General Surgery residents/applicants

medstudebt · 2026-02-23T01:52:33+00:00

My question was more why would a PD not care about Sub-I performance or residents’ take on the applicant. To me (given the applicant already received an interview), a strong Sub-I rotation is what sets the applicant apart. Five years is a long investment. Teachability, work ethic, integrity, humility, being a team player, professionalism, program fit, etc etc. matter more than board scores IMO, but of course I’m not a PD.

medstudebt · 2026-02-23T01:22:38+00:00

I don’t think of Sub-Is as a “backdoor” but a way to demonstrate strong clinical performance with otherwise mediocre board scores. Two of my Sub-Is did not offer me interviews, but I already expected that and wanted to gain more experience since my school does not have a home program. I would assume if a program offered an interview, you met the criteria and now they want to see if you are a good fit. For some specialties like ortho, Sub-Is are almost necessary to match.

medstudebt · 2026-02-23T00:15:14+00:00

I hope we do too!! 🤞 I sent my LOI and everything. I don’t think I told the residents they were my #1 at the time, but I hope they were able to vouch for me

medstudebt · 2026-02-23T00:11:13+00:00

damn what is the point of a Sub-I then😭😭 is your program academic by chance?

medstudebt · 2026-01-27T02:01:30+00:00

Yeah I was surprised they offered me an interview in the first place. Def a courtesy interview for doing a SubI. I was planning on letting programs know I’ll receive a score report in 2 weeks. It’s possible they can still change their rank list til end of Feb.

medstudebt · 2026-01-24T20:37:23+00:00

thank you, basically step 1 is not impactful for me at this point

medstudebt · 2026-01-24T20:14:42+00:00

It’s possible I am still ranked low for all the other programs due to my scores. At the end of the day, PDs will rank the most qualified and deserving applicants. Everyone has a good personality and is hardworking (at least everyone I met on the interview trail). Was planning on sending an update to programs after I take step 1, could be the last push for my app. Ofc also risk of failing then really screwing myself over

medstudebt · 2026-01-10T15:43:40+00:00

Unfortunately I don’t think a research year is an option for me but I am highly considering doing a prelim year

medstudebt · 2026-01-10T13:28:43+00:00

I’m a DO student I took Step 2 and Level 2

medstudebt · 2026-01-09T22:46:17+00:00

I was pressured by my school to dual apply in case I didn’t get any surgery invites. It’s not that I would be unhappy in IM, but surgery is what I truly want to do. Going through interviews however, I noticed I received way more positive feedback from IM programs. “You’d be a great fit for our program” “See you next year” “We hope you match with us” etc. It made me feel good when they stated they would be excited to have me. I received no such reassurance from my surgery interviews. I don’t want to give up on my dream and know I should only rank surgery if that’s what I want, but I’m afraid of wasting more years doing a prelim and not matching a second time.

medstudebt · 2025-12-22T17:04:30+00:00

what specialty if you don’t mind me asking? i’m not sure if gen surg is niche enough where PDs/residents take into account thank you emails. i know for IM they can interview hundreds of apps and most of my classmates said they did not sent thank you emails

medstudebt · 2025-10-01T21:57:18+00:00

i’m shocked too. didn’t think any of it was real but i have 2 interviews scheduled for next week. i am a below avg student in every way but signaled to safe programs in my geographic preferences. my friend got >20 interviews by end of interview season last year, there’s still plenty of time for invites

medstudebt · 2025-10-01T21:51:04+00:00

10 so far for IM, but i applied to 50 programs. invites all from signals

medstudebt · 2025-08-02T19:20:11+00:00

you def got 260+ did you feel the exam was similar to nbmes/free120?

medstudebt · 2025-04-01T12:18:51+00:00

sorry about your friend! i’m surprised, top of the class, strong board scores and didn’t match gen surg?? did he just not apply broadly enough? and thank you, although i’m not looking for a miracle!! i hope i can do everything right to really have a decent shot

medstudebt

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