nyc programs

[hartbot]

How hard is it to match into a diagnostic rads program in nyc?

I imagine pretty hard since theyre all good names (cornell, nyu, columbia, etc) and it's a desirable location...

but does anyone have experience with this or any stories

thanks

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[quietude]

How hard is it to match into a diagnostic rads program in nyc?

I imagine pretty hard since theyre all good names (cornell, nyu, columbia, etc) and it's a desirable location...

but does anyone have experience with this or any stories

thanks

Fine, I'll bite. Since you are only mentioning the good names and didn't mention Montefiore, I will assume you are at least a year away from entering the match.

There are 20-25 programs in New York that are not upstate. Keep in mind I am throwing in Long Island (which has the excellent North Shore and LIJ and several others) and programs north of the city but within 20 miles. They should all be on your radar unless you are a superstar or are currently attending a NYC-area school.

Since there are four very good medical schools in the area (and quite a few more nearby), this region tends to favor local applicants, unless you are a near-perfect applicant. People from all over the country apply to NYC because it's a fun city, so the competition even for the small community programs is intense. Programs that really just aren't that great nonetheless get great applicants, many of whom are geographically-restricted and are happy to rank a mediocre program over a top program elsewhere. For example, Beth Israel in Manhattan, which I personally think is great anyway but gets insane competition.

A variation of what my PD told me (and I am somewhat local): for the top-name schools, 240-250+ Step 1, a few pubs, and as close to AOA as possible is your best chance for matching there. So it's tough, about on par with California but with a few more programs lying around.

If you are willing to go to many of the non-brand-name programs that are not sitting on Manhattan soil but would allow you to live in the city and reverse-commute <40 min (including traffic), your chances go up. If you can claim some sort of connection to the area, your chances go up. If your medical school is not local but a good name, your chances go up.

There are always people who chime in and say they have a friend who interviewed/matched at Sinai/NYU/Cornell with a 225 and nothing else on their ERAS. I know there are exceptions. But the vast majority of people who do end up matching these programs are very good candidates or had extremely close ties to the program.

All of us in the current match could probably be a lot more specific in a few weeks: of all these programs, Columbia is the only one that has offered invites so far. The MSPE goes out early next week.

 

[hartbot]

Thanks quietude, that helped.

You're right, I am a 3rd year now and enrolled in a school in NY state but not down by the city. I haven't totally committed to rads, but it's becoming more attractive.

I did slightly better than 250 on step 1, and am hoping to have 2 pubs in non-related fields by the time I interview. I guess now the best thing to do is try and do well on rotations.

I dont need an ivy league hospital to train at, but I would like something in Manhattan and I was unaware of all the other residency programs that exist there.

One more question, you mentioned having any connection helps, do you think being jewish helps to match at any of these jewish hospitals (mt sinai, LIJ, etc)??

 

[quietude]

Thanks quietude, that helped.

You're right, I am a 3rd year now and enrolled in a school in NY state but not down by the city. I haven't totally committed to rads, but it's becoming more attractive.

I did slightly better than 250 on step 1, and am hoping to have 2 pubs in non-related fields by the time I interview. I guess now the best thing to do is try and do well on rotations.

I dont need an ivy league hospital to train at, but I would like something in Manhattan and I was unaware of all the other residency programs that exist there.

One more question, you mentioned having any connection helps, do you think being jewish helps to match at any of these jewish hospitals (mt sinai, LIJ, etc)??

To get a good idea of how many programs are in the NYC area (it helps if you are also familiar with NY geography as I'm sure you are), you should check out the very good FREIDA website and search by state. Be sure to throw in NJ and CT as many are very close and good programs.

When you do a search for NY, almost every program that pops up is close or in the city except those in Albany, Rochester, and Syracuse (only about four total). CT you have to rule out Hartford and further, and NJ you should discount Monmouth and other south Jersey programs...too far of a commute.

It sounds like you are well on your way to being a reasonable candidate. As I said, third year is very important to radiology PDs and the better your grades the better off you will be.

Since asking about religion or picking a candidate based on religion is as discriminatory as picking based on race, sexual preference or gender, I don't believe it would make a difference. All the radiology residents I have met at those programs have been representative of NYC in general. If there are more Jewish residents at Montefiore/AECOM or Mount Sinai (which I do not know; those stats certainly wouldn't be available anywhere) I think it is more a result of them favoring their own medical schools than anything else.

 

[luvsthedarkroom]

I have a question about NY programs. I understand that regional biases do exist, is this area the most challenging region in the nation for non-east coast applicants to get an interview? So far 1 rejection and a cold shoulder.

 

[LuckyST]

NYC is probably not as tough as Cali for outsiders to get into. But otherwise, it's worse than anywhere.

 

[quietude]

NYC is probably not as tough as Cali for outsiders to get into. But otherwise, it's worse than anywhere.

Agreed. Small community programs are absurdly competitive and hyper-local (otherwise they'd have to interview hundreds of applicants, as there are plenty of people blinded by NYC proximity until interview day rolls around). Meanwhile, top programs place a good deal of weight on their top candidates ranking them first and so also tend to go with someone who has very strong ties or regional training.

 

[yohimbine1]

harlem

 

[Gryphes]

Agreed. Small community programs are absurdly competitive and hyper-local (otherwise they'd have to interview hundreds of applicants, as there are plenty of people blinded by NYC proximity until interview day rolls around). Meanwhile, top programs place a good deal of weight on their top candidates ranking them first and so also tend to go with someone who has very strong ties or regional training.

Hey guys, I have some questions, if someone can shed light on my understanding.
1. Why is small community programs so competitive?

2. Besides good range of step I score like you said (240-250), research, and class rank, does anything else help? I hear things like getting a letter of rec from more or less a "good name" attending/PD from your radiology department from alma mater, etc.

3. How important is AOA?

4. Does research have to be specifically radiology related?

Thanks.

 

[dbbmd]

Community programs are competitive in NYC b/c of the large number of local competitive applicants who really want to stay in the area.

I think AOA is probably needed for NYU, but with a good step 1 and good clinical grades you can get interviews at the other places if you're from a local school. I can't speak for the out-of- NYC applicants.

I only applied to NYU, Cornell, Mt Sinai, Montefiore, Columbia, and LIJ and got interviews at all of them but NYU (I'm not AOA).

I have a few rads research projects without any publications.

Having good letters from well-known faculty is a bonus in my opinion, but a great letter from someone else is probably just as good.

 

[quietude]

Agree with dbbmd, but added my comments below as well.

Hey guys, I have some questions, if someone can shed light on my understanding.
1. Why is small community programs so competitive?

Sorry to confuse you. When I said this in my earlier post, I was referring to the competitiveness of community programs in NYC. It's because there are tons of local medical students + people who went to school elsewhere but want to go home + people who just want to live in NYC. All the competition for spots makes these programs more competitive than they would be in other parts of the country.

2. Besides good range of step I score like you said (240-250), research, and class rank, does anything else help? I hear things like getting a letter of rec from more or less a "good name" attending/PD from your radiology department from alma mater, etc.

Radiology's a small field. A big name letter wouldn't hurt. Even better would be a letter from an attending at the program for that program. These letters can come from away rotations.

Having some unique/interesting activity to put on your ERAS also can't hurt. Committees are going to see the same app 500 times, so something that catches their eye (note I'm NOT talking about the personal statement!) can pay off.

3. How important is AOA?

As said many times in this forum, you don't need it to match but it will make your life much easier in terms of getting top interview invites. But as dbbmd noted, it didn't hurt them much. NYU is notorious for liking AOA, Columbia is also known for liking great step scores, but we all know people who got invites there anyway.

4. Does research have to be specifically radiology related?

All things considered, radiology research is better. If you have a CV full of optho research, for example, be prepared to explain to an interviewer your passion for radiology. Having said that, research in impressive journals in a non-rads field (NEJM, JAMA, Nature, etc) will definitely not be ignored.

 

[MrBurns10]

What has been said is generally true...NYC is tough to break into, and the better your application, the better your chances (obvious statement is obvious). Having said that, you never know unless you try. I wasn't AOA, didn't have a stellar step 1 score, and wasn't from New York but I got interviews at NYU, Cornell, and Montefiore. You just have to make your overall application as strong as possible so that any deficiencies can be overcome. And contacting programs and expressing interest never hurts either. Good luck!

 

[Gryphes]

Thanks to everyone for great answers. While it won't break my life if I don't get to be at NYC, I just wanted to try living around the place just to experience the city/area. I have average competitive score for step I (few points short of 250), but definitely not sure if I will get anything close AOA. I suppose I should plan on applying broadly and see what happens, like everyone else.