Is It Really That Difficult For An IMG To Get Residency Even After They Get Good scores in USMLE?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Minimol Antony, Pediatric Intern New York



I would say: No it isn't!

Let me tell you why.

Eight people I know including me applied for the 2016 Main Residency Match. Our Step 1 scores range from 224 to 254. The Step 2 scores range from 224 to 264. All of us passed the Step 2 CS in the first attempt. The time since graduation ranges from one year to six years. Five of us had US clinical experience in the form of electives, one had observership and the two who did not have any US experience were MDs in their respective specialties. One of us (me) applied to Pediatrics, one to General Surgery and the rest applied to Internal Medicine.

All of us Matched.

All of us matched into one of our top three programs, with six of us matching into our number one.

According to the Match data of recent years provided by the NRMP, almost 50% of the total non-US IMGs who apply obtain a match.

So if you are really passionate about obtaining a residency in the US, it isn't that difficult to come in that 50%.

Source