what are my chances?

you'll be fine. Do some aways and get good letters from home program

Just bust out the rest of third year, do one or two aways at places that you can get power player letters, and maybe get involved in a little project or something. I didn't do any research and that was the one big downfall of my application, but then again, I don't really care about places with big research emphasis. Also, I didn't have to worry about answering questions about it on interviews, which made them pretty relaxed. If you are a normal person, meaning not a dipsh!& or complete toolshed, with those numbers, you shouldn't have any problem with matching somewhere. Just realize before you start, you may be a shining star at your home program, but so are about 70-80% of the people at all these interviews you go on. You could get your # 1 or 2, or you could get your # 11 or 12.
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i just had to get this in.
no offense but these guys don't know waht the f- they're talking about. of course those numbers are good and you should match but there's no guarantee. there are simply more qualified apllicants than ortho spots. i had better step 1(yours is higher than you need to get interviews but i doubt there is a # that guarantees a match), similar ranking and med/surg grades. the fact of the matter is that the very top guys are applying. i would do as many aways as you can (3-4) and make the best impression because that alone may get you in. every attending, interviewer, classmate and the most respected figure in my entire med school told me i would match and was surprised when i didn't. if it's the only thing you want to do just go for it and good luck.

Thanks for the replies. G, I was wondering where you applied and how many programs/interviews you applied to/attended.
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h well:

Thanks for the replies. G, I was wondering where you applied and how many programs/interviews you applied to/attended.
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h well:

future ortho,
i was applying in the north east. i applied to less than 40 i think (i would recommend 50+ like everyone else does these days). i only got 8 invites. if i would have done 3 aways instead of 1, i probably would have had an additional 2 invites as a rotation usually gets an invite. i went to 7 of the 8. i kind of blame myself for not doing a better job applying. go all out. use every network. have important people make some calls. you only want to do this once.

Hey g-love,

what did you end up doing after you didn't match? research, prelim...
what do you recommend?
(thinking of a contingency plan helps ease the stress...)

To echo what G-love said, I had almost the exact same Step I score, was senior AOA, and got honors in surgery and still only got 8 interview offers. I think the things that hurt me were not doing research and not taking the application process seriously enough (only applied to 30 places, all major academic programs).
Simply having the numbers is not enough. Do at least 2 aways, kick ass, and get letters. I was lucky enough to make a good impression during one of my away rotations and match at that program. You must take everything you hear and read (including this board) with a grain of salt. There are no guarantees.

Whaz up everybody
i am a MS4 at an OK med school. i have my balls in my right hand... just waiting for match date. i just finished all my interviews.
i suggest doing at least two away rotations in programs similar or just a little better than your home program. get letters of rec when you do them. do the rotations aroud sept/oct/nov not later than that. take step 2 if you didn't score >240 in step 1. step 2 is easier and you'll probably do better. apply to 50+ programs. apply to all kinds of programs: 50% in same category, 25% lower/ 25% top notch programs so you have a good mix. kiss as much ass as possible.
it's a tough world in boneland

a chance to screw is a chance to cure :pimp:

To OrthoViking:

Do you think doing better on Step II will help you more than doing worse will hurt you? I trying to figure out whether I should push it off or not, and I'm not in the >240 category. I'm in the 230 category, and I'd like to get into a strong academic program. Thanks for your input.

Take it!

A 230 is very good (what i had) but it does not impress too many people. Step 2 is easier and you'll likely score same or better, almost never worse. If you score the same, it shows consistency (that's good), if you do better... better chances. I was told by my program director that if two guys, everything else being equal, they'll go for the one with two good step scores. So there you have it. Plus you don't know how good it feels to have that sh*t over with early in 4th year.

a chance to screw is a chance to cure :pimp: