match data which can easily be found just by googling it. And even then it's not very accurate. The only way you'll know what kind of applicant you are is by applying and seeing what happens, but from reading some posts on here it's getting very hard for people to get interviews especially if they took a few years off, add to that the fact that your scores are average to below average (I mean compared to the national average) for which the average is mid to high 220's and you're situation isn't looking too good.

The only people who have an easy time and who I would say shouldn't have a problem matching are those that just graduated med school and have 220's or better on all their steps and are applying for non-competitive specialties like peds, FM, Psych, those scores would also be okay for some IM programs but not most IM programs.

Your biggest problem is going to be the fact that you took 3 year off to raise your child/children. Although this was very important for you, it made you forget a lot of medicine and forget of what it's like to work in a hospital. It's already hard for people to transition from being a medical student with no responsibilities to a resident who's the primary care taker of multiple patients.

As for passing USMLE's on the first try, that's not a big deal, you don't get bonus points because you didn't fail the exams, it's expected that you pass them the first time you take them. I'll say this again because people don't seem to understand this, You're expected to pass your USMLEs on the first attempt, and it's a huge red flag if you don't.

[medgeek143]

Just three points:

1. Don't say "why do you continue to ask". Rather ask yourself "Why do you continue to write in these forums and discuss residency, when you can not give them an answer". I ask because this is a forum for discussion.

2. There is a HUGE difference between your first reply and this one. I appreciate your time. This reply makes me feel that you have a sound grasp of the residency process and things are definitely clearer to me. Your first reply as RUDE and BASELESS, and my perception of you from that reply was that you have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about the residency, and you are here to just let people down. You did not say that my chances are any better in your second reply, but the reasoning you gave was sufficient for me to respect you as a knowledgeable person. People like me come to these forums to learn the 'truth', based on facts and reasoning and you have provided me that. Thanks.

3. I did not get upset for not getting good news. I was upset with your rudeness and no reasoning. I have come across people in several forums who are there just to play being spoilsports.

[thxleave]

Just three points:

1. Don't say "why do you continue to ask". Rather ask yourself "Why do you continue to write in these forums and discuss residency, when you can not give them an answer". I ask because this is a forum for discussion.

2. There is a HUGE difference between your first reply and this one. I appreciate your time. This reply makes me feel that you have a sound grasp of the residency process and things are definitely clearer to me. Your first reply as RUDE and BASELESS, and my perception of you from that reply was that you have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about the residency, and you are here to just let people down. You did not say that my chances are any better in your second reply, but the reasoning you gave was sufficient for me to respect you as a knowledgeable person. People like me come to these forums to learn the 'truth', based on facts and reasoning and you have provided me that. Thanks.

3. I did not get upset for not getting good news. I was upset with your rudeness and no reasoning. I have come across people in several forums who are there just to play being spoilsports.

If worst come to worst... Isn't the obvious solution to stay in India and become a doctor there? It's not like your whole life is ruined like a USIMG who can't match. You still have that back up plan.

[rokshana]

Just three points:

1. Don't say "why do you continue to ask". Rather ask yourself "Why do you continue to write in these forums and discuss residency, when you can not give them an answer". I ask because this is a forum for discussion.

2. There is a HUGE difference between your first reply and this one. I appreciate your time. This reply makes me feel that you have a sound grasp of the residency process and things are definitely clearer to me. Your first reply as RUDE and BASELESS, and my perception of you from that reply was that you have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about the residency, and you are here to just let people down. You did not say that my chances are any better in your second reply, but the reasoning you gave was sufficient for me to respect you as a knowledgeable person. People like me come to these forums to learn the 'truth', based on facts and reasoning and you have provided me that. Thanks.

3. I did not get upset for not getting good news. I was upset with your rudeness and no reasoning. I have come across people in several forums who are there just to play being spoilsports.

Honey you have come to a number of the threads ,basically asked the same questions over, and over, and over....and over.

