245 step 1, middle 1/2 of class, good LORs... any chance at a Cali program?

[EC3]

I'm coming from a somewhat middle-of-the-road school in the midwest. Lived in a couple of states but never in Cali. I wanted to do med school out there, but they said no soup for me. So now i'm here to ask what my chances of landing a residency at one of the California programs are.

I know from reading other posts that selection is multivariate but i'm just trying to get a general idea of if i should even get my hopes up. I'd be more interested in UCSD, UCLA, UCDavis, UCIrvine, and USC, but the other programs are also very good programs that i'd be happy to attend. So if anyone can give me some insight as to what the real deal is, i'd appreciate it. Thanks.

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[GeneralVeers]

You have got to be kidding me......

 

[EC3]

You have got to be kidding me......

I'm sorry if i am missing something here, but are you able to better explain your post?

 

[SoCuteMD]

Fatty Mcfattypants!

 

[huskymed06]

No prob for you as long as you have good SLORs.

Think the best programs in CA are Highland (Alameda County) and UCLA/Harbor.

 

[GeneralVeers]

I'm sorry if i am missing something here, but are you able to better explain your post?

Perhaps your post was serious, but it just seems that people love to post bragging about their step 1 scores with the "Can I get in?" question.

If your post was serious, then you will have no problem getting in, provided you are a human being with a sense of humor and a personality.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Perhaps your post was serious, but it just seems that people love to post bragging about their step 1 scores with the "Can I get in?" question.

If your post was serious, then you will have no problem getting in, provided you are a human being with a sense of humor and a personality.

Agreed with above.. my stats werent near those and i got a bunch of interviews in Cali and I am not from there (or the west coast) and did not rotate west of Chicago.

Must haves..

1) Personality
2) good SLORs

 

[southerndoc]

Hey EC3, aren't you the same person who posted the thread asking about which programs had younger, unmarried residents?

 

[EC3]

Perhaps your post was serious, but it just seems that people love to post bragging about their step 1 scores with the "Can I get in?" question.

If your post was serious, then you will have no problem getting in, provided you are a human being with a sense of humor and a personality.

I can see how this may my post may have been read as such, but i assure you that this is a serious question. And while i understand that a 245 is a good step 1 and would otherwise not be concerned about my chances at a program, when it comes to the California programs, it seems that they really do not like non-natives. Just quickly looking through the resident lists as most places, many of the resdients are usually former natives, graduates of california programs, or from ivy institutions. It's because of this unique trend that i asked my question since i couldn't get a feel for what the california programs were actually looking for.

 

[EC3]

Agreed with above.. my stats werent near those and i got a bunch of interviews in Cali and I am not from there (or the west coast) and did not rotate west of Chicago.

Must haves..

1) Personality
2) good SLORs

what did you think about your interviews? did it feel like once you got to the interview stage that everyone was on equal footing or did was there still a sense of cronyism for the native cali folks?

 

[EC3]

Hey EC3, aren't you the same person who posted the thread asking about which programs had younger, unmarried residents?

yes

 

[southerndoc]

I can see how this may my post may have been read as such, but i assure you that this is a serious question. And while i understand that a 245 is a good step 1 and would otherwise not be concerned about my chances at a program, when it comes to the California programs, it seems that they really do not like non-natives. Just quickly looking through the resident lists as most places, many of the resdients are usually former natives, graduates of california programs, or from ivy institutions. It's because of this unique trend that i asked my question since i couldn't get a feel for what the california programs were actually looking for.

I think you just answered your own question.

 

[EC3]

I think you just answered your own question.

So even with decent stats, it is true that these programs are unlikely to accept you if you are not from california?

 

[southerndoc]

So even with decent stats, it is true that these programs are unlikely to accept you if you are not from california?

Sounds like it, or from what you said, at least a graduate of an Ivy league school.

 

[deleted109597]

Do an away rotation in Cali. They like that.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Perhaps a stupid question, but why would anyone want to move to Cali? Sure the weather is great, but with the cost of living, you are essentially taking a vow of poverty for 3 years.

 

[st0rmin]

...you are essentially taking a vow of poverty for 3 years.

I thought that was called residency?!?

