Home address effect on residency interviews

[Radiologyreviews2015]

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After reading all these rank lists, it seems that interviews are pretty regional. I'm a current MS3. I'm not sure where I want to do my residency geographically. My family lives in the South but I attend a northeast medical school. I'm wondering if my home address will affect where I get interviews.

My situation will either be:

A) northeast school with home address in same city

OR

B) northeast school with home address in the South


I'm afraid of losing out on northeast interviews by putting my home address as the South even though I'll be from a northeast school since that's where many programs are concentrated. On the other hand, I would like to consider moving to the South but I'm really not sure where I want to go. I'm about a mid tier candidate.

 

[Radiologyreviews2015]

In short, your Southern home address should not keep you from receiving NE interviews or anywhere else, but it may potentially open some doors in the South. At the end of the day, it's really your qualifications that'll get you interviews. I'm from Texas, attend a southern med school, and applied with my Texas address. This didn't preclude me from obtaining interviews in the West Coast or the NE.

People add too much weight on these things. I will say though that the home address / family location factor may play more of a role in resident selection when everything else is equal, which is hardly ever the case for two applicants.

 

[Radiologyreviews2015]

I was in your situation. I chose option B, ended up doing much better with NE interviews than South. I'm not sure anyone is taking the time to read your home address, but they're not going to overlook your school.

At one point I didn't have any invites from my home state so I sent them an email pointing out my ties and got an invite in response.

 

[Radiologyreviews2015]

I had the same dilemma, I go to a NE school, from the south and parents moved to Cali. Didn't want to limit my options in any of those places. Interviewed at several "top" Cali programs and they didn't even realize my permanent address was listed as Cali. If you're a good applicant, you'll get the interviews regardless of what your address line says.

 

[RadioRads71]

I am an IMG from Michigan. Most of my interview offers were in Michigan or within a 3 hour drive from Michigan.

Since I'm an IMG I applied to every single program minus NY and Cali.