- Joined
- Jan 25, 2017
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 4
So I'm an M3 (sorta) at a top 20 institution who had to do an alternative course schedule due to some issues that arose during med school.
First of all - I didn't take step 1 at the end of M2 as originally planned, when the time came I panicked and then after talking with my deans decided not to take it. We decided I should go ahead and just start my M3 year, assuming that clinical medicine would fit me better than the basic sciences. Unfortunately, after completing half of my M3 year, I had to step away from the curriculum due to personal issues and poor performance. In those 6 months I received 3 passes and a high pass (the only high pass coming in FM).
I spent the next 6 months away from school and working on my personal issues, along with finally taking Step 1. I studied my ass off for Step 1 for 3.5 months but it was a steep climb since I had not had any of the M1-M2 material in over a year. I finally managed to pass but did not perform at the level I was hoping/expecting. I scored a 207.
I have since resumed clerkships and it looks as though I will end up doing much better than the first time, but still not at honors level. I will likely receive HP in my final 3 clerkships, but my clinical evals have improved a lot.
I was originally considering med/peds but considering I would really like to get into an academic/university program I think it would be smarter to try and just do peds (especially since medicine is one of the clerkships I achieved Pass on).
My question is, coming out of a top 20 institution with strong letters in the field but spotty M3 grades and a meh Step 1, what are the chances of me being able to match a decent academic/university program in pediatrics?
I've found on FREIDA that there are some programs that will potentially screen me out based on Step 1 (not sure how accurate that is) but for the most part it seems that step 1 cutoffs are either unlisted or below my score.
Of note, I have a pretty strong leadership/volunteer/research CV. Led multiple student groups in medical school, lots of volunteering (especially with kids), and have had the chance to some oral and poster presentations on global health related topics. I also have a thesis from my masters that was not privately published but was at the school.
Thanks for any feedback anyone can give me!
First of all - I didn't take step 1 at the end of M2 as originally planned, when the time came I panicked and then after talking with my deans decided not to take it. We decided I should go ahead and just start my M3 year, assuming that clinical medicine would fit me better than the basic sciences. Unfortunately, after completing half of my M3 year, I had to step away from the curriculum due to personal issues and poor performance. In those 6 months I received 3 passes and a high pass (the only high pass coming in FM).
I spent the next 6 months away from school and working on my personal issues, along with finally taking Step 1. I studied my ass off for Step 1 for 3.5 months but it was a steep climb since I had not had any of the M1-M2 material in over a year. I finally managed to pass but did not perform at the level I was hoping/expecting. I scored a 207.
I have since resumed clerkships and it looks as though I will end up doing much better than the first time, but still not at honors level. I will likely receive HP in my final 3 clerkships, but my clinical evals have improved a lot.
I was originally considering med/peds but considering I would really like to get into an academic/university program I think it would be smarter to try and just do peds (especially since medicine is one of the clerkships I achieved Pass on).
My question is, coming out of a top 20 institution with strong letters in the field but spotty M3 grades and a meh Step 1, what are the chances of me being able to match a decent academic/university program in pediatrics?
I've found on FREIDA that there are some programs that will potentially screen me out based on Step 1 (not sure how accurate that is) but for the most part it seems that step 1 cutoffs are either unlisted or below my score.
Of note, I have a pretty strong leadership/volunteer/research CV. Led multiple student groups in medical school, lots of volunteering (especially with kids), and have had the chance to some oral and poster presentations on global health related topics. I also have a thesis from my masters that was not privately published but was at the school.
Thanks for any feedback anyone can give me!