jayakrishna
Forum Senior
Topics: 30
Posts: 113
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Hi Guys and gals
what do you think of this organisation www.fmgamerica.com .They charge a price for doing scramble on our behalf.....Does any one has any idea how this works and how effective it is? Is this worth the price we are paying for?
Any advice is really appreciated.......
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indian childdoctor
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| usmleasr
Forum Guru
Topics: 105
Posts: 970
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hi jayakrishna,
how much do they charge?...did u talk with them...i saw one more site for post match scramble...i guess they charge aroung 1800$...but i am not sure about these sites...let us share the info...let us keep posting any details about scramble here...but i also read in kaplan news letter that NRMP is considering second match instead of scramble,...though it is not finalised...
asr
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| jayakrishna
Forum Senior
Topics: 30
Posts: 113
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Hi Asr
These people charge a whopping 1200$ for applying on our behalf ,which I think is beyond most IMGs.Atleast it is beyond me.Just a couple of days service and somuch expense is pretty unreasonable.I think this is the first time they have started and nobody really knows how they function and how effective they are.
You can share any info you know with all of us, I will try and do the same .....
All the best
Take care
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indian childdoctor
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| mardalanb
Forum Junior
Topics: 11
Posts: 32
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I have the same question.I also dont have any experince with their servies???i dont know if it is woth it or not to pay this amount of money..
Any expeirence is realy appreciated.
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| shubna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 2
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has anyone used them?
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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First of all I am one of the guys who provides scramble services. I am with www.imgresidency.com
I want to shed some light on this kind of service and why the prices are so high.
Let's take 2004 scramble. Typical IMG is looking for anything in FP and IM. There were ~220 FP and ~120 IM programs with unfilled positions (number of positions was much higher). Typical application is about 12 pages long. When we buy a priority fax broadcast services we pay 15c/page (bulk pricing). This year we anticipate a 20% raise in the number of programs that have unfilled positions. Why? This is another story. Now, let's sum it up:
408 programs * 12 pages = 4896 pages to be faxed
4896 pages * 0.15 = $734
When we deliver your application via e-mail we make sure it does not get blocked as Spam. When you send an e-mail with big attachments, in 5 out of 10 cases it will get blocked by Spam filters.
So, we build two web sites for you, one for each specialty, like this one: www.imgresidency.com/sample.
Let's say we spend about $75/site => $150 more
We've got ~ $900 in direct expenses. What’s left is $300.
We have to get the list of unmatched programs as soon as it is published and extract all the e-mails and fax numbers. Then we have to fax and e-mail all the programs from the list. We must do it in parallel; otherwise it will take ages to complete. We have to pay our ISP to lets us send that many messages in a short time. We have to pay people who do the work.
Sorry for a long explanation, I just wanted you to know what is going on behind the scenes, so you know what are you paying for.
As you can see faxing is by far the most expensive part. If you are willing to drop faxing and go with just e-mails, here is a potential for savings.
I really do want to make it more affordable. I really do know what it is to be an IMG in scramble.
Please feel free to drop me your comments at info@imgresidency.com. I am also closely monitoring an IMG forum at www.imgresidency.com/community.
Good luck to you all!
AK
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| Jay Leno
Forum Newbie
Topics: 9
Posts: 25
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Hello, I am a FMG and applied for Internal Medicine Residency programs, but I did not received even a single interview. My scores are 88 an 96 in step 1 and 2. I am currently observing in Pain clinic of Southern Indiana and my application have been accepted for one month Mini Residency Program in Internal Medicine at Mount siani Medical Center , Florida that will start from 1st march. Do I have any hope in post match scramble? How can your organisation help me? I have practically no idea how post match works, please reply.
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| slash
Forum Newbie
Topics: 11
Posts: 16
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hi
i've heard about the florida mini residency program and i'm seriously thinking about doing a couple of months there
but i was thinking would they consider this USCE?
its do observers really have an edge on ppl with higher scores with no observership or UCE?
thanks
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| Jay Leno
Forum Newbie
Topics: 9
Posts: 25
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Hello slash, I dont know if you are an american graduate or not, but I know that for IMG;s even doing an observership is help ful. Sores do matter but they are not the only thing.
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| usmleasr
Forum Guru
Topics: 105
Posts: 970
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Thanks Anatoly for explaining us in detail.. :icon_salut: It is indeed extensive work.. I didn't know so far..
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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"Jay Leno" wrote:
Hello, I am a FMG and applied for Internal Medicine Residency programs, but I did not received even a single interview. My scores are 88 an 96 in step 1 and 2. I am currently observing in Pain clinic of Southern Indiana and my application have been accepted for one month Mini Residency Program in Internal Medicine at Mount siani Medical Center , Florida that will start from 1st march. Do I have any hope in post match scramble? How can your organisation help me? I have practically no idea how post match works, please reply.
