going back to cali for rads..

[ucbdancn00]

hey all..

so i've spent the past couple of weeks bouncing between ER, plastics, and rads...after some hard "personal exploration" or something like that..i've tentatively set my sights on interventional radiology.....

that being said I'm trying to get a sense of whether i will have a shot of getting back to California, where I am originally from. My stats are..230+, lots of HP's in 3rd year, some good LOR's, a couple of abstracts in peds research, and several other extra curriculars....I am planning on doing 2 aways in Cali

could anyone who maybe are/were in a similar boat shed some light on their own experiences during interview season this year? Also, what tier'd programs do you feel I would be competitive at.

I want to thank you very much for your help. to all of you MS4's best of luck in the upcoming match and congratulations on getting so far..

thanks again..

ucb

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[nuclearrabbit77]

hey all..

so i've spent the past couple of weeks bouncing between ER, plastics, and rads...after some hard "personal exploration" or something like that..i've tentatively set my sights on interventional radiology.....

that being said I'm trying to get a sense of whether i will have a shot of getting back to California, where I am originally from. My stats are..230+, lots of HP's in 3rd year, some good LOR's, a couple of abstracts in peds research, and several other extra curriculars....I am planning on doing 2 aways in Cali

could anyone who maybe are/were in a similar boat shed some light on their own experiences during interview season this year? Also, what tier'd programs do you feel I would be competitive at.

I want to thank you very much for your help. to all of you MS4's best of luck in the upcoming match and congratulations on getting so far..

thanks again..

ucb

it will be tough, but what do you have to lose? where do you plan on doing your aways?

 

[trouta]

You have a little edge being that you are originally from there. Be sure to push that hard in your personal statement to those programs. As for your score, it is a respectable score but some of the California programs have pretty high cut offs. Apply broadly and dont be disappointed if you get rejected from some programs.

Also it is probably smart to do at least one of your aways at a program that isnt top tier. You will help your chances more that way.

 

[ucbdancn00]

it will be tough, but what do you have to lose? where do you plan on doing your aways?

i'm applying to a bunch of aways.....so far i have UC davis secured; i'm hoping to get a place at stanford and UCLA. Any suggestions?

ucb

 

[ucbdancn00]

You have a little edge being that you are originally from there. Be sure to push that hard in your personal statement to those programs. As for your score, it is a respectable score but some of the California programs have pretty high cut offs. Apply broadly and dont be disappointed if you get rejected from some programs.

Also it is probably smart to do at least one of your aways at a program that isnt top tier. You will help your chances more that way.

thanks for the words of wisdom; my score's actually 235+; where do you think it would be a good idea to do away's at to boost my chances?

thanks much

ucb

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

thanks for the words of wisdom; my score's actually 235+; where do you think it would be a good idea to do away's at to boost my chances?

thanks much

ucb

well, i think UC Davis, USC, UC Irvine, Santa Clara, Harbor may have higher yield. on the flip-side doing it at the big guns will give you a bigger name and subsequent letter of rec that will help your overall application more but won't even guarantee you an interview there.

out of the programs i listed, USC is nearly as competitive as the big guns and tons of people do aways there and it'll be harder to stand out simply due to the fact that so many people rotate there. (i believe they had over 60 visiting students this year) if you are originally from norcal, i'd also look into santa clara. it's one of the best community programs in the country, and alot of faculty there also teach at stanford. you also do some rotations at stanford and alot of graduates get juiced in for stanford fellowships. UCD and UCI are good programs to look into. i'm not sure if santa clara and harbor take away rotations but i'd check it out.

again, california, even the non-biggie-programs, is EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. you have regional connections, which is huge, but nevertheless, tons and tons of medical students want to come back or want to go there even if they don't have regional ties. and many people will rank any cali program higher than really strong non-cali programs. (at least i did)

you can PM me if you want more info/opinion.

