PLAIN AND SIMPLE... RANK THE PROGRAMS BASED ON WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!!!!!

Your own feelings towards a program are worth much more that the random input from a stranger. Asking us to help do the ROL could make your life heck if you follow the spurious advice and rank program A (not your preferred program) #1 and program B (where you really want to go) #2, only to find out you really hate being at program A once you are there. Do not try to play the system as this will not necessarily benefit you in any way.

And, before anyone makes the comment that they are helping by letting the people know how to rank based on program reputation or prestige... my philosophy still holds true. If you are not happy, you are not happy, and will not get the most out of your training! Doesn't matter if the program you matched with is the top of the heap, or just a very good program with high marks in some poll, in beach heaven, or the icy tundra.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE... RANK THE PROGRAMS BASED ON WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!!!!!

Your own feelings towards a program are worth much more that the random input from a stranger. Asking us to help do the ROL could make your life heck if you follow the spurious advice and rank program A (not your preferred program) #1 and program B (where you really want to go) #2, only to find out you really hate being at program A once you are there. Do not try to play the system as this will not necessarily benefit you in any way.

And, before anyone makes the comment that they are helping by letting the people know how to rank based on program reputation or prestige... my philosophy still holds true. If you are not happy, you are not happy, and will not get the most out of your training! Doesn't matter if the program you matched with is the top of the heap, or just a very good program with high marks in some poll, in beach heaven, or the icy tundra.
I agree... plus what's important to you in any program might be very different from what's important to me. If you want help in ranking based solely on prestige, look up the US News and World report. But even that's kind of biased from what I hear. Go where you'll be happiest, since you'll be pretty much married to the program for the next 3 years. Good luck everyone!

oh chill.
we're all adults here, and of course we are all going to pick programs based on where we want to go. but sometimes when we are feeling a little stressed and uncertain it helps to bounce ideas off one another... you don't have to read the posts if they bug you :)

I agree with you for the most part and I pretty much have my rank list set, but some people may pick up on certain things that others may not while interviewing. It's really hard to get the full story of a program based on being there for 5 hours listening to power point presentations. Maybe someone talked to a resident who was really happy or vice versa. It's a tough decision and sometimes every little bit helps. Some people are also the type that really don't care where they end up because they will make the most of it either way, so little tidbits could help arrange a bunch of programs that you are having a hard time differentiating.

It the end, it will all work out though. I think it's a gut feeling thing...

PLAIN AND SIMPLE... RANK THE PROGRAMS BASED ON WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!!!!!

Your own feelings towards a program are worth much more that the random input from a stranger. Asking us to help do the ROL could make your life heck if you follow the spurious advice and rank program A (not your preferred program) #1 and program B (where you really want to go) #2, only to find out you really hate being at program A once you are there. Do not try to play the system as this will not necessarily benefit you in any way.

And, before anyone makes the comment that they are helping by letting the people know how to rank based on program reputation or prestige... my philosophy still holds true. If you are not happy, you are not happy, and will not get the most out of your training! Doesn't matter if the program you matched with is the top of the heap, or just a very good program with high marks in some poll, in beach heaven, or the icy tundra.

Doesn't matter to me either way. I guess I'm just wondering why everyone has to create a NEW post to get advice on their rank list. Why can't it just be one running thread where you list your programs and someone else can quote you and then give their input on that list...

us news top hospitals is not a good source for determining prestigiousness in internal medicine. i don't know (and don't care) exactly what they factor into their algorithm. reputation is one factor. however, a programs rep in medicine is not the same as its rep in surgery or gyn onc or what have you. plus, prestigiousness of the dept does not necessarily mean the program has a good im residency program. prestige is subjective and varies from person to person. obviously it shouldn't be the only factor in your rank list. i agree with the op- rank programs based on where you want to go. however, i think the "help me rank" threads let us all see what other people think of programs/ training/ prestigiousness.

oh yeah, and did i mention that it's just a magazine?

If you want help in ranking based solely on prestige, look up the US News and World report.

oh chill.
we're all adults here, and of course we are all going to pick programs based on where we want to go. but sometimes when we are feeling a little stressed and uncertain it helps to bounce ideas off one another... you don't have to read the posts if they bug you :)

I agree yippy... uncertainty can be stress invoking. I wasn't trying to say otherwise. I had just noted a lot of plain lists, without much input by the poster, asking us to create a ROL for them. I didn't intend for my post to be taken as saying not to discuss your feelings about a particular program, or how you would rank them. I was just saying it's better to make that decision for your self. As Lupus said... what is important to me may not be to you, and the feeling I got from interviewing at a particular place may not be the same as someone elses. I would really like to help... just not getting enough info from the posters to do much. Thanks yippy.

i guess you have a good point -- it is almost impossible to "help" with someone's rank list if it is just a list of 5 programs with no questions or idea of what the person wants in a program... i see what you mean :)