How good are these schools and their ophthalmology residency programs?

[paul2752]

I have been looking for medical schools in the US that have ophthalmology residencies AND accept international students.(I m a foreign student in the US. Long story short, I applied for green card but for whatever reason I will be a PR much later than I expected)

So far I have found a number of schools but will only list some that I m not familiar with(I excluded schools like Duke, Standord, and ivy leagues etc becasue they are good obviously):
Baylor U
Boston U
Case Western Reserve U
Mayo
MSU
StonyBrook
T. Jefferson University-S.Kimmel
Tulane University
U Kentucky
U Pittsburgh
UT-Southwestern houston
U-Utah
UC Davis and UCSF(I believe UCSF has a very good ophthalmology residencies)
Virginia Commonwealth U
Medical College of Wisconsins

Is anyone of you familiar with these schools? Do they have good ophthalmology residency programs? Have they had any accidents like Tuoro-NY did?

I know that I am just an undergraduate student(studying in the US) and many of you will think that I m being too hasty but I don't have luxury of being rejected and re-applying again due to several reasons. I want to make sure I don't miss anything.
If I don't get in any of these schools I will just continue with chemical engineering and apply for the masters program.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[wizzed101]

The impression I've got around here is that premed + residencies don't compute.

 

[raiderette]

What if you get in, then fail to get the research and Step scores to be competitive for ophthalmology? It is why looking at schools based on residency doesn't make as much sense. It can be important to investigate if there is a home program but that is about the extent of it.

 

[paul2752]

So your point is, just apply schools regardless residencies?
Also, are any of these schools good?

 

[jqueb29]

The average Step 1 score for students matching into ophthalmology last year was 243, meaning these students scored higher than about 75% of everybody else who took Step 1 that year. I understand that you have goals and you should certainly try to achieve them, but it's preposterous to be a pre-med and be deadset on something that requires you to be in the top 25% of medical students nationwide when you have yet to even apply to med school.

 

[Mansamusa]

If you really want ophtho, the best school is UMiami. Don't know how they view internationals though.

(And while it isn't good to choose a school solely for one specialty, UMiami has one of the most highly regarded ophtho residencies and in 2015 they had 17 students match ophtho and 9 this year- more than probably any other school. They clearly have a lot of strong resources for students interested in ophtho)

 

[wizzed101]

Also, are any of these schools good?

Ivies are overrated. All of those schools are way better than Princeton's Churchill school of medicine.

 

[Law2Doc]

Most med students change their minds at least once regarding ultimate specialty choices so you don't want this to be the primary reason to choose a med school. Find a place where you will thrive and then when you choose a specialty if your home program isn't strong enough you can always do an away rotation elsewhere. You aren't really going to be locked into a set of residencies by the school you pick. Also, as mentioned your odds of getting certain fields will change based on how you do on the steps so don't pick a school you don't love just because it's strong in optho and find yourself suffering through it only to end up going into a field you could have gone anywhere for.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

Hate to break it to you, but a lot (most) of programs try to avoid becoming inbred and aren't going to take a lot of graduates from their medical school.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

For any field the most important thing is being a good student. Go somewhere you can do that (be it cheap, close to family, in a city you like, or whatever). Then if you do well you're qualified for Optho or whatever other field you may land on.

If you really can't risk a reapp cycle, apply broadly and once you have a list of places you've been accepted, then start comparing. You can look for places with a home program and possibly more research opportunities.

If I were you I'd try not to focus on which residency programs are "better" than others. As per most of the residents I work with, the qualities that make one residency program better than another are generally lost on premeds. Further a more prestigious home residency program won't always be helpful in the grand scheme of things. You could end up jockeying with a bunch of other like minded med students all vying for letters of rec from the same department head, for example.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Hate to break it to you, but a lot (most) of programs try to avoid becoming inbred and aren't going to take a lot of graduates from their medical school.

They may try to avoid rampant inbreeding, but I've always been under the impression that students have some of the best odds of matching to their home institution?

 

[Goro]

Try getting into medical school first, and then worry about a specialty (especially one that's at the top of the totem pole of desirability).

All the schools on your list are good....some of them are so good that the median acceptee has a 3.9 GPA and MCAT of 36 (on the old scale). The question now becomes: are YOU that good?

I have been looking for medical schools in the US that have ophthalmology residencies AND accept international students.(I m a foreign student in the US. Long story short, I applied for green card but for whatever reason I will be a PR much later than I expected)

So far I have found a number of schools but will only list some that I m not familiar with(I excluded schools like Duke, Standord, and ivy leagues etc becasue they are good obviously):
Baylor U
Boston U
Case Western Reserve U
Mayo
MSU
StonyBrook
T. Jefferson University-S.Kimmel
Tulane University
U Kentucky
U Pittsburgh
UT-Southwestern houston
U-Utah
UC Davis and UCSF(I believe UCSF has a very good ophthalmology residencies)
Virginia Commonwealth U
Medical College of Wisconsins

Is anyone of you familiar with these schools? Do they have good ophthalmology residency programs? Have they had any accidents like Tuoro-NY did?

I know that I am just an undergraduate student(studying in the US) and many of you will think that I m being too hasty but I don't have luxury of being rejected and re-applying again due to several reasons. I want to make sure I don't miss anything.
If I don't get in any of these schools I will just continue with chemical engineering and apply for the masters program.

 

[paul2752]

If you really want ophtho, the best school is UMiami. Don't know how they view internationals though.

(And while it isn't good to choose a school solely for one specialty, UMiami has one of the most highly regarded ophtho residencies and in 2015 they had 17 students match ophtho and 9 this year- more than probably any other school. They clearly have a lot of strong resources for students interested in ophtho)

I looked up the school just this morning and unfortunately, they don't accept foreign students like me.

Thanks for great advice all. How do you determine "hey I like this school!"? Do you visit them?

 

[Mansamusa]

I looked up the school just this morning and unfortunately, they don't accept foreign students like me.

Thanks for great advice all. How do you determine "hey I like this school!"? Do you visit them?

Based on many things- including a visit (during interviews). As an international I think it's more apply to a bunch of places and see what you even get. Then decide from there which ones you like best

 

[Lucca]

How long will it take you to become a permanent resident? At what stage are you in your education? Have you taken the MCAT?

I have heard that going into the process as an international makes things considerably more difficult. If waiting a year means you can become a PR, the it might be very worth it to just wait. The first question you should ask is not, "is a program good" - if it is an LCME accredited MD program in the US or Puerto Rico then chances are it is good. The real question is "is it a good fit for me", which is a function of your stats + background

 

[paul2752]

How long will it take you to become a permanent resident? At what stage are you in your education? Have you taken the MCAT?

I have heard that going into the process as an international makes things considerably more difficult. If waiting a year means you can become a PR, the it might be very worth it to just wait. The first question you should ask is not, "is a program good" - if it is an LCME accredited MD program in the US or Puerto Rico then chances are it is good. The real question is "is it a good fit for me", which is a function of your stats + background

Thank you Lucca. It sounds similar to engineering schools; basically when you study engineering, the quality won't be drastically different as long as the engineering programs are ABET accredited.

I am thinking...maybe 6 years from now to get PR. Which is why I might go into engineering masters program if I don't get into any med schools that admit foreign student. I know they are super long shots but I should try anyway.

 

[darkjedi]

They may try to avoid rampant inbreeding, but I've always been under the impression that students have some of the best odds of matching to their home institution?

Generally yes. In many cases its actually a red flag if they don't match at least some people from their own institution as it could be a sign that the program is either weak or malignant.