Official 2012-2013 Help Me Rank Megathread

[into1]

Hi Everyone. The rest of my rank order list is largely complete, but there are two programs that are driving me crazy. If someone would be so kind to indulge me with some discussion...

Stanford vs. BID (Boston).

Both are relatively cush, academic programs with good names that buffer a light patient workload and fellow-driven culture. I'm probably going to do GI or Pulm/Critical Care with an interest in health policy and global health. No geographic pull, as Cali is warm, but Boston actually has stuff happening after 8pm. Thoughts? Thanks so much in advance!

BID has a sigificantly developed global health program...it is a separate tract I believe. There's also more going on in terms of health policy in Boston than Palo Alto. Just my two cents. Both nice programs. GL

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[obiwan]

Hello! Here is how my current ROL looks. Please let me know how you would change it! I am interested in GI fellowship.

1. WashU
2. Cornell
3. Mayo
4. Case Western
5. Indiana
6. UIC
7. Rush
8. Cleveland Clinic
9. Brown
10. Cedars-Sinai
11. Medical College of Wisconsin
12. Loyola
13. Dartmouth

Another problem I am having is deciding to rank on location vs. reputation. I have lived my whole life in Chicago and would very much like to stay here for residency, not because of a significant other, but mainly because I love the city and all my friends and family are here. Unfortunately the best interviews I got were outside of Chicago. Do I rank based on reputation or should I just put the Chicago programs first if I want to go into GI?

your list looks fine as it is. your chicago programs are not as strong as the ones that you listed at the top which give you the most fellowship potential. however, if you're going to be miserable in st louis or NYC etc vs being in chicago, then rank those programs higher but if it were me, i'd rather train at washu then loyola even if st louis kinda sucks but hey its only 3 years and that time goes by pretty fast

 

[JHK8001]

Can I get some input on the top portion of my list? I have it listed according to preference. I am DO candidate and interested in heme/onc. Thanks.

1.Wake Forest
2.GWU
3.UIC
4.USC
5.MUSC
6.USF
7.UF

 

[newuser2307]

Can someone kindly advice on the ranking order.. I am very confused
the list in no particular order is

!) UT houston
2) UT San Antonio
3) Indiana University
4) Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
5) university of louisville
6) UCONN
7) university of arizona main campus
8) Albert Einstein medical centre, philly

I am an IMG and I am interested in Heme/Onc or Gastro fellowship.

 

[TCR255]

BID has a sigificantly developed global health program...it is a separate tract I believe. There's also more going on in terms of health policy in Boston than Palo Alto. Just my two cents. Both nice programs. GL

Stanford also has a pretty robust global health program (I believe in conjunction with Yale), so I don't think that is a distinguishing feature between programs.

I liked them both as well, but I feel like they are quite different. Stanford definitely seemed cush and seemed like a pretty research-oriented program without the most varied clinical exposure. I didn't get the impression that BID was especially cush (maybe I just didn't pick up on it), but I thought it had more of a primary care vibe. In terms of strength of residents and quality of fellowship opportunities, I thought Stanford had the edge (their Cards match over the past few years looks to me as good as anywhere in the country). Overall my impression is that BID probably has better IM training, but Stanford might set you up a little better for fellowship.

 

[TCR255]

How much do you think a program's strengths affect subspecialty choice and opportunities? Programs like Columbia and Cornell have pretty skewed strengths in Cardiology and Oncology, respectively, and seem to send a disproportionate number of residents into those subspecialties. How much of that do you think is selection bias of applicants prior to residency versus residents being shaped by their experience in residency?

How much are you weighing subspecialty strength in making your ranklist? As someone interested in Heme/Onc, but who liked the IM training at Columbia better than Cornell, I'm still undecided how to rank.

 

[mcgyver]

Certainly appreciate the feedback Jackets5! I got a warm/fuzzy feeling with Stony Brook compared to Monte which seemed kind of rugged. Not sure if that means anything and I should just go with reputation....

should go with monte, much better program IMO.

