Do programs care about your personal ties to a location?

[kate88]

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(I did a search on this topic, but didn't come up with anything. Please let me know if there's an earlier thread I can check out.)

Basically, for personal reasons (my sig. other has an established private medical practice in the area) I am limited to the Boston/Providence area for applying to residencies. Do programs take into account applicant's personal lives when deciding who to interview and rank? Assuming I am a strong applicant, would having a such a personal tie to the area make a difference?

I just wanted to get some perspective on how realistic it is to limit myself to that region, or if I am fooling myself in thinking that I will be able to match there. I know it's one of the more competitive regions, but I hate to think I will be in a LD relationship into my thirties! Thanks in advance for any advice or help you give me! 🙂

 

[Solideliquid]

I was called by a program in Philli, and the coordinator wanted to know if I knew anyone/had family/etc. in the area. When I said I didn't she did not offer me an interview. She said they have had residents who do not have ties to their location, and these residents had left the program to be nearer to family or whatever.

So yeah, when you say you live in the area have family/home they probably think you will rank them high, if they like you, that is.

 

[deleted87716]

Do programs take into account applicant's personal lives when deciding who to interview and rank? Assuming I am a strong applicant, would having a such a personal tie to the area make a difference?

In general, yes. This is particularly true in community-based programs, which carry a mandate, if unspoken, to train doctors who will serve the surrounding community. It's important to be able to express interest in the program beyond geography, however, lest you give the impression that the only reason you're applying there is because you don't want to move (even if that's true). 😉

 

[locitamd]

As a rule, however, I think this comes in to play only after you have been invited for an interview.

 

[ramonaquimby]

As a rule, however, I think this comes in to play only after you have been invited for an interview.

agreed

 

[kate88]

Thanks so much for your replies everyone, they were all very helpful 🙂

Does anyone know or have any experience with programs in Boston or Providence?

 

[Espion]

I think location can matter quite a bit. Not only if you have family ties there, but if you don't have family ties there.

Case in point: I went to undergrad and medical school in Texas. I am basically "from" Texas, although the truth is that I'm actually a nomadic military kid, a girl without a hometown. But when I interviewed at Boston, Brown, UMass and the like, I got interrogated about why on earth I was looking for a residency so far from Texas.

And it does matter. To transplant someone who may have lived in West Texas all their life to Boston...well, its a mighty big jump. (One of them even asked me to define "Yankee" and explain the cultural nuances between Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia.) I even had to justify myself in Tennessee. You have to be prepared to defend yourself either way.

 

[marsupial]

I know someone who was ignored by a Seattle residency program until she said her husband lived there, then she got an interview.

 

[penguins]

Espion,
Wow! Cultural nuances between the states, defining Yankee. That sounds rough.
Almost everyplace that I have interviewed takes notes on the "why here" question. One wrote in big letters across my app "PARENTS LIVE HERE"!
My address says Tennessee even though I don't consider myself from there and haven't been there too long. Tennessee is the state I don't want to end up in but I have had to justify that to the MidWest.
I didn't get an interview at a program that was geographically different and after I sent an email asking about the status of my app. mentioning my ties to the area. Got an interview a couple days later due to a cancellation by someone else. This was just the other day.

 

[Espion]

Espion,
Wow! Cultural nuances between the states, defining Yankee. That sounds rough.

Heh, I lived in New York and Maine when I was little and my mother is from Virginia. He must have thought he was cornering me, but I busted out with a little "random knowledge" (which I really suck at, by the way). I remembered that when the States were young, you had to be from Maine to be considered a Yankee [which, upon looking it up, is one of several theories on the origin of the term, none of which are probably grounded in much fact]. Of course, the definition has gone through the usual permutations, but it was a nice random fact. That and remembering where the Mason-Dixon line was kind of saved my rear. At least I think it did. 😀

I had to give the guy props though. He was just trying to make sure I wasn't lying through my teeth when I said it didn't matter where I lived. I imagine it must get hard separating the wheat from the chaff when you're sitting on the other side of the fence. (With a bunch of dark suits telling you the exact same thing every time...)