is there a correlation between school reputation and residency choice?

[Doctor du]

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Hi-- I am about to enter medical school and the schools I have narrowed down are practically the same with the exception that one is well known and has been around for a number of years and the other is relatively new... my question is when it comes time to get a residency does where you went to school play an influential role or is it just primarily based on board scores/rank?

Is there any benefit to attending a school with a proven track record other than residencies?

If I excel at the newer school will I have the same opportunities?

Thank you!!

 

[Smurfette]

Moving to PreAllo as OP is not yet in med school.

 

[mcloaf]

Search function, try it out. There are already 500+ threads about school rep and residency.

 

[darkjedi]

Definitely a correlation, not necessarily a causation however

 

[SoulinNeed]

When you say residency, are you talking about specialties, or residency programs?

 

[Doctor du]

wow i gotta say there is allota luv on sdn....anywho this 'op' was put on the resident forum to get the opinion of resident---but according to smurfette, pre-meds know better, as for the person that recommended the 'search' function----feel free to read the 500+ threads that span over a number of years to facts that are no longer relevant and respond to my direct question to current residents--to those that gave legit responses, i appreciate your help. Thank you!!

 

[Doctor du]

When you say residency, are you talking about specialties, or residency programs?

I was just referring to residency programs---i am choosing between two schools, one relatively new the other well established.

 

[Barcu]

I was just referring to residency programs---i am choosing between two schools, one relatively new the other well established.

You as an applicant is the most important, but that doesn't mean your school may not give you a little boost.

Some residency programs will take residents from certain med schools. They have accepted students from that school in the past, the students have done well, and then the program director may return to that school again. Or if there are two similar applicants, and one comes from a school that the program has had in the past, that may give that student from a familiar school the edge.

How much this matters to an individual applicant is hard to quantify. With all else being equal, I would say pick the established school. However, all is rarely equal. You must consider cost, location, curriculum, and overall "fit", which are arguably more important to an applicant than the boost an established school may give.

 

[SoulinNeed]

I was just referring to residency programs---i am choosing between two schools, one relatively new the other well established.

Do you care about the location of the programs? Are you trying to wind up in a certain geographic location?

 

[mcloaf]

wow i gotta say there is allota luv on sdn....anywho this 'op' was put on the resident forum to get the opinion of resident---but according to smurfette, pre-meds know better, as for the person that recommended the 'search' function----feel free to read the 500+ threads that span over a number of years to facts that are no longer relevant and respond to my direct question to current residents--to those that gave legit responses, i appreciate your help. Thank you!!

Do really think things have changed so much that no previous threads on this exact same topic are relevant?

 

[NotAsking4Much]

Hi-- I am about to enter medical school and the schools I have narrowed down are practically the same with the exception that one is well known and has been around for a number of years and the other is relatively new... my question is when it comes time to get a residency does where you went to school play an influential role or is it just primarily based on board scores/rank?

Is there any benefit to attending a school with a proven track record other than residencies?

If I excel at the newer school will I have the same opportunities?

Thank you!!

If you're outstanding, no difference.
If you're awful, well...you're awful.
Anything else, reputation plays an effect.

 

[riddler]

Is there a significant difference between US news top 5 versus US news top 15 (or 20)?

 

[SoulinNeed]

Is there a significant difference between US news top 5 versus US news top 15 (or 20)?

Oh God, I feel like I'm back on pre-law message boards. This is medicine, people. Let's not do this to ourselves.

 

[mcloaf]

Is there a significant difference between US news top 5 versus US news top 15 (or 20)?

Oh my. 🙁

 

[lobo.solo]

Is there a significant difference between US news top 5 versus US news top 15 (or 20)?

The difference is 10 (or 15) 😀

 

[riddler]

Sorry! I should clarify my question. If you're going into private practice, I'm 100% sure that it makes little to no difference. However, I only ask because, from my past searches on this topic, it seems that it can definitely make a difference if you're looking to go into academic medicine or into a very competitive speciality. Although step 1 scores, etc. matter much more, it seems that being at a "bigger name" top 5 can still make an impact for some career prospects.

Does that still hold true or is that information now outdated?

 

[Barcu]

Sorry! I should clarify my question. If you're going into private practice, I'm 100% sure that it makes little to no difference. However, I only ask because, from my past searches on this topic, it seems that it can definitely make a difference if you're looking to go into academic medicine or into a very competitive speciality. Although step 1 scores, etc. matter much more, it seems that being at a "bigger name" top 5 can still make an impact for some career prospects.

Does that still hold true or is that information now outdated?

A top 5 versus top 15 won't make much of a difference even in academics or a competitive specialty. What matters at that point is you being a competitive applicant.