SDN 2010 Ophthalmology Residency Match Poll

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Did you match?

  • Yes

    Votes: 45 68.2%
  • No

    Votes: 21 31.8%

  • Total voters
    66

Andrew_Doan

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It's match time again and every year I collect and post applicants' stats anonymously. Your participation provides data that are not available elsewhere and are helpful to those who follow in your footsteps!

If you matched, then remember to join the American Academy of Ophthalmology. You can contact [email protected] for more information.

Consider this article by Ruben Sanchez, MD when making your match list:
http://www.medrounds.org/ophthalmology-pearls/articles/Sanchez-Match-Pearls.pdf

In addition to the poll above, if you would like to participate in the anonymous detailed listing of matched and unmatched applications (hopefully all matched on this board), then please submit a personal message to me. I'll post your stats without identification if you prefer. ([http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=593386]Click here for 2009 SDN Match Poll[/URL]).

If you send me a PM or post, then please use the template below:

--Board Scores:
--AOA and class rank: if known
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc)
--Research: (none, some ophtho with no publications, ophtho publications)
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine)
--# and where you did away rotations:
--# of programs you applied to:
--Where invited for interviews:
--Where matched:
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc)

Also, several faculty and I have started Pearls in Ophthalmology, which is a newsletter for new and current residents. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide you with review articles that will help new residents get up to speed and to stimulate review for current residents. If you would like to opt into this newsletter, then please subscribe at: http://www.medrounds.org/ophthalmology-pearls/2006/12/subscribe-to-free-pearls-in.html

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--Board Scores: Step 1: 218/90 Step 2: not yet taken
--AOA and class rank: no AOA; school doesn't rank
--Reputation of medical school: top 5
--Research: 1 first author ophtho publication in IOVS; another first author publication in process; poster presentation at ARVO
--Honors in clerkships: Medicine sub-I, ophtho elective, High Pass in everything else
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 at Casey (OHSU)
--# of programs you applied to: 29
--Where invited for interviews: Wills, Duke, Oklahoma, Emory, UT-SW, Baylor, USC (Doheny)
--Where matched: UT-SW
--Anything that helped your app: 1 super big-wig letter, 2 other solid letters, MPH, some unique life experiences including international work

= = = = = = = = = =
 
--Board Scores: step 1, 238,99. step 2 unknown
--AOA and class rank: not AOA, top 3rd
--Reputation of medical school: lower tier, state school in the southeast.
--Research: 1 good 6 mo research project although I was not published on it for some reason (thanks jerk upper level). No ophtho research.
--Honors in clerkships: we don't have that, but I got A's in everything except Peds and OB
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 @ Emory
--# of programs you applied to: 48(00$)
(note to future students: Learn from me, don't apply to schools in NYC or out west as they are just as competative as the Bascoms, Wills, Wilmers etc. In fact unless you are a superstar (don't waste you money on those big boys-Wills, Wilmer, BP, Wash U, Penn, Iowa at all)
--Where invited for interviews: 10- Emory, MCG, Mt Sinai, Wake, Henry Ford, UNC chapel hill, SLU, Rush, Tulane, LSU-Ochsner
--Where matched: my Number 4, Henry Ford baby
!!!!!!!!Assembly line Phacos SON
--Anything that helped your app: I'd like to say that it was my winning personality and irresistable charm. But most likely it was that my home Chairman used to be the Chairman over at Ford and he called in and gave them the good word. And now I will be proceeding to the Finest Whiskey watering hole establishment that Disgusta ga has to offer. See ya in 2011 my compadres.
= = = = = = = = = =
 
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This forum was SO helpful, so here is my contribution.