 

[JCaesar]

Please help rank! Interested in Cardiology, maybe GI. Don't care about location really. Tried compiling this list mostly based on Cards/GI matches with some vibe.

1) Georgetown/Washington Hospital Center
2) Drexel
3) Stony Brook
4) UMDNJ - Newark
5) St. Luke's Roosevelt
6) SUNY Upstate
7) SUNY Downstate

I am having a hard time with the 1-5... St. Luke's Roosevelt seems to have good Cards matches despite being community and I'm considering ranking it higher. Meanwhile Drexel's match list was pretty strong but the traditional scheduling, financial?, ancient feel, ancient EMR are kind of setbacks... And WHC community program first? ahhh. confused.

One thing that I considered was that Georgetown/WHC only pays 50K and the cost of living is very high in DC. At least in NYC, the programs compensate for the high cost of living. But since you don't care so much about location, then this may not be important.

 

[ZenB]

Yes your list is insane. USC does not belong at #1.

UCSD vs NYU cat - choose by location
NYU pc
Brown cat
Brown pc
USC

You need to address what HE/SHE is looking for, not your own biases... Interviewed at Brown, was not impressed with the rigor of their program at all. Given your Cali bent, I would rank them this way.

USCD vs. USC (very different, USCD might have the slight edge)
NYU
Brown

 

[ZenB]

Hmmm I don't know what to think of USC's list. You're right, the 2012 Hem/Onc list is AMAZING. But cardio is pretty mediocre, as expected. Makes me wonder... is the 2012 Hem/Onc list just a fluke?

No, I would argue that is one of their strongest departments. The oncology you see at County is incredible (and often, unfortunately, very late in presentation). They have a pretty active stem cell research center, and some pretty big names over at Norris Cancer Center. I'll grant that Cards was weak, and has traditionally been so. They tend to take a lot of their own, or place regionally at SoCal sites like Kaiser Sunset or Cedars. GI is a mixed bag, with a lot choosing to stay, but several decent matches including Yale and others.

Being a non-California resident, and having lived in California for 4 years, I can tell you that many California residents simply do not find the option of leaving Southern California tenable, and will often choose programs not based on prestige, but because it is in LA/SF/SD/Orange County... I don't quite get it, but to each his own, right?

 

[disorder]

No, I would argue that is one of their strongest departments. The oncology you see at County is incredible (and often, unfortunately, very late in presentation). They have a pretty active stem cell research center, and some pretty big names over at Norris Cancer Center. I'll grant that Cards was weak, and has traditionally been so. They tend to take a lot of their own, or place regionally at SoCal sites like Kaiser Sunset or Cedars. GI is a mixed bag, with a lot choosing to stay, but several decent matches including Yale and others.

Being a non-California resident, and having lived in California for 4 years, I can tell you that many California residents simply do not find the option of leaving Southern California tenable, and will often choose programs not based on prestige, but because it is in LA/SF/SD/Orange County... I don't quite get it, but to each his own, right?

You sound like you have intimate knowledge of USC, are you a student?

 

[magics]

Im a non US IMG (Canadian), in need of some insight about how to rank these 2 programs that are not necessairly similar in any way, besides being academic institutions..

SUNY Upstate vs. UTMB

I am not necessairly interested in a particular fellowship, but would like to keep all options open.

PLEASE please, if anyone can chime in (i think its hard to talk to someone who knows about both bcus they are geographically unrelated..) and help me choose based on reputation, research, and overall opporunities.

Thank you!

 

[ojehan]

Hi This is my ROL as of now. I would like to do GI and possible stay in nyc if I can. Will putting Monte above the rest, really affect my chances of getting a fellowship, when compared to Case

Montefiore (Albert Einstein)
North Shore LIJ
Case Western
U of ROchester
SUNY DOwnstate
UMDNJ
Beth Israel
Loyola
UIC
Cleveland Clinic
Winthrop
Albany Med
SUNY Upstate

 

[swlabr1980]

Hey everyone, Would really appreciate some help with the middle of my list. Thinking about a Cardio or Pulm/CC fellowship.

