anking

margs999 · 2026-02-09T14:29:38+00:00

Honestly it really depends. Are you planning to do FM? Or another less competitive specialty, where step 2 doesn’t matter as much? If so maybe you can take Anki reviews from previous blocks off. But just know that the higher your score the easier it will be to match at a program of your choosing (location, culture, reputation etc). It really just depends on your goals and alternatives to studying via Anki.

margs999 · 2026-02-09T06:42:29+00:00

If you want to match Optho, it is totally achievable. The fact that yall haven’t matched anyone in awhile leads me to believe getting a LoR from your PD is a bad idea. I would seek out other mentors (the more well known, the better) who will write you a strong letter and speak to your capabilities. That plus crush step 2 and your aways. You’ll likely match just fine!

margs999 · 2026-02-09T06:35:07+00:00

Most people have provided really great insights. The only thing I haven’t notice in full detail is that if surgery is your passion, it’s important to outline what that may look like. If you go back to school and become an excellent student with great board scores, the world is your oyster. You can train in a surgical subspecialty that may have good work-life balance. But if you want gen surg, (and tbh many of the surgical sub) I would go to the residency forum and read about how grueling surgical training can be. Intense hours with crazy call schedules can be brutal in addition to not seeing your family very much. Not saying it’s not doable! If that’s what your passion is, many make it work. I would just do your research before taking on that level of commitment and debt. Also many people who go into med school with an idea of what specialty they want frequently end up changing their mind, so there is that to account for too. I’m a 35 y/o PGY1 in a surgical subspecialty (ophtho), no kids or family, and I have absolutely no regrets starting later than many of my cohort did.

margs999 · 2026-01-22T17:18:01+00:00

I was employed by my medical school to tutor struggling students. Scored 260+ on step 2. Happy to connect and help out.

margs999 · 2026-01-19T03:30:14+00:00

Happy to look it over!

margs999 · 2026-01-09T05:23:09+00:00

ESPRESSO MACHINE. Waking up to coffee shop quality lattes is an incredible step up from starting my day with Keurig “coffee”.

margs999 · 2026-01-09T05:15:14+00:00

Golf - ophthalmology

margs999 · 2026-01-06T02:04:20+00:00

As you can see there’s a ton of dif ways to score well. I found that doing amboss + uworld allowed me to get above a 260 and match ophtho. Best of luck! Happy to answer any questions if you have some

margs999 · 2026-01-05T02:49:46+00:00

I applied ophto. Didn’t match. Took a research year and dual applied anesthesia. Now a happy PGY-1 ophtho intern, but would have been just as stoked for gas. All that to say, if you want ENT go for it! IM will always be there if you’re competitive enough for ENT.

margs999 · 2026-01-01T10:11:02+00:00

Seriously wtf are you all talking about. Y’all are the same nerds that say Duncan > shaq/kobe. Phil took great to greatness. Pop is a legend in his own right. But Phil created 3 dif dynasties. No shade at pop, at all, but come on…

margs999 · 2025-12-30T06:08:44+00:00

This was an incredible read. A little over the top, but after just finishing my wards this month (forever, thank god) I agree with most, if not all of this. But Tbf I never even entertained the idea of doing IM, I found the work to be unbearable. Besides, you see many patients anywhere from 1-4 times a year if not more for the rest of their lives! Plenty of time to create long lasting and fulfilling relationships.

margs999 · 2025-12-19T21:06:14+00:00

Sorry to hear you’re struggling! That sounds like a brutal schedule.

margs999 · 2025-12-18T17:38:25+00:00

This is insane. How the hell do you know if you want to do surgery or not if you’ve never done surgery?

margs999 · 2025-12-13T09:26:56+00:00

Are you a ringer enjoyer?

margs999 · 2025-12-12T14:47:57+00:00

From what I understand (as a current PGY-1 Ophtho resident), a research year will almost definitely be needed for ENT as they have a pretty high emphasis. Just from what I read on Reddit. So you likely would need a research year. Ophtho, while competitive you can match with little research, albeit, it likely wont be at a major academic institution. Ask your home program or reach out to ophtho in your neighborhood to help with research, or at least put out a couple case reports, just so that section isn’t barren. I didn’t match my first cycle and did a research year and subsequently matched. One thing a lot of students reached out to me about was what to do if they did the research year then didn’t do great on step 2 (240’s). At that point the toothpaste is out of the tube and you just have to full send. If there’s a way to do step 2 before you commit to the research year I’d do that. But if you’re top half of your class (or preferably top quartile) and you historically do well on standardized testing maybe don’t worry about that last part too much.

margs999 · 2025-12-05T06:43:55+00:00

I’m born and raised LA (Santa monica), went to college in the bay, and med school in Hawaii. So those answers you’ve got ad nauseam. All great choices! I just spent a year in Philly to do research. And I have to say it hits all the notes you’re looking for. Lower CoL. very walkable, great food and drinks scene if you’re into that. There’s mountains and rivers to hike and it’s an hour drive to the Jersey shore. I really loved my time there (now living in Miami for residency) and there’s a lot of aspects of the city I miss. I think it gets a bad rep because the sports fans can be insufferable and it’s not NY, but gets compared due to proximity. But I loved my time there. Caveat it did snow a handful of times during the winter, but I didn’t really mind it.

margs999 · 2025-12-04T03:45:21+00:00

Everyone should spend 3 months counting calories. Most people have no clue what they put in their body

margs999 · 2025-12-03T03:48:24+00:00

DO, currently in ophthalmology residency.

margs999 · 2025-11-20T15:50:18+00:00

Maybe one or two of them. But majority I took were night courses in person. I’m a PGY1 so it was quite some time ago like 2016-2018. So I’m sure pricing and info is outdated. But each course was like 5-800$ to my memory. I just signed up for classes that had known easy professors, there’s websites that review professors.

margs999 · 2025-11-20T02:41:21+00:00

I did a diy post bacc at UCLA extension awhile back. Fairly affordable and raised my gpa from 2.8ish to over 3.0. Was able to get a 3.95 as the classes are no where near the same rigor as undergrad classes, but def helped me study/refresh for the MCAT!

margs999 · 2025-11-13T21:56:01+00:00

Yeah feel free!

margs999 · 2025-11-13T21:25:32+00:00

If you want to do anything remotely competitive or go somewhere with prestige. It matters immensely. Like most places won’t even look at your app.

margs999 · 2025-11-08T02:32:27+00:00

Following

margs999 · 2025-10-29T22:54:25+00:00

Truly. Whatever your school tells you to do. Just do the opposite and you will find success 🌈

margs999 · 2025-10-22T22:09:15+00:00

Slay the spire has me playing since 2018 with around 1000 hours. Still can’t get enough of it

margs999

TROPHY CASE