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If you Failed CS read This

967 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  cgr2000 
#1 ·
Hey Guys

I remeber once upon a time I read my CS fail and thought my chances of US residency were over. But I want to tell everyone who had an attempt at CS that it is still possible to match !. This year I got matched at my first choice of residency at a highly respected IM program ! I had 9 interviews total even with the CS attempt so don´t give up on you goal .

However keep in mind these things:

1. You will need to work on your application very hard to make up for the fail.

Please make sure other aspects of your application are covered :Scores ,Letters of recommendation, Reasearch , volunteer experience, consider taking Step3 , (in my case I did not take it and I don´t think it affected me so much ). They need to see your fail as just 1 small stain in otherwise a great application

2. Having great scores was key to me getting IV´s despite having a CS failed attempt .
Please take that into account as some img friendly programs accept CS fails but do have some cuttoff for scores

3. Your CS attempt will likely half the number of IVs you get so make them count !
Many IMG friendly programs have very specific criteria for selecting interviews , more competititive programs will not IV you regardless of your application because they will only select 1st attempt candidates , however I was IV in a couple of programs that said only 1st attemp on CS so apply anyway to those programs and write emails.
Even if you only have few interviews you have to shine on the IV day so take extra care in your interview preparation. One of the items onf the CS is Communication skills so you have to show that you have great CIS skills and they will overlook your CS attempt

You Have to mention the CS attempt 4. on the PS and You WILL get asked on the IV´s so practice your response very carefully.
Please have an explanation on the CS and what you made to improve. Some faculty will not care about the CS but they will definitively be curious , some may ask what part of the
CS exam you failed (CIS,SEP,ICE). Your response has to show resilience nad the steps you made to improve

5. The exam does not define you and does not mean you have poor clinical skills .
It is hard at first to take failure but remember that it doesn´t mean you will not become a great doctor . I spoke to many faculty during my IV´s and many did not think the CS was an accurate measure of Clinical Skill

Good Luck to everyone
 
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