California bias

[Commis]

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Hello all -

Current M3 here, thinking about applying to anesthesia programs in California. I am out of state and have no ties to CA. My dream situation is to do anesthesia at Stanford or UCSD. I've heard that it is pretty tough to break into CA programs as an out of stater with no CA schooling/training. Can anybody comment on this rumor? Would one have to be more competitive to match as a non-californian?

Step 1 3-digit score was about 10 pts above national average, top 20% of class, 4 research papers, 2 published with 3rd in review. Was told by my anesthesia advisor that top tier anesthesia programs may be a possibility.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could comment about this CA in-state bias rumor. Thanks!

 

[IlDestriero]

I know CA well, having spent many years there. From what you posted, you would likely be a competitive candidate. Sanford, UCSD and UCSF are great places to train. (In that order 😉)
Everyone says that they want to go to CA. You have to convince the programs that you are serious about relocating to CA and might want to stay on there. They will rank you if they like you, like your CV/scores and think that you would rank them/relocate. If you can't convince them that you're serious about relocating, you probably won't get an interview. They won't waste their time interviewing people from all corners of the world because they don't have to. (Unless you're a superstar.)
Regards,

 

[Mman]

pardon the obvious question...


Why is it your dream to go to one of these California programs? You admit you are out of state and have no ties to the area. I'll assume that you also have little to no direct knowledge of the programs themselves since you don't seem to have preference for a particular program in so much as a geographic area.


Just an honest question. If you would land an interview at any of those spots, the first question you'll get asked is "Why here?"

 

[Lurch]

I am out of state (east coast) with no ties to Cali. Interviewed at UCSF and Stanford. Really good board scores, relatively little research (much less than you), not AOA. They certainly asked me why California and why this particular program. Wasn't hard to answer: Northern California is freakin awesome and the programs are stellar. My impression is that they like a little variety/diversity at those programs in their resident class anyway. They have plenty of out of staters in those classes; most of them end up staying in Cali after they finish (not surprisingly)
I plan to rank Stanford first so I hope they don't hold my east coast ties against me. PM me if you want more details

 

[Mman]

nevermind. I thought the first and most recent poster were the same and got confused until I realized they are different posters.

 

[lord_jeebus]

More than half of us at UCSD went to medical school outside California

 

[risnwb]

I'm from the east coast as well with no ties to California. Interviewed at both Stanford and UCSF, and liked them both. Didn't apply to any other cali schools. Step 1 was average, step 2 was really good, and lots of 3rd year honors, and basically no real research/publications. I wasn't asked once why i was there... I figure it is because they know they are awesome programs and would be worth moving for...

 

[MErc44]

I am out of state (east coast) with no ties to Cali. Interviewed at UCSF and Stanford. Really good board scores, relatively little research (much less than you), not AOA. They certainly asked me why California and why this particular program. Wasn't hard to answer: Northern California is freakin awesome and the programs are stellar. My impression is that they like a little variety/diversity at those programs in their resident class anyway. They have plenty of out of staters in those classes; most of them end up staying in Cali after they finish (not surprisingly)
I plan to rank Stanford first so I hope they don't hold my east coast ties against me. PM me if you want more details

That is not true, I have heard first hand, in the bay area at least, that a significant portion of resident graduates from UCSF who aren't from CA leave. Not sure of the reason, high cost of living, missing home

 

[Lurch]

That is not true, I have heard first hand, in the bay area at least, that a significant portion of resident graduates from UCSF who aren't from CA leave. Not sure of the reason, high cost of living, missing home

Can't determine from this data set who is from CA originally. However, I think it is clear, at least at Stanford, that the majority of people who do residency there stay there.

http://med.stanford.edu/anesthesia/education/alumni_information.html

 

[WNT Signaling]

I am out of state (east coast) with no ties to Cali. Interviewed at UCSF and Stanford. Really good board scores, relatively little research (much less than you), not AOA. They certainly asked me why California and why this particular program. Wasn't hard to answer: Northern California is freakin awesome and the programs are stellar. My impression is that they like a little variety/diversity at those programs in their resident class anyway. They have plenty of out of staters in those classes; most of them end up staying in Cali after they finish (not surprisingly)
I plan to rank Stanford first so I hope they don't hold my east coast ties against me. PM me if you want more details

Here's a piece of advice: people in California do not call it 'Cali.' If you say Cali, people will know you are not from here, and they will laugh at you. Also, just to cover our bases, no one calls San Francisco 'Frisco,' although SF and San Fran are both OK

 

[risnwb]

Here's a piece of advice: people in California do not call it 'Cali.' If you say Cali, people will know you are not from here, and they will laugh at you. Also, just to cover our bases, no one calls San Francisco 'Frisco,' although SF and San Fran are both OK

That is GREAT advice. I for one will not make that mistake again because I wouldn't want someone in California to laugh at me. I guess people from California must really like saying a lot of syllables instead of using sweet abbreviations... Although i've got to admit, 'Frisco' does sound pretty douchy.

 

[Lurch]

Here's a piece of advice: people in California do not call it 'Cali.' If you say Cali, people will know you are not from here, and they will laugh at you. Also, just to cover our bases, no one calls San Francisco 'Frisco,' although SF and San Fran are both OK

TUPAC said Cali.

 

[IlDestriero]

TUPAC said Cali.

And we all know what happened to him...

 

[Narcotized]

TUPAC said Cali.

Ditto LL Cool J. Dude is jacked, too. I don't think surfers or granola nuts will be laughing at him any time soon.

 

[Narcotized]

.

 

[jeesapeesa]

Here's a piece of advice: people in California do not call it 'Cali.' If you say Cali, people will know you are not from here, and they will laugh at you. Also, just to cover our bases, no one calls San Francisco 'Frisco,' although SF and San Fran are both OK

lived in cali my whole life. you're a tool for stating this. go back to arizona.

ps that's a toolish avatar too.

 

[WNT Signaling]

That's cool. Tell me this, when the rest of America calls Pelosi an idiot and Ahnold a dope, do Californians at least agree with those names? 🙂

I life in SF, so most people drink the Kool-aid and think Pelosi is a genius

In regards to Arnold, people don't like him, but he's just been given a crap hand: it's hard to be liked when you're the captain of a sinking ship

 

[Narcotized]

I live in SF, so most people drink the Kool-aid and think Pelosi is a genius

I'm speechless. How is that humanly possible?

 

[Coastie]

Here's a piece of advice: people in California do not call it 'Cali.' If you say Cali, people will know you are not from here, and they will laugh at you. Also, just to cover our bases, no one calls San Francisco 'Frisco,' although SF and San Fran are both OK

Fail.

It's "Cali". Not much for "frisco", but San Fran is the usual. Or "Bay Area".

Dork.

 

[Sergio99]

Hello,

To those thinking of California programs, UCLA is a good program, or at least it was in the old days (late 1970s and 1980s), and the residents were being spoiled and pampered as princes and princesses. Plus they were getting an excellent training. You couldn't ask for anything better.

I don't know whether it is still the same way, probably yes. It would be worth finding out.

The Westwood campus is fabulous, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are within minutes' driving.

Just FYI