Interview Advice

[NYMd2008]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey guys,

I need some advice. I have a bit of a time crunch and so am in california for only a week.

The following is my interview schedule:
Mon: UCLA
Tues: Cedars
Wed: Nada
Thurs+Fri: UCSF

Everything was hunky-dory until I got the UCSD invite yesterday. So my question is: should I just cancel my cedars interview and replace it with the UCSD? UCSD does NOT have an option to interview on wed.

From what I keep reading on this site, cedars is (arguably) not at the same par as UCLA. Additionally, it doesn't seem at the same par as UCSD. I want to go into cards so in my mind I think UCSD would be a better place to go than cedars anyway (in a head to head comparison).

Just wondering if anyone else had any input and agreed with the decision to replace cedars with UCSD. I mean..i could plan another trip to the west coast in jan, but its gonna be expensive and trying to avoid it if I can.

Thanks

 

[Dreemer005]

Can you schedule something for Wednesday? (i.e. UCLA Mon, Cedars Tues, UCSD Wed, UCSF Thurs or Fri). UCSD is only a 45 minute drive away from Los Angeles and the flight to SF is only 1 hour (the drive, which I don't recommend, is 6 hours).

If you can't schedule anything for Wednesday, strictly in regards of interviewing at UCSD or Cedars on Tuesday, it depends on what type of program you are looking for. UCSD is more academic and probably one of the heaviest research programs in CA, while Cedars is more clinical and community based. They both have strong reputations. I think UCSD might have an edge on matching into cardiology spots over Cedars if you plan to leave CA, but if you want to stay in CA, the difference isn't as large.

The other thing to keep in mind is that many IM stay at their own program for cardiology. If you take this into account, Cedars has more spots (7) per year for cardiology than UCSD (4). The other thing to keep in mind is that Cedars recently recruited the chief of cardiology from Hopkins to run their cardiovascular department, and are expected to become more academic.

 

[gng930]

Dreemer are you driving a Formula One?

It's more than 110 miles from LA to UCSD so I think 45 minutes is a pretty huge underestimate.

You can try to do all the analysis you want in terms of research opportunity, notoriety of faculty and program, but if your goal is cards, just look at the raw data. Try to find out how many people matched into cards over the last few years and divide by the total number of residents who graduated over those years. Usually this information is revealed at the interview but if you know others who interviewed there (personally or on this board), you can get a sneak peak.

 

[Dreemer005]

I must be remembering wrong (I did the drive last year). You're right, its over 100 miles away, so probably closer to 2 hours from LA to SD.

 

[Doctorkill]

Sorry to dissapoint you guys, but L.A. traffic makes a trip from Cedars to La Jolla would take 3 hours on a day with good traffic. It has taken me as long as 4.5 hours with bad traffic. Still, all said I would try to make the effort. UCSD seems to be stronger in GI and Heme-onc than Cards, and Cedars has a reputation for placing grads in Cards fellowships, so you probably have a similar chance in either program.