Competitiveness of Chicago Programs?

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SoulinNeed

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I'm a med student who's really interested in EM, but I really want to wind up in Chicago for residency. I just wanted to ask, how competitive are Chicago programs? I essentially count 6 (including Advocate in Oak Lawn). I thought there would be a good mix, but Advocate's EM program (which I'm not sure is well known) seems to have residents that are all top 10% USMLE (at least that's what their profile says on their website). Is this typical for all the programs there? Are they all hyper competitive? Thanks for any help.

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You're absolutely correct. I did mean Advocate. Sorry about that. Let me edit the OP to be more accurate. Still wondering, though.
 
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There was a recent thread about those listed "percentiles" on here and the consensus was that someone in the program mistook the old two digit score for a percentile. So basically everyone with a 240+ (or whatever the 99 cutoff used to be set at) was listed as "Top 1 percentile USMLE" and so on. This confusion has always existed with the two digit scores and that's why they were finally retired.

Basically, ignore that part of the info page.
 
There was a recent thread about those listed "percentiles" on here and the consensus was that someone in the program mistook the old two digit score for a percentile. So basically everyone with a 240+ (or whatever the 99 cutoff used to be set at) was listed as "Top 1 percentile USMLE" and so on. This confusion has always existed with the two digit scores and that's why they were finally retired.

Basically, ignore that part of the info page.
I'm not really sure what you mean (not familiar with the system, honestly), but how long ago was this done away with? The reason why I ask is because these are for the class of 2017, and they still have "Awards: Top 3% USMLE", etc.
 
I have no doubt that those USMLE percentiles are close to accurate. Advocate is very competitive, as is Cook County, UofC, and Northwestern. I believe that Resurrection and UIC are a bit less competitive, but if you're in that middle tier of applicants, you have a reasonable chance of getting in.
 
I'm not really sure what you mean (not familiar with the system, honestly), but how long ago was this done away with? The reason why I ask is because these are for the class of 2017, and they still have "Awards: Top 3% USMLE", etc.

I just looked at my score report and it said that the two digit score was not reported anymore as of april 1, 2013. My score report is from mid-april 2014 and I can say with confidence that it has no two-digit score.

Also: here's the thread about these scores. The consensus, which appears to be confirmed by posters who are current residents there, is that its a misinterpretation of the two digit score.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...hrist-is-in-the-top-1-of-usmle-scores.892303/
 
That thread is outdated, most are around the top 10% for the class of 2017 which is not unlikely considering how competitive the program is. If you don't have at least a 240 on step 1 or a 250 on step 2, I probably wouldn't even bother applying unless you lived in the surrounding area.
 
That thread is outdated, most are around the top 10% for the class of 2017 which is not unlikely considering how competitive the program is. If you don't have at least a 240 on step 1 or a 250 on step 2, I probably wouldn't even bother applying unless you lived in the surrounding area.

The percentiles listed are top 3, 5, 5, 12, 2, 11, 1, 3, 2, 9, (unlisted), and 9.

The exact percentile-score correlation isn't public data (one reason why I doubt these are real percentiles) and it's not normally distributed but according to this chart http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/pdf/usmle1-12b.pdf 261+ puts you in roughly the top 4%.

Some back-of-the-napkin math puts the program average at high 250s. It's certainly possible, but i still think it's more likely that some non-medical person in the program office saw a bunch of 90-99s written on the score reports and misinterpreted them.

You may be right. I mean, there are a fair few AOA students listed there... It feels dumb to spend so much time investigating this but now I am legitimately curious.
 
The percentiles listed are top 3, 5, 5, 12, 2, 11, 1, 3, 2, 9, (unlisted), and 9.

The exact percentile-score correlation isn't public data (one reason why I doubt these are real percentiles) and it's not normally distributed but according to this chart http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/pdf/usmle1-12b.pdf 261+ puts you in roughly the top 4%.

Some back-of-the-napkin math puts the program average at high 250s. It's certainly possible, but i still think it's more likely that some non-medical person in the program office saw a bunch of 90-99s written on the score reports and misinterpreted them.

You may be right. I mean, there are a fair few AOA students listed there... It feels dumb to spend so much time investigating this but now I am legitimately curious.

I wouldn't doubt it. Seems like it's a competitive program. My program routinely has a large proportion of residents that got 250+, 260+, and a few with 270+ on Step 1 and/or Step 2, so it's certainly not unreasonable.
 
resident at another Chicago program here-

Not sure if those percentages are real but I think it's possible. OP is right that Christ may not be as "well known" as the academic Chicago programs but their residents are very well respected in the city and the program is getting very competitive. I know a few of their residents from away rotations and local conferences and they seem like a really bright bunch. Crazy busy ER (I hear its a total dump though), tons of trauma, and their training is supposed to be awesome.

Luckily for OP, there are a bunch of programs in Chicago and they are all very different in style and patient population. If you like the region, I'd suggest applying to all of them (I did) and keeping an open mind to the right fit, instead of the name of the program. You can't really go wrong with any of the programs.

Good luck
 
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Thanks for all of the advice. It's not about liking the region for me. I'm from Chicago. I currently attend an out of state med school, but I'm desperate to go back for residency. I currently attend a top ranked (top 5) med school (not sure how much that'll help), but unfortunately, I don't think I can score near a 250 (based off my practice exams). I'm hoping for a 230 at this point. According to the 2011 data, EM's average is 223, but I know it's much more competitive now. It's just that when I saw those numbers for advocate, they freaked me out. I'm just wondering if an average EM candidate has a shot in Chicago.
 
As of last year, according the the PDs at Cook and Northwestern, you want to shoot for a 230+ to have a good shot at matching in Chicago. Interview screens usually range from 210-230 however.

I wouldn't worry too much about Advocate, if their scores are as high as they seem (certainly possible), they're well above the average for most EM programs and not representative of Chicago as a whole.
 
As of last year, according the the PDs at Cook and Northwestern, you want to shoot for a 230+ to have a good shot at matching in Chicago. Interview screens usually range from 210-230 however.

I wouldn't worry too much about Advocate, if their scores are as high as they seem (certainly possible), they're well above the average for most EM programs and not representative of Chicago as a whole.
Thanks for the reply. That's really helpful and appreciated.
 
If you want to do EM and be in chicago you should apply to all the programs and do an away and do an amazing job (come in early stay late, go out with residents and don't be overly annoying).

Obsessing over what number you need is not very helpful, as you should try and get best numbers you can.

Christ takes very competitive applicants their step scores are high which means they can be choosy about who gets in and who doesn't. Doesn't mean if you don't rotate there and everyone loves you, you won't have a shot.

I kow it's hard not to obsess about the numbers, but I would focus as much time on fixing the things I can change than worrying about the ones I can't.
 
That thread is outdated, most are around the top 10% for the class of 2017 which is not unlikely considering how competitive the program is. If you don't have at least a 240 on step 1 or a 250 on step 2, I probably wouldn't even bother applying unless you lived in the surrounding area.
I can tell you from personal experience this is not correct at all.
 
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I did a rotation at Christ. I don't know what their step scores were, but those residents were freaking beasts. Put every single other group of EM residents I've interacted with to shame. Ridiculously high acuity ED.
 
I did a rotation at Christ. I don't know what their step scores were, but those residents were freaking beasts. Put every single other group of EM residents I've interacted with to shame. Ridiculously high acuity ED.

What did they do that impressed you so much?
 
Bumping this. Thoughts on UIC and Resurrection in terms of competitiveness. Competitiveness is all relative, but which one is the more competitive program in terms of numbers?
 
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All about sloes in general, especially for those places imo.
 
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