--Board Scores: Step 1 224, 93; Step 2 228, 94
--AOA and class rank: Not AOA
--Reputation of medical school: Solid state school
--Research: lots of research/publications in undergrad, some research in ophtho with 1 ARVO poster/abstract
--Honors in clerkships: Honors in Medicine, Family Medicine, all ophtho rotations; rest mixture of High Pass and Pass (did NOT honor surgery! :laugh:)
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 away rotations, received interview at 1, matched at same one
--# of programs you applied to: 80+ (apply widely if you are not as strong in numbers!!)
--Where invited for interviews: Albany, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Buffalo, St. Vincent's, St. Luke's, North Shore LIJ, NUMC, Stony Brook, Howard, Drexel, Tulane, UMKC, Summa Health System
--Where matched: my #1 choice!! :love:
--Anything that helped your app: I think what helped my app the most is my home ophtho letter. It does NOT have to be from a big wig (contrary to popular belief). My letter was from a well respected faculty at my home program and I found that many interviewers mentioned the letter. Research is also good, but not necessary. Going to ARVO spoke for itself (bring copies of your poster on your interview, they will be impressed!). I was really worried about my steps (seriously, this is Ophtho!) but in all honesty, that might only prevent you from getting some big shot interviews. Regardless, if you want to match in Ophtho, it is VERY possible. I am your average med student, not AOA, and just a down to earth kind of person with a strong work ethic. That is all they are looking for. Get involved EARLY, get to know the residents at a few programs of your choice (if they like you, they can have SEVERE influence later during the ranking process). I think in my case, that was very true. Best of luck everyone! :luck:
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--Board Scores: low 240s
--AOA and class rank: AOK! class rank unknown
--Reputation of medical school: top 15 or so
--Research: 1 1st author pub in ophtho, 1 st author pub in another field, multiple misc. publications
--Honors in clerkships: 0
--# and where you did away rotations: research away rotation at my #1 choice
--# of programs you applied to: 34
--Where invited for interviews: Casey, U of Washington, UCLA, USC, UTSW, NYEE, U of Colorado, Michigan, Cleveland Clinic, Vanderbilt, UCI, Loma Linda
--Where matched: #4!
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc) research, 2 big wig letters definitely helped, reputation of medical school, you don't have to be AOA or get tons of honors to match! start early, get to know people, and just relax!
 
--Board Scores: step 1: 212/88 step 2: 251/99
--AOA and class rank: top 1/3
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) not sure
--Research: (none, some ophtho with no publications, ophtho publications) many ophtho projects, one publication, 2 submitted. 3 non-ophtho abstracts published
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine) Family Practice, Psych
--# and where you did away rotations: 3 but i ended up ranking these lower
--# of programs you applied to: 76 (I was worried about step 1)
--Where invited for interviews: 17 Albany, Minnesota, Missouri, Nassau, SinaiBaltimore, LSU-Ochsner, Downstate, EVMS, Brooklyn-Queens, St. Vincent's, Stony Brook, Northshore-lij, st. luke's-roosevelt, mt. sinai, U. kansas, u. south carolina, howard
--Where matched: #2
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc) First of all thank you dr. doan and sdn for all of your efforts and advice. i recieved sooo much good advice and help from this website. every year i would read this forum and pray that one day i too would post!! ok back to the question:
1)phone call to the program I matched at
2)2 big wig letters that were strong and personable...the chairman of the place i matched at knew both of them and specifically told me he liked my letters
3)other degrees: I have other degrees but i dont think it helped
4)a lot of community service work in ophtho
5)go over your answers to all the common interview questions...trust me they ask them more often then you think
6)persistence pays off...look at where i started with step 1 and where i am now....im am stoked...i just freakin matched!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
It was a pleasure meeting all of you on the trail! This resource is tremendously helpful and I hope more people will contribute!

--Board Scores: Step 1+2 260+/99
--AOA and class rank: Junior AOA
--Reputation of medical school: outside top 10
--Research: 1 non-ophtho pub, basic science research non-ophtho, 1 AAO abstract, first-author ophtho publication submitted
--Honors in clerkships: medicine, surgery, peds, ob-gyn, psych
--# and where you did away rotations: none
--# of programs you applied to: 30
--Where interviews received: UNC, UF, USF, UTSHSA, Baylor, DMEI, Utah, UCLA, UCSF, Wills, BPEI, Michigan, CPMC
--Notable rejections: Emory, Duke, Wilmer, Iowa
--Where matched: BPEI
--Anything that helped your app: board scores, AOA were helpful but the most important thing that seemed to help was having very good letters from great people. Letters will open doors!
 
