What is the most important part of your residency application?
Kaplan Medical Advisors hear this question about as frequently as any other. There really are two aspects to consider: how do medical residency programs choose who to interview and how do they decide how to rank candidates? With this perspective, you quickly realize there are many options for the “most important part.”
What 94% of Residency Program Directors Want
In the 2014 NRMP® Program Director Survey, USMLE Step 1 scores were ranked at the top by 94% of residency program directors as the most important “factor in selecting applicants” to interview. Each residency program has their own way of deciding who to invite, but nearly all of them have filters that preclude certain applicants. Your USMLE Step 1 score is often the first filter. If you haven’t taken this exam yet, try our free diagnostic exam and then make sure your Step 1 study plan is designed to get you a higher USMLE Step 1 score, not just a passing one. Keep in mind, you can be a competitive applicant with an average score. Remember, even though your Step 1 score is important, it is one of several factors residency program directors look at.
Get Great Letters of Recommendation
Once your high scores have gotten you through the Step 1 filter, your program director will likely turn to your letters of recommendation and overall academic record. While there isn’t much you can do about the latter, there is still time to improve the former. It is the second-most important factor in selecting applicants to interview. In addition, many of these program directors want letters that are written by U.S.-based physicians who have seen you in action with actual patients. Procuring these letters of recommendation can be challenging, but Kaplan has created a helpful website to help you get the type of USCE (United States Clinical Experience) needed to work with U.S.-based physicians.
Your Personal Statement Could Set You Apart
Many programs view the personal statement as a kind of tie-breaker between similar applicant profiles. Use your personal statement to express who you are as a person and how you are a perfect fit for the program to which you’re applying. This is key as an applicant’s “perceived commitment to specialty” is another highly ranked aspect of an application. While your USMLE scores and letters of recommendation might have pushed you this far, your personal statement might end up being the deciding factor for the program!
Getting an Interview vs. Getting Ranked
Many applicants are surprised when they discover that scores and letters of recommendation matter more in deciding who to interview; however, letters aren’t a huge factor in directors’ decisions to rank applications. So what are the factors in program directors’ decisions to rank applications?
Program directors rank the people they would most like to work with based on professionalism, attitude, and interactions with faculty and staff.
So, what is the most important part of your application?
The most important part of your residency application is the one that you are currently in the process of completing. With this type of strategy, you can give your full attention to each component. By doing this, you will increase your odds of getting an interview, and getting ranked in the United States.
Please feel free to set an appointment to speak with a Kaplan Med Advisor at medadvisormark.youcanbook.me for your free personalized study plan.
Test names are the registered trademark of their respective owners.