Why did you choose to do an internship over research?
I wanted to start caring for patients and learning to be a resident. I enjoy research a lot and always want to be heavily involved in it, but I didn't want to take a year off of clinicals at this point. Also, I needed a stable, paid position so that I can support my family.
How did you approach the scramble? Did you stay at your home institution or go elsewhere? What motivated those decisions (geography, position availability, etc)
My wife came with me and we found a friend to watch our children so that we could make the decision together. I was able to get through via phone to a program in my state that had open prelim surg spots and they offered me one right away. My wife and I both felt comfortable with the program and location so I accepted it.
What advice did you receive?
Not very much. My PD put out some feelers to a couple of programs in my region, but that wasn't extremely insightful for me. Did you have any help in the scramble or were you on your own?
Did you try to negociate PGY-1 rotations to make yourself more eligible for PGY-2 openings in ortho? Were you successful?
Yes. When I talked to them on the phone I had the list of requirements in front of me. I knew some of them would be impossible to meet because the surg residents just don't rotate on those services, but I was able to get almost all of the requirements and get an ortho rotation with the department at my institution (which allowed me to get more letters and more exposure).
What methods have you used to try to find PGY-2 positions in ortho (orthogate, residentswap, word of mouth etc)? How effective do you think they have been?
Primarily orthogate. I have not paid for residentswap and don't really want to. I'm not sure how helpful it is. I haven't heard of anything via word of mouth yet. I'm not really sure how effective it has been.
What general recommendations do you have for strengthening your application during your intern year?
Have a plan. Get advice from those who know you well (family, friends) and from those who have been there. Start working as soon after Black Monday as possible. Keep working on research. Keep in contact with your program. Work hard during internship and try to get people to speak on your behalf (easier said than done sometimes just because of people's busy schedules). Get new letters ASAP.
How did your application differ the second time around?
I was able to continue working on several research projects that were only in progress last year. I now have several presentations and a couple of pubs whereas last year I mostly had just projects. I got several new or updated letters which I think were strong. I'm not sure how much of a difference that all made because I think a lot of places don't bother looking at Independent Applicants files.
What do you see as trade-offs for doing a intern year rather than research now that you are through it?
I would guess that people who choose research have more time on their hands for getting letters, making contact, checking their email, etc. I don't have a smart phone, and wish I did, but I just can't afford one so I make due without it. I think they are really helpful though. As I understand it, doing research and delaying graduation allows you to apply as a US senior and I think that has its advantages as far as scoring interviews.
Are you happy with your decision?
Yes. I hope that it pays off.
Do you think you received an appropriate number of interview offers?
If the average independent applicant matches with about 6 interviews, then I'm hoping for at least one or two more. I was invited back to my home program and the two places I rotated at last year, and I have two others at this point. I had six interviews last year (and one I couldn't attend).
If you have interviewed already, how has your interview differed this year vs last year?
I haven't interviewed yet.
Did you apply to ortho only or did you apply to another specialty?
Just ortho. I didn't have the interest, the time, or the money to pursue anything else.
If you don't match, what are you going to do?
Not sure. I don't want to think about it but know that I have to. I really like surgery, but don't care much for general surgery. There are a few subspecialties of gen surg that I could enjoy. I'm not sure yet that I want to put my family through all of that, but we'll see what happens in the match and then decide.

Overall, I'm a statistically below average applicant. But not out of range by any means. I think I have a lot more to offer than statistics so hopefully I can convince my interviewers of that. Hope this info has been helpful.

I agree the the poster, i would like to see EVERYONE who views this forum who has/has not been successful after previously not matching reply to his post so that we can have some "data" for people in the future to draw from.

