2012-2013 Radiology Applicants Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
D

dude1344

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
768
Reaction score
8
Where my peeps at?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Good luck everyone. I am applying broadly focusing on the south east and midwest. I added some "reaches" from the northeast as well. Ideally I would like to stay in the state of FL as close to family as possible.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I am also applying in the southeast, Midwest, and northeast. Looking forward to finally getting the ball rolling.
 
I'll be applying to most of the programs west of a line I drew from Chicago to Houston, so no competition from me for those east coast spots. How many programs is everyone applying to this year? I'm have 42rads and 12 TYs on the list so far and will probably cut this down to 30 and 8 by the end of the month.
 
I'm applying too :)
Looking at programs in NYC and the surrounding areas. So far a total of 18 rads programs and 11 prelim/TY's. hoping for the best!
 
i heard from some residents in other specialities they just give you interviews based on step 1 scores. does anyone know if this is true for some radiology programs?
 
I'm applying. If you guys want, I could setup a google doc or something to post interview invites at. Who knows, if we end up on same interview then we could always organize transport or ways to save a little cash. No biggie if not game. Just an idea.
 
ive def heard that some programs have cutoff scores. I was told 230 from radiologists are my school.
 
ar2388 said:
ive def heard that some programs have cutoff scores. I was told 230 from radiologists are my school.
Click to expand...

The FREIDA residency program search site has a place under the general tab for Step 1 and 2 cut off's from each program. Only some programs have them filled in. And who knows if they truly live by those cut offs.

That being said. I'm sure many programs do use strict Step 1 cut offs... perhaps even as high as 240 at some institutions. I've also heard people say that institutions will use AOA status as their filter. This of course is all hearsay unless you hear it from someone you trust to know the truth... and perhaps the FREIDA site can shed some light on Step 1 cut offs if they are in fact accurate.
 
yea what i heard was not an official cutoff reported to frieda but what the rads dept does to help reduce the huge pile of applicants down to a more feasible pile.
 
ar2388 said:
yea what i heard was not an official cutoff reported to frieda but what the rads dept does to help reduce the huge pile of applicants down to a more feasible pile.
Click to expand...


Yea.. fair enough. And it makes sense for programs to do this. And after making my comment about FREIDA I decided to go back and take another look. Some programs list realistic cut offs... for example Ohio State with a 220 cut off. Other programs clearly just entered a number for the sake of entering a number... for example Duke with a cut off of 175 (which as you know is well below failing).

So the utility of the FREIDA numbers is limited at best.
 
I get the impression the openly reported cutoffs are more variable than the ones programs use when sifting through applications.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
which programs use AOA...mgh? Id rather not waste money applying to these programs
I wish schools would just list there actual minimum requirements so applicants dont need to waste their time if they don't qualify
 
The problem is there are always exceptions. Using something like AOA is questionable to me, but only because some schools have a seemingly random selection process. My school nominates anyone in the top 25% and then goes through the CVs and makes a judgement call off of that, but they always seem to make sure someone from each regional campus gets it. Third year grades aren't heavily factored in at my school either. (I had one of the top clinical performances in the class and didn't get AOA because I started off slow first year)

Using it as a soft cutoff is ok, especially at the top programs....not that they care what I think.
 
Depending on how ambitious you are, AOA is pretty important. I wish I had it when I applied last year.
 
what are the best programs that you can get without AOA and good step 1 score (250+)?

Finding it difficult to narrow down choices and judge competitiveness of programs
 
With the average step 1 being 240 I think a rule of thumb would be that community programs and academic programs in bad locations (exceptions of course) are lower than this. At the same time programs in desirable places like CA or DC and the top programs are likely above this average.
 
Frankly... I'd just apply wherever you want. If you apply to a program... you may or may not get an interview. If you do not apply to a program.... you cannot get an interview. And yes, it gets expensive... but for me it was a drop in the bucket relative to my loans overall. So I say just apply wherever you want. I did that for the most part and I got interviews at places I didn't think I was qualified for and didn't get interviews at places that I was easily qualified for. Programs are weird sometimes with who they offer interviews to.

That being said... if your scores are low... may save some money and not bother with MGH, BWH, JHU, Duke...
 
studentdoc911 said:
Anyone know when interviews likely will start/end?
Click to expand...

Begin early/mid September (especially with internship programs.... radiology usually follows a week or two later). I suppose this may be two weeks later overally this year if ERAS apps don't go out til the 15th.


End around the end of Jan beginning of Feb.
 
Obviously it would be ideal to have LORs in by Sept 15th, but if that's not a possibility, what's a good date to shoot for to have the LORs in by for this app. season? Anyone know?
 
AlexMorph said:
Obviously it would be ideal to have LORs in by Sept 15th, but if that's not a possibility, what's a good date to shoot for to have the LORs in by for this app. season? Anyone know?
Click to expand...

asap. some programs that give out early interviews will not consider you complete until you have 3 letters. Others will.
 
