Can I match into med/peds from any med school?

[1cor1311]

Hey SDN family,

Im in need of help from current med/peds residents, physicians, or medical students applying for med/peds residencies.

I have been accepted to multiple medical schools, and need to decide by may 15th which school i will matriculate at. I have a strong desire to pursue a career in med/peds, for various reasons. I want to treat adult and pediatric patients one day, however with more focus on pediatrics. Also i dislike OB very much, i work alongside OBGYNs in the hospital. I can go on with why i like med/peds over family med but its not relevant to my question.
I'm entering medical school with the goal in mind of one day applying to med-peds residency programs. My concern is that I might be offered a great financial incentive to attend a new medical school, UC Riverside. I want to attend because well, I will graduate with virtually zero debt if I get the scholarship. Will going to a new school hinder me in applying for med /peds residencies? UCR has been teaching the first two years of medical school for decades now in a combined program with UCLA. The step 1 scores from UCR students have been above national average over the years, so I'm not worried about the education aspect, Im a confident and hardworking students and am confident i can score average or above average on step 1 step 2 etc. Im only concerned because this school will technically be a "new school" in that is now a 4 year program including the 3rd and 4th year at UCR instead of at UCLA as was don't before. Will that hinder me in applying for med/peds residencies? Or does that not really matter assuming i can score well on USMLE exams and have a wide variety research / extra curricula's included in my residency application.
Thank you guys!

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[chargersfan]

I would highly recommend AGAINST attending any new medical schools. I don't know too much about UCR (do they have the same faculty/curriculum as the original Haider/UCLA program?). Nonetheless coming from an established medical school is much better than a new school. I know that financially it would be tough to pass up but I don't think its worth it. Medpeds is semi-competitive across the country but if you wanted to stay in California, with its only 4 programs, it becomes much more competitive. As well as you do during medical school, school name still (unfortunately) plays a big role in residency selection. Unless you are a superstar applicant, I am willing to bet the UCs will screen out your app just because of school name.

Another thing to keep in mind, in the original UCR/UCLA program they get their degree from UCLA. Which means in their application it is like they went to UCLA. You would be getting your degree from UCR which does not nearly have the clout that UCLA has (You also lose the clinical education at UCLA, which is a big deal when getting letters, although RCRMC is a solid place to train)

Therefore, it is my personal bias to stay away from new schools.

 

[DCBFan]

What are the other schools? If uc riverside is the only place you got into in California and you want to do med peds in California then I think it might be a good idea after all. Of course my primary advice is to go to any school that is substantially cheaper.

 

[1cor1311]

Thank you guys, I actually found out today I have been awarded a scholarship that essentially covers 1/3 of my entire tuition at UCR should I choose to attend there. I have actually been accepted to UC Irvine, Loma Linda, and USC Keck. I always wanted to go to USC, but when I went to visit I just see myself miserable living in the LA city. Secondly and I'll be honest, being from riverside I want to stay close to home, friends, church community etc, where I know I would be much less stressed compared to attending USC. The coast of attendance at USC was the big drawback however. I know it's as great program but I'm going spend over $150,000 (before interest) more going there and am trying to figure out if that is worth it. I'm not very interested in going to Loma Linda, I'm interested in UCI as well. But the scholarship and basically lifestyle I can have being at UCR are what appeals me to attend there.
More feedback please!

 

[fastnfurious]

Virginia Tech Carilion & FIU are both new medical schools and they just had their first class that matched. They had some really good matches so based off that I would like to say that new medical schools are not at a disadvantage.

http://www.vtc.vt.edu/education/student_affairs/files/match_day_2014_results.pdf

http://medicine.fiu.edu/news-and-media/2012/3/perfect-match-day.html#.U1geXuZkE3A

 

[physicsnerd42]

Thank you guys, I actually found out today I have been awarded a scholarship that essentially covers 1/3 of my entire tuition at UCR should I choose to attend there. I have actually been accepted to UC Irvine, Loma Linda, and USC Keck. I always wanted to go to USC, but when I went to visit I just see myself miserable living in the LA city. Secondly and I'll be honest, being from riverside I want to stay close to home, friends, church community etc, where I know I would be much less stressed compared to attending USC. The coast of attendance at USC was the big drawback however. I know it's as great program but I'm going spend over $150,000 (before interest) more going there and am trying to figure out if that is worth it. I'm not very interested in going to Loma Linda, I'm interested in UCI as well. But the scholarship and basically lifestyle I can have being at UCR are what appeals me to attend there.
More feedback please!

