Does a uk img have a good shot at residency if they didn’t go to oxbridge/ucl/imperial?

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peakdistrict

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I am aware that it is hard to match as an img, that with usmle step one being pass/fail it will be even harder, my options will most likely be family med or paeds etc. I see in threads here that uk imgs have a good chance if they attended the schools in the title as they are “prestigious” and I have only seen discussion related to people who attended them. My school is a top 100 in medical research and one of the oldest in the uk but not really “prestigious”. How much chance would I have? Would it being in the uk give me an edge over imgs from countries with less developed healthcare systems?

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I am aware that it is hard to match as an img, that with usmle step one being pass/fail it will be even harder, my options will most likely be family med or paeds etc. I see in threads here that uk imgs have a good chance if they attended the schools in the title as they are “prestigious” and I have only seen discussion related to people who attended them. My school is a top 100 in medical research and one of the oldest in the uk but not really “prestigious”. How much chance would I have? Would it being in the uk give me an edge over imgs from countries with less developed healthcare systems?
I see so many from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland on match lists.

In terms of the bolded, absolutely not. I have seen this sentiment subtly expressed on here and anonymously where IMGs from developed countries (UK, Australia) think their medical education is superior to South Asian & the Middle East (not necessarily you since you're just asking). It's not. All IMGs have top places and should be treated the same.
 
The only benefit is that people will not doubt your ability to communicate in English.
 
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Honestly, regardless of where you come from the most important factor will be your US clinical experience and what your letter writers have to say about your acumen. And I would anticipate that for IMGs particularly, the weight simply shifts from Step 1 score to Step 2.

Not impossible to match, but those are the two things you need to do well with.
 
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There are definitely some feeder schools that I've seen at least in surgery. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Aga Khan University in Pakistan, Heidelberg University in Germany etc.

So perhaps certain schools are indeed more well known internationally. I don't know if that's an advantage in and of itself. It's possible the students from these schools are simply better. But I think all things considered, the biggest advantage you'll probably get is that no one will doubt your English ability. Then it's up to you to score well and get US experience and apply very broadly.

I truly don't doubt that your medical education is just as good as those in the USA, it's just harder for IMGs in general.
 
I think many of the students coming from RCSI are US students participating in the Atlantic Bridge program.

One of the biggest challenges could be a lack of US clinical experience. Also many US residency programs don't seem to care much for letters of recommendation written outside of the US. So without USCE and a US letter, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle. If you haven't taken the steps yet then maybe you're early on in medical school? If so, I would recommend prioritizing US clinical experience once you get to that point.
 
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