3rd year looking for realistic advice

[DrZed]

Background info: DO, Step 1 220's, Comlex 510's, 1 case report in neurosurg, and strong letters.

Obviously this is all below average. Is there anything I can do in this case? Abandon ship? I don't want to sink all my time into this doing elective rotations if there's no chance of ever getting into a program. I entered medicine thinking I wanted to do Family Medicine. I hated the idea of Neuro and the thought of being a neurosurgeon was a joke. I thought I would love being a PCP, being on the front lines, working with community medicine. Of course, I would end up loving Neuro and neurosurgery is a blast. The adrenaline, the cases, the skills, the call, somehow this stuff is fun as hell. If I knew this in the past, I probably would've not gone out as much and spent more time studying, but it is what it is.

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[neusu]

Do you have a program at your school? If so, arrange to meet with the PD and see what they say. I am less familiar with DO applications. Some folks would recommend take a year off and conduct research at a center in which you may have interest. This both bolsters your application and familiarizes the department with you.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Time off is your best bet, and dual apply.

 

[SurgeDO]

MD nsx is out of the question.

You're going to have to explain that score for DO nsx. When it comes time for you to apply, there will be roughly 10-15 spots in the DO nsx match. It's not impossible, but you need to be ready to match into your back up. DO nsx is historically very big on auditions, but this year with a **** ton of programs shutting down, board scores bumped up in priority.

Good luck.

 

[Gambler 101]

Would the scenario be different if OP was from an MD school?


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[Orvandi]

Probably not, no pubs (5 average for nsg) and Step 1 greatly below average.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Would the scenario be different if OP was from an MD school?


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Slightly better if MD applicant but primarily in that there would be a higher likelihood of a MD affiliated residency program at his or her school. FWIW people with those stats do match.