Eli MD Advising Foundation

I am excited to announce that I have matched into the Headache Medicine fellowship at U Connecticut School of Medicine! This achievement would not have been possible without the unwavering support and encouragement from my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues.

Thank you all for your support. I am looking forward to an exciting career as a headache specialist.

Its Match week, for those that did not match I am here and available to help. Over the years I have helped many med students who did not match successfully match into a residency position. Feel free to message if you need help. I am also active in the 2023 Reddit SOAP thread.

Every year I work with students through SOAP/Scramble and take on students who did not match into a residency position. If you or someone you know did not match and needs help navigating the process of SOAP/Scramble/reapplying for a residency position, feel free to reach out. My contact information is on my website.

elimdadvising.com

Non-US Medical Schools? Should I go?
The answer is No.

What should I do instead?
Work with your mentors and advisors or contact the Eli MD Advising Foundation. With a bit of work and a year or two, you can build up your resume to be competitive at a US MD or US DO program.


The Risks of going to a non-US Medical School

Non-US medical schools may seem attractive to desperate pre-medical students who have less than stellar applications. They also appeal to those who have applied once and do not want to apply to medical school again. Many advertise that they do not require the MCAT for acceptance.

They don't tell you that most students at Non-US Medical Schools drop out at some point in the first two years. If you make it to 3rd year, you will likely have to fight to get rotations. These rotations are often at sub-par hospitals where doctors are paid to allow you to be there. Most don't do a great job of teaching you the art of practicing medicine. They are often at community hospitals without a connection to a medical school. The doctors there are paid to see patients, not to teach.

If, by some chance, you manage to make it through 3rd year and secure all your core rotations. Now it's time to apply. As a US-IMG ( a US citizen who went to an international medical school), all the competitive specialties are out. As a non-US grad, it is impossible to match into highly competitive specialties like orthopedic surgery, dermatology, and neurosurgery. Emergency medicine and general surgery are also a stretch. Last year only 59% of Non-US IMGs matched into any specialty. Many US-IMGs have to apply multiple times to 100s of programs. Even those who apply to uncompetitive specialties and apply to 100s of residency programs will struggle to get interviews.

There are fewer residency positions per applicant with the increase in US Medical and Osteopathic schools in the last ten years. This rise in the number of medical schools has lead to a decline in the match rate. In the 2020-2021 application cycle, only 93% of US MD seniors and 89% of US DO seniors matched into any residency program. Given the shortage of US residency programs, it is expected that the match rate for US-IMGs will continue to decline.
Further, USMLE step 1 has been made pass/fail, and USMLE step 2 clinical skills have been eliminated. These changes have made it harder to compare the low-quality training a US-IMG receives to US MD/DO students who receive high-quality US-based education.

In closing, it's an expensive gamble. Non-US medical schools cost well over $200,000.00 for all 4 years, and as we have discussed, there is a less than 50% chance of you completing and matching into a residency program.

Today we are ~41 days from the ERAS application due date on September 29th. Here are a few tips for your applications:

Be positive

List your accomplishments and talk about them positively. If you did research in medical school and hated it, do not put it on your application. Only list things that you can talk about in a positive light. This is important for filling out your extracurriculars and as you write your personal statement. Negativity in a personal statement, an extracurricular activity description, and at the interview is a big red flag. It will lead to fewer interviews and a candidate not being ranked by a program. Remember all the excitement you had on your first day of medical school? Use that positive energy when you are filling out your application and interviewing.

Be honest

If you failed a course or had to retake a step exam, don't try to hide it. Talk about it under the medical education interrupted section. If you don't mention it, programs will think you are hiding something.

Consider applying to a backup residency if you are applying into a highly competitive specialty.

All specialties are becoming increasingly competitive. Even highly qualified applicants may not match into competitive specialties. Pick a less competitive specialty that you would be willing to go into and apply to that as well. Your best chance at getting a good residency position is this year. Applying as someone who already graduated medical school decreases your chances significantly across all specialties. Programs cannot ask if you applied to any other specialties as it is a match violation. You will be glad you applied to a backup specialty when you see others who did not match, and they have to figure out what they will do for the year as they reapply typically to a "backup specialty". Do both this year, and you will have the best chance to end up in a great residency.

