Matching into California from an MD school out of state

[dodoo123]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in a bit of a dilemma. I'm fortunate to have been accepted to three MD programs (CUSM, Penn State, and Roseman), and I'm currently waitlisted at my top choice (UCLA).

I was wondering how difficult it would be to match into residency from a school like Penn State, hypothetically. I’ve tried looking into match lists, but as many people on here have pointed out, they can be a bit hard to interpret.

If my end goal is to match back to California, would attending Penn State—compared to CUSM or Roseman—truly limit my chances? Personally, the pros of Penn State outweigh the cons, and I’m okay with living away for four years. But again, matching to California is definitely something I care a lot about.

Is there anything I could do to maximize my chances of coming back to CA for residency?

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[LizzyM]

Well, in the past cycle, two Penn State grads matched in California, both at UCLA (peds and ortho). So it can be done. Of course, it means, in part, that M4s wanted to go to California and that California programs wanted them.

To maximize your chances of getting back to CA, I'd suggest doing as well as you can in your medical school coursework, getting a strong Dean's letter (or whatever they call it now), doing an away rotation (sometimes called an audition) at one or two California residency sites, and preparing well for any interviews you may get. Then rank the CA sites at the top and hope they do the same.

 

[dodoo123]

Well, in the past cycle, two Penn State grads matched in California, both at UCLA (peds and ortho). So it can be done. Of course, it means, in part, that M4s wanted to go to California and that California programs wanted them.

To maximize your chances of getting back to CA, I'd suggest doing as well as you can in your medical school coursework, getting a strong Dean's letter (or whatever they call it now), doing an away rotation (sometimes called an audition) at one or two California residency sites, and preparing well for any interviews you may get. Then rank the CA sites at the top and hope they do the same.

Thank you so much! This is what I was looking for.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Previously,

Thread 'WAMC + School List Help'

May 26, 2024

Hey Guys,

I am a Middle Eastern applicant (probably ORM) from CA (LA with family in Bakersfield for UCR). I attended a private university in PA and believe I have a very meaningful application, with a strong emphasis on being first-gen and promoting diversity.

Stats:

GPA: 3.97

MCAT: 504

Experience:

Clinical Volunteering: 500 hours at a war zone hospital in the Middle East

Clinical Paid: 600 hours as a caregiver for a leukemia patient, a very meaningful activity

Non-Clinical Volunteering: 300 hours at church, 300 hours mentoring disadvantaged students

Research: 600 hours with a...

• dodoo123
• Replies: 12
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

Congratulations!

I think you said your had family and grew up in Los Angeles/Bakersfield. ERAS has made it easier for you to signal geographic preferences, so I think it's easier than you think. Follow Lizzy's advice of course, but don't forget to work/study hard.

 

[dodoo123]

Previously,

Thread 'WAMC + School List Help'

May 26, 2024

Hey Guys,

I am a Middle Eastern applicant (probably ORM) from CA (LA with family in Bakersfield for UCR). I attended a private university in PA and believe I have a very meaningful application, with a strong emphasis on being first-gen and promoting diversity.

Stats:

GPA: 3.97

MCAT: 504

Experience:

Clinical Volunteering: 500 hours at a war zone hospital in the Middle East

Clinical Paid: 600 hours as a caregiver for a leukemia patient, a very meaningful activity

Non-Clinical Volunteering: 300 hours at church, 300 hours mentoring disadvantaged students

Research: 600 hours with a...

• dodoo123
• Replies: 12
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

Congratulations!

I think you said your had family and grew up in Los Angeles/Bakersfield. ERAS has made it easier for you to signal geographic preferences, so I think it's easier than you think. Follow Lizzy's advice of course, but don't forget to work/study hard.

Thank you for this as well! Yeah this cycle has been full of ups and downs but God Willing it all worked out!

Thank you guys!

 

[Dral]

There are a lot of factors at play here. If you want to move back to California to do family medicine? Sure, that won't be too difficult. If you want to move back for ENT or something more competitive, it gets tougher. The competitive specialties (and probably all specialties) can have local bias. For instance, if you go to a NYC school and want to stay in the city for ENT residency, chances are the ENT from your school who writes your letter will be known to other ENTs at other programs in NYC. This can help you out (it could also hurt you if you are a less than stellar student).

That can be somewhat overcome though. If you go to school in Georgia but want to go to NYC for ENT, then you do an away rotation in NYC, rock it, get a letter from the NYC ENT doc, and there ya go.

I was in a southern state for med school, did a rotation in NYC (competitive specialty), and ended up in NYC for residency (not at the place where I rotated). So yah, it can certainly be done.

With that being said, I do not think that concept I just went over is something that should play a huge part in where you decide to go to school. Things like quality of education and cost are more important in my opinion.

 

[dodoo123]

There are a lot of factors at play here. If you want to move back to California to do family medicine? Sure, that won't be too difficult. If you want to move back for ENT or something more competitive, it gets tougher. The competitive specialties (and probably all specialties) can have local bias. For instance, if you go to a NYC school and want to stay in the city for ENT residency, chances are the ENT from your school who writes your letter will be known to other ENTs at other programs in NYC. This can help you out (it could also hurt you if you are a less than stellar student).

That can be somewhat overcome though. If you go to school in Georgia but want to go to NYC for ENT, then you do an away rotation in NYC, rock it, get a letter from the NYC ENT doc, and there ya go.

I was in a southern state for med school, did a rotation in NYC (competitive specialty), and ended up in NYC for residency (not at the place where I rotated). So yah, it can certainly be done.

With that being said, I do not think that concept I just went over is something that should play a huge part in where you decide to go to school. Things like quality of education and cost are more important in my opinion.

Hello, thanks for this!

As of right now I am thinking about neurology -- which I guess isn't the most competitive? I also have some interest in oncology? So IM? I don't really know if any of this changes anything, but regardless your answer was very descriptive. Thank you for that!

 

[Dral]

Neurology should not be too difficult to match into.

Oncology is a bit different since that is a fellowship from IM. While IM shouldn't be difficult, oncology is competitive, so you want to try to get the best IM program you can get to have a theoretically better chance of oncology.

Better medical schools can get you into a better IM program. However, the medical schools you mention have the tools to get you to where you would need to go.

Also, remember you may easily change. I went into med school IM or neuro and ended up pretty far away from either of them.