I'll be nice and blunt:
bump please
thanks again
What's the point of your bump if you aren't going to listen to begin with?
If you want actual advice, here is some: I can't tell you where to apply to, but I can tell you where NOT to apply to, since you won't be getting interviews from the following:
MGH,BWH,BID,BU,Yale,Montefiore,Columbia,Cornell,NYU,Mt.Sinai,Jefferson,Penn,Hopkins,Bayview,UMD,UVA,Duke,UNC,Emory,Vanderbilt,UAB,WashU,UChicago,Northwestern,Michigan,Mayo,CCF,Case,OHSU,Iowa,UTSW,Baylor,Colorado,Wash,UCSF,UCLA,UCSD,Stanford
I am sure I am missing some programs, but good luck with your application. You will need it, esp with that attitude.
Doubt you'll get more than 1 IV to your reaches unfortunately. Mt.Sinai in NY is a top program so it will be in your reach category. I see you avoided Baltimore programs. Baltimore as a city is much nicer than its reputation. In addition, given your good but not stellar application, you should consider broadening to non-east coast programs with strong IM departments. If your goal is good training and fellowship opportunities rather than just being on the east coast, you should consider non-east coast programs. If your goal is to be in the Boston-NYC-Philly-Bmore-DC-Richmond-Durham area, then your list is ok. Would include some smaller programs in NY/LI/NJ.
I would add: Drexel, University of Maryland, Rutgers, Hofstra, Stonybrook, UConn. If looking more broadly, add CCF, Case, OHSU, Colorado, Iowa, UAB (there are many more, I'm too lazy to list them all)
Hello everyone! I've lurked through this thread for a number of months now, to try to come up with a list of programs I'd like to apply to. But now that my class rank and step 2 scores are finalized, I was hoping for some help from the community. First, here's a rundown of my application:
Undergrad: Univ of Illinois
Master's Degree: Georgetown
Med School: DO School in California
Step 1: 240 / Level 1: 575
Step 2: 242 / Level 2: Pending
Class Rank: Bottom 20%
Honors: Only FM
LOR: Two strong letters from IM SubI, Chair Letter, and hoping to get a strong letter from an upcoming ICU rotation
Research: 2 poster presentations, 1 publication pending in OB/GYN (2nd author), 1 IRB proposal written and submitted (I would be first author once this project gets published), and some bench research experience in undergrad
EC's: Employed part time as ER scribe during good portion of MS1 and MS2; Worked as Lyft/Uber driver during MS3; created a business this year, which should hopefully go live and become profitable by end of 2017, volleyball coach
The biggest red flag on my application is certainly my class rank, which is in the bottom quintile of the class. I struggled with test taking during years 1 and 2 of medical school, but managed to work hard and overachieve a bit on the Step exams. I think/hope that the strongest part of my application is my employment history through out medical school. I've focused on minimizing my debt burden the best I could, by working various jobs during my free nights and weekends.
My goal is to match into a middle/low tier academic program, or a high/middle tier community program in either Chicago (first choice) or one of the major California cities. I'm also going to search for programs in other metropolitan areas, but I am having a hard time determining which ones I would be competitive for. Of note, I am most likely going to pursue a career in hospitalist medicine, but if I do decide to specialize, it would be in Pulm/Crit. Here is my dream list thus far:
- Chicago: Rush, Loyola, UIC, Advocate Christ/Lutheran, Stroger, NorthShore
- LA Area: Cedars Sinai, Kaiser LA, USC, UC Irvine, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Huntington Memorial, Arrowhead Regional
- San Diego: Scripps Green, Scripps Mercy
- Bay Area: Kaiser Santa Clara, Santa Clara Valley, St Mary's Hospital, Kaiser Oakland, Kaiser SF, California Pacific MC
1. I would be absolutely ecstatic to match at one of UIC/Loyola/Rush - how much of a reach are these schools, given my poor class rank and DO degree?
2. I know the California programs are ultra-competitive - are there any on my list that I should remove, if they're too much of a reach?
3. Since I am applying to so many Cali programs, should I aim to apply to 50+ total programs in the end, just to be safe?
4. Given my application's weaknesses, are there any other programs in major metropolitan areas which I could be competitive for? I love Chicago and California, but I'd be willing to live in Boston, NYC, Austin, DC, Seattle, Portland, etc, especially if those cities have large programs with 10+ residents.
It feels as if my list may contain way too many reach programs, so I would really appreciate some help in expanding my search a bit! Thanks fam, love you all! <3
1. They are realistic reaches; your application has unique aspects that you can sell. Your biggest barrier is landing interviews
2. Keep all CA programs since that's where you want to be (outside of Chicago)
3. Yes
4. Many academic/community programs around NYC, you should target those[/QUOTE]
why are UC and NW unlikely?
Because the applicant appears to hail from a non-top 20 school, has very little research, and is only an OK candidate. Folks who match at UChic,NW,Michigan, etc are stellar candidates (with higher step scores, more research, a 'wow' factor in their app), which the op is not