No allopathic med school is worth $150k more than any other (in my opinion). Just go to UCR. Going to a newer school is riskier than an older school, but they're all accredited.

 

[chargersfan]

The OP asked about matching to medpeds in a very competitive region (though if your original question was about matching into medpeds anywhere then sure you should be fine). I took the question to mean whether going to a new school would be a disadvantage. How could you argue that going to a new school is not a disadvantage when compared to an established school like USC or UCI? The constant flux, the not well-known faculty, the non-existent reputation of graduates from that school. It all plays a role in matching.

This is akin to a pre-med convincing themselves that they should just go to the Caribbean school because it is still an MD and coming back to SDN 4 years later bitching and moaning about how they're not getting any interviews because of their school.

In all reality there is a good chance that you will change your mind about med-peds within the next four years. Who knows maybe you'll fall back in love with FM and then going to UCR would not be a problem at all.

 

[DCBFan]

The OP asked about matching to medpeds in a very competitive region (though if your original question was about matching into medpeds anywhere then sure you should be fine). I took the question to mean whether going to a new school would be a disadvantage. How could you argue that going to a new school is not a disadvantage when compared to an established school like USC or UCI? The constant flux, the not well-known faculty, the non-existent reputation of graduates from that school. It all plays a role in matching.

This is akin to a pre-med convincing themselves that they should just go to the Caribbean school because it is still an MD and coming back to SDN 4 years later bitching and moaning about how they're not getting any interviews because of their school.

In all reality there is a good chance that you will change your mind about med-peds within the next four years. Who knows maybe you'll fall back in love with FM and then going to UCR would not be a problem at all.

He may be a better applicant, but is that worth 150k? My perspective is that it is not, but that's what he needs to decide. Your Caribbean comparison is an exaggeration because amg vs img is a much bigger difference.

 

[1cor1311]

Thanks again guys so much for your feedback and honest input. I agree sure I would love to go to USC, or UCI. I can see that That those school names would help me match in residency. However as I mentioned I was given a hefty scholarship to attend UCR, which I want to take advantage of, especially because It it MERIT based... As I said assuming I score above average and have a great residency application, I'm wondering if I can still match into med-peds, or really for that matter a competitive speciality if I change my mind. Thanks everyone for the post. The consensus seems to be that it is indeed possible, more difficult yes, but still possible. At least that is what I'm getting from your helpful replies.

 

[DCBFan]

Not sure if you answered this, but are you dead set on staying on the west coast for residency? Because if so, med peds suddenly transforms from a slightly competitive specialty into a bloodbath of high-scoring applicants fighting for a few spots. That's why I'm not going for it, actually.

Anyway this is all way too far away for you to be thinking about. Good luck with your decision and good luck in med school.

 

[hurryupnwait]

You could always do an away and try to get a letter from a well-known writer to help your application. I'd personally go with the scholarship.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Not sure if you answered this, but are you dead set on staying on the west coast for residency? Because if so, med peds suddenly transforms from a slightly competitive specialty into a bloodbath of high-scoring applicants fighting for a few spots. That's why I'm not going for it, actually.

Anyway this is all way too far away for you to be thinking about. Good luck with your decision and good luck in med school.

The bloodbath applies to pretty much any consensus-defined top 15 med-peds program, only 2 of which are on the West Coast. My impression was that these applicants are way ahead of their peds-only and significantly ahead of their IM-only peers.

 

[x1052]

This...

The bloodbath applies to pretty much any consensus-defined top 15 med-peds program, only 2 of which are on the West Coast. My impression was that these applicants are way ahead of their peds-only and significantly ahead of their IM-only peers.