--Board Scores: 227/95, step 2 still avoiding
--AOA and class rank: not AOA
--Reputation of medical school: Top 25?
--Research: (none, some ophtho with no publications, ophtho publications) 1 published basic science paper, two ophtho papers in process)
--Honors in clerkships: Surgery, Peds, Ophtho, Medicine Sub-I, HP in everything else
--# and where you did away rotations: 1
--# of programs you applied to: 65
--Where invited for interviews: Rochester, Baylor, Florida, MCG, SUNY Upstate, UT-Houston, St. Vincent's, Nassau, Bronx-Leb, Ohio State, South Carolina, EVMS, Indiana, Summa, Mizzou
--Where matched: #9, solid clinical program!
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc) Great letters of rec, enthusiastic person, someone people like to hang around, applied more broadly because we had many from our class this year apply.
 
--Board Scores: Step 1: 253; Step 2: 265
--AOA and class rank: AOA; unknown
--Reputation of medical school: top 10
--Research: some ophtho w/ ARVO poster, another presentation, and paper submitted
--Honors in clerkships: surgery, medicine, family med, ophtho x2
--# and where you did away rotations: Utah
--# of programs you applied to: 35
--Where invited for interviews: Yale, Penn St, MUSC, U Kentucky, Cincinnati, Ohio St, U Tenn, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missou-Columbia, Wake Forest, UTSW, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Casey, CPMC, UCSD
--Where matched: #2
--Anything that helped your app: big wig letter, although I got more comments about my other ophtho letter from an Assistant professor (he wrote a very strong, personal letter), scores, getting involved in ophtho research early
 
Board Scores: Step 1&2: 260+/99
--AOA and class rank: no AOA at my school; class rank top 2%
--Reputation of medical school: top twenty
--Research: some ophtho without publication, non-ophtho with 1 publication
--Honors in clerkships: surgery, medicine, neuro, peds, psych, OB, family med, ophtho x2
--# and where you did away rotations: 1, at my #3 choice
--# of programs you applied to: 34
--Where invited for interviews: 19 -- Irvine, Michigan, Oklahoma, UT-Memphis, UT-Houston, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, Utah, Iowa, UCLA, USC, UCSD, Bascom, UIC, Northwestern, WashU, MCW, Cincinnati, Colorado
--Some programs not offering interview: Wills, Duke, MEEI, Stanford, Casey, Wisconsin, Minnesota, BU, Tufts, Wilmer
--Where matched: #1
--Anything that helped your app: Big wig letter did help based on the fact that several interviewers mentioned it, strong boards and evals helped open interview doors in some places, while relatively little ophtho research closed others. Also, two sentences which I wrote in the "activities and interests" section of the app were mentioned by and discussed at length with like 75% of my interviewers. I think it really set me apart, and I guess they really do read those applications.
 
--Board Scores: Step 1 240/99
--AOA and class rank: Not AOA, class not ranked
--Reputation of medical school: top 10
--Research: Some ophtho submitted and pending, but no publications
--Honors in clerkships: No honors in 3rd year, but high pass in surgery, peds, family medicine. Honors in 4th year clerkships x4, including ophtho x2.
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 international
--# of programs you applied to: 69 (applied broadly because of M3 grades)
--Where invited for interviews: Iowa, Duke, Michigan, Baylor, Vanderbilt, CPMC, UCSD, UC Irvine, BU, NYU, Albany, Maryland, Drexel, Wisconsin, MCW, Minnesota, Henry Ford, Beaumont, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri - Columbia, Missouri - Kansas City, Louisville, Wake Forest, UNC, UAB, MUSC Storm
--Where matched: My #1 - a top-10 program
--Anything that helped your app: 1 very strong big-wig letter of rec + 2 very strong letters (1 ophtho, 1 surg) + 1 supplemental letter I either mailed separately or brought with me (peds), also extensive work history and unique background.
 
