noncompetitive programs

[jersey78]

Hi.....i was wondering if anyone could tell me which pathology residency programs are considered not to competitive. What I mean by this are those that do not require high board scores, accept IMGs, and are not to stringent in regards to their requirments..i know this may sound somewhat vague in regards to "noncompetitive", but I hope someone knows what i mean.....thanks for any info...

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[deschutes]

Assuming we are on the same page, i.e. that competitiveness is difficult to gauge and classification of programs as best vs non-best being completely subjective, I will try to give some straight answers without spieling about tiers being a bunch of crap.

As an example of this subjectivity, places like Mass Gen and Hopkins accept IMGs. Also, I read that South Carolina, Missouri are examples of good training programs for private practice/community pathologists - and yet Missouri (if I have the right one - I'm looking at Kansas City) did not fill last year.

My way of deciding that a program was perhaps less competitive was to trawl old posts on this forum and see where people had NOT applied.

yaah's excellent FAQ (3rd Sticky on the forum) lists some strong programs and links to old posts which discuss program selection.

 

[yaah]

Hi.....i was wondering if anyone could tell me which pathology residency programs are considered not to competitive. What I mean by this are those that do not require high board scores, accept IMGs, and are not to stringent in regards to their requirments..i know this may sound somewhat vague in regards to "noncompetitive", but I hope someone knows what i mean.....thanks for any info...

Frankly it's hard to tell. They vary from year to year. And lots of programs you might expect to be noncompetitive turn out to take some people outside of the match. The only thing you can do is apply. If they grant you an interview, you are a competitive candidate. They are not going to grant interviews to people they don't think (at least on paper) could be good residents for them.

A lot of the smaller programs only take 2-3 residents per year. So if, by chance, there are applicants who want to go there because of location, certain attendings, couples match, whatever, it will vary.

But yes, most programs will take IMGs.

 

[PathOne]

As previous posts suggested, you'd have to be aware of application bias, i.e. that people decide where to apply based on the previous year's applications. That can often lead to strange results.
That being said, community based programs would, all other things being equal, probably be easier to get into than major academic centers, also because of the preferences of the PD's, which is likely to resemble the setting of the program.