2004 Matched Credentials

- Med school in Chicago
- Honors: med, surg, OB/GYN, rads (ortho does not give honors)
- AOA
- Step I: 260
- Step II: ??
- 2nd author on AAOS podium presentation and AAOS scientific exhibit
- Letters from 3 orthopods, 1 chief resident, 1 medicine - all from home
- Aways at MGH & HJD (late in the year, could not get letters in time)
- Applied to 30, invited to 16, went to 12
- Ranked (no particular order): Tufts, BU, HSS, HJD, Columbia, SLR, Northwestern, Loyola, UTHSCSA, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Would have loved to be at any of the above except BU (but would rather be at BU than be unmatched)
Matched No. 1: Tufts

Never Posted before...

Top 20 Midwest med school

Step 1:239
Step 2:231 (resist the urge to study for this, time better spent on PS2 NCAA College football skills)

No grades 1st 2 years
All honors 3rd/4th year except neurosurg(commendable), and OB (took the P), not AOA

Research:
2nd-3rd author on 2 ortho papers, one published in CORR and the other presented at international ortho meeting. Also 1 paper in Infectious diseases that I spent 1-2 months in Africa working on.
Also started own painting company in High School and continued through college, used money to help fund schooling (only mention this 'cause was asked about it on all the interviews I went on)

Very strong LORs from home program director and one ortho, others from cheif resident and head of medicine at home VA

Only 2 ortho rotations: CWRU and Michigan (honors at both)

Applied to 35, interivews at 18, went on 11 (Michigan, HSS, Harvard, GWU, CWRU, Dartmouth, IU, Loyola, RUSH, SUMMA Akron, and Arizona)

Really liked: CWRU, Michigan, HSS, RUSH, and GW

Ranked 10, Matched at top: MICHIGAN (couldn't be happier, great program and town)

Like others have said, you should include stuff outside of ortho that you like to do, there are plenty of people that like to play hoops, camp, golf, etc and it helps if they know you do too. Also I think that away rotations are most beneficial for getting to know what a program is really like and what it would be like to be there as a resident. Good luck to everyone.

sorry for the delay. Longtime reader, first time poster.

Midwest school, XY chromosome
<250 Step 1
even worse step 2
AOA
all clinical honors
some preclinical
ortho research with pub and presentations
aways at NW and home program

interviews all over the place...NW, Florida, loyola, ochsner, uva, hss, mayo, kalamazoo, ccf, lij, usc, brown...

matched No. 1 NW

my 2 cents...research is key (got asked at every interview). Interview as much as you can afford because I have buddies that fell down to 15. Try to stay somewhat regional so you don't spread yourself thin. Away rotations is key. Do one at home program, one that you think you have a good shot in, and one dream program. If 3 is too much, I would do one home program and one dream program.