 

[QuothTheRaven]

well, i think UC Davis, USC, UC Irvine, Santa Clara, Harbor may have higher yield. on the flip-side doing it at the big guns will give you a bigger name and subsequent letter of rec that will help your overall application more but won't even guarantee you an interview there.

out of the programs i listed, USC is nearly as competitive as the big guns and tons of people do aways there and it'll be harder to stand out simply due to the fact that so many people rotate there. (i believe they had over 60 visiting students this year) if you are originally from norcal, i'd also look into santa clara. it's one of the best community programs in the country, and alot of faculty there also teach at stanford. you also do some rotations at stanford and alot of graduates get juiced in for stanford fellowships. UCD and UCI are good programs to look into. i'm not sure if santa clara and harbor take away rotations but i'd check it out.

again, california, even the non-biggie-programs, is EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. you have regional connections, which is huge, but nevertheless, tons and tons of medical students want to come back or want to go there even if they don't have regional ties. and many people will rank any cali program higher than really strong non-cali programs. (at least i did)

you can PM me if you want more info/opinion.

california is where everyone and their mom are trying to go to. other than that, it's not too competitive. just an FYI if you're think about doing an away at USC. there are about 40-50 students that do aways there, so you're not going to impress any1. furthermore, all the students end up following around the former program director who only does MSK plain films and occasionaly looks at an MRI. no one even follows their assigned schedule. again, makes it hard to get noticed when there are 10 students at a PACS station. another FYI, i don't believe you get an interview from 'sc w/o rotating there. can't give too much input on the other programs. i know harbor-ucla has some sick residents there in terms of what med schools they went too (Harvard, Duke and the such).

 

[ucbdancn00]

bump

 

[trouta]

UCSF, UCSD, and Stanford are probably the biggest names in CA, followed by UCLA and a couple of others. I dont know much about the other programs out there (I didnt apply to many CA schools) so I cant give specific advice. You might take a look at Aunt Minnie and see what programs people are ranking in CA.

 

[phatfarm]

i'm applying to a bunch of aways.....so far i have UC davis secured; i'm hoping to get a place at stanford and UCLA. Any suggestions?

ucb

I've heard Stanford is low yield. A classmate did a rotation there, which is watered down from the ones the stanford med students get, and didn't get an interview despite fairly good stats.

UCD is good, one of your M'06's got in there with an away. You should talk to him before you go out there.

I'd shoot for UCSD or UCLA. Both awesome places too. I know one person who matched this year at UCSD with an away rotation there. I think she did Interventional there - you get to do more and show your enthusiasm and that you are easy to work with.

Problem with UCLA is that many people want to stay. 3-4 this year from UCLA med staying leaving 6-7 positions for the rest of Cali (and the rest of the country)

So that being said, if can do 2 in Cali, one at Davis - since you are from Cal, you get to go back to Bay Area (or at least close enough)

One at UCLA or UCSD. Not sure how the away rotation is at UCLA but they seem to take there own quite a bit.

If your step 1 is >240, that's the cut off at UCSF so you still have a shot at Stanford and UCSF. It's just such a crap shoot. I know AOA peeps from your school with NO UC interviews. It's completely random.

Good luck.

 

[se7entesla]

Interviewed at Stanford, UCSF, and UCSD. Stanford was my favorite program among all 10 places I interviewed. Great training, great research, great location, very friendly residents and faculty, top tier. Got a malignant vibe from UCSF and UCSD, but that could have just been the people I happened to interview with.

I have a friend training at Santa Clara Valley who loves it. He seems to be getting great training, and told me that for IR the place is hard to beat. Unlike at some big name programs, you'll actually get a lot of experience doing procedures as a resident.

Good luck!

 

[ucbdancn00]

hey peoples..

so i was able to lock in aways at UC Davis and UCLA-Harbor (b/c you can't do diag rads electives at UCLA unless you are a student there)

any thoughts about these programs or experiences in doing electives at these places? i have heard good things about UC Davis, but i haven't heard alot about the Harbor elective/prgram...

I was also wondering if I should consider doing a Stanford rotation vs one at Harbor because of the "name" and possibility of a LOR from a big name school. Which one would be more worthwhile and help me more in the long run of the match process?

if you could shed any light on any of these things, i'd be much obliged...thanks so much.

Ucb

 

[ucbdancn00]

hey peoples..

so i was able to lock in aways at UC Davis and UCLA-Harbor (b/c you can't do diag rads electives at UCLA unless you are a student there)

any thoughts about these programs or experiences in doing electives at these places? i have heard good things about UC Davis, but i haven't heard alot about the Harbor elective/prgram...

I was also wondering if I should consider doing a Stanford rotation vs one at Harbor because of the "name" and possibility of a LOR from a big name school. Which one would be more worthwhile and help me more in the long run of the match process?

if you could shed any light on any of these things, i'd be much obliged...thanks so much.

Ucb

bump

 

[ucbdancn00]

bump

any help would be much appreciated