Another what are my chances?

[bjm13]

Just wondering if any ENT California residents/staff out there could give me an idea of what my chances are at getting into an ENT program in California. Here are my stats:
- Step 1: 254
- AOA
- 3 publications & 2 abstracts, but nothing yet in ENT
- Not at top 40 NIH med school (LSU)
Currently I'm a 3rd year at LSU but my wife's family lives in CA and we really want to go to residency near her family. I know CA residency programs are traditionally very difficult to get into, especially if you're from out of state. Any ideas of my chances at getting into southern CA ENT programs like UCLA, USC, UCI, or Loma Linda? I'm planning on doing probably 2 aways out there, but would like to do them at the 2 places I'm most likely to get into. Any thoughts? Thanks for your input.

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[lipofuscin232]

Hey bjm...I think your chances are pretty good. I'm a fourth year that just went through the interview season. I'm not from CA nor do I have any ties there and have similar stats. I applied to all the CA programs and received interviews at Kaiser, Loma Linda, USC, and UC Davis. I know that Kaiser and Loma Linda traditionally are big on people doing aways there and tend to rank those students highly...it probably puts them at more of an advantage than other places. But I would encourage you to do aways at the places you are most interested in. Good luck!

 

[TubesNTonsils]

Your step 1 score and publications are strong. Unfortunately, coming from a less well-known school will make it a bit harder for you. You should definitely plan on doing at least 1 away rotation. If I were you I'd choose to do it at a place I think I might like and would have a better chance of matching at. While you're rotating plan to work your butt off. Get there early and be the last one to go home. Offer to do scut and other things that make residents' lives easier but don't be too pushy about it. Being known as a hard working guy that is fun to be around will endear you to the residents, and they will talk you up to their attendings. Make yourself a useful part of the team so that when you leave they'll miss having you around to help. If you form a good connection with one of the residents, ask their advice about how you can improve your chances of matching there. Know your anatomy so that when the attendings pimp you you'll have a chance to shine. If you're into research you might be able to find a little project you could work on with someone there.

During interviews definitely let it be known that you have strong ties to California, namely your wife's family. When you're not from CA people are always going to wonder how serious you are about moving cross-country. I got asked at every interview about that, usually disguised as something like "So, do you have family in the area?" There's always scary stories about people who don't match, but I'd say you have good reasons to be optimistic.