Why did you choose a research year over starting an internship?
I spoke with all of the chairmen and PDs that i interviewed with (yes, i called all of the coordinators where i interviewed and made appointments for phone interviews if they were out of town, or in person if i could get to their offices) and asked about my application, my strengths and weaknesses, what they thought held me back from being ranked higher on their list, and most importantly, what their advice was on the best course for next year so that I could successfully match into an ortho residency. Although one recommended a prelim year, most of them said to do a research year and the arguments were: #1. because you stay in the field which allows you to network with orthopods who are friends of other orthopods who are PDs and Chairmen of programs. And lets be realistic, an orthopod is going to take the word of a fellow orthopod when it comes to what they think about a candidate over any other type of surgeon or physician. A prelim year will afford you for the most part, gen surg letters, contact with the program at which you are at (and that's about it), one letter from the month you did with them and a better chance at matching, probably only with them (with at least 2-3 other prelims in your program who are ortho hopefuls gunning for the same 1 spot). #2. Research year allows you the opportunity to not graduate (remain a US senior) increasing your chances in the match while taking you out of the running for advanced positions (which by my estimate was only about a handful per year over the 2-3 years previous to the one that i didn't match (per an exhaustive orthogate search). reasons for not graduating to follow. #3. This ties in with the other 2 reasons, the ablility to do aways at institutions where your research mentors have strong relationships. In my opinion and experience this is a HUGE benefit of the research year. You get the ability to go into a program as a highly recommended candidate, by a close personal friend of the PD/Chairman, knock the rotation out of the park, and carve yourself into the memory of the program for the upcoming interview and match season. #4. Enhancing your CV, this is up for debate as it is difficult to significantly change your CV from march to september (only 6 months!). however, from a prelim year all you will add to your cv is the letters M.D. and gen surg rotation evals (if you can even include those). In my experience i was able to significantly enhance my CV because of reason #5. The MOST IMPORTANT reason, the tie that binds all of the above is ORTHOPAEDIC MENTORSHIP. Good mentors will already have a ton of projects you can jump into, and if you work hard and get a ton of work done, you will enhance your CV with presentations, publications, etc. as well as endear your mentor to introduce you to all of the PD/Chairmen they know, make phone calls, inquire about where the best places are for you to do your aways, continue to call and go to bat for you for interviews as well as right before rank-list submission.

How did you go about securing a position? was it paid?
I freaked out the friday before "black monday" and applied to every research fellowship on orthogate. When i was devastated on monday, and there was some interest regarding my application, I was re-assured that i would be able to secure a research position. Also, at the same time, i was contacting the PDs and Chairmen i interviewed with and was beginning to realize that my best shot would be to do research for a year, so even if I didn't get into a formal fellowship, I knew that I would be able to do an informal research year with any academic attendings at my home program (or those that i rotated at) as all academic attendings are always looking for help (esp. the "free" kind). The position i eventually got was a formal fellowship, but it was unpaid. Financing will be discussed below in the benefits of not graduating.

Did you delay graduation?
Yes I did, the reasons are outlined below:
1. Begin research sooner - I had one rotation scheduled to graduate so i dropped it and began my research as soon as was humanly possible after i was accepted into the fellowship. As was stated on other posts, research takes time so the earlier you start the more you get done before Sept. 1st (or whenever you submit your ERAS). I had 2 manuscripts published before i submitted my ERAS (but had to wait till the end of sept. for the second one - for those who want to know if it makes a difference when you submit ERAS...)

2. My research fellowship was unfunded - Allowed me to take another year of loans to support myself. I understand people may balk at this and think that they need to start earning to support themselves, however when you're 200k in debt what's another 30? Especially if it helps you match into ortho, you won't be sweating the extra loans then... And even if you don't and decide to switch specialties, the average salary of a physician will more than allow you to pay it back, its just another drop in the ocean of debt that is the american medical educational system.

3. Allowed me to rotate as a visiting MS4 at 2 other programs (with my med school covering the malpractice, i know for a FACT that prelims CANNOT do this. If, and that's a HUGE if, their program somehow, someway give them a month off to do an away, they are limited to observerships/externships, which don't allow them to partake in any patient care (i.e. can't see patients on their own, no scrubbing in OR, pretty much relegated to shadowing residents/attendings), due to malpractice and health insurance related-issues.

4. All the chairmen and PDs that I spoke with after not matching suggested I do it from a purely statistical standpoint. I was told that based on the last few "charting outcomes in the match," 80% of US seniors match into ortho, where as only 40% of EVERYONE else (meaning US grads and IMGs - categorized as independent applicants) match.

Do you feel good about how much you have accomplished during your research year?
I was able to get 10-12 manuscripts completed, 5 of which are in publication, the rest should be coming in the next year or so (mostly 2-3rd author, however 2 are first author). Many more abstracts, posters, and podium presentations. Was able to rotate at 2 more programs increasing my rotations to 5 total institutions. And ultimately, I ended up matching at a program that i rotated at during my research year.

Were you able to rotate at other programs?
Yes, please see above.

