How do you "read into" a residency placement list?

[NYyanx28]

Everyone has said that residency placement is a better indicator of the quality of education than USNews rankings. However, how do you deduce from the residency lists whether a school has a solid reputation? What fields and what hospital placements are you looking for? Obviously when I compare Harvard vs. SUNY Upstate/Downstate/Penn St., I can see a clear distinction, but what about between schools of roughly the same caliber? (AKA the ones listed)

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[Law2Doc]

Everyone has said that residency placement is a better indicator of the quality of education than USNews rankings. However, how do you deduce from the residency lists whether a school has a solid reputation? What fields and what hospital placements are you looking for? Obviously when I compare Harvard vs. SUNY Upstate/Downstate/Penn St., I can see a clear distinction, but what about between schools of roughly the same caliber? (AKA the ones listed)

You can't. And "everyone" certainly doesn't say this -- reading a match list "accurately" is not something realistic for someone at the premed stage. See the other active thread which discusses this. Schools of roughly the same caliber will provide roughly the same launch pad from which to obtain the residency you desire. Getting the scores you need is largely a matter of individual effort -- pretty much everyone uses the same study guides and Q-bank questions in preparation of Step 1. If you do well, you generally match well.

 

[Green Pirate]

You can't. And "everyone" certainly doesn't say this -- reading a match list "accurately" is not something realistic for someone at the premed stage. See the other active thread which discusses this. Schools of roughly the same caliber will provide roughly the same launch pad from which to obtain the residency you desire. Getting the scores you need is largely a matter of individual effort -- pretty much everyone uses the same study guides and Q-bank questions in preparation of Step 1. If you do well, you generally match well.

true enough. I supported match lists over usnews ranking in the other thread, and I still think they can give you a general idea about what kind of preparation occurs at certain schools, but ultimately, if you do well (particularly on Step 1), I'm sure you can get in anywhere. I think its more an issue of personal performance than anything else.

 

[Hednej]

true enough. I supported match lists over usnews ranking in the other thread, and I still think they can give you a general idea about what kind of preparation occurs at certain schools, but ultimately, if you do well (particularly on Step 1), I'm sure you can get in anywhere. I think its more an issue of personal performance than anything else.

can you post a link to the other thread?

 

[deleted128318]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=373428

 

[MWK]

As an aspiring surgeon, I look at match lists to see what most people from a given school match into, and then to where. Not that there is a more "surgically intensive" curriculum, but just to see if the school has a base for it.

 

[Law2Doc]

As an aspiring surgeon, I look at match lists to see what most people from a given school match into, and then to where. Not that there is a more "surgically intensive" curriculum, but just to see if the school has a base for it.

You are going to be hard pressed to find any US allo school where there aren't a good handful of folks matching into surgical specialties.

 

[Critical Mass]

You are going to be hard pressed to find any US allo school where there aren't a good handful of folks matching into surgical specialties.

Agreed.

Specialty selection has a lot of personal factors included that you can't pick up on by reading a matchlist.

The best way to pick a medical school is to look at the curriculum, environment, cost, and student body and see which place is the best fit for you and your learning style. All U.S. med schools will provide the board material for you so don't worry about research rankings or where previous grads have chosen to pursue PGY training.