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I had a friend with similar scores and grades who applied to all 3 year programs in California and didn't get a single interview--does that make you not want to apply? If not, then why post the question?

 

[ElZorro]

Don't forget that in many ways the california programs self select. I am sure there is some bias as far as taking native californians, but there are alot of people who absolutely can not afford to live in cali and therefore don't even apply / rank these programs. The people who are already living there obviously have devised some method of making it work, therefore are not as intimidated by renting a 2 bedroom apt for 1500+ a month on a non-inflated resident salary (i.e. you get basically the same as the dude who does EM in El Paso with literally 15% of the real estate value as cali). If you want it, you should do something to make them realize you are not just the average funloving EM applicant who just thinks it would be cool to interview there but would never be able to pull off that big a change in living expenses. I wanted badly to go to a southern cali program, namely either Loma Linda or UCLA, however the cost of living made it impossible for my wife and I to have the type of accomadations we felt like we needed.

 

[drsutter]

If you are a beautiful woman or a great looking guy with good sense of humor and great compassion and with the score like that, you will get in any program because god likes you.... haven't you noticed that already?

 

[EC3]

Perhaps a stupid question, but why would anyone want to move to Cali? Sure the weather is great, but with the cost of living, you are essentially taking a vow of poverty for 3 years.

i think it would be nice to live there for a short bit despite the cost. plus, if i wanted to get a job out there, it would be nice to have some connections.

 

[EC3]

I had a friend with similar scores and grades who applied to all 3 year programs in California and didn't get a single interview--does that make you not want to apply? If not, then why post the question?

i'd like to know what my chances are. if it's not likely that i would get in, then i probably wouldn't apply or i would narrow my list. i'm not asking for an end-all, be-all answer, but just for some feedback about the california EM programs. i'm sorry some of you find this so offensive.

 

[EC3]

Don't forget that in many ways the california programs self select. I am sure there is some bias as far as taking native californians, but there are alot of people who absolutely can not afford to live in cali and therefore don't even apply / rank these programs. The people who are already living there obviously have devised some method of making it work, therefore are not as intimidated by renting a 2 bedroom apt for 1500+ a month on a non-inflated resident salary (i.e. you get basically the same as the dude who does EM in El Paso with literally 15% of the real estate value as cali). If you want it, you should do something to make them realize you are not just the average funloving EM applicant who just thinks it would be cool to interview there but would never be able to pull off that big a change in living expenses. I wanted badly to go to a southern cali program, namely either Loma Linda or UCLA, however the cost of living made it impossible for my wife and I to have the type of accomadations we felt like we needed.

thanks for the help. i would definitely have to make some sacrifices on the financial end of things.

 

[BKN]

(i.e. you get basically the same as the dude who does EM in El Paso with literally 15% of the real estate value as cali). .

And here in EP, we believe we are better than 15% as good as a California program.

 

[docB]

And here in EP, we believe we are better than 15% as good as a California program.

The training in EM is great almost everywhere. What really makes the CA programs special are the little extras you get. Once I was given my cybernetic implants for Xray vision and had one hand replaced with an US probe I was much faster. Then when Peter Sokolove laid hands upon me and uttered the phrase In californius is excellensias! and I became one of the all beings, master of space time and dimension my efficiency got even better.

Still no one can hold a candle to the In-N-Out program. That's what an EM residency is all about.

 

[GeneralVeers]

The training in EM is great almost everywhere. What really makes the CA programs special are the little extras you get. Once I was given my cybernetic implants for Xray vision and had one hand replaced with an US probe I was much faster. Then when Peter Sokolove laid hands upon me and uttered the phrase In californius is excellensias! and I became one of the all beings, master of space time and dimension my efficiency got even better.

Still no one can hold a candle to the In-N-Out program. That's what an EM residency is all about.

The county doesn't give us ultrasound-probe implants anymore like they used to. We're limited to the doppler-middle-finger ONLY now.

 

[ElZorro]

I have been to In & Out Burger University near Covina. It was breathtaking. The campus smelled of special sauces and fresh fixins. Truly a pivotal moment in my life. Unfortunately my USMLE scores came back with merely a 280, and I knew it wasn't meant to be.