2011 rank these schools thread

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RestoreSight said:
Can anyone comment on Scheie vs. Cole especially comparing fellowships and clinical exposure? My impression is Scheie has great research/academics, but is weaker clinically than other Philly programs. How does it compare to Cleveland Clinic/Cole Eye?
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I'd say they are quite similar, and I agree with your assessment of Scheie. Both programs will put you on a fellowship track (academic, if you like).
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Any insight on University of Washington, U of Arizona, Mayo Clinic and William Beaumont? How would you rank them, and details as to why?
 
Visionary said:
I'd say they are quite similar, and I agree with your assessment of Scheie. Both programs will put you on a fellowship track (academic, if you like).
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Just to chip in on what I've heard from helping with interviews and from other attendings:
-Scheie's style of training is very academic. Decent clinical exposure but having three other programs nearby reduces clinical training. Awesome research opportunities though with plenty of funding.
-Like Visionary said, UAB and MCW are solid, but they're more like sleeper programs. You don't know how solid they are until you actually visit the programs and learn more. Milwaukee and Birmingham aren't bad places to live either.
-LSU Oschner still has issues with travel. Last year, only 5 of 8 positions were filled. The number one issue that applicants and residents brought up for this was that the travel was very undesirable. I hear that the new chairman is trying to change that around, but not holding my breath for significant changes soon. I personally think that if it weren't for the travel, LSU Oschner would be much more desirable (mainly b/c of the opportunity to live in NOLA, take that however you will).
-At Cook County, you will work your butt off. Whether it's the good kind or bad kind, I'm not sure.
 
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frubeak said:
Any insight on University of Washington, U of Arizona, Mayo Clinic and William Beaumont? How would you rank them, and details as to why?
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I commented on U Wash in earlier posts--solid program with strong upside. Screwed the pooch on UA! :laugh: Will defer to others on it. Mayo is solid, as is Beaumont. The knock on Beaumont is it's private practice status. I've heard clinical training suffers somewhat, because of it. George Williams (the chairman) is an absolutely great guy, though. Mayo is an HMO, so not the same deal. I've heard the clinical training is pretty solid there. Bottom line is these are four very different locations. Your personal feelings should, therefore, play a large part in how you rank them.
 
I'm having some difficulty placing Iowa and Wash U on my rank list. I strongly prefer Wash U's location, but it's not like I'd be miserable and depressed living in Iowa. I am interested in going into academics, so reputation is a factor for me. After interviewing at the programs I'd say that Iowa does have the edge in clinical training, but it's certainly sufficiently good at Wash U. I've had two advisors tell me that I'd be a fool to rank Wash U above Iowa, but I'd like some more input before I commit to that.

So what do you guys think? Is Iowa's reputation so much better than Wash U's that it would have a significant impact on my fellowship and job placement? Or are all doors still open to me as a Wash U resident and it will be more based on my own efforts at that point?
 
having a difficult time ranking these two...both programs have no fellows, good surg no.'s etc. any thoughts?
 
Anyone have any opinions on how these two programs compare to one another? If you interviewed at these places, what did you guys think of them?
 
I am reapplicant (low board scores, late application last time) so any tips how should I rank these programs in order to maximize my matching chances

Vanderbilt, USC-Doheny, Emory, Univ of AZ and Consortium, Nassau Long Island, Temple, Univ. of FL-Gainesville, Wills, UCLA, Univ. of MD, Howard
 
Apple99 said:
I am reapplicant (low board scores, late application last time) so any tips how should I rank these programs in order to maximize my matching chances

Vanderbilt, USC-Doheny, Emory, Univ of AZ and Consortium, Nassau Long Island, Temple, Univ. of FL-Gainesville, Wills, UCLA, Univ. of MD, Howard
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There is no way to rank programs to maximize your matching chances (as long as you rank all of them). Not to be rude, but as a re-applicant you should, of all people, understand the basic principles behind the match.
 
gochivas said:
I'm having some difficulty placing Iowa and Wash U on my rank list. I strongly prefer Wash U's location, but it's not like I'd be miserable and depressed living in Iowa. I am interested in going into academics, so reputation is a factor for me. After interviewing at the programs I'd say that Iowa does have the edge in clinical training, but it's certainly sufficiently good at Wash U. I've had two advisors tell me that I'd be a fool to rank Wash U above Iowa, but I'd like some more input before I commit to that.

