Quick general question- geography is going to play a big role in my selecting residency programs, and I was wondering about your opinions on how competitive Chicago is for residency? I'm thinking maybe EM or Gen Surg. What about california vs. chicago in terms of difficulty? Thanks for any opinions.
Chicago Residenices
- Thread starter Hearos
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I don't know how to compare w/California, but I can tell you that based on my experience and that of people I know, any of the major U. programs in Chicago are pretty competitive to get into, even for things like internal medicine. You can expect ER and general surg. to be even more competitive. If you are willing to consider any/all programs in Chicago (even the lesser known, etc.) that will give you more choices. I think anyone applying in uber-competitive cities like Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago should definitely have a backup plan and apply to programs in some geographically less competitive areas too.
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I interviewed at several chicago programs for general surgery this past year...i would say it depends on the program. IMHO, University of Chicago and Northwestern would be more competitive than Rush and UIC...which would then be more competitive than Mt. Sinai and Metro. Loyola would be somewhere in the middle, I didn't interview there.
I didn't apply in california but like any big state with plenty of large cities, you will have a variety of programs....big name academic institutions and small community programs. Depends on what you are looking for in a program.
If you really want to stay in a certain city, apply to all the programs in that city and see who interviews you...then rank them in the order you like.
