Residency

[gibna]

Do you guys think that a guy with an MD/PhD from a non top 50 school who didn?t rank that well, around average, but had 3 publications, 2 1st author, and presented a couple of times, will be competitive when applying to academic residency programs like radiology or neurosurgery.
I just want to be know realistically what kind of options I will be having in the future and so far I am getting mixed input, so I thought it will be best to ask MD/PhD students this questions since they are in a similar situation I am in now. And from what I am hearing so far, I should forget about the competitive residency programs if I am not at least in the top 25th percentile of my class, but that?s if you?re only getting an MD.

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[Gfunk6]

For Neurosurgery and Radiology I believe your USMLE scores need to be quite high, at least 230+, for academic programs.

 

[gibna]

how about class rank, is that important too?

 

[Neuronix]

What was your research in? My impression is that if it can be applied specifically to rads or neurosurg, it will be a much bigger boost to your application.

 

[gibna]

not really, if anything it is more related to the heart. It's more basic science research then clinical, PCRs, gels, and that kind of stuff, and I didn't even start it yet, it's something I am going to do in the future.
I know this was a stupid question (I was assuming I'll be able to do the same thing this other guy in that same lab did when he got his PhD), I just want to know if getting a PhD will help me when I apply for residency regardless of what my class rank will be. Also assuming I get a 230+ on the boards, lots of assumptions here I know.
And no I am not going to get a PhD just because it will look good on resume, I actually like research, I've been involved in research projects for 3 years now and I love doing it.