I am quite surprised you did not get any interviews with such a good scores.
Let me guess:
You applied to just a few programs
You applied late
IMHO: an IMG should apply to at least 100 programs in a specialty to get some interviews. This is a bare minumum!
As for now, I think you stand very good chances for the scramble. You have not mentioned what is your visa status. Assuming you do not need a visa, I would say your chances are definitely higher than 50-50.
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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"jayakrishna" wrote:
Hi Guys and gals
what do you think of this organisation www.fmgamerica.com .They charge a price for doing scramble on our behalf.....Does any one has any idea how this works and how effective it is? Is this worth the price we are paying for?
Any advice is really appreciated.......
There had been some unanswered credibility questions:
http://www.imgresidency.com/community/viewtopic.p...
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| bbb
IM Program Coordinator
Topics: 33
Posts: 5,034
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I would want to know about the success rate of these organizations prior to handing over any money. If the success rate is good enough, then if you get a position, it's worth while.
(I can't vouch for any of them as my program fills in the match - and has since I started working here in 1993).
Good luck to all in the match - I just certified my list, which means that I am FINALLY allowed a couple of days off!!
:wink:
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bbb - trying to combine common sense and humour into realistic answers, but not going to guess on anyone's chances of getting into a position....
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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The one I am with is at 50% for the scramble.
Keep in mind that it is difficult to get "apples to apples" here.
If a guy is looking for pathology only and is in low 80 scores he/she brings the total down.
If a guy is in high 80s and looking for IM or FP, he brings it up.
Statistically speaking the sample size (number of scrambling candidates) should be in hundreds to get a real rate. This isn't the case for any of such services.
The realy important thing is how much your chances go up if you use the service, which is impossible to measure. But one can guess that this is the case here.
What is for sure though, the more exposure you get for the scramble, the higher your chances are.
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| RBD
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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I used fmg america last year and they were great for me, in fact I think they are cheaper this year...whomever uses this for their own advertising purposes GET OUT!!!!!!!!!1 :evil:
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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I heard about their observership service. But I honestly believe that this is the first year they play in the scramble.
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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"RBD" wrote:
I used fmg america last year and they were great for me, in fact I think they are cheaper this year...whomever uses this for their own advertising purposes GET OUT!!!!!!!!!1 :evil:
Dear RBD. I also have some questions about your posts.
Here is a short history:
1. Today you registered with the forum and right away posted a message in another thread about how great FMG America is (I do not have anything about them by the way).
2. Next minute you posted the message I am quoting.
3. About 20 minutes later you deleted your first post. It was way too obvious to connect the two together.
All this just does not look like a real guy comes to the forum and shares his opinion. As a matter of fact all the posts about the company you are promoting look very much alike. I have a nice collection of them as well as creative poster names (RBD, drjoj, jlin1974, Graciej, vishal
etc.) from the different forums.
Lets bring some value to the forum instead of performing questionable for self-promotion.
My kind regards
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| RBD
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Dude, who is this antalieyk guy? you admit that you are just wasting space on our message boards with your own advertisments and you BS me about my actual experiences as a current resident???? www.fmgamerica.com worked for people I know and I am saying so, there is nothing wrong with that. i admit that i do not work for them nor have any current dealings with them...use them, or not, what do i care..you obviously are in competition with them..so get off our site. this is for DOCTORS only!
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| anatolyk
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 49
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"RBD" wrote:
Dude, who is this antalieyk guy? you admit that you are just wasting space on our message boards with your own advertisments and you BS me about my actual experiences as a current resident???? www.fmgamerica.com worked for people I know and I am saying so, there is nothing wrong with that. i admit that i do not work for them nor have any current dealings with them...use them, or not, what do i care..you obviously are in competition with them..so get off our site. this is for DOCTORS only!
This is a placeholder for keeping the quoted text from being removed by its author RBD. I will get back to it after the scramble to prove my point raised in the previous post. I just wanted to give him a chance to back off gracefuly before I do that.
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| bbb
IM Program Coordinator
Topics: 33
Posts: 5,034
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I would just like to know why FMG American is sending information to programs prior to knowing if there is an opening for the program!!! Talk about a waste of resources!!! :shock:
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bbb - trying to combine common sense and humour into realistic answers, but not going to guess on anyone's chances of getting into a position....
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| doczoe
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
| | 04/07/05 - 02:16 PM
0 of 1 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #21 |
I used them for externship and scramble- I was happy at least. doctorzoe@yahoo.com
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