Did you find that there was enough time to get things published/presented before applications were due again?
Depending on the insitution you go to, the resources there, your mentors, and most importantly, YOUR RESOLVE, you can significantly impact your CV before apps are due for your second go around.

How did your application differ the second time around?
Everything described above. 2 bona fide peer-reviewed journal articles in print, 2 more submitted, 10-15 abstracts, poster, and podium presentations at various conferences. One thing to keep in mind, on ERAS anything that was "submitted" counts as a publication, not only whatever is currently in print.

Did you stay at your home institution or go elsewhere for your research?
I did not stay at my home institution. My home institution was a top tier ortho program, and i was accepted into another top tier ortho program's research fellowship.

What do you see as trade-offs for doing a research year rather than an internship now that you are through it?
I have described the trade-offs in my answers to the questions above.

Do you think you received an appropriate number of interview offers?
I recieved the same number of offers as i did the previous year and had the same number of ranks. I believe this to be appropriate as from a numbers standpoint i am a below-average applicant.

If you have interviewed already, how has your interview differed this year vs last year?
Every program that i interviewed at commented about my LORs, the phone calls received from my mentors, and the ones that were interviewing me for the second time were very impressed at how much i improved my application from last year. Some of them even said that they have never seen a re-applicant significantly alter their application as I was able to (don't know if this was just lip service on the day of the interview, but i'm just relating my experiences).

Did you apply to ortho only or did you apply to another specialty?
Ortho or bust, its what my passion is. There is no other specialty in medicine that i could see myself giving my heart and soul to.

If you don't match, what are you going to do?
My plan was to cross that bridge when I came to it... Luckily, i never came to that bridge.

Hope this helps...

AS


PS there's 2 other threads from last year with a similar topic, more opinions and additional "data":

#1. Black Monday 2009 thread

#2. Matching after being unsuccessful

Why did you choose a research year over starting an internship?
Several reasons. It was overwhelmingly the advice I got from faculty. Their reasons included having more time to make ortho connections, more time for interviews, and not having to go through a painful gen surg prelim year that would most likely turn out to be for nothing. Also, I actually love research and plan to do academia so more publications can’t hurt. And finally, for family reasons I wanted more flexibility with my schedule for the past year if possible.

How did you go about securing a position? was it paid?
I have an extensive research background with numerous connections but I was limited by location. I needed to stay where I was for family reasons. The most important advice I can give is don’t panic. Investigate as many options as you can and select the one that you think will work the best for you. I had options for paid non-ortho basic positions but I knew that would not help me. The people I contacted in my home program did not have any full time funded projects, so I contact another program in the area and they offered me a full time paid position in the ortho department.

Did you delay graduation?
No, my Dean said he would not allow it.

Do you feel good about how much you have accomplished during your research year?
Yes. Although I didn’t have anything ready by September to add to my ERAS CV, I had 4-5 publications submitted or accepted by Dec/Jan that I sent as email updates to those programs I interviewed at. I also hope to get 2-3 more in the works I plan to submit before I start residency.

Were you able to rotate at other programs?
No, but this was more for family reasons. My research mentors offered to give me time off and contact people if I wanted to do one.

Did you find that there was enough time to get things published/presented before applications were due again?
No, but see above

How did your application differ the second time around?
Honestly, my ERAS application was almost identical. The only major difference was my step 2 score was now available.

Did you stay at your home institution or go elsewhere for your research?
See above.

What do you see as trade-offs for doing a research year rather than an internship now that you are through it?
For most it is the difference in being paid or not. Also, many don’t like research, but this was not the case for me. Luckily I was able to find a funded position in an ortho department. However, this was only because I did not panic and take the first available position.

Do you think you received an appropriate number of interview offers?
The first time, I applied to 21 programs and got 8 interview offers. All the faculty I’ve talked to says that with my application that should have been plenty to match

If you have interviewed already, how has your interview differed this year vs last year?
This year I applied to 140 programs and got 42 interview offers. Similar percentage (about a third).

Did you apply to ortho only or did you apply to another specialty?
Ortho only. The advice I got from faculty was that I did not need to apply to another specialty

If you don't match, what are you going to do?
Luckily I don’t need to answer that question since I matched!

If anyone has any other questions for me not answered here, post them or PM me!

Hoping that this helps those of you who got bad news today. Keep your head up and keep trying.