Anyone finding programs that have supplemental info they want in your PS etc?
 
so I have 4 letters for each program. 2 rads (1 research, 1 from rotation/grant), 1 IM, and 1 peds. if 3 of the 4 are in, will they still nto consider me until the 4th is in?
 
Ill be applying as well, focusing on cali and midwest, a few east coast
 
ar2388 said:
so I have 4 letters for each program. 2 rads (1 research, 1 from rotation/grant), 1 IM, and 1 peds. if 3 of the 4 are in, will they still nto consider me until the 4th is in?
Click to expand...
I found most programs that I looked at only wanted 3 letters. You should make sure to see what each program wants individually.
 
AlexMorph said:
I found most programs that I looked at only wanted 3 letters. You should make sure to see what each program wants individually.
Click to expand...

Yeah at least 3 for most. Most want only 1-2 radiology letters. I have 1 radiology, 1 radiology research, and 2 from medicine. My 3 important ones are uploaded into ERAS and waiting... thank god.
 
greg1184 said:
Yeah at least 3 for most. Most want only 1-2 radiology letters. I have 1 radiology, 1 radiology research, and 2 from medicine. My 3 important ones are uploaded into ERAS and waiting... thank god.
Click to expand...
so will you be sending 4 even if their website says they want only 3?
 
AlexMorph said:
so will you be sending 4 even if their website says they want only 3?
Click to expand...

If you call or email the programs, they'll mostly tell you that you can send as many as you want but they can't guarantee they'll read them all. I sent four to all my programs.
 
AlexMorph said:
so will you be sending 4 even if their website says they want only 3?
Click to expand...

Most websites I have encountered only say they REQUIRE 3 recommendations. I haven't seen many that say "at most" or "no more then" (other than those that want no more than 1 radiology letter... I can just argue that my other rays letter is a research letter).
 
yea ill hopefully be sending all 4... although not sure what to do if my last letter isnt it. maybe ill go try to find that person today and ask them to hurry the f up!! nicely of course :)
 
I sent four letters too. Some programs (not many) only download the first three. You can't really control which ones come in earlier than others. Just a heads up, try to get your best letter in first.
 
What are you guys using to search for programs?
Both Rads and intern/transitional year?
 
how competitive do you think rads will be this year? With rough job market, how big of an impact will the place you go for residency matter now?
 
heres to hoping its not competitive and NYU actually looks at me instead of ignoring me 2/2 subpar step1 and not enough honors :)
 
So on Freida, there's a transitional year tab. But how do you search for prelim year IM programs? Do you just look at regular IM programs? Since we're only doing 1 year, will programs know?

And on ERAS, how do you even apply to these 1 year prelim program? Bah this process is so confusing.. definitely more prepared for med school apps.
 
studentdoc911 said:
So on Freida, there's a transitional year tab. But how do you search for prelim year IM programs? Do you just look at regular IM programs? Since we're only doing 1 year, will programs know?

And on ERAS, how do you even apply to these 1 year prelim program? Bah this process is so confusing.. definitely more prepared for med school apps.
Click to expand...

When you select med/surg programs on ERAS, you have to check the box for whether youre applying for a prelim or categorical spot. From what I've seen, most IM and GS programs that you'll find have both prelim and categorical spots available.
 
Sending 3 LOR's. Anyone aware of any residency program that requires 4?
 
I have another question regarding letters...

Is it OK to have just 3 letters: one clinical, one rads and one research?

I got the sense that it was necessary to have 2 clinicals but I took a year off bw third and fourth year and it has been hard to get another clinical.

Thanks in advance!
 
triniman said:
I have another question regarding letters...

Is it OK to have just 3 letters: one clinical, one rads and one research?

I got the sense that it was necessary to have 2 clinicals but I took a year off bw third and fourth year and it has been hard to get another clinical.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Read the requirements for schools; I think you'd really want two clinical letters, though.
 
asked for 4 letters total: 2 clinical, 1 rads, 1 rsch

so far: 1 clinical and 1 rads are in. Delay app for a few days?
 
studentdoc911 said:
asked for 4 letters total: 2 clinical, 1 rads, 1 rsch

so far: 1 clinical and 1 rads are in. Delay app for a few days?
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat. Got 2 clinical in, waiting on the rads and research. No choice but to hold off on app submission?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

C
Competitiveness of Radiology Fellowships
Replies
6
Views
507
MadRadLad
M
lobelsteve
Jefferson Radiology poor service
Replies
16
Views
1K
Ho0v-man
Ho0v-man
Y
Chillest radiology fellowship programs
Replies
6
Views
1K
Isonicphoton
I
O
How To Find A Radiology Job And Evaluate A Radiology Job Offer
Replies
2
Views
1K
Womb Raider
Womb Raider
J
MSK Radiology Fellowship Programs
Replies
2
Views
1K
vm26
vm26
Top