Apply to enough programs to get at least ~10 interviews.

If you are unsure how many to apply to, talk to your school's deans, advisors, and mentors or schedule a consultation at elimdadvising.com to get a sense of how competitive you are relative to all those applying. Remember, as a 4th-year senior, you have the best chance of matching this year. It is always better to apply to more programs and decline interviews than to apply to fewer programs and not get enough interviews.

Last year 7/100 4th year medical students from US-based MD and 11/100 from US-based DO programs did not match into any residency program (even after soap/scramble). This does not account for those who match into a preliminary intern position (IM/GenSurg/transitional year) without an advanced position. Most positions available in SOAP/SCRAMBLE are one-year positions that do not offer a path to obtaining board certification and, therefore, the ability to practice medicine (use that shiny Dr. degree)

A large part of what the Eli MD Advising Foundation does is work with students who did not match the previous year. We have a 100% success rate in unmatched US-based MD&DOs, but if you ask any of my former students who matched, it's a lot of work applying to 100s of programs and going on a minimum of 20-30 interviews.

Executive summary:
Be positive and be honest with your application and with yourself. Apply to a backup program if you are applying to a highly competitive specialty. Apply to more programs than you think you need to. Declining interviews is more fun than not getting enough.

The Eli MD Advising Foundation would rather work with you now than have to meet in the spring and develop a plan after you did not match.

Feel free to message us via Facebook or schedule a consultation if you have any questions.

In September, be on the lookout for our post on how to ace the residency interview.

‘It’s Tough to Get Out’: How Caribbean Medical Schools Fail Their Students The institutions are expensive, often operated for profit and eager to accept applicants. But graduates have trouble landing residencies and jobs.

Application season for medical school and residency is about to begin. Once your application goes out, there is no way to change it until the next application cycle. Your application will determine how many interviews you receive and if you receive invitations to interview at your top choice programs.

The Eli MD Advising Foundation is here to help. I will be taking a limited number of students on this application cycle as our services are free. I will help you with your application and work with you on interview prep. I have helped many achieve their dreams of ending up at their top choice residency program and achieve admission into medical school.

I have a 100% success rate in helping residents match and getting qualified premedical students into medical school. It is best to reach out early to identify any gaps or red flags in your application and repair them quickly.

Once the application is submitted, the only thing we can do is improve your interview skills. Both medical school admissions and residency positions are getting increasingly competitive. This past year we saw the lowest medical school acceptance rate ever. Further, 7 out of 100 MD graduates did not match into any program (not even in SOAP or SCRAMBLE).

The Eli MD Advising Foundation is committed to Helping The Next Generation of Doctors Become Doctors. If you think we can help schedule a consultation at elimdadvising.com to get started. Remember this is a non-profit foundation, and all services are provided free of charge.

You are going to all do great :-). After all that info, here is a funny meme.

Have an amazing summer,

Eli Schneck, MD

Did you not match into a residency this year? Not sure what to do next?

It's more common than you think. In 2021 we again saw an increase in the number of medical students who did into match into a residency position. For US MD seniors, 7.2% did not match, and for US DO seniors 10.9 percent did not match (Press Release: N**P Delivers Strong Residency Match During Uncertain Times, N**P).

If you did not match feel free to set up a consultation with the Eli MD Advising Foundation. We have a 100% percent success rate in helping applicants match in the next cycle. Best of all our services are free as a part of our non-profit mission to help the next generation of doctors become doctors.

Set up your consultation on elimdadvising.com

Providing free tutoring/advising/mentoring. We are now a non-profit foundation.

Trouble Shooting Academic Performance in 3 easy steps
1. Do I know the material?
2. Can I apply my knowledge on an exam?
3. Is there a barrier preventing me from performing at my best?

Everyone is capable of acing every exam and getting a high score on a standardized test. In premedical and medical school course work, the first step in preparing for an exam is learning the material. The second step is learning to apply that material to the testing environment. There is no secret to being a "good test taker." Taking a step back and asking yourself, "how am I studying?" and "how will I be tested?" This simple approach will unlock the door to your higher scores on exam day.

Eli MD Advising Foundation updated their business hours.