So what do you guys think? Is Iowa's reputation so much better than Wash U's that it would have a significant impact on my fellowship and job placement? Or are all doors still open to me as a Wash U resident and it will be more based on my own efforts at that point?
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Both excellent for academic aspirations. Can't go wrong with either. If you prefer Wash U, I would rank it higher.
 
Apple99 said:
I am reapplicant (low board scores, late application last time) so any tips how should I rank these programs in order to maximize my matching chances

Vanderbilt, USC-Doheny, Emory, Univ of AZ and Consortium, Nassau Long Island, Temple, Univ. of FL-Gainesville, Wills, UCLA, Univ. of MD, Howard
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I would go with Wills, Emory, Doheny, then Vanderbilt. Others are lower tier. Rank them based more on your feel.
 
Visionary said:
I would go with Wills, Emory, Doheny, then Vanderbilt. Others are lower tier. Rank them based more on your feel.
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Strictly based on rep UCLA should be in that mix as well. Also, I think that depending on what you are interested in, Florida should be considered highly. Gainesville is actually a very high surgical volume program - one of the highest in the country. I think that it can be challenging to pursue academic interests though.

As an aside, those are great interviews for anyone, let alone a reapplicant with low board scores. You should share with the others on this forum how you were able to make that happen!
 
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gochivas said:
I'm having some difficulty placing Iowa and Wash U on my rank list. I strongly prefer Wash U's location, but it's not like I'd be miserable and depressed living in Iowa. I am interested in going into academics, so reputation is a factor for me. After interviewing at the programs I'd say that Iowa does have the edge in clinical training, but it's certainly sufficiently good at Wash U. I've had two advisors tell me that I'd be a fool to rank Wash U above Iowa, but I'd like some more input before I commit to that.

So what do you guys think? Is Iowa's reputation so much better than Wash U's that it would have a significant impact on my fellowship and job placement? Or are all doors still open to me as a Wash U resident and it will be more based on my own efforts at that point?
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Iowa is terrific but not so much better than Wash U that I would call you foolish for ranking it lower than Wash U, especially given your location preferences. You can definitely do academics from Wash U, and do well.
 
Anyone have thoughts on Maryland vs Albany?
 
LBJ said:
Iowa is terrific but not so much better than Wash U that I would call you foolish for ranking it lower than Wash U, especially given your location preferences. You can definitely do academics from Wash U, and do well.
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Yes, sorry. JSEI is definitely top tier. Didn't mean to leave that off.
 
How would you rank Kresge in Detroit as a program overall? Any thoughts would be great!
 
Any thoughts on Buffalo, Upstate, or Drexel? I didn't get great feelings about any of them and was thinking about not ranking any, but that leaves me pretty thin on the rank list if I don't.

Any insight is appreciated!
 
confusedeye said:
Any thoughts on Buffalo, Upstate, or Drexel? I didn't get great feelings about any of them and was thinking about not ranking any, but that leaves me pretty thin on the rank list if I don't.

Any insight is appreciated!
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Would rank based on your feelings about the programs. Likely rank about the same. Only don't rank if you'd rather not match than go to one of them. Unlikely.
 
How is New York Eye and Ear, especially compared to other big name programs?
 
How about UC Davis vs. San Diego vs. Utah?
 
USC, Irvine, Davis, U Washington, Wash U, Stanford

These programs all seem to have fairly equal merit, with good-to-great numbers, (mostly) West Coast urban locations, strong research, and excellent fellowship success, making it difficult for me to decide amongst them.