-UCSF-Fresno
-Loma Linda
-Banner Good Sam
-U of New Mexico

Thanks in advance!

Loma Linda (slightly >) New Mexico >>>>>> UCSF-Fresno > Banner Good Sam

If you want a competitive fellowship, then university programs trump community programs. LL vs. UNM really comes down to geography and personal choice, in my opinion.

 

[swlabr1980]

Im a non US IMG (Canadian), in need of some insight about how to rank these 2 programs that are not necessairly similar in any way, besides being academic institutions..

SUNY Upstate vs. UTMB

I am not necessairly interested in a particular fellowship, but would like to keep all options open.

PLEASE please, if anyone can chime in (i think its hard to talk to someone who knows about both bcus they are geographically unrelated..) and help me choose based on reputation, research, and overall opporunities.

Thank you!

UTMB is better for research. Their quality took a hit after Hurricane Ike, but the program is rebuilding well and it will have a new hospital in a few years. Otherwise, the two programs are pretty similar. It really comes down to preferring to live in a crappy city on the Gulf or a crappy city in Upstate New York.

 

[SillyGiraffe]

Still trying to figure out my number one. I liked all three programs but im thinking its mainly because they seemed to have similar types of residents. My major question is which will be best for training. Right now have I have UVA at the top and here are my thoughts on each

UVA: Friendly residents, funny and great to talk to. Very cool area, plenty of stuff to do outdoors. However, I am worried about the actual experience at UVA. I got the feeling that they learn tons and do lots of teaching, but may not have as much autonomy and get as many procedures as other places. The hospital seemed very crowded with other residents. It has a great fellowship match, but I still want to feel really confident about my procedure knowledge and ability to take care of patients.

Vandy: Obviously great program that opens lots of doors. Very impressive morning report and was impressed by all the residents on rounds. Residents may not have as much fun as the other places? It also seemed very fellowship driven and I am not sure if the fellows take over the teams.

UNC: I felt like this program offered the most autonomy and allowed their residents the most freedom on the wards. I didnt do a second look here, but a friend who did really enjoyed it and backed up my feelings. Am worried about not as much elective time and if the area would be as fun for a single person.

Any other thoughts would be great. I am looking to be a well trained general internist with the opportunity to do a fellowship.

I interviewed at UNC and Vandy. I also saw the autonomy at UNC, but I think I was put off by the herd-like environment at interview day. The program felt a little impersonal and I think I wanted a program with a more supportive environment. Where did you get the sense that Vandy was fellows driven? I was told that residents run the show, but maybe I was misled.

 

[Pinworm]

Last minute help! I have my top 5 and bottom 5 organized -- just need help with the middle. Here is how it currently looks:

1. Cornell
2. Yale
3. UCSD
4. Mt Sinai
5. Mayo

What do you think? My main issue is where to put UCSD. I don't care about location. Looking to match cards eventually.

 

[HiFiver]

Last minute help! I have my top 5 and bottom 5 organized -- just need help with the middle. Here is how it currently looks:

1. Cornell
2. Yale
3. UCSD
4. Mt Sinai
5. Mayo

What do you think? My main issue is where to put UCSD. I don't care about location. Looking to match cards eventually.

they are pretty equivalent; i know you don't care about location, but i think you can safely rank these based on location and other factors like resident happiness, etc. that you observed on interview day (i.e. "gut feeling")

 

[Delfranko3]

Ohio State vs. Brown? Interested in cards.

 

[magics]

Thank You very much swlabr1980 for your response.

 

[newuser2307]

Can someone kindly advice on the ranking order.. I am very confused
the list in no particular order is

!) UT houston
2) UT San Antonio
3) Indiana University
4) Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
5) university of louisville
6) UCONN
7) university of arizona main campus
8) Albert Einstein medical centre, philly

I am an IMG and I am interested in Heme/Onc or Gastro fellowship.

 

[gutonc]

Can someone kindly advice on the ranking order.. I am very confused
the list in no particular order is

If you can't be bothered to rank your own programs, why should anyone else?

