03-16-2018, 11:36 AM
My credentials :
Step1 212 ( 1st attempt )
Step2 Ck 249 ( 1st attempt )
Step2 CS pass ( 1st attempt )
No Step3 yet
A green card holder
YOG 2009
Few months USCE ( started in Sept the month of the application in private clinic, not hospital )
One US LORs which I got late at the end of OCT
No research
No volunteering
Matched in internal medicine with one interview.
These are some random advice only applied to Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, that I gathered from my personal experience, friends with experience and two expert doctors.
Also, I mention some mistakes I made, hopefully, will help you avoid them in the future.
These points are not an absolute right, also do not apply for all programs but for most of them.
1. Every IMG passed the USMLE step1&2 exams deserve to match and ready enough to be a good resident.
2. Step1 is the most important step to get interviews, Step2 is the most important step to get match & CS exam is the least important exam
3. Don't be yourself, yourself is your default and your default is always low energy.
4. Be exactly what the program like you to be, tell them exactly what they like to hear, how? ( by Knowing the program that offers you interview very well ).
5. 99% of Your friends in step1 and step2 are not your friends in the match, Understand that. If they don't give you intentionally wrong info they will definitely hide it. Make sure to confirm the info that you get from other resources. ( remember you deal with high IQ people who do understand what like to be a competitor )
6. LORs are more important than what you think. ( to get interviews you need 3 US LORs )
7. The earlier LORs the better they are.
8. The personal statement is less important than what you think.
9. Any attempt should be explained in your personal statement.
10. Programs offer you interviews by reading your CV, make sure your CV is clear with no Typo. ( get help from your friends or websites, write it very well and review it very well )
11. If you don’t have a research from your mother country or the USA don’t apply for University-based programs.
12. Old year of graduation is not a red flag.
13. A gap in your CV is not a red flag.
14. An attempt is a red flag, cover it with more USCE experience with strong LORs and Step3
15. USCE is very important for Community based programs ( you need at least one-month externship in a teaching hospital, not clinic )
16. if you can’t get an externship, go for observer-ship and keep trying for the externship.
17. Don’t apply for Emergency Medicine, or at least don't account for this subspecialty.
18. Step3 is important for two reasons, it shows to the program director that you can pass the board exam on the first attempt, also important for applicants with Visa to secure their Visa
19. Step3 is more important for small programs like FM with 6 positions of residency and less important for big programs who has 20 positions.
20. Don’t waste your ENERGY contacting programs during Nov-Dec moths, DO THAT IN the second half of Jan to the last week before the deadline for the rank day. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD5Imb7vWSc )
21. Email is the best way to contact the programs, don’t call them.
22. The trick I used to contact the program without annoying them : I uploaded 3 LORs in Sept 15 and the 4th LOR I uploaded at the end of OCT and I used that as a trick to contact the program by telling them to take in consideration this LOR which I got late and mention in the same time my interest in their program.
23. There are always new opening programs, try to find them.
24. If you speak Spanish you will get triple the number of interviews that someone will get with similar CV without the Spanish language. You can start learning Spanish while you are studying for your steps
25. Anxiety during the interview is not a bad thing, Overconfidence is bad.
26. Don’t practice on the generic answers for the interviews, nothing the programs hate than the generic answers ( these answers are disgusting). Practice on the normal discussion.
27. If you don’t have good questions for the program directors better to say I don’t.
28. You compete with your own people, not every IMGs.
29. Start searching for the programs long time before the 15th of Sep ( at least 2 months ) by calling them if you can’t find enough info in their websites ( don’t wait the week before the application and don’t ask the 99% of your friends )
30. If you are done with step1 and step2 exams you are not done yet and the time after USMLE exams is as important as the time during these exams, be oriented don’t be lazy and work hard to find externship and observer-ship support them with LORs, you can take Step3 as well ( Believe it or not Laziness can prevent you from matching )
31. Go to you interview very early.
32. Stay fit.
33. Wear a nice tie.
34. The connection is unfair, make it unfair to your side.
35. If you didn’t match it is not your fault. It is matching process between two sides you and the program, and the luck plays role in this process.
36. Number 4 & 30 are the most important points.
My mistakes were number 6, 10, 29 & 30 ( this is why I’d got only one interview )
Note that I will not answer any question as I mentioned everything I know.
