- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,014
- Reaction score
- 768
Posted anonymously via Google Form.
Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: HP/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: PhD, older applicant with unique hobbies discussed at almost every interview
Main considerations in making this ROL: spouse's preference, fit, fellowship opportunities, research opportunities, location
1) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
Pros- This was the dream program all along, was so beyond excited to get an interview. Spouse and I love the bay area. Really love the social mission of this place and strong social EM and public health opportunities here. PD & APD were my favorite duo of the season, immediately felt at ease around them. Also was my favorite applicant cohort of the interview season. I'm not an extrovert so interview dinners are always a little tough for me but I had a great time at the social and was impressed with how many residents showed up. Would like to end up in CA after finishing training and got the sense that Highland grads can go anywhere. Badass training without any sense of malignancy. All 8h shifts, 1mo vacation per year (2mo intern year!), free food in hospital, GI rounds TID.
Cons- Admittedly much of the interview presentation was largely the PD just showing pictures of former classes and telling where each person is now. No moonlighting until 4th year. Bay area is $$$$. 4 years. Hospital is less well known outside of EM.
2) MA- Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Pros- Was super excited about this interview. Harvard name comes with abundant research and academic opportunities. Really really connected with the mission to create badass doctors who want to save the world. Feel like this place could really jumpstart an academic career. Train at some of the best hospitals in the world. My parents would love bragging that their kid is at Harvard lol.
Cons- The PD didn't really talk about the program much during his presentation, maybe sitting on their laurels a bit. Residents also seemed really tired and stressed at the interview social. Work a mix of 8-12h shifts. Residents clearly seem to prefer MGH > Brigham. Boston is $$$ and also cold. 4 years.
3) IL- University of Chicago
Pros- Proximity to family, spouse and I both like Chicago. Chicago is much cheaper than the bay area or Boston. 3 years. 8h shifts, supposedly leave on time. 3 day weekends 2x/month while in ED.
Cons- Freezing cold winters! No fellowships in my area of interest so would definitely move in 3 years, and the idea of staying in the same location for residency & fellowship is appealing bc moving sucks.
4) CA- UC San Diego
Pros- Proximity to family. Location +++. Weather is incredible, access to the beach, traffic is much better than LA or San Francisco. Seems like a nice easy life in this city. UCSD residents and faculty were the happiest I met on the interview trail. Not sure if it's bc of San Diego or UCSD but regardless, they seem happy.
Cons- Rotate at a ton of hospitals. San Diego is expensive. 4 years. Potentially weird trauma setup.
5) CA- Loma Linda
Pros- Proximity to family. Close to LA, nice weather. 3 year program. Excellent peds training. Residents all seem happy. Loma Linda is cheap, day to day life seems good. Research opportunities in my area of interest.
Cons- The "inland empire" is kind of in the middle of nowhere...1-3 hours from LA depending on traffic. Maybe less prestigious than other CA programs? Could potentially affect fellowship or job opportunities in the bigger CA cities?
6) CA- UC Davis (Sacramento)
Pros- 3 years. Sacramento is relatively cheap for CA, seems like a very livable city. Close to wine country and the mountains. Nice weather.
Cons- Didn't like their interview format with SVI-type questions. Sacramento doesn't have the same job opportunities for spouse as some of the other cities I interviewed at.
7) IL- McGaw of Northwestern University (Chicago)
Pros- Really impressed with their interview day; left the interview day with this program initially at #1. Proximity to family, Chicago COL. Lots and lots of research opportunities. Would be very well prepared for a career in academics. Enjoyed all the residents and faculty I met with.
Cons- Really liked the old PD, didn't quite click as well with the new incoming PD. In the end my spouse and I decided if we move to Chicago we'd just prefer a shorter residency so UChicago ended up higher than Northwestern.
8) MO- Washington University-B-JH/SLCH Consortium (St. Louis)
Pros- Really really loved this program, was a bit sad to rank it this low. St. Louis is cheap with easy day to day living. Residents and faculty all super nice. PD and APDs are all very laid back. Excellent interview lunch and enjoyed the post-interview happy hour a lot too. Excellent trauma training, really an underrated program. Curriculum seems well thought out with no inpatient months.
Cons- Not as many research opportunities as other programs I looked at and would have to move for fellowship. Mix of 8-12h shifts. In the end just couldn't justify 4 years in St. Louis even though I'm sure I'd be very well trained here.