I've heard some make a big deal out of the presence or not of the chief model, which is present at USC and Wash U and can potentially make access to faculty more difficult but others say isn't a big deal. Your thoughts are appreciated.
 
golfman said:
There is no way to rank programs to maximize your matching chances (as long as you rank all of them). Not to be rude, but as a re-applicant you should, of all people, understand the basic principles behind the match.
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Apparently I do not know the match very well so please explain how it works. Does it matter what order I rank programs?
 
NYEE has better surgical numbers than most places in manhattan. Its busy and the residents there work hard. But it also has a reputation of being malignant. I personally would not train in manhattan unless you have a strong reason for needing to be there, such as family. I'm not sure what the attending support at NYEE is like, but at most manhattan programs it is weaker than elsewhere in the country.
Btw. just a disclaimer - my opinion is based on the impression I've gotten from friends at these programs, not from personal experience.
 
Apple99 said:
Apparently I do not know the match very well so please explain how it works. Does it matter what order I rank programs?
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No. There's a very detailed explanation on the sfmatch website, but it amounts to this: rank programs in the order you like them. Nothing else matters. You'll end up where you end up based on how programs like you, and there's nothing you can do about that after the interview.
 
Here's how it works. Program X is your first choice. Program Y is your second choice. Program X has 5 spots. You rank program X #1. The match system gives you a "temporary" match at your first choice, but its not permanent. Program X ranked you #10. If among the other 9 applicants ahead of you 5 ranked program X #1 you are bumped. Your #2 choice becomes your #1 and the system recalculates it for program Y, your second choice. Program Y ranked you #1 and has 5 spots. You match first because your #2 is now your #1 choice.

The point is the same. Its to your benefit to rank in the order you want to match. It does not matter if you rank 10 dream programs above 10 solid mid-tier programs. Rank how you want to match.
 
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Visionary said:
IMO, Henry Ford>Albany.
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Visionary could you possibly elaborate on why you feel this way? I am very interested in retina and am wondering if either of these will help me in the long run for fellowship placement
 
George Washington U vs. UMDNJ? (Taking location out of the picture.)

Hopefully this will be my last burning question before finalizing my rank list. :)
 
afroman787 said:
Visionary could you possibly elaborate on why you feel this way? I am very interested in retina and am wondering if either of these will help me in the long run for fellowship placement
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Henry Ford is just a much larger program (5 residents per year vs 3). Lots of pathology there. As a general rule, larger programs tend to have a wider breadth of training because of the greater number of faculty and subspecialty representation. Henry Ford will provide a better springboard for fellowship, IMO.
 
verasoie said:
USC, Irvine, Davis, U Washington, Wash U, Stanford

These programs all seem to have fairly equal merit, with good-to-great numbers, (mostly) West Coast urban locations, strong research, and excellent fellowship success, making it difficult for me to decide amongst them.

I've heard some make a big deal out of the presence or not of the chief model, which is present at USC and Wash U and can potentially make access to faculty more difficult but others say isn't a big deal. Your thoughts are appreciated.
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Wash U and Doheny are, without a doubt, the top programs on your list. You'll have plenty of access to faculty. Many of the perennial top 10 programs have dedicated chief residents. Coincidence?
 
How about Henry Ford vs Kresge....any thoughts on those two and how they compare? My wife recently got a new job in MI and I am seriously considering both of these MI programs so any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't know quite yet if I am interested in doing a fellowship but would definitely like to get a good plastics exposure adn overall a good surgical training.
 
Any thoughts on UIC in Chicago vs UC Davis in Sacramento?
 
