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- Jan 9, 2014
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I am currently an M3 honing in on IM (vs EM) for residency, with the goal of further sub-specializing in GI vs CCM. I'm a Cali native at a reputable Midwest medical school, and would really like to be back near family. However, based on other SDN forums, I'm a bit concerned that outside of the uber competitive places (UCSF, Stanford, UCLA), the rest of the Cali programs are middle-low tier and have relatively limited fellowship options compared to programs in the Midwest (granted, many of these threads are older and times change).
With my app (Step 1: 251, honors in Neuro, letters Psych, only passed IM, 1st author paper, random/nonimportant extracurrics), and my school's match history, I could probably match at a decent place in California, though the top 3 Calis would be a definite reach.
Has anyone else felt like they had to choose between geographics, and residency quality? Did choosing a mid-to-low-tier Cali programs actually affect your fellowship plans and easy access to good research? It seems like most people here see Cali as the ultimate goal despite residency quality, and while being near family/friends again is extremely important to me (I'm tired of the Midwest), setting myself up for fellowship also matters. My main fear is going back to Cali and then having difficulty securing a good fellowship later.
With my app (Step 1: 251, honors in Neuro, letters Psych, only passed IM, 1st author paper, random/nonimportant extracurrics), and my school's match history, I could probably match at a decent place in California, though the top 3 Calis would be a definite reach.
Has anyone else felt like they had to choose between geographics, and residency quality? Did choosing a mid-to-low-tier Cali programs actually affect your fellowship plans and easy access to good research? It seems like most people here see Cali as the ultimate goal despite residency quality, and while being near family/friends again is extremely important to me (I'm tired of the Midwest), setting myself up for fellowship also matters. My main fear is going back to Cali and then having difficulty securing a good fellowship later.