9) IN- Indiana University School of Medicine
Pros- 3 years. Residents and faculty were the nicest I met on the trail. They just seemed really happy. All 8h shifts. Indianapolis is ridiculously cheap, could live very well on a resident salary here.
Cons- Less research opportunities. Cold weather. Less employment opportunities for spouse, I think we're generally hoping for a larger city.
10) TN- Vanderbilt
Pros- 3 years. Residents seemed really happy. Nashville has pretty good cost of living. Excellent reputation in EM.
Cons- Didn't drink the Slovis kool-aid to begin with, and now that he's stepping down even less so. Far from family. TN is probably a little too southern for our taste.
11) CO- Denver Health
Pros- Really liked this program and especially connected with the PD. All the residents seemed cool. Denver seems fun. Excellent reputation and feel like Denver grads can go anywhere. Cool fellowship opportunities.
Cons- It's been said before, but I got spooked by their schedule. No shift reduction over 4 years seems rough. Never done circadian scheduling so it's hard to judge exactly how it would feel but rarely having 2 days off in a row seems rough. No family in CO so with the possible concern of residents being overworked my spouse and I just put this one towards the bottom.
12) MD- Johns Hopkins
Pros- Lots of research opportunities, cool 4th year opportunities, excellent academic preparation. Close to DC.
Cons- 4 years. Don't love Baltimore. The interview day was crazy long.
Anything else to add?
At the end of the day I would be happy to match at any program I ranked. Had a difficult time making the match list and spouse and I went back and forth over it quite a bit. In the end went with my gut feelings- #1 and #2 were the programs I was most excited about, and then from there it was a mix of proximity to family, job opportunities for spouse, 3>4 years, and location.
Also couldn't find Penn on the list of programs so I'll add it here. Ranked them 12th and Hopkins 13th.
Penn-
Pros- Love Philly. Close to NYC. Pretty affordable city with lots to do. HUP and CHOP are both excellent hospitals. Lots of research and academic opportunities.
Cons- 4 years. Didn't like the program coordinator, she was rude to several of the applicants throughout our interview day. Interview day also felt pretty chaotic. Just overall left the day feeling that I like Philly a lot more than Penn.
Programs that rejected you:
Lots, but LA County, both UCLA programs, and Cook County stung the most.
Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.
Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: HP/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: PhD, older applicant with unique hobbies discussed at almost every interview
Main considerations in making this ROL: spouse's preference, fit, fellowship opportunities, research opportunities, location
1) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
Pros- This was the dream program all along, was so beyond excited to get an interview. Spouse and I love the bay area. Really love the social mission of this place and strong social EM and public health opportunities here. PD & APD were my favorite duo of the season, immediately felt at ease around them. Also was my favorite applicant cohort of the interview season. I'm not an extrovert so interview dinners are always a little tough for me but I had a great time at the social and was impressed with how many residents showed up. Would like to end up in CA after finishing training and got the sense that Highland grads can go anywhere. Badass training without any sense of malignancy. All 8h shifts, 1mo vacation per year (2mo intern year!), free food in hospital, GI rounds TID.
Cons- Admittedly much of the interview presentation was largely the PD just showing pictures of former classes and telling where each person is now. No moonlighting until 4th year. Bay area is $$$$. 4 years. Hospital is less well known outside of EM.
2) MA- Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Pros- Was super excited about this interview. Harvard name comes with abundant research and academic opportunities. Really really connected with the mission to create badass doctors who want to save the world. Feel like this place could really jumpstart an academic career. Train at some of the best hospitals in the world. My parents would love bragging that their kid is at Harvard lol.
Cons- The PD didn't really talk about the program much during his presentation, maybe sitting on their laurels a bit. Residents also seemed really tired and stressed at the interview social. Work a mix of 8-12h shifts. Residents clearly seem to prefer MGH > Brigham. Boston is $$$ and also cold. 4 years.
3) IL- University of Chicago
Pros- Proximity to family, spouse and I both like Chicago. Chicago is much cheaper than the bay area or Boston. 3 years. 8h shifts, supposedly leave on time. 3 day weekends 2x/month while in ED.
Cons- Freezing cold winters! No fellowships in my area of interest so would definitely move in 3 years, and the idea of staying in the same location for residency & fellowship is appealing bc moving sucks.
4) CA- UC San Diego
Pros- Proximity to family. Location +++. Weather is incredible, access to the beach, traffic is much better than LA or San Francisco. Seems like a nice easy life in this city. UCSD residents and faculty were the happiest I met on the interview trail. Not sure if it's bc of San Diego or UCSD but regardless, they seem happy.
