Where should I apply (IM)? How many programs?

[Phrozen]

Hello!

I will be applying for the 2013 match. I'm hoping to match into Internal Medicine.

Some info:
- Step 1: 230-235 (1st attempt)
- Step 2 CS: Pass (1st attempt)
- Step 2 CK: 235-240 (1st attempt)

- Canadian citizen (born and raised) so I will need US visa sponsorship
- School: St. George's University
- No real research (I did help out a little bit compiling data but I don't believe the research got published), some volunteering

- All my 3rd year core rotations and 4th year elective rotations are in the US and Greenbook. I got an A in the IM rotation if that matters.

- LORs: I can get 2-3 strong letters from IM, 1 strong from Surgery, and possibly a strong one from Pediatrics (I thought I did very well in Peds but ended up getting a B instead of an A)

I'm getting really nervous about the match now that we can purchase our token and begin working on our applications.

I was wondering where I should apply... Is there a list available to which programs offer visa sponsorship? I tried searching of FREIDA with no luck. How many programs is "safe"? I was thinking of applying to Pediatrics and/or Family Medicine as a back up... is it good to do this?

Thank you for any advice!

[Phrozen]

Anyone? haha

[RussianJoo]

You should apply to as many programs as you can afford to. Before applying to a program either read through their website not the frieda website to see if they say anything about visas if they don't then call or email the program coordinator and ask them what visas they sponsor if any. Your scores are pretty solid so you should be able to match somewhere in IM and I don't think you need to apply to back up specialties like peds or FM. I don't think anyone can tell you how many programs is safe to apply to, the only thing we can tell you is that having more than 10 interviews will give about a 90%+ chance of matching. For some people getting 10 interviews will mean applying to 10 programs for others it might mean applying to 100. You only want to go through the match once thus apply to as many programs as you can afford to that sponsor the visa that you want.

[Phrozen]

Thanks RJ!

That sounds very time consuming but it is important for sure to look up each program. I'll aim to do that after my CK exam. I still need to get my CV and PS done as well.

I looked up the pricing and they really know how to milk money from us. I'm thinking of applying to 150-200 programs... which will run from $3300-$4500.

[devildoc8404]

It ain't cheap, that's for sure! I've been looking at similar numbers, and it really adds up.

Best of luck to you, Phrozen.

[Phrozen]

Thanks devildoc. Good luck to you as well!

[RussianJoo]

It's all relative, what's another $5,000 when you're over $250K in debt, or how would you feel if you didn't match the first time and had to reapply but knew that if you spent an extra $2,000 and applied to more places you probably would have matched. The goal is to only apply for residency once i.e. match on the first try.

To have the highest success you should apply to as many places as you can, of course don't apply somewhere that you know you won't want to go to, or that you know won't accept you because they don't offer the type of visa you want. I don't know anything about visa's but I do know a fellow resident who was very limited to where he applied for fellowships because many places didn't offer the visa that he wanted.

With all your stats the visa issue is the only real red flag you have, which isn't as big of a deal as failing a board exam I think.

[Methodnike]

I totally agree with RussianJoo on this one. As a Canadian citizen, I've applied to as many as I could afford that sponsored the visas. Another 2 000$ more for applications is nothing as opposed to sitting an extra year and re-do this whole process.
By getting more interviews than you can manage, you can also cancel those at less desirable programs!
I know friends who did not match last year because they were too selective, eventhough they were well advised.

[Phrozen]

For sure... I agree too! It would suck to be sitting out a year just because you didn't apply to enough places.

Methodnike, how did you go about finding all the places that you applied to?

[kananaskis_girl]

it's the same as for any person requiring a visa, as RJ said, look on the individual webpages for the program, if it's not explicitly stated on there, call or e-mail the program coordinator. We all had to do it, I have a list of FM programs, but I put a lot of time into it and I'm sure people did the same at a certain point for IM as well, nobody is just going to give you a list. In fact, you're the one who knows what you're looking for the best, you should be putting in the time to research these programs yourself and compile a selected list that meets your criteria and needs. There's really no easy way out of it unless you just apply to every program without researching it.