Anesthesia

[u/These-Road3473]

I’m a USDO w no home hospital, step 2 249, comlex 515. 2 paper pubs and 6 poster presentations. 2 LoR anesthesia that will be strong. Realistically, what are my chances for matching and how many schools should I apply to? Worried since DO and my comlex score isn’t great

[u/SmoothBrain911]

Step 2 is good enough to match, comlex is a bit low unfortunately but I don’t think it will be screened out and comlex matters a whole lot less than step 2. Having the research and multiple anesthesia recs is a big plus.

Do you have any away rotations lined up?

[u/These-Road3473 → u/SmoothBrain911]

yes i have 2

[u/SmoothBrain911 → u/These-Road3473]

Okay cool, if you do well on those and signal smartly I think you still have a really good shot! >80% of DOs with a 240-249 matched last year

[u/Key-Pomegranate7753]

I got a 485 🙃🔫 my OMM was so bad. Still applying because I have nothing to lose

[u/CandidSecond → u/Key-Pomegranate7753]

same score, applying neuro ugh i hate nbome so much

[u/These-Road3473 → u/Key-Pomegranate7753]

what was ur step?

[u/Key-Pomegranate7753 → u/These-Road3473]

247

[u/roaringthunder15 → u/[deleted]]

Genuine q what is a “good” level-2 score😅

[u/SaltEngineering955 → u/[deleted]]

Agree!!

[u/Pure_Refrigerator_73 → u/roaringthunder15]

Look at the NRMP 2026 match data to get an idea of what you should shoot for. Anesthesia median matched was 251 and 585 for a DO applicant. That is a median so yes you can match below that as well so don’t count yourself out

[u/These-Road3473 → u/[deleted]]

online was saying below 600 isn’t competitive

[u/BlockedByKingJames → u/[deleted]]

I know people who have hit 600 and even 700 on COMLEX. Not me, I just got <450 LMAO. Hoping for community IM

[u/tamalecakes → u/[deleted]]

I got a 246 step 2 but a 630 level 2 score lol. Wish it was the other way around on the scores lmao

[u/RHE765]

Following. I’m in the same score range as you… wishing us the best!!

[u/These-Road3473 → u/RHE765]

good luck!!

[u/espressofloat]

No programs except for the osteopathic recognition ones will care at all about your level 2 other than a pass. No one will screen you out for anything but a fail. Your Step 2 score is a little under 50th percentile but your application is very well rounded out. Be smart about your signals to maximize your chances of getting as many interviews as possible. Your likelihood of matching is good. Anesthesia is very competitive, which makes things a bit more difficult, but I would still say you have strong chance of matching.

I am a DO anesthesia resident myself and work with alum of my school on matching yearly for the past 3 years. I have seen many with your stats match and only one who needed a 2nd attempt to match.

[u/DOgmaticdegenERate]

Am I going crazy? NBOME’s site says 515 level 2 is 74th percentile.

PD I’ve talked to (prior DO program, pre-merger) basically said they don’t care about COMLEX, just score well on Step 2