Cons- Rotate at a ton of hospitals. San Diego is expensive. 4 years. Potentially weird trauma setup.
5) CA- Loma Linda
Pros- Proximity to family. Close to LA, nice weather. 3 year program. Excellent peds training. Residents all seem happy. Loma Linda is cheap, day to day life seems good. Research opportunities in my area of interest.
Cons- The "inland empire" is kind of in the middle of nowhere...1-3 hours from LA depending on traffic. Maybe less prestigious than other CA programs? Could potentially affect fellowship or job opportunities in the bigger CA cities?
6) CA- UC Davis (Sacramento)
Pros- 3 years. Sacramento is relatively cheap for CA, seems like a very livable city. Close to wine country and the mountains. Nice weather.
Cons- Didn't like their interview format with SVI-type questions. Sacramento doesn't have the same job opportunities for spouse as some of the other cities I interviewed at.
7) IL- McGaw of Northwestern University (Chicago)
Pros- Really impressed with their interview day; left the interview day with this program initially at #1. Proximity to family, Chicago COL. Lots and lots of research opportunities. Would be very well prepared for a career in academics. Enjoyed all the residents and faculty I met with.
Cons- Really liked the old PD, didn't quite click as well with the new incoming PD. In the end my spouse and I decided if we move to Chicago we'd just prefer a shorter residency so UChicago ended up higher than Northwestern.
8) MO- Washington University-B-JH/SLCH Consortium (St. Louis)
Pros- Really really loved this program, was a bit sad to rank it this low. St. Louis is cheap with easy day to day living. Residents and faculty all super nice. PD and APDs are all very laid back. Excellent interview lunch and enjoyed the post-interview happy hour a lot too. Excellent trauma training, really an underrated program. Curriculum seems well thought out with no inpatient months.
Cons- Not as many research opportunities as other programs I looked at and would have to move for fellowship. Mix of 8-12h shifts. In the end just couldn't justify 4 years in St. Louis even though I'm sure I'd be very well trained here.
9) IN- Indiana University School of Medicine
Pros- 3 years. Residents and faculty were the nicest I met on the trail. They just seemed really happy. All 8h shifts. Indianapolis is ridiculously cheap, could live very well on a resident salary here.
Cons- Less research opportunities. Cold weather. Less employment opportunities for spouse, I think we're generally hoping for a larger city.
10) TN- Vanderbilt
Pros- 3 years. Residents seemed really happy. Nashville has pretty good cost of living. Excellent reputation in EM.
Cons- Didn't drink the Slovis kool-aid to begin with, and now that he's stepping down even less so. Far from family. TN is probably a little too southern for our taste.
11) CO- Denver Health
Pros- Really liked this program and especially connected with the PD. All the residents seemed cool. Denver seems fun. Excellent reputation and feel like Denver grads can go anywhere. Cool fellowship opportunities.
Cons- It's been said before, but I got spooked by their schedule. No shift reduction over 4 years seems rough. Never done circadian scheduling so it's hard to judge exactly how it would feel but rarely having 2 days off in a row seems rough. No family in CO so with the possible concern of residents being overworked my spouse and I just put this one towards the bottom.
12) MD- Johns Hopkins
Pros- Lots of research opportunities, cool 4th year opportunities, excellent academic preparation. Close to DC.
Cons- 4 years. Don't love Baltimore. The interview day was crazy long.
Anything else to add?
At the end of the day I would be happy to match at any program I ranked. Had a difficult time making the match list and spouse and I went back and forth over it quite a bit. In the end went with my gut feelings- #1 and #2 were the programs I was most excited about, and then from there it was a mix of proximity to family, job opportunities for spouse, 3>4 years, and location.
Also couldn't find Penn on the list of programs so I'll add it here. Ranked them 12th and Hopkins 13th.
Penn-
Pros- Love Philly. Close to NYC. Pretty affordable city with lots to do. HUP and CHOP are both excellent hospitals. Lots of research and academic opportunities.
Cons- 4 years. Didn't like the program coordinator, she was rude to several of the applicants throughout our interview day. Interview day also felt pretty chaotic. Just overall left the day feeling that I like Philly a lot more than Penn.
Programs that rejected you:
Lots, but LA County, both UCLA programs, and Cook County stung the most.
Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.