God bless you all, God bless the United States of America.
Step1 212 ( 1st attempt )
Step2 Ck 249 ( 1st attempt )
Step2 CS pass ( 1st attempt )
No Step3 yet
A green card holder
YOG 2009
Few months USCE ( started in Sept the month of the application in private clinic, not hospital )
One US LORs which I got late at the end of OCT
No research
No volunteering
Matched in internal medicine with one interview.
These are some random advice only applied to Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, that I gathered from my personal experience, friends with experience and two expert doctors.
Also, I mention some mistakes I made, hopefully, will help you avoid them in the future.
These points are not an absolute right, also do not apply for all programs but for most of them.
1. Every IMG passed the USMLE step1&2 exams deserve to match and ready enough to be a good resident.
2. Step1 is the most important step to get interviews, Step2 is the most important step to get match & CS exam is the least important exam
3. Don't be yourself, yourself is your default and your default is always low energy.
4. Be exactly what the program like you to be, tell them exactly what they like to hear, how? ( by Knowing the program that offers you interview very well ).
5. 99% of Your friends in step1 and step2 are not your friends in the match, Understand that. If they don't give you intentionally wrong info they will definitely hide it. Make sure to confirm the info that you get from other resources. ( remember you deal with high IQ people who do understand what like to be a competitor )
6. LORs are more important than what you think. ( to get interviews you need 3 US LORs )
7. The earlier LORs the better they are.
8. The personal statement is less important than what you think.
9. Any attempt should be explained in your personal statement.
10. Programs offer you interviews by reading your CV, make sure your CV is clear with no Typo. ( get help from your friends or websites, write it very well and review it very well )
11. If you don’t have a research from your mother country or the USA don’t apply for University-based programs.
12. Old year of graduation is not a red flag.
13. A gap in your CV is not a red flag.
14. An attempt is a red flag, cover it with more USCE experience with strong LORs and Step3
15. USCE is very important for Community based programs ( you need at least one-month externship in a teaching hospital, not clinic )
16. if you can’t get an externship, go for observer-ship and keep trying for the externship.
17. Don’t apply for Emergency Medicine, or at least don't account for this subspecialty.
18. Step3 is important for two reasons, it shows to the program director that you can pass the board exam on the first attempt, also important for applicants with Visa to secure their Visa
19. Step3 is more important for small programs like FM with 6 positions of residency and less important for big programs who has 20 positions.
20. Don’t waste your ENERGY contacting programs during Nov-Dec moths, DO THAT IN the second half of Jan to the last week before the deadline for the rank day. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD5Imb7vWSc )
21. Email is the best way to contact the programs, don’t call them.
22. The trick I used to contact the program without annoying them : I uploaded 3 LORs in Sept 15 and the 4th LOR I uploaded at the end of OCT and I used that as a trick to contact the program by telling them to take in consideration this LOR which I got late and mention in the same time my interest in their program.
23. There are always new opening programs, try to find them.
24. If you speak Spanish you will get triple the number of interviews that someone will get with similar CV without the Spanish language. You can start learning Spanish while you are studying for your steps
25. Anxiety during the interview is not a bad thing, Overconfidence is bad.
26. Don’t practice on the generic answers for the interviews, nothing the programs hate than the generic answers ( these answers are disgusting). Practice on the normal discussion.
27. If you don’t have good questions for the program directors better to say I don’t.
28. You compete with your own people, not every IMGs.
29. Start searching for the programs long time before the 15th of Sep ( at least 2 months ) by calling them if you can’t find enough info in their websites ( don’t wait the week before the application and don’t ask the 99% of your friends )
30. If you are done with step1 and step2 exams you are not done yet and the time after USMLE exams is as important as the time during these exams, be oriented don’t be lazy and work hard to find externship and observer-ship support them with LORs, you can take Step3 as well ( Believe it or not Laziness can prevent you from matching )
31. Go to you interview very early.
32. Stay fit.
33. Wear a nice tie.
34. The connection is unfair, make it unfair to your side.
35. If you didn’t match it is not your fault. It is matching process between two sides you and the program, and the luck plays role in this process.
36. Number 4 & 30 are the most important points.
My mistakes were number 6, 10, 29 & 30 ( this is why I’d got only one interview )
Note that I will not answer any question as I mentioned everything I know.
God bless you all, God bless the United States of America.