 

[ojehan]

Is there anyone in specific who comments on a rank list or is it open to anyone on the forum? Just wondering -___-

 

[DrSnips]

Is there anyone in specific who comments on a rank list or is it open to anyone on the forum? Just wondering -___-

Post your list and one of our certified rank list technicians will be with you shortly.

 

[Spyair]

Please help rank! Interested in Cardiology, maybe GI. Don't care about location really. Tried compiling this list mostly based on Cards/GI matches with some vibe.

1) Georgetown/Washington Hospital Center
2) Drexel
3) Stony Brook
4) UMDNJ - Newark
5) St. Luke's Roosevelt
6) SUNY Upstate
7) SUNY Downstate

I am having a hard time with the 1-5... St. Luke's Roosevelt seems to have good Cards matches despite being community and I'm considering ranking it higher. Meanwhile Drexel's match list was pretty strong but the traditional scheduling, financial?, ancient feel, ancient EMR are kind of setbacks... And WHC community program first? ahhh. confused.

BUMP! Was I correct in my interpretation for strength of these programs in terms of matching in to Cardiology & GI?

 

[kl323]

Hey guys,

How does UMDNJ Newark and Stony Brook stack up?

Thanks!!!

 

[wickedskillz]

Any thoughts on UMDNJ-Newark vs Henry Ford? Interested in Critical Care down the road. I like the big ICU and big ICU names (Emmanuel Rivers) at Henry Ford, but like that UMDNJ is a University and that it's close to NY. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[wickedskillz]

Also, if someone knows anything about UTSW-Austin vs Methodist Dallas, a head-to-head comparison would be appreciated. Thank you much.

 

[PayalChats]

Thanks swalabr for your response! Helped me make my decision, much appreciated!

 

[Spyair]

Hey guys,

How does UMDNJ Newark and Stony Brook stack up?

Thanks!!!

Can't comment on reputation of these programs and I'm a MS4 so take my advice with a grain of salt. I did second look/AI's at these programs and they're both very similar. Both have young charismatic PD's who are very invested in their programs and listen to residents. Residents are pretty happy at both programs, SBrook a little more, and theres lots of teaching at both programs. Fellowship wise they seem to do similar maybe slight edge to UMDNJ. Main difference is location, Newark vs Long Island. You will be busy at UH in Newark, SBrook seems more cush, but Hackensack is nice too.

 

[thierryhenry]

Stony Brook and UMDNJ I'd say are pretty similiar. Location is a huge factor though between those places.

I thought the SB PD was one of the best on the whole trail

 

[crescendo]

What about North Shore - LIJ vs. UMass?

 

[avnode]

Hey guys, I know it's late, but I am still trying deciding whether to rank Harbor-UCLA higher than USC.
I am interested in Hem/Onc or GI fellowship.

What I have gathered from the forum is that Harbor-UCLA has got a good reputation, but USC program seems to have improved tremendously under the new PD. I had pretty much similar interview experiences at both the places.
The only thing that bothers me about Harbor-UCLA is that it is technically not a university program.
Would really appreciate your help.

 

[LilBag]

Hey guys, I know it's late, but I am still trying deciding whether to rank Harbor-UCLA higher than USC.
I am interested in Hem/Onc or GI fellowship.

What I have gathered from the forum is that Harbor-UCLA has got a good reputation, but USC program seems to have improved tremendously under the new PD. I had pretty much similar interview experiences at both the places.
The only thing that bothers me about Harbor-UCLA is that it is technically not a university program.
Would really appreciate your help.

Sigh...same, don't know where to rank USC vs Dartmouth and U Maryland. Awesome location and good hem/onc placement (better than U Maryland actually), but such bad reputation for IM lol.

 

[undecide]

Need help deciding between the two below. Location + Fellowship (pulm ccm) equally important.

SLU vs Baystate (Tufts)

 

[ligase27]

Looking for some last minute thoughts before rank lists go out. Interested in heme/onc or ID

1. U of Chicago
2. UCLA
3. Michigan
4. WashU
5. Miami
6. Wisconsin
7. UIC
8. Rush
9. San Diego

Like the sun, realistically how high can jackson memorial go on this list? Thanks

 

[penguin4787]

Last minute...Jeff vs BU?? interested in cards later...

