Hello all,
I recently dual applied to rad onc and radiology, and went completely unmatched. I was not able to SOAP into a prelim or TY as well, despite a strong application (great board scores, GPA, LOR's, lots of research). I know rad onc is competitive as a DO, but with regards to not matching Radiology, I went on 9 interviews (at mostly mid tiered community programs) which is usually indicative of ~90% match rate. I believe I didn't match because of the following: it was a ridiculously competitive year for Radiology, my Rad Onc heavy application (with lots of rad onc research, manuscripts), interviewing at mid/lower tier radiology programs that may have got the impression that they were my "back up" to rad onc, and interviewing at only 6 prelims. At this point, an intern year position is unlikely, however I will take one if the opportunity presents itself.
My question for you: given that I will be graduating in May, and would like to reapply for only Radiology programs in September, what research year option would programs look at more favorably (and also increase my chances for landing good interviews/matching):
1. Completing a formal, paid or unpaid,radiology research fellowship at a large, "big name”, academic institution?
or
2. Completing multiple externships/observerships, akin to "away rotations", at places where I have a good shot at matching? ( I would plan on networking/getting involved with smaller research projects at some of these places as well)
It is my plan to try and obtain #1, however, if I cannot land a formal position, #2 is my backup plan. If you could please give me any thoughts or guidance on these plans, and also how I can go about obtaining #1, I would appreciate it!
I recently dual applied to rad onc and radiology, and went completely unmatched. I was not able to SOAP into a prelim or TY as well, despite a strong application (great board scores, GPA, LOR's, lots of research). I know rad onc is competitive as a DO, but with regards to not matching Radiology, I went on 9 interviews (at mostly mid tiered community programs) which is usually indicative of ~90% match rate. I believe I didn't match because of the following: it was a ridiculously competitive year for Radiology, my Rad Onc heavy application (with lots of rad onc research, manuscripts), interviewing at mid/lower tier radiology programs that may have got the impression that they were my "back up" to rad onc, and interviewing at only 6 prelims. At this point, an intern year position is unlikely, however I will take one if the opportunity presents itself.
My question for you: given that I will be graduating in May, and would like to reapply for only Radiology programs in September, what research year option would programs look at more favorably (and also increase my chances for landing good interviews/matching):
1. Completing a formal, paid or unpaid,radiology research fellowship at a large, "big name”, academic institution?
or
2. Completing multiple externships/observerships, akin to "away rotations", at places where I have a good shot at matching? ( I would plan on networking/getting involved with smaller research projects at some of these places as well)
It is my plan to try and obtain #1, however, if I cannot land a formal position, #2 is my backup plan. If you could please give me any thoughts or guidance on these plans, and also how I can go about obtaining #1, I would appreciate it!