--Board Scores: 238/99, Step 2 not taken.
--AOA and class rank: unknown
--Reputation of medical school: top 3
--Research: lecture presentation at ARVO/ASCRS, poster at AOA. 4 publications- 1 first author, 2 second author, 1 last author (all ophtho in major journals)
--Honors in clerkships: Plastics, Vascular sx, Ophtho and Psych. Bunch of electives. The rest all High Pass.
--# and where you did away rotations: None
--# of programs you applied to: 7 (all California, due to family reasons)
--Where invited for interviews: 4 out of 7.
--Where matched: first choice.
--Anything that helped your app: great med school with outstanding ophtho department, lots of research (good quality, both basic science and clinical), very thorough and personal letters of rec, a phone call from a big wig (who I did research for) to PD and chairman at my first choice. Knowing the programs I applied to really well.
 
--Board Scores: Step I: High 230's/99, Step II: High 250's /99
--AOA and class rank: if known: AOA; top 20%
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc): Top 30
--Research: (none, some ophtho with no publications, ophtho publications): 2 1st author pubs, 6 1st author posters, 2 more 1st author pubs in preparation, year out research
--Honors in clerkships: (especially surgery and medicine): Surgery, Medicine, Ophtho Sub I, HP in everything else
--# and where you did away rotations: None
--# of programs you applied to: 58 (a bit much in retrospect)
--Where invited for interviews: 36 -- Invited but didn't go: Upstate, Tulane, UVA, CPMC, Albany, Wake Forrest, Penn State, UT-Memphis, Indiana, LSU, LIJ, Drexel, Einstein, Temple, SUNY-Stony Brook, BU, UNC, Mayo, SUNY Buffalo, Yale, NYU, Mt. Sinai, Iowa, UCSD; Invited and attended: Wilmer, Dean McGee, Rochester, USC, MEEI, BPEI, Wash U, Duke, Casey, Utah, UCLA, Penn
--Where matched: My #1
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc): Phone call, very strong letters of rec, research, MS, getting involved in Ophtho early, Ophtho community service, SDN forum, luck, & prayers.
My mentor told me to apply to a wide # and geographical location of schools -- I thought this was very good advice b/c sometimes it felt random where I got interviews from. My Step I score was solid, but not outstanding so I took Step II early and I think it helped (but no one ever brought up my Step I being low). I think letters are the most important part of the application; the bigger the name the better, but only if they know you well and can speak highly. Good luck to everyone in the future!
 
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Board Scores: 241/99
AOA and class rank: No AOA
Reputation of medical school: top 15
Research: some ophtho, no publications
Honors in clerkships: Neurology, Family Medicine
# and where you did away rotations: 0
# of programs you applied to: 40+
Where invited for interviews: UT San Antonio, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, Rush, Baylor College of Medicine. All great programs with different strengths.
Where matched: Baylor
Anything that helped your app: Very supportive letters, additional ophtho electives, non-traditional path, getting to know people in the programs, being sure that ophtho is for me.
Things that helped in the interview process: I was a little discouraged to have fewer interviews than others, but the advantage to that is I had the energy to give each one my best shot. I treated each place as though I might match there, which meant:
-reading the information on the program websites
-learning as much as possible at all the pre-interview activities
-thinking about what makes me a good fit for that program
-getting to know the different cities and what I liked about them
-meeting residents, faculty, staff, and applicants (future colleagues!)
-keeping notes
-being happy to interview at the programs I had!
 
--Board Scores: 225/94, 240s/99 (taken in Sept)
--AOA and class rank: not AOA, 25-50%
--Reputation of medical school: Unheard of SE school (we don't even have an ophtho program)
--Research: 1 non-ophtho publication, 2 ophtho poster presentations
--Honors in clerkships: A in everything except for Peds and OB/GYN, Honors on two ophtho externships
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 - try to see two different styles of teaching when choosing, but $$$$
--# of programs you applied to: 85 (worried about Step I and not having an Ophtho dept)
--Where invited for interviews: Got 13, Went on 12 (interviews were random and I'm glad I applied broadly) Rush, UAB, SLU, Baylor, LSU-Ochsner, Tulane, Nassau, Bronx-Leb, MCG, Mizzou, Drexel, UTMB, Summa (didn't attend)
--Where matched: #5 choice - solid SE program :)
--Anything that helped your app:
* Wish I would have gotten Step II before submitting my app, alot of programs didn't look at it until the interview (I submitted it through SF Match as a supp, but PDs told me to make sure you bring it up if they don't)...programs focus on the 2 digit scores
* Being one of the first applications submitted....I got 3 interviews in August
* Letter from a former PD helped me get a few regional interviews (it really is a small world and it's all about contacts so talk to everyone you meet whenever you get the opportunity).
* Research in the field helped a lot (just about everyone asked about it)
* Med school awards, multiple leadership positions, and volunteer activities (a lot of people asked)
* Since my program doesn't have a dept, I think doing externships really showed my strong interest
* Just being myself. I know everyone seems to say it, but "I'm the kinda guy you wanna have a beer with"

