ortho in west coast chances

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Theppunisher

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Messages
26
Reaction score
12
Hello all,
I am an east coast student at an allopathic school(not a highly regarded school but the health system is well known) (also attended undergrad in east coast and basically have lived here my whole life)
I am a current 3rd and am very interested in orthopedic surgery and want to match out west like somewhere in California or possibly Seattle...
first 2 years of med school were pass fail... passed everything
Step 1- >>260
did some research in ortho have 1 or 2 papers coming out in the near future hopefully before i apply
and i believe I can get some solid recs from some of the orthopedic surgeons here at my school
I believe my school allows like 2-3 aways during 4th year which obviously i will use or or 2 of to go out west.
is there anything else I can do to increase my chances?
my father lived in cali for a bit and is moving back so I kind of have family ties


thank you ahead of time

Members don't see this ad.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thank you guys... on the topic of aways, I believe my school gives 3 away rotations do you think just one away in california is enough or should I do 2 aways or a 4 week one split into a two weeks at two different california schools?
 
Thank you guys... on the topic of aways, I believe my school gives 3 away rotations do you think just one away in california is enough or should I do 2 aways or a 4 week one split into a two weeks at two different california schools?

I wouldn't do a two week rotation simply because you'll probably need a week just to orient yourself to your new hospital.
 
Rotate at one (or more if you know that's where you want to be). You'll likely get >/= 2-3 more interviews on the west coast with a solid application, though not necessarily at the top tier places.

Don't bother rotating at UCLA if you're coming from a lesser known east coast program and you don't already have a bunch of research, same could probably be said for UCSF & UW. That being said, I could foresee >260 not being that special anymore for ortho apps in another year, at least in terms of getting interviews at places you didn't rotate. Just choose where you want to go wisely and if you're normal and work hard that should be a guaranteed spot for you.
 
Top