It depends. Any program that you have to pay tuition for is going to be less competitive to get into (usually any school based program, although some do pay a generous salary), while GME funded hospital based programs that pay you a salary are more competitive. If you want to get into any peds residency program and you don't care about whether you have to pay or not, chances are pretty high. If you want to get into a specific residency program that provides a salary, then that's when it gets more competitive. Some programs like people straight from school, while some programs do like private practice experience. If you want to get a good idea on how a specific program is, I'd recommend doing an externship. Best of luck!