My numbers, for reference: Top 10% of class; Not AOA; Step 1/2: 260+

Why did you choose a research year over starting an internship?
I thought that a research year had several benefits: it allowed me to make my CV stronger, maintain strong contacts with my ortho department, and gave me the chance to get new/updated letters. It also gave me much more free time than a gen surg prelim year would've, so I was able to devote a lot of time and resources to applications, research etc. That being said, the prelim year has the obvious benefit of being able to match into a second year position if one came up. This is a decision that needs to be made on a case-to-case basis; talk to your mentors.

How did you go about securing a position? was it paid?
I was fortunate to take a position with a well known academic orthopod at my home program. He had been my mentor and I had done research with him since MSIII, so I was able to jump right in with projects and hit the ground running. The only downside was that the position was not funded.

Did you delay graduation?
No. I wanted to graduate with my class. Never even bothered checking with my dean's office to see if this was an option.

Do you feel good about how much you have accomplished during your research year?
Yes. I had 3 publications listed on ERAS last year, and 10+ this year. It helped that I was working with an orthopod who published constantly and that I was able to jump right into ongoing projects after getting the bad news on Black Monday.

Were you able to rotate at other programs?
No. Not sure how it would have worked since I have no malpractice insurance. Probably could have set up an observership if I tried, but not sure how helpful that would really be.

Did you find that there was enough time to get things published/presented before applications were due again?
Yes, see above. The key is to find a mentor who publishes a lot and is efficient in terms of getting papers out. Also, try to jump on board some projects ASAP after finding out that you didn't match.

How did your application differ the second time around?
More publications. Addition of Step 2 score (260+). Updated LORs from mentor, chairman.

Did you stay at your home institution or go elsewhere for your research?
Home.

What do you see as trade-offs for doing a research year rather than an internship now that you are through it?
See first answer. I think that research is the way to go unless you're a relatively weak candidate and don't have a great chance the second time around (in this case, a surgical prelim year opens up more backup options for you)

Do you think you received an appropriate number of interview offers?
I applied to 30 programs last year, got 13 offers, and went on 10. This year I applied to 90, got 30 offers, 7 wait lists, and went on 19 interviews. I received some interviews that I had already gotten last year, and many that had rejected me the year before. Good mix of competitive programs and "backup" programs.

If you have interviewed already, how has your interview differed this year vs last year?
Be prepared to have a good answer for the "why didn't you match?" question. Got that one a lot. Otherwise, interviews are interviews.

Did you apply to ortho only or did you apply to another specialty?
Ortho plus prelim surgery spots, although I only ended up going on one prelim interview and only ranked ortho programs.

If you don't match, what are you going to do?
Happy to say, that I don't have to answer this question! For those not matching the first time around, talk to your mentors for advice. My recommendation would be for a research year, but it really depends on what your application looks like. Best of luck.