OR smurf said:
How about Henry Ford vs Kresge....any thoughts on those two and how they compare? My wife recently got a new job in MI and I am seriously considering both of these MI programs so any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't know quite yet if I am interested in doing a fellowship but would definitely like to get a good plastics exposure adn overall a good surgical training.
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Kresge definitely has the edge in size and name recognition, but Henry Ford has very strong clinical training. Not a plastics guy, so can't speak to that specifically.
 
UMDNJ has stronger clinical training and probably more well known faculty.
 
Kresge is the bigger name in the ophtho world. It also has a plastics fellowship, so that helps if that's something you may be interested in down the line.
 
More last minute machinations! I am very stuck on ranking Pitt vs. Tufts. I really loved both programs, though they felt somewhat different. Any insight would be helpful in terms of fellowship placement, etc.
 
paboi101 said:
More last minute machinations! I am very stuck on ranking Pitt vs. Tufts. I really loved both programs, though they felt somewhat different. Any insight would be helpful in terms of fellowship placement, etc.
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Both are quality programs. Tufts residents do well in fellowship match- can't comment on Pitt fellowship match, but I would assume they do fine as well.
 
Both solid. As cities go, Boston>Pittsburgh, but personal preference is important. Both do well in fellowships. Dr Duker, the chairman at Tufts literally writes the book on retina.
 
paboi101 said:
More last minute machinations! I am very stuck on ranking Pitt vs. Tufts. I really loved both programs, though they felt somewhat different. Any insight would be helpful in terms of fellowship placement, etc.
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I'd give the edge to Pitt, but you can't really go wrong with either.
 
Pitt hands down as a training program but boston is certainly a much better city to live in than Pitt
 
Can anyone give some insight into these programs, please?

NYU vs. U of Chicago

and

Oklahoma vs. Baylor

I am interested in surgical retina, and would prefer to live in NYC over Chicago.

Thanks!!
 
tfn11 said:
Can anyone give some insight into these programs, please?

NYU vs. U of Chicago

and

Oklahoma vs. Baylor

I am interested in surgical retina, and would prefer to live in NYC over Chicago.

Thanks!!
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Both are really great programs so you can't go wrong but my opinion would be Baylor. One thing is to look at where the residents went for surgical retina fellowship the past 5 years. Coming as a resident from Baylor, I felt the training was phenomenal. Even though I only had 2 surgical retinal faculty, the key was the kind of pathology that you see in Houston is unbelievable. Just because we have so many patients uninsured and across the border, and diabetic hispanics retinopathy is the worst. You really see so much end stage stuff and manage really complicated things. My year, we had two people go into surgical retina. One ended up at ARC Beaumont and the other at Iowa. Both of us got interviews at all the top retina programs. I think when you come out of Baylor, the faculty around know us to be hard workers and strong clinicians and surgeons which really helps. Dr. Jones and Dr. Baze and the rest of the faculty has worked hard to maintain a level of excellence among the residents when you graduate that I think is well known and appreciated wherever a baylor resident has gone for fellowship.
 
How about UF-Gainesville, what kind of rank/tier would you put UF in? Any glaring weaknesses?
 
I am not sure why Gainesville doesn't have a better rep. The surgery numbers are awesome, the schedule is great, the faculty and residents seemed happy and nice, it even has good fellowship placement. I know it isn't a strong academic center, is that its only weakness? I really liked this program. Any insight would be great (although we are pushing up against the rank list deadline here!)
 
melonaid said:
I am not sure why Gainesville doesn't have a better rep. The surgery numbers are awesome, the schedule is great, the faculty and residents seemed happy and nice, it even has good fellowship placement. I know it isn't a strong academic center, is that its only weakness? I really liked this program. Any insight would be great (although we are pushing up against the rank list deadline here!)
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I think you've answered your own question here. The reason that it doesn't have a "better rep" is because of the academia bias. Academic reputation tends, rightly or wrongly, to be projected onto residency training - even though I would argue that they are two entirely separate entities. There are plenty of residency training programs that are underrated (Florida included) because the institution isn't considered as "academic". The converse also holds.
 
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