You are not a great applicant...and it doesn't matter that some pd screwed you over, that your hubby can't or won't make you a deal breaker when it comes to getting a job...it is what it is...and come on your USCE Ibarely that....remember there are THOUSANDS of fresh faced, straight out of med school, with TWO YEARS of USCE in hospitals where they were able to touch pts....observerships are the bottom of the barrel USCE...and PD AND RC know this...who do you think they are gonna pick...someone who has stellar scores, consistent hospital based USCE who are gonna dedicate their time to their residency or you...a person who has already shown that medicine isn't her 1st priority? Sure no one is EVER going to tell you taking 3 yrs off is a deal breaker, but it raises the red flag, what happens if she gets pregnant again? Is she gonna take time off during residency and leave us stranded? NOT the reason you should say you took time off...and PD screwed you and you are announcing to another prospective PD...one easy enough for PD to find out the viewpoint from the other side and gonna think...if she feels screwed by MY program what is she gonna say about me?? Blaming someone else for your lack of residency is not taking ownership of your mistakes that led you to be a 4 yr out med school grad with no plan b.

And you keep asking for "advise" but really want someone you to hand you names of places you can go to...you want someone else to do your leg work and then your reap the rewards...like RJ said, no one is gonna give up that kind of valuable info to an anonymous person...we ALL have friends that are still looking as well and when I know of places with unexpected openings or have friends at other programs that can keep with a spot...I'm telling my friends...not some stranger on vmd.

Have you even done a smidgen of the advice that has been given to you? You have had people (yes many of us are friends in the real world) who are residents or med students who have successfully navigated the interview season and succeeded...sure KG isn't the typical visa requiring ( and ended up NOT needing one) Canadian in anyway shape or form, but man did she learn EVERYTHING there was to know about the process for visa holders...and RJ who had red flags in his application still managed to match in anesthesia...it is not by accident that he did so...it took hard work, and full knowledge of what he needed to do to get a spot...

Apply widely? We mean apply to practically every program that your stats will let you...broadly. IT MEANS APPLY TO FM, PEDS, IM, etc..and apply to every type of program...community uni affiliated even uni programs if you actually make their cut...will it be expensive? You betcha...expect to spend a few grand...maybe even 10k on the application cycle...what part of that do you not understand.?

And sweetie...you don't have to come here if you are not getting anything out of it...

[RussianJoo]

Just three points:

1. Don't say "why do you continue to ask". Rather ask yourself "Why do you continue to write in these forums and discuss residency, when you can not give them an answer". I ask because this is a forum for discussion.

2. There is a HUGE difference between your first reply and this one. I appreciate your time. This reply makes me feel that you have a sound grasp of the residency process and things are definitely clearer to me. Your first reply as RUDE and BASELESS, and my perception of you from that reply was that you have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about the residency, and you are here to just let people down. You did not say that my chances are any better in your second reply, but the reasoning you gave was sufficient for me to respect you as a knowledgeable person. People like me come to these forums to learn the 'truth', based on facts and reasoning and you have provided me that. Thanks.

3. I did not get upset for not getting good news. I was upset with your rudeness and no reasoning. I have come across people in several forums who are there just to play being spoilsports.

1) I say that because I've seen tons of people on here who don't hear what they want to hear and but still continue to ask, like somehow the answer will change even though they haven't done anything to change it.

2) I know my knowledge on matching is sound, i've read plenty of articles, books, and forum discussions on the matter. People on valuemd have read some of my other posts and know that my opinion although harsh, is to be trusted. It's a lot easier and faster to just say you have a low chance or a high chance or an average chance of matching, then having to write two pages and break things down for the person asking the question. it saves me like at least 15min to do that. And yes to someone new it may seem rude and like someone who's just making stuff up, but I assure you I don't make stuff up.

3) I am not one of those people, and you should learn to control your feelings better, just like baseball, there's no crying in medicine.

[NUHS-AUC]

if you graduated within past 5 years, good LORs & PS, and passed 2CS, you are as good as everyone else for FM
Good luck !

[jcu]

if you graduated within past 5 years, good LORs & PS, and passed 2CS, you are as good as everyone else for FM
Good luck !

Step 1 and CK scores
USCE
Number of years since graduating
Time spent in the interim after graduation
VISA status

Just off the top of my head. I know FM isn't GS, but to underestimate its applicant pool is rather conceited of you.