For those who choose to do a research year:
Why did you choose a research year over starting an internship?
My home program really had no advice on this at this point. I was deemed 'a very competitive candidate', so I looked at it this way: Whatever you want to do, you need to boost yourself as a candidate. For me, I showed that I was good clinically as best as I could through my rotations, having honored them all. I knew that I wanted to do ortho, or nothing at all (at least, in medicine,) so I wanted to do something that would help my chances of matching and help my future career. I have completed and started several research projects that will benefit me for my fellowship year, which is very important for job placement, etc. etc. I knew that I would be able to have more freedom as a researcher, and wouldn't feel bogged down by surgery. I also hate the majority opinion of surgeons (not to say that some surgeons are totally cool..) plus being a prelim intern would mean I would be treated not so well (as opposed to a categorical intern.) My friend also did the intern year approach and did not match. She busted her butt, but at the end of the day, the two departments (ortho and gen surg) did not communicate, so they couldn't setup any ortho connections.
How did you go about securing a position? was it paid?
I used orthogate and google as a primary source. there are lots of positions available. I know the following programs have positions:
Penn
HSS
mayo
NYU
cincinatti
Duke
The advertise on orthogate. But a word to the wise. Make sure whatever position you get is well invested in the department. Your best chance is where you do research (for matching.) If you're just a fly on the wall, don't even bother. You want the residents and other attendings to know you and like you. A place like HSS, unless you're a superstar and a schmoozer..will not allow you that situation because research is sooo big there. You'll get lost in the shuffle. But, you'll get quality research done there, so it's a tough call.
Did you delay graduation?
I did not delay graduation. There is no benefit to delaying graduation per say, only that you can do away rotations again. Some schools will allow you to delay graduation and give you those months 'for free', others will make you pay credit for credit, others will make you pay for the whole semester, others will make you pay for the whole year. It depends on your school. My school wanted me to pay for the whole year, and honestly, had no idea what I was talking about. So I chose to graduate. This however, led itself to doing no away rotations..
Do you feel good about how much you have accomplished during your research year?
Yes. I busted my hump, and now that I'm matched, will work even harder so I can present my stuff.
Were you able to rotate at other programs?
From my research position, they said I could, but I wasn't insured from my school.. so no.
Did you find that there was enough time to get things published/presented before applications were due again?
There's never enough time for this. The biggest value from doing the research year is to make connections and have someone to goto bat for you. I had been working on papers during my 4th year of med school that came to fruition during that time, as well. People will say you need to do 2 years in order for this to come due, the trick is to do some case reports, a couple of case series, and then have a big project that you can call your own. All people look for on applications is that you have some research, a publication or two, after that, it's really just a checkbox, unless you're super impressive, and have like 40 publications.
How did your application differ the second time around?
More publications, activities with the residents. Better letters. Diversify your letters. Try not to have too many from one place, because that is important taht people don't think you're going to stay at the place you're doing research.
Did you stay at your home institution or go elsewhere for your research?
I went away. If you didn't match at your home institution, most likely there was a reason. Doing more research there will not help your chances as much as doing research at a new location.
What do you see as trade-offs for doing a research year rather than an internship now that you are through it?
Not being in the clinical arena, but only from the perspective that I missed it. AFter that, not really. 1 year off is not a big deal.
Do you think you received an appropriate number of interview offers?
This question is inappropriate. You only need one interview to match. Once you get 6-10, you have a statistically better shot to interview, but that really doesn't matter. I received like 17 or 18 offers, went on 14, ranked 16. In the end, you just need to kill the interviews and make a good impression. Being tired, broke, and annoyed is not a good way to about an interview.
If you have interviewed already, how has your interview differed this year vs last year?
Every interview asked me 'why do you think you didn't match'. Have a good answer for that question, and don't say it was because you fell through the cracks, or even worse, Id on't know.
Did you apply to ortho only or did you apply to another specialty?
Ortho or bust.
If you don't match, what are you going to do?
If I didn't match, which I matched, so I don't need to worry about it, the second time around, I was going to do a gen surg year so that people wouldn't think I'm soft on the clinicals. There was nothing else I could do past this point

I should make an addendum to my comments above.

My ERAS CV was almost identical. But my overall application was improved significantly new by LORs.

I had 3 updated letters from my letter writers from last year including my home PD and chair, and then 3 additional LORs: 2 from new ortho mentors and 1 from a medicine faculty that is required by a few programs like UCSF. The high quality of the two new ortho letters I had this year was mentioned at almost every interview. Making new connections that will go to bat for you is the most important advice I can give to those that did not match.

Making new connections that will go to bat for you is the most important advice I can give to those that did not match.

This. Especially for re-applicants, having great mentors on your side is huge. This may be the strongest point in favor of doing a research year instead of a surgical prelim.

I should also mention that I made mine very similar
But, I also tweeked a few things. Like, last year I got a lot of questions about surfing b/c I had that on my application. I felt that was a negative for many reasons. I felt that it made me different, but in their eyes, I either wanted to goto a coastal program or was a slacker (b/c of what people think about surfers). I could only imagine how many people during the ranking sessions were like 'oh, what did you think about the surfer...oh, he won't come here b/c he can't play in the ocean' etc. etc. I changed my answer to 'water sports'

from Black Monday post...

Congratulations to the matched applicants out there!

If you are like I was last year, you might be reading this thread right now for support and advice. I didn't match into orthopaedics last year despite having 10 interviews and I know what you are going through right now. Just as spiff21 said, it may feel like the end of the world right now; but there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. Todays misery will eventually end. What you do between now and tomorrow morning is extremely important.

You essentially have 3 options right now (maybe 4)
-scramble into a preliminary general surgery year
-do a research fellowship
-delay graduation for 1 year
-(read on a thread under Interviews/Travel that there are 3 unmatched spots????) don't know how they would know that though as the list of unmatched spots is released by NRMP tomorrow at 9am Central

I decided to scramble into a gen surg prelim spot and was looking for certain things about the programs I called on Tuesday. I cant' really comment on a research year or delaying graduation.
-should try to get a spot with program that has an ortho residency at that institution; I ended up going to a program that had a top ranked ortho residency (ie: well known ortho surgeons with contacts that can write letters)
-I decided I wanted to go to a program with a reputation for tough work/hrs. I really wanted to put myself to the test and live up to the challenge (got stellar letters after a tough first few months on Transplant surgery)
-I wanted to get out of my region. I spent every year of my life in Texas and didn't really feel the love from many Southern programs last year. (came to program in Midwest and ended up with tons of Midwest interviews...which I wasn't considered for last year?????? Another thing I think this showed is that I was willing to move across the country for ortho
-if at all possible try to go to a program that would allow you to set up your prelim rtns to be congruent with a PGY1 ortho position. They are as follows (from NRMP):

A -6 months of any of the following: trauma, plastics, ICU, Vascular
B -3 months of any of the following: ER, MICU/CCU, internal medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, pediatrics, rheumatology, anesthesiology, MSK radiology, PM&R.
C -no more than 3 months of orthopaedics

-spend tonight preparing for tomorrow if you choose to scramble. you should go to your home ortho program and ask for your ERAS app. make copies of this for you and your freinds who will help you scramble so that you can have it on hand to fax immediately. Be sure to send the applications through ERAS as well as many programs will only be looking at this (I didn't know that last year). Have at least 2 people with you who can make phone calls to the unfilled prelim programs along with you...take the first good spot you get offered.

After the scramble I ended up doing more research with my home institution and volunteered time with the trauma team to show my interest and refusal to accept failure. You could even try contacting ortho programs to try to do a 1-2 week externship now (but don't do this if you cant' keep a smile on your face and maintain a strong work ethic)

It also might be a good idea to email the chairman/director at the programs you interviewed with and ask if/(and what) deficiencies your application may have had and if there is anything that you could do in the meantime to try and correct them for next year.

When it comes to letters for next year....DO NOT USE YOUR OLD LETTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The programs want to know what you have done since not matching. They don't want the same application from last year. I know there is barely anything that one can do to from now to the next application season, but if you really want ortho....you will find anyway to improve your application.

Set your home page to orthogate.org's advanced residency position blog, because you should always be on the lookout for 2nd year spots.

Apply to as many programs as you can afford next year. Keep a tab of what programs are interviewing on what days...there are tons of people that have multiple interviews on the same day and interview slots open up. E-mail the coordinator or director of programs that haven't offered you an interview and have interviews coming up (especially if that particular day has many programs interviewing that day...ie January 17 this year!). Orthogate is a great place to keep track of this.

It's going to be a tough couple of weeks for you all, but as I said earlier, it will eventually fade. You need to stay focused and keep your ultimate goal of becoming an orthopaedic surgeon in mind. Try to keep your loved ones close to you right now...they can be the brightest light in a what seems to be a dark tunnel right now.

After doing all of the above I had pretty successful interview season this year. I went on 11 interviews in many different regions of the country and re-interviewed with 3 programs that interviewed me last year. I ended up getting a PGY2 spot with an amazing program and pulled out of the match.

Keep your head up. You are deserving of a spot, it just so happens that there are tons of other deserving applicants as well. Keep your work ethic and remember, if you keep working at it, you will eventually get where you want to be.

If you want any other advice, PM me.

Thanks guys for all the responses to this thread. I wish we had more of this info readily available last year, but hopefully it will be a big help to those unmatched this year.

I wanted to follow-up on my original post and say that I matched this year! It is so nice to be able to say that!

As I said in my earlier post, I did a prelim year this year. Last year I had 6 interviews and this year I interviewed at 7 programs for PGY-1 (one also had a research position) so I ranked 8 programs. Of those seven, 3 were places I interviewed last year. I also interviewed for 3 PGY-2 positions. Two of them I learned about on Orthogate and one I found out about when I arrived for my PGY-1 interview. Numbers-wise I'm a slightly below average candidate (Step 1 220's, Step 2 240's, top 1/3 of class) so I want to encourage those out there who are in a similar range to follow the advice in this thread and if you really want Ortho it is still within reach. Be encouraged and keep working hard.

Here is a bump for a very important thread that helped me out on Black Monday last year. I know that the freakout has started. If you don't match, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone and that others have gone before you and found success.

I wish everyone well in the match.