Chances?

[Guest]

Hey everyone. Current M3 at a T4 Caribbean school hoping to apply neurosurgery. Just got my step 2 score back and I scored 289. I know it is almost impossible to match coming out of the Caribbean, but I'm hoping that my step and evaluations can help programs potentially overlook my school rank. I currently have 10 publications with 6 first author and ~40 total research items. Do I have any chance at matching?

[Guest]

Definitely could match. Would need to do well on SubIs, but it is not out of the realm of possibility.

[Guest]

No worse off than any other US citizen that goes to foreign medical school, and plenty of them match with less. Will be dependent on interviews.

I also wouldn’t say “T4” since it conveys you didn’t get into one of the top 3 schools in the Caribbean.

[Guest]

I wouldn’t say “top 4 Caribbean school” , because no program even cares about med school rankings within the US, much less in the Caribbean. It will only serve as a reminder that ur not from a US med school, which will hurt you. its like saying you are one of the best players in minor league baseball, no one really recognizes it or cares.

You have an uphill battle ahead of you. Truthfully, most programs will probably not even interview you, because there are many US med school applicants who have the exact same stats as you or better. For example, my program (solid Midwest program) has interviewed only one foreign med school applicant in the past 5-8 years or so (and we ranked that applicant fairly low). I say this because my program is not even terribly desirable and/or picky or elitist as far as programs go, and we still are not very interested in foreign med school grads. My advice would be to pick your Sub-I’s carefully, and find a great mentor who will make phone calls for you. That’s probably the only route you have to achieving your goals. I would also recommend dual applying to another less competitive specialty.

[Guest]

Would recommend searching and finding every Caribbean grad on faculty or a resident at a US program and ask for advice. They achieved the impossible and are best informed to help you do the same.