I'm so glad I won't have to answer "so do you have any questions for me" for at least a couple years! :D Don't get discouraged because of how competitive it is, apply early and broadly and make sure you're application shows you have a strong interest.

You'll be writing on this wall soon. Good luck! :luck:
 
--Board Scores: step1 - 253/99. step 2 - unknown
--AOA and class rank: non aoa, unknown
--Reputation of medical school: 30-40ish?
--Research: 3 non-ophth pubs, multiple ongoing ophtho projects
--Honors in clerkships: HP in medicine, surgery, obgyn. pass in peds. honors in everything else.
--# and where you did away rotations: none
--# of programs you applied to: 65!
--Where invited for interviews: attended 14: Yale, Scheie, Cornell, Brown, Baylor, UTSW, Tufts, BU, Einstein, Georgetown, CPMC, MCW, UMDNJ, UT Memphis. Did not attend: Case Western, Mt Sinai in new york, NYMC, UT Houston, UT Galveston, Stonybrook, Wake Forest
--Where matched: number 6
--Anything that helped your app: strong letters from my program but not big-wigs
 
--Board Scores: 232/94, step 2 not taken
--AOA and class rank: don't exist in our school
--Reputation of medical school: (top 10, top 25, etc) top 10
--Research: PhD in neuroscience, 4 1st author neuroscience pubs, some 2nd authors, one 1st author ophtho paper submitted when applying
--Honors in clerkships: pass/fail system
--# and where you did away rotations: none
--# of programs you applied to: 35
--Where invited for interviews: went to Wisconsin, Wilmer, Yale, Duke, WashU, BP, Iowa, UCSD, Doheny, Scheie, michigan, cpmc, stanford, meei
notable rejections: ucla, ucsf, oregon, wills, emory
--Where matched: #1!
--Anything that helped your app: (ie: a phone call from your advisor to another program, big-wig letter of recs, MD/PhD, other degree, SDN Forum, etc) PhD, great letters from well known people in academic ophthalmology. eagle scout, unique extracuriculars. Step 1 below 240 is not an absolute cutoff for interviews, provided you have other things that distinguish you. I think the most important thing that helped was having great letters from well-known people in ophthalmology, and being able to demonstrate my passion for ophthalmology. Congrats to everyone! I found the info on this site to be invaluable during the app process.
 
-- Board Scores: Step I 239/99; Step 2 pending
-- AOA and class rank: top 40
-- Reputation of medical school: top 30
-- Research: 5 ophtho pubs (1 1st author), 2 ARVO posters, 1 neurology pub
-- Honors in clerkships: Surgery, Medicine Sub-I, Ophtho; High Pass: a couple
-- # and where you did away rotations: where I matched
-- # of programs you applied to: 50
-- Where invited for interviews: Iowa, Baylor, Wash U, Vanderbilt, Dean McGee, Mt Sinai, UT San Antonio, Rochester, Bronx Lebanon, Wake Forest, Loma Linda, UCI, Cincinnati
-- Invited but did not attend: SUNY Upstate, Buffalo, SUNY Downstate, Stony Brook, Henry Ford, USCSM, Brown, NYMC, UT Houston
-- Where matched: #3
-- Anything that helped your app: strong letters (1 from big wig, 1 research letter, 1 medicine); other degree (non PhD); early ophtho interest; SDN Forum; clear passion for ophtho as well as other interests outside of the hospital; being direct but respectful . You can do it too if you want it!
 
--Board Scores: step 1 240/99, step 2 not taken yet
--AOA and class rank: Not AOA. In Top 25% of class.
--Reputation of medical school: Not top 25.
--Research: 3 poster presentations (non-ophtho related)
--Honors in clerkships: Honors (A's) in medicine and OB, B+ in rest of rotations
--# and where you did away rotations: 1 away rotation at Univeristy of Florida - Gainesville
--# of programs you applied to: 50
--Where invited for interviews: U of Florida - Gainesville, Wake, MUSC, University of South Carolina, UF- Jacksonville, Arkansas, West Virginia, MCG, Emory, UVA, VCU, LSU- shreveport, UT-houston, U minnesota
Did not attend interviews at: UT houston, West virginia, U minnesota
--Where matched:UF- Gainesville!!! Number 1 choice!
--Anything that helped your app: AWAY ROTATION at school where I matched was critical to matching there. Good Board scores and very good letters of rec from faculty in ophtho (these were not Big-wigs but they were very good letters) was helpful to get interviews. Also, I think it is very important to be personable and act yourself at interviews, this can make a big difference!
 
Board Scores:Step 1: 257; haven't taken Step 2
AOA and class rank: didn't make AOA; top 25%
Reputation of medical school: top 15
Research: some ophtho with no publications
Honors in clerkships: Medicine, Neurology, Ophtho (X3)...all others HP
# and where you did away rotations: none
# of programs you applied to: 30
Where invited for interviews: NYEEI, Baylor, UTSW, Columbia, SLU, Drexel, UCLA, Wash U, UIC
Where matched: UTSW! :love:
Anything that helped your app: Nice letters, board scores, taking strong interest in each program I visited:thumbup:
 
--Board Scores: Step I 225 (93) / Step II 235 (96)
--AOA and class rank: not AOA and top 1/3
--Reputation of medical school: top 10 primary care, but only regional respect
--Research: 1 ophtho manuscript under review (not first author), 3 ophtho manuscripts in preparation (first author on one of them), ongoing GI research where I did the IRB and am first author; a poster at a national molecular biology meeting in undergrad, and a poster in medical school at a local meeting, plus 1 month with a top researcher in ophthalmology
--Honors in clerkships: Honors in surgery, medicine, family medicine, and honors in 4 ophtho away rotations, and 4th year orthopedics rotation
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 academic rotations at a top 5 program, 2 at mid to lower tier programs (got interview at 1 of the mid tier programs)
--# of programs you applied to: 65
--Where invited for interviews: 8 (in alphabetical order) albany, buffalo, cleveland clinic, Kansas, MCG, Texas Tech, UMKC, Wake Forest
--Where matched: #3
--Anything that helped your app: once you know you want to do ophtho identify where you can still strengthen your application and do it; I got 2 letters from ophthalmologists that literally every attending has met or heard of; that meant being willing to spend a lot of time away and planning my 4th year schedule early in advance and working my tail off. I felt like that was necessary because my board scores were below average, and I don't like to take chances. Even then, it is still really stressful up until you match, and in retrospect I would have probably applied to more programs, because you just never know. It is not getting easier to get into, and multiple programs sent letters reporting record # of applicants this year. My advice is that it is worth $300-700 more to apply more places and not have to try a second time and still maybe not get in. In the end I matched at the program that was the best fit for me personality-wise, and that is probably why I matched there.
 
-Board Scores: Step 1: 220/91 Step 2: 239/99. Not even close to AOA.

--Reputation of medical school: Top 25 (i think #25!)

--Research: At the time i applied i had 2 accepted publications, and 1 submitted. 1 was a book review related to ophtho, the others were an ophtho case report and ophtho chapter review. I got really lucky.

--Honors in clerkships: Did not honor in surgery OR medicine. But did honor in many of my 4th year electives including 3 different ophtho rotations, ICU,nuerosurgery. So maybe that helped make up for my not-so-stellar 3rd year?

--# and where you did away rotations: 2 aways, both in california where I'm from

--# of programs you applied to: a LOT. I can't even remember, but I think 80+. Hard to under-apply when you are worried about numbers like I was.

--Where invited for interviews: I had 10 interview invitations

--Where matched: in california!

--Anything that helped your app: I think the biggest thing I had going for me was two letters of rec from well known ophthalmologists. One from my home school, and one I picked up on an away rotation. And both of my letter writers knew each other well. Ophtho is a small small world, everybody knows everybody. If they ask you about your letter writers on interviews, I think its a great sign. So having a recognizable name endorsing you is especially helpful when your step 1 score/grades are really not great. The other thing is that away rotations can really help you out. I am by far the numerically weakest candidate acepted at my program, but I was able to leave a lasting impression as a visiting student. Good luck to all future applicants!
 
--Board Scores: 245
--AOA and class rank: not AOA
--Reputation of medical school: Nonranked private
--Research: none
--Honors in clerkships: H in my ophtho rotations x2, H in Surgery, HP in Medicine, Peds
--# and where you did away rotations: 1
--# of programs you applied to: 50+
--Where invited for interviews: LSU, Baylor, Case Western, Vanderbilt, UT Memphis, SLU, NYEEI, UT Houston
--Where matched: #1
--Anything that helped your app: Strong letter (Im assuming) from well known faculty, being a normal person during interviews
 
--Board Scores: 245/99, 254/99
--AOA and class rank: #3 of 162. AOA not available @ school
--Reputation of medical school: DO school
--Research: 3 non ophtho peer reviewed publications, 1 poster presentation
--Honors in clerkships: top tenth percentile on ALL NBME shelf exams (surgery was 99th percentile)
--# and where you did away rotations: 2, Miss and AK
--# of programs you applied to: 60
--Where invited for interviews: 22
--Where matched: #1
--Anything that helped your app: Great LORs!! taking step 2 early and having double 99's was a good idea, masters degree with research experience, class rank, many comments on Deans letter (didnt expect that)
 
Hi,

Thanks for the post and congrats on matching! :D I had a couple of questions: by applying early what do you mean? I gues my question is when do you think the application should go in? Also, how would one get to know the residents? going in for a short observership?or going to the grand rounds? thank you
This forum was SO helpful, so here is my contribution.

--Board Scores: Step 1 224, 93; Step 2 228, 94
--AOA and class rank: Not AOA
--Reputation of medical school: Solid state school
--Research: lots of research/publications in undergrad, some research in ophtho with 1 ARVO poster/abstract
--Honors in clerkships: Honors in Medicine, Family Medicine, all ophtho rotations; rest mixture of High Pass and Pass (did NOT honor surgery! :laugh:)
--# and where you did away rotations: 2 away rotations, received interview at 1, matched at same one
--# of programs you applied to: 80+ (apply widely if you are not as strong in numbers!!)
--Where invited for interviews: Albany, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Buffalo, St. Vincent's, St. Luke's, North Shore LIJ, NUMC, Stony Brook, Howard, Drexel, Tulane, UMKC, Summa Health System
--Where matched: my #1 choice!! :love:
--Anything that helped your app: I think what helped my app the most is my home ophtho letter. It does NOT have to be from a big wig (contrary to popular belief). My letter was from a well respected faculty at my home program and I found that many interviewers mentioned the letter. Research is also good, but not necessary. Going to ARVO spoke for itself (bring copies of your poster on your interview, they will be impressed!). I was really worried about my steps (seriously, this is Ophtho!) but in all honesty, that might only prevent you from getting some big shot interviews. Regardless, if you want to match in Ophtho, it is VERY possible. I am your average med student, not AOA, and just a down to earth kind of person with a strong work ethic. That is all they are looking for. Get involved EARLY, get to know the residents at a few programs of your choice (if they like you, they can have SEVERE influence later during the ranking process). I think in my case, that was very true. Best of luck everyone! :luck:
 
Hi, I am an IMG applying for the ophthalmology match this year. Is there a list of the IMG friendly programs in ophthalmology? Also are there any programs which are known to not take IMGs?
Thank you
 
Hey Dr. Doan,

Can we do another poll like you did in 2010?
 
Seconding the above poster... I would also love to see updated information from students who matched.
 
Hi, I am an IMG applying for the ophthalmology match this year. Is there a list of the IMG friendly programs in ophthalmology? Also are there any programs which are known to not take IMGs?
Thank you
Sir/ma'am.. Id like to know how the match turned out for you.. I am an IMG from India .. Interested in ophthal
 
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