Hey guys I have some questions about my competitiveness for a general surgery residency and which programs I should look at.
About me
-Attend average medical school
-Step 1 210s, Step 2 250. . . Step 1 was a bad day for me
-Clinical Rotations started out with B's, and ended with A's. . . Surgery rotation received a B (my first rotation, screwed up the shelf). .. Medicine rotation received an A. . . Towards the end I learned how to take Shelf exams
-Have very strong LOR's from attendings at my institution
-Have had two abstracts accepted and were presented at two conferences, not by me but by colleagues as I was outside of the country during conferences. . .hopefully will publish either one of those two before graduating.
-Took a year off between my 3rd and 4th year to do volunteer work and gain international clinical work in various settings in a 3rd world country.
-Between 1st and 2nd year volunteered 4 weeks at Women's health clinic in a 3rd world country
-I am planning on couples matching with my girlfriend who is wanting to do Emed, she is a very competitive applicant
In the end, we would like to end up on the West Coast (California more specifically), the Midwest (Ohio or Chicago) or the East Coast (NYC, Boston or DC). . . Keeping in mind our respective medical schools are not located in those places
Questions
1. How competitive am I for General Surgery and what programs should I look at? I am lost as to which programs I might be competitive for. . . For example would I be competitive at any top programs? How about any of these programs, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Northwestern, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, UMich, and NYU. Or should I focus my efforts at community programs, if so which ones are good?
2. How do you know which programs you could consider yourself competitive for? I am lost when it comes to this and don't want to "waste" my time applying to programs I might not have a chance at? Applying to residency programs isn't like applying to med school where you could look up GPA and MCAT averages so you could gauge your competitiveness.
3. I have an idea what some top programs might be, what are some mid-range ones?
4. How much would an away help me?
Thanks in advance.
About me
-Attend average medical school
-Step 1 210s, Step 2 250. . . Step 1 was a bad day for me
-Clinical Rotations started out with B's, and ended with A's. . . Surgery rotation received a B (my first rotation, screwed up the shelf). .. Medicine rotation received an A. . . Towards the end I learned how to take Shelf exams
-Have very strong LOR's from attendings at my institution
-Have had two abstracts accepted and were presented at two conferences, not by me but by colleagues as I was outside of the country during conferences. . .hopefully will publish either one of those two before graduating.
-Took a year off between my 3rd and 4th year to do volunteer work and gain international clinical work in various settings in a 3rd world country.
-Between 1st and 2nd year volunteered 4 weeks at Women's health clinic in a 3rd world country
-I am planning on couples matching with my girlfriend who is wanting to do Emed, she is a very competitive applicant
In the end, we would like to end up on the West Coast (California more specifically), the Midwest (Ohio or Chicago) or the East Coast (NYC, Boston or DC). . . Keeping in mind our respective medical schools are not located in those places
Questions
1. How competitive am I for General Surgery and what programs should I look at? I am lost as to which programs I might be competitive for. . . For example would I be competitive at any top programs? How about any of these programs, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Northwestern, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, UMich, and NYU. Or should I focus my efforts at community programs, if so which ones are good?
2. How do you know which programs you could consider yourself competitive for? I am lost when it comes to this and don't want to "waste" my time applying to programs I might not have a chance at? Applying to residency programs isn't like applying to med school where you could look up GPA and MCAT averages so you could gauge your competitiveness.
3. I have an idea what some top programs might be, what are some mid-range ones?
4. How much would an away help me?
Thanks in advance.
