Another Rank Thread...West vs. East

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Radiologyreviews2015

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Hi guys,

My current top 5 are (in no particular order) UCSD, UW, BWH, Cornell and OHSU. I also have other 2nd tier cali schools such as UCD and UCI which may poke their way into the top 5 depending on my mood...

What do you guys think of these programs as compared to each other. I tried searching for similar comparisons but I couldn't find any so I apologize for any repeated information.

I'm on the west coast so west may be more comfortable for me but I wouldn't mind changing scenery if it would significantly improve my career.

Thanks for all your input!
 
Great training at all of those programs. UCSD, UW, BWH, OHSU and Cornell all have the "name" factor. Want to practice in Washington or California? You have your answer.
 
I would say OHSU might be one step below the other four in terms of research opportunities and national name recognition. The other four are roughly equivalent. Everyone please correct me if I'm wrong.

If you want to go PP, go to a program on whichever coast you want to end up. If you're thinking academics, BWH probably has the strongest reputation, followed closely behind by everyone else.

You won't go wrong at any of them though, congrats on having so many great programs to choose from.
 
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If you're trying to work in California, I'd do UCSD, UCI, UW, BWH, UCD, Cornell, OHSU.

If you're trying to do academics anywhere I'd do BWH, UW, UCSD, Cornell, UCI
 
I know someone last year who ended up ranking and matching BWH over the california programs, with the intention of going back to CA to work. He obviously hasn't started there yet but I think he was pretty happy with his reasoning and confident he'd be able to get back for fellowship.
 
I agree, if you're thinking academics, I think BWH >UCSD > UW > Cornell and then UCI and UCD
 
You need to think about location after residency as well. Other than MGH, I'd say stay on the west coast if you have more support there. It's definitely going to come down to where you will be happy and where you see yourself fitting in.
 
You need to think about location after residency as well. Other than MGH, I'd say stay on the west coast if you have more support there. It's definitely going to come down to where you will be happy and where you see yourself fitting in.

You are underestimating Cornell, hear me now believe me later.


If you're looking to stay on the West Coast there are only a few programs I would rank over the UCs, BWH would probably make that cut.

Cornell is a good program with happy residents but it's not at Brighams or UW's level yet. It's not even at NYU's level in terms of academics/research.
 
A lot of people would go to Cornell over NYU. Research is not everyone's top priority.
 
Don't most Cornell residents do research with the MSKCC faculty? The latter has two or three times the NIH money than the former. Does everyone consider how the residents have access to more than just Cornell proper?
 
What were everyone's impressions on OHSU?

Super happy residents, great hospital, Portland is an amazing city with low cost of living (compared to other big cities). However, they have limited research opportunities (if that's important to you), but there is a growing emphasis on it from their new chair. The big red flag however is their boards pass rate, which is 50% for the pass 2 years (2 of 6 failed last year, 4 of 6 year before [maybe other way around]). The new associate PD was taken on to adjust this issue, but when most places have a 100% pass rate its hard to ignore..
 
Super happy residents, great hospital, Portland is an amazing city with low cost of living (compared to other big cities). However, they have limited research opportunities (if that's important to you), but there is a growing emphasis on it from their new chair. The big red flag however is their boards pass rate, which is 50% for the pass 2 years (2 of 6 failed last year, 4 of 6 year before [maybe other way around]). The new associate PD was taken on to adjust this issue, but when most places have a 100% pass rate its hard to ignore..

Yikes that's a bad rate for a big academic center. I hadn't been putting to much energy into getting those rates, figured most top places were at or near 100.
 
The people who write the questions tend to be attendings at top academic centers. So residents at top academic centers will get exposed to similar cases. 50% passing, if true, is really bad.
 
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