 

[bubblez128]

Also very very last minute - any thoughts on Tufts v Georgetown??

 

[obiwan]

Also, if someone knows anything about UTSW-Austin vs Methodist Dallas, a head-to-head comparison would be appreciated. Thank you much.

i think this was just posted a couple of days ago.... anyways both are community programs (not considered strong community programs) with the austin program being able to say that it has the UTSW name to it. both are primarily DO/IMG heavy programs. both patient populations are somewhat similar as brackenridge in austin is the safety net hospital and methodist is located in south dallas and sees a lot of the same patients that are seen at parkland. if your aim as an example is to go to a cardiology fellowship at duke, then neither of these places will get you there.

 

[obiwan]

Looking for some last minute thoughts before rank lists go out. Interested in heme/onc or ID

1. U of Chicago
2. UCLA
3. Michigan
4. WashU
5. Miami
6. Wisconsin
7. UIC
8. Rush
9. San Diego

Like the sun, realistically how high can jackson memorial go on this list? Thanks

i wouldn't put jackson too highly on your list, probably 7/8ish as from what i've heard just not as a well run hospital/internal medicine department as a whole. if i were ranking, i'd put michigan, ucla, washu, chicago, UCSD, wisconsin, uic/rush, miami.

 

[ojehan]

Hi This is my ROL as of now. I would like to do GI and possible stay in nyc if I can. Will putting Monte above the rest, really affect my chances of getting a fellowship, when compared to Case

1. Montefiore (Albert Einstein)
2. North Shore LIJ
3. Case Western
4. U of ROchester
5. SUNY DOwnstate
6. UMDNJ
7. Beth Israel
8. Loyola
9. UIC
10. Cleveland Clinic
11. Winthrop
12. Albany Med
13. SUNY Upstate

 

[Y3M]

any thoughts about this place? I want to do Hem/Onc but it seems like they dont place too many Hem/Onc people. Thoughts on this program?

 

[Zuckman]

BUMP! Was I correct in my interpretation for strength of these programs in terms of matching in to Cardiology & GI?

All I know is that both St.Luke's-Roosevelt and WHC have great Cardio matches. Neither has a great GI match.

 

[pullandbear]

USC vs Cedars for Heme/Onc?

I'm interested in doing fellowship back at my medical school area (mid tier fellowship program in Florida...not Moffit). USC clearly sends residents to great heme/onc fellowships but it seems the residents have less time for research since they are so busy clinically. Cedars has less of a focus on heme/onc but residents have wayy more time for research and are extremely happy. Plus it seems the Cedars residents are all one big happy family and hang out together, I like that.

In the end, if I am not trying to get into MD Anderson, etc.... which should I pick?

 

[Fallout7]

Need help ranking these programs, interested in cards (in my order):
-Drexel
-UT Houston
-UT San Antonio
-Kansas
-New Mexico

Thanks.

 

[ZenB]

i wouldn't put jackson too highly on your list, probably 7/8ish as from what i've heard just not as a well run hospital/internal medicine department as a whole. if i were ranking, i'd put michigan, ucla, washu, chicago, UCSD, wisconsin, uic/rush, miami.

This is how I would rank it as well. Maybe I would switch WashU with Chicago if location is a really important factor.

 

[wickedskillz]

Thank you sir. I'm a US-IMG, I guess my aim is to match at a program where I can move up for fellowship. I appreciate the input!

 

[wickedskillz]

However I would appreciate input for Henry Ford vs umdnj- newark, interested in pulm/crit. I keep trading their positions on my list lol.

 

[kreist]

Hey, looking for any quick feedback, interested in cards/academics and being competitive for fellowships that are competitive, any major poor choices here?

1. Chicago
2. Northwestern
3. MGH
4. Wash U
5. Michigan
6. Stanford
7. UW

 

[icaruswalks]

My list is in. Just want to say thanks to gutonc and everybody else for the good advice and tips this season. Hopefully everything will go smoothly...