Is research productivity or med school reputation more important for PSTP match?

[microbezzzz]

Hi all,

As decision day approaches rapidly I am faced with a challenging predicament.

I’ve narrowed down my options to two programs with somewhat opposite strengths.

Program A has an incredible match list (PSTP and not) and considerably more name recognition/prestige but it a sub optimal research fit. I’ve identified one faculty member in my field with whom I would love to work. He does cutting edge work and has a strong track record of mentoring MSTP students. The issue is that he is really the only person in my field who I am interested in working with, which feels a bit risky? There are a few other investigators who’s research is of interest to me in other (related) fields if needed, but that would not be ideal.

Program B is considerably less well known as a medical school and MD/PhD program, but has a much larger number of faculty I am excited about working with. These individuals are well known in their field and do high-impact work (n = 5). The issue with this program is that the match list is quite variable from year to year and I’m not sure why that is.

At this time, I see myself as becoming a PI, so I think I want to prioritize research. However, I know how important a top residency is for obtaining a faculty position, so I’m not sure if I should prioritize the program that will give me the greatest number of research mentors to choose from, or the one with the lowest (apparent) floor in terms of match.

Would love to hear your input!
Thanks in advance.

For what it’s worth, I think I’d do Internal Medicine PSTP

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[wholeheartedly]

Hi all,

As decision day approaches rapidly I am faced with a challenging predicament.

I’ve narrowed down my options to two programs with somewhat opposite strengths.

Program A has an incredible match list (PSTP and not) and considerably more name recognition/prestige but it a sub optimal research fit. I’ve identified one faculty member in my field with whom I would love to work. He does cutting edge work and has a strong track record of mentoring MSTP students. The issue is that he is really the only person in my field who I am interested in working with, which feels a bit risky? There are a few other investigators who’s research is of interest to me in other (related) fields if needed, but that would not be ideal.

Program B is considerably less well known as a medical school and MD/PhD program, but has a much larger number of faculty I am excited about working with. These individuals are well known in their field and do high-impact work (n = 5). The issue with this program is that the match list is quite variable from year to year and I’m not sure why that is.

At this time, I see myself as becoming a PI, so I think I want to prioritize research. However, I know how important a top residency is for obtaining a faculty position, so I’m not sure if I should prioritize the program that will give me the greatest number of research mentors to choose from, or the one with the lowest (apparent) floor in terms of match.

Would love to hear your input!
Thanks in advance.

For what it’s worth, I think I’d do Internal Medicine PSTP

Match lists are notoriously hard to draw any conclusions from, other than someone else did it, so it’s possible. But you don’t know where people wanted to go and you don’t know what they ranked or where they fell on their rank list.

 

[tr]

I would think research productivity would weight more highly for PSTP than med school reputation; unfortunately research productivity in PhD is going to depend on a lot of factors that are unforeseeable at this time and ultimately out of your hands to a large degree. You cannot predict with any certainty at this time whether research productivity will be better based on which program you choose. Med school reputation is more of a bird in the hand.

You say the mentor at School #1 has a strong track record of mentoring MSTPs. That's good. Do the 5 potential mentors at School #2 also have good mentoring track records?

The choice as you describe it seems like a bit of a toss-up but it would be worth reaching out to relevant individuals at School #1 (the PI in question, MSTP director, and especially current students in the PI's lab if you can) and try to gauge exactly how likely it would be that you would be able to join that lab. If it's at all a qualified response that might push toward School #2. That's assuming all location, personal, and lifestyle factors, which are really quite important, are otherwise equivalent for you.

 

[AlteredScale]

Hi all,

As decision day approaches rapidly I am faced with a challenging predicament.

I’ve narrowed down my options to two programs with somewhat opposite strengths.

Program A has an incredible match list (PSTP and not) and considerably more name recognition/prestige but it a sub optimal research fit. I’ve identified one faculty member in my field with whom I would love to work. He does cutting edge work and has a strong track record of mentoring MSTP students. The issue is that he is really the only person in my field who I am interested in working with, which feels a bit risky? There are a few other investigators who’s research is of interest to me in other (related) fields if needed, but that would not be ideal.

Program B is considerably less well known as a medical school and MD/PhD program, but has a much larger number of faculty I am excited about working with. These individuals are well known in their field and do high-impact work (n = 5). The issue with this program is that the match list is quite variable from year to year and I’m not sure why that is.

At this time, I see myself as becoming a PI, so I think I want to prioritize research. However, I know how important a top residency is for obtaining a faculty position, so I’m not sure if I should prioritize the program that will give me the greatest number of research mentors to choose from, or the one with the lowest (apparent) floor in terms of match.

Would love to hear your input!
Thanks in advance.

For what it’s worth, I think I’d do Internal Medicine PSTP

Whats the research field that you are talking about?

Another way to assess is see how many match into a PSTP per year and if its consistent.

 

[microbezzzz]

I would think research productivity would weight more highly for PSTP than med school reputation; unfortunately research productivity in PhD is going to depend on a lot of factors that are unforeseeable at this time and ultimately out of your hands to a large degree. You cannot predict with any certainty at this time whether research productivity will be better based on which program you choose. Med school reputation is more of a bird in the hand.

You say the mentor at School #1 has a strong track record of mentoring MSTPs. That's good. Do the 5 potential mentors at School #2 also have good mentoring track records?

The choice as you describe it seems like a bit of a toss-up but it would be worth reaching out to relevant individuals at School #1 (the PI in question, MSTP director, and especially current students in the PI's lab if you can) and try to gauge exactly how likely it would be that you would be able to join that lab. If it's at all a qualified response that might push toward School #2. That's assuming all location, personal, and lifestyle factors, which are really quite important, are otherwise equivalent for you.

Thank you for your thoughts. Yes that is the temptation with school #1, the reputation is guaranteed.

As for the mentors at school #2, yes, they also have successfully trained several MD/PHD, PHD, and Post Docs (many of whom have gone on to become faculty at other institutions).

The mentor at school #1 seemed like he could guarantee me a rotation spot, but it did not necessarily sound like that would guarantee a position in his lab. The other issue with this lab is that the work is very different (although related) from the work I have done in the past, so I cannot say for certain that it is something I would want to do for 4 years. It is interesting but seems safer as a curveball third rotation rather than a “first choice” rotation if that makes sense?

Maybe that’s my answer…