US MD with a poor step 1 score - chance me at general surgery?

[sworzeh]

US MD from a mid-tier school

Step 1: 219
Step 2: 241
Clinical Grades: Honors in everything except psych which was a HP. Top 25% of my class. No preclinical grades.
Research: Meh. 1 opinion paper co-author, 1 pending 4th author pub, 1 pending case report 1st author, working on peds surg research.
Extracurriculars: Working on making a medical art journal for my school, random other art ECs. I own my own business and sold crafts online for the last few years. No volunteering to speak of in med school. I did literally nothing except pass and play video games the first 2 years, then kicked it into gear come third year.

I'm planning on applying to 100 midwest programs, but I don't have a list yet. Nothing top-tier and nothing on the coasts. Probably won't apply to prelim positions except at my home school. I just want to get in to a friendly program where I can get good surgical experience. I know I have about an 80% chance at matching based on my step 1 score, but that isn't super great. Does this plan sound reasonable or should I expand my search?

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[sworzeh]

I should note that I'm not doing any aways.

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

US MD from a mid-tier school

Step 1: 219
Step 2: 241
Clinical Grades: Honors in everything except psych which was a HP. Top 25% of my class. No preclinical grades.
Research: Meh. 1 opinion paper co-author, 1 pending 4th author pub, 1 pending case report 1st author, working on peds surg research.
Extracurriculars: Working on making a medical art journal for my school, random other art ECs. I own my own business and sold crafts online for the last few years. No volunteering to speak of in med school. I did literally nothing except pass and play video games the first 2 years, then kicked it into gear come third year.

I'm planning on applying to 100 midwest programs, but I don't have a list yet. Nothing top-tier and nothing on the coasts. Probably won't apply to prelim positions except at my home school. I just want to get in to a friendly program where I can get good surgical experience. I know I have about an 80% chance at matching based on my step 1 score, but that isn't super great. Does this plan sound reasonable or should I expand my search?

I think you'll be okay, especially for community programs in the Midwest. Now's a good time to kick things into high gear. Here are my suggestions:

1. Research - Expedite your research and push it towards publication. If it's pending work that may not get published, at least find some conferences to share your work with others.

2. Build your team - Start identifying the people who are invested in you successfully matching if you haven't found these people already. Reach out to them, have a 30 minute meeting if necessary to explain your plan/get some advice, and ensure that they will go to bat for you if needed. Also reach out to recent alumni of your medical school who may be general surgery residents at programs you are applying to. This team of folks should know your situation and be readily available should you need them at any point from now until Match Day (editing your PS, preparing for interviews, help with rank lists, making phone calls, etc).

3. Letters - this is basically the only thing you have left to do. Make sure the people you ask will write you strong letters.

4. Aways - any reason you aren't doing aways? They can help if you can squeeze a couple in.

 

[bannie22]

I agree with the above.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I should note that I'm not doing any aways.

You may wish to reconsider this.

While aways can be a double edged sword (and can actually harm top shelf candidates), they can help the good candidate who has a flaw in their application. Now you must be someone who can charm their way through the month, who is willing and able to shine for a full 30 days, essentially someone who looks better in person than their Step 1 score.