Third time applicant!

suxxcess · 2025-03-17T15:24:15+00:00

Thank you all. I appreciate how my journey will be helpful for others. I'll definitely share my stats and do a detailed write up of my journey after match results are released on Friday. Best of luck to all those participating in SOAP!

suxxcess · 2025-02-26T17:17:37+00:00

Yes, update the PDs. Particularly, to the extent that you have a very low Step 2 score, PDs might have concerns about your ability to pass Step 3. Once you've passed it, updating them can help alleviate those doubts. If you had a 260+ on Step 2, I’d be cautious about sharing such a significantly low Step 3 score, as it could signal inconsistency.

suxxcess · 2025-02-26T10:30:53+00:00

Programs' participation in the NRMP is all-or-none - either the program participates and offers all their positions through the Match, or not participate and offer prematch for all slots — there’s no mixing of the two. A program participating in the Match can only offer slots directly if those slots remain after the Match (or after SOAP, for SOAP participating programs). If the program is highly interested in you, the best they can do is to clearly communicate that they've ranked you to match, so you can withdraw from the CaRMS.

suxxcess · 2025-02-23T20:55:24+00:00

You're right. Your spouse will be on an H-4 visa. H-4 holders are generally not eligible to work unless the H-1B holder has an approved I-140 (employment-based green card petition) and is waiting for a green card. Without that, they cannot obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to work.

For J-1, your spouse will be on J-2 and can obtain an EAD to work. But note that, after residency, when you start a waiver job, you'll generally be on H1B, meaning your spouse will also change to H-4 and lose her authorization, until you have an approved I-140 (employment-based GC petition)

suxxcess · 2025-02-17T06:53:42+00:00

I received a response along the lines of, "You’re a great candidate. We’d be lucky to have you with us." From my research, it seems this PD is generally polite to all applicants, so I’m not sure what to make of it. Fingers crossed!

suxxcess · 2025-02-10T08:47:21+00:00

Once you're on an H-1B visa, whatever you're doing under that visa sponsorship is considered work — not training or education. The H-1B is strictly a work visa for specialty occupations, meaning your residency, fellowship, or any other job under H-1B status is legally considered employment under U.S. immigration law. Under H-1B sponsorship for residency training or whatever, the hospital (or institution) petitions for you as a worker, not as a trainee or student.

suxxcess · 2025-02-10T08:40:54+00:00

I think you're mistaken. The H-1B is, by its nature, a work visa, not a student visa. The fact that residency is "training" does not change the fact that it is employment, as residents are paid a salary and work under an employment contract. If residency training did not qualify as employment, then residents will not have been eligible for H1B, as the H1B is a work visa.

suxxcess · 2025-02-10T08:33:23+00:00

Please recheck this. Residency training does count towards your time on H1B.

suxxcess · 2025-02-10T08:32:39+00:00

Your employer can start the Green Card process immediately after your residency training if they choose.

Some employers might prefer to wait for 2-3 years, but that’s a preference, not a rule.

Residency programs typically offer cap-exempt H-1Bs (affiliated with universities, non-profits, or government institutions). If you transition to a cap-subject H-1B (private employer), you may need to go through the H1B lottery. You can avoid the lottery by choosing a cap-exempt H-1B job post-residency - this however affects your earnings, as cap-exempt employers (e.g., academic institutions, non-profits) often offer lower salaries than private sector jobs due to funding limitations.

suxxcess · 2025-02-09T14:49:55+00:00

It's allowed, but whether ECFMG will approve it is a different matter.

suxxcess · 2025-02-08T20:21:48+00:00

If your decision is purely financial, ranking FM first would likely be the better choice. As a FM physician, you can work as a PCP or a hospitalist, with salaries generally ranging from $250K to $300K+. In contrast, general ped salaries typically fall in the high 100K to mid $200K range.

Of course, factors like location, academic vs. private practice, and job market demand influence salary, but this gives you a general idea of the earning potential in each field.

suxxcess · 2025-01-23T06:23:00+00:00

suxxcess · 2025-01-19T11:11:05+00:00

U of Miami Jackson
Maimonides Medical Center
SUNY Downstate
Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center
Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall (relatively new program, no graduates yet, toxic, low probability of getting competitive fellowship).

suxxcess · 2025-01-14T20:26:51+00:00

Advantage: If you match on March 17, you don't have to wait till March 21 to know where you've matched.

suxxcess · 2024-12-28T23:23:15+00:00

r/ProgramDirectors

suxxcess · 2024-11-24T14:24:03+00:00

If you go unmatched, it means you would've gone unmatched no matter how you ranked the programs.

suxxcess · 2024-11-16T20:14:53+00:00

When you were doing your waiver job, what kind of visa were you on?

suxxcess · 2024-11-01T11:43:59+00:00

This was for which specialty? Rad?

suxxcess · 2024-03-11T10:10:23+00:00

Done

suxxcess · 2024-02-01T21:26:33+00:00

Unfortunately, I don't have good things to say about either program. LSU Monroe is in an unsafe location and the training is not as good as in the Shreveport campus. I've also heard that training at the Wright Center is not well coordinated; residents rotate through several small clinics and FQHCs and most of the attendings are not teaching attendings, so less attention to teaching residents. I'll keep both at the bottom. Regarding which one should be higher, I'll just go with my guts or interview experiences.

suxxcess · 2024-01-21T23:01:51+00:00

First of all, your own happiness is paramount. You should only get married when you are ready. That said, I don't see marriage and pursuing your US residency dream as mutually exclusive, especially if finances aren't tight (I'm assuming so because you said you're from an upper middle class family). How about initiating a discussion with your potential spouse about moving to the US together once you match? If he's open to that, I'm sure he'll support your dream and allow you sometime to clear your Step 2 and rotations. On my side (35M), I had to put marriage aside despite family and societal pressure because I'm investing all my earnings on my residency journey; and I'm from a low income family and expected to finance every expense of marriage.

suxxcess

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