Most selective programs

[deuce]

A review of recent FREIDA data would indicate that the West Coast programs are the most selective/competative, and that the NYC programs have to interview a lot of applciants to match. For those who have already interveiwed this year (or preceding years) does this conform with your impressions ? (data below lists number of positions each year and number the program interviews each year.


a few programs surprised me a bit -
Why does Cornell have to inteview so many applicanst to match ? great hospital, great city, integrated internship after all....is there some problem with this program ??

why do Duke, Vanderbilt,Columbia and WUSTL have to interview so many more applicants compared to peer hospitals/programs - is it location;workload ; something else ?


Program Residents/year Interviews Yield
Cornell 18 300 0.06
Vanderbilt 15 152 0.99
NYU 20 200 0.1
Duke 14 140 0.1
WUSTL 18 165 0.11
Columbia 24 220 0.11
Colorado 12 100 0.12
Yale 20 150 0.13
BI 18 130 0.14
Sinai 18 125 0.14
Penn 24 150 0.16
U wash 24 140 0.17
B&W 30 165 0.18
UCLA 22 118 0.19
Stanford 24 125 0.19
UCSF 24 100 0.24

NB- data not published for Johns Hopkins, MGH, OUHS, Emory

 

[Eta Carinae]

Your yield for Vandy should be 0.09

Selectivity
How many applicants per spot a program interviews says less about their selectivity than the stats (GPA, AOA status, StepI/II scores, class rank) that are required to obtain an interview.

Ability to Recruit top applicants
How attractive a program is to applicants (gestalt comprised of name recognition, faculty, resident mix, competitiveness of program, fellowship opportunities, location including weather, population mix, proximity to and opportunities for recreational activities ie hiking, biking, kayaking etc activities and assumptions of post-graduation marketability) is reflected by the program's ability to recruit residents from outside of its immediate locale, who have little or no affiliation with the program (ie I went to med school here or I was born here) and to do so without wandering too far down its rank list.

In summary, there are so many factors that play into the perceived competitiveness or reputation of a program that it would be inappropriate to base it solely on the number of interviews offered.