Looking for rank list help from radiology residents and attendings!

[radiology_applicant_2018]

Long time lurker here and now I am in serious need of help from the senior radiology community. I've read so much about prestige and academic vs. private practice careers that I think I am psyching myself out. Especially after talking to MS4s.

So here is me: I am a MS4 who is going into diagnostic radiology (MSK or Breast) and really do not know if I want to go into academics or private practice. If I go into academics, its for the teaching and not for research. I am also tied between two geographic locations: New England and Texas. Cost of living is important to me as well and I will be newly married (couples matching).

I am trying to make my rank list and I have almost had it with this process and just want to stop thinking about it.

My programs that I liked based on the one day I was there are the following: UTSW (no commute), MGH, BWH, BID (45 min commute by train 1 way at all three), Brown (no commute), UT Houston (no commute)

Other places that I thought were cool but iffy about moving to: Hopkins, Stanford

I am going insane making this list and I feel like between these programs, I am pulling hairs.

HELP!

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[GadRads]

I believe you know that Palo Alto is very very expensive, since cost appears to be important to you.

You can do almost anything you want coming from any of these programs. I think people unnecessarily obsess about rankings and prestige when the concern should be if you feel/believe you will be happy at that program and/or location, by your own criteria of what happiness means to you.

 

[JoshSt]

It sounds like you may be hesitant to put UTSW and the likes ahead of the Harvard's. People do this; it's ok. Dallas with a newlywed resident spouse living close with no commute sounds better to me personally.

Your iffy's are iffy's for a reason to you (life circumstances, etc). You'd get a lot of people who would pull those to the top for their own life goals. West coast is too expensive for me and with a 45 min commute, you can live in a safe place between Baltimore and Baltimore/DC suburbs. But again, go with what attracted you and your fiancee/spouse to those programs and locations.

 

[Rads4lyfe]

Long time lurker here and now I am in serious need of help from the senior radiology community. I've read so much about prestige and academic vs. private practice careers that I think I am psyching myself out. Especially after talking to MS4s.

So here is me: I am a MS4 who is going into diagnostic radiology (MSK or Breast) and really do not know if I want to go into academics or private practice. If I go into academics, its for the teaching and not for research. I am also tied between two geographic locations: New England and Texas. Cost of living is important to me as well and I will be newly married (couples matching).

I am trying to make my rank list and I have almost had it with this process and just want to stop thinking about it.

My programs that I liked based on the one day I was there are the following: UTSW (no commute), MGH, BWH, BID (45 min commute by train 1 way at all three), Brown (no commute), UT Houston (no commute)

Other places that I thought were cool but iffy about moving to: Hopkins, Stanford

I am going insane making this list and I feel like between these programs, I am pulling hairs.

HELP!

I would choose the program based on where u want to live when done with training and where u will be the happiest. If you plan on moving back to texas, then id put UTSW over the others. If you want to live in boston then MGH/BWH.

In terms of academic prestige, MGH = Hopkins = stanford = BWH > UTSW > BID = brown >= UT Houston. If you are dead set on academics, probably helps to go to a more prestigious progra. But that wont necessarily mean the MGH or stanford grad is getting a faculty position at UTSW or UT Houston over the UTSW grad.

If you dont know where you want to live in the future, id go with the big name places since they are more well known nationally.

 

[radiology_applicant_2018]

It sounds like you may be hesitant to put UTSW and the likes ahead of the Harvard's. People do this; it's ok. Dallas with a newlywed resident spouse living close with no commute sounds better to me personally.

Your iffy's are iffy's for a reason to you (life circumstances, etc). You'd get a lot of people who would pull those to the top for their own life goals. West coast is too expensive for me and with a 45 min commute, you can live in a safe place between Baltimore and Baltimore/DC suburbs. But again, go with what attracted you and your fiancee/spouse to those programs and locations.

I think you are 100% right UTSW maybe the right choice and fit for me. especially since I have no desire to come back to the northeast

 

[Cognovi]

Why would you live in Providence if you matched to a Boston program?

 

[entrepreneurMD]

Deleted

 

[radiology_applicant_2018]

Why would you live in Providence if you matched to a Boston program?

Couples matching purposes. my fiancé will be at brown or UTSW most likely. Hence the predicament

 

[tco]

I would choose the program based on where u want to live when done with training and where u will be the happiest. If you plan on moving back to texas, then id put UTSW over the others. If you want to live in boston then MGH/BWH.

In terms of academic prestige, MGH = Hopkins = stanford = BWH > UTSW > BID = brown >= UT Houston. If you are dead set on academics, probably helps to go to a more prestigious progra. But that wont necessarily mean the MGH or stanford grad is getting a faculty position at UTSW or UT Houston over the UTSW grad.

If you dont know where you want to live in the future, id go with the big name places since they are more well known nationally.

I'm at UT Houston now. I'd agree that we don't have a great national reputation. You need to decide if that's important to you.

I'll just tell you that our networking is unbelievably vast, and, as a PGY-4, I'm already getting job offers from Texas, Florida, and the Louisville (KY) area.

Depends on what you want. I wanted a big program with breadth of training, lots of research, and the moonlighting here is redonkulous.

 

[radiology_applicant_2018]

I'm at UT Houston now. I'd agree that we don't have a great national reputation. You need to decide if that's important to you.

I'll just tell you that our networking is unbelievably vast, and, as a PGY-4, I'm already getting job offers from Texas, Florida, and the Louisville (KY) area.

Depends on what you want. I wanted a big program with breadth of training, lots of research, and the moonlighting here is redonkulous.

I'm pretty confident I am going private practice or one of those hybrid programs that allow you to teach but I am not trying to design my life around research endeavors. UT-H is quickly jumping to my top since my parents live in Houston and Texas is the end goal and the moonlighting makes a tangible difference to quality of life. I feel that my ego is getting in the way however. Where you between two programs?