Pediatrics Rank List 2018

[huskydock]

Calling all Peds 2018 applicants! Let's get our own rank list thread going. Other specialties do this and it's a tremendous resource for future c/o 2019 applicants just to be able to see your thinking as you select programs. It's also a nice, albeit imperfect, way to gauge competitiveness and choose programs.

There are a number of ways in which you may participate:

1. By using your SDN account and directly replying to this thread
2. By using your SDN account to private message (PM) me. Your ROL will be posted anonymously
3. By using the anonymous GOOGLE FORM created for this thread. No SDN or email account required.

Format:

• Please try and keep things as civil as possible, I really want this to be a resource for future applicants and for current applicants.
• Include a description of your thinking process/priorities you considered to create your rank order list (i.e., fellowship matches, community vs. academic, location, reputation, residents/faculty, work hours, etc.). This is tremendously important for future applicants as they are trying to determine which programs they are applying to
• List the programs you are ranking in their respective numerical order, providing a brief summary of cons/pros you considered for each.

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[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honor

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive: URM

Region of Country: CA

Main Considerations for Rank List: Training, Location, Fit

RANK LIST

1. CHOP

2. CHLA

3. Seattle Children's

4. UCSF

5. Children's National DC

6. Stanford

7. UCLA

8. Oakland Children's

9. Baylor

10. Rady's San Diego

11. Johns Hopkins

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honors

AOA Status: AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive: Multiple pediatric publications

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List:Best training

RANK LIST

1. BCRP - UHAT. In my opinion the best program in the county. Can basically pick your fellowship. Residents seemed like hard workers, but a great group of people that did not seem too over worked. UHAT has more advocacy opportunities which I am interested in.

2. BCRP - Categorical

3. CHOP. A close second to BCRP. Residents seemed more over worked and they take care of a crazy number of patients. Hospital is always over capacity. I would be a very smart pediatrician at the end of the 3 years, but surviving might be tough.

4. Hopkins. Surprised at how much I liked this program. Lots of autonomy. Less patients than BCRP or CHOP. More doable hours. They have really good fellowship matches every year. Not that happy about living in Baltimore.

5. Cincinnati. Great program. Don't really want to live there though and almost everyone stays there for fellowship.

6. Children's National. High volume of patients, great benefit package, lots of advocacy opportunities. DC is expensive with lots of traffic though.

7. Pitt

8. Northwestern

9. Nationwide

10. Rainbow babies

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1: 240s; Step 2: 260s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honors

AOA Status: AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: No research

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location; perceived "fit"; reputation

RANK LIST

1. Boston Children's: Amazing reputation, unlimited resources. I was very impressed by how personalized/fun the interview day was. Only potential con: q4 call in PGY2 and PGY3

2. Lurie: Chicago is a great city. Lurie is an incredible hospital and the interview day was very well done. Beautiful facilities and a relaxed environment. It seems very important to the program that the residents are all friends, which is fostered by summer BBQs every Friday, intern vacation, etc.

3. CHOP: Honestly I was not blown away by CHOP on my interview day, but it is high on my list because it's a great program in a good location. There was not much chief/rising chief interaction, which I really enjoyed at other programs.

4. Children's National: fun group of residents. DC is a cool, young city. The program is unionized, which means there is a higher salary. They try to arrange 3 day weekends on rotations. Cons: not a beautiful facility.

5. UPMC: beautiful hospital. I like their emphasis on mentorship. I didn't click with the residents when I was there. I did not enjoy my time with one of my interviewers. Pittsburgh is a cool city with a great cost of living.

6. Cincinnati: truly an amazing hospital. I loved talking to all of my interviewers. They have so much funding! They will double any research grant you get. It's lower on my list though because it's not my ideal city and a lot of the residents there felt very "settled down."

7. WashU St. Louis

8. NYP - Columbia

9. UC San Diego

10. Johns Hopkins

11. Brown

12. Yale

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: mid 230s, 250

Pediatric Rotation Grades: P

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: DO

Region of Country:

Main Considerations for Rank List: right fit

RANK LIST

1. Baylor Houston

2. Children's Mercy

3. Cincinnati

4. UT Houston

5. DuPont

6. Phoenix

7. Nationwide

8. MUSC

9. U Conn

10. USC

11. Baylor San Antonio

12. UTHSCSA

13. Geisinger

14. VCU

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1: 220s, Step 2: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: High Pass

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: GHHS, significant research experience, supposedly very strong LORs

Region of Country: West

Main Considerations for Rank List: Fellowship placement, fit, free-standing children's hospital, resident personalities

RANK LIST

1. CU-Denver/Colorado Children's
Pros: amazing bunch of residents/faculty, program leadership, top notch clinical training at both a quaternary children's hospital and safety-net county hospital, fellowship placement, everyone there seemed insanely happy with their training, Denver is a very cool place to live (especially if you're outdoorsy)
Cons: slammed with high volume, main hospital is actually in Aurora

2. UW/Seattle Children's
Pros: had the best faculty/resident interviews on the interview trail here, WWAMI rotation in PGY-2, beautiful hospital, top notch clinical training, tons of research support, fellowship placement, Seattle is a fantastic place to spend your free time
Cons: Residents definitely seem tired and overworked here, supposedly no patient cap, 1 of 3 vacation weeks is actually jeopardy call, Seattle is expensive

3. UCLA Mattel Children's
Pros: Friendly faculty, lots of mentorship, variety of clinical sites, very fun group of residents, West LA has a ton of stuff to do, some of the best benefits I've seen for a west coast program including housing and relocation stipend, health/dental insurance, ~5 weeks vacation, etc.
Cons: LA is crazy expensive, not a free-standing children's hospital, clinical sites are spread out throughout the region, so lots of driving in LA traffic

4. UC Irvine/Children's Hospital Orange County
Pros: Great clinical training, ideal location in Orange, great group of residents, training at two different free-standing Children's hospitals
Cons: Residents overworked, not as academic as the UC Irvine name may suggest, driving between Orange and Long Beach might suck

5. Phoenix Children's Hospital
Pros: Amazing program director, fun group of residents, definitely an up and coming program, personalized clinical experience
Cons: Not nearly as many fellowships in-house as a Children's hospital this size would typically have, weak research experience

6. Baylor/Texas Children's Hospital
Pros: Amazing facilities, love the program leadership here, unparalleled clinical training considering the scale of this place, unlimited potential for any niche career/fellowship
Cons: Houston. Maybe too many residents per class, easy to feel lost in the mix, residents admit to being worked extremely hard

7. OHSU/Doernbecher Children's Hospital
Pros: PD seems to be a great advocate for her residents, strong clinical training with great work/life balance, Portland is a cool place to live
Cons: Not as strong academically as the other programs higher on my list

8. UCSF/Children's Hospital Oakland
Pros: Strong clinical training, strong group of residents, really love their mission to serve the Oakland community
Cons: dumpy facilities, will actually be under construction in the next few years, so many inpatient services will actually be temporarily relocated, Oakland/East Bay is getting very expensive

9. University of Texas - Austin/Dell Children's
Pros: Relatively new facilities, Austin seems cool
Cons: Not as academic or high volume as the other programs higher on my list

10. University of Utah
Pros: Lots of unique curricular elements focused on medical student education and QI, strong clinical training
Cons: Not a fan of SLC or Utah

11. UC San Diego
Pros: It's San Diego
Cons: Not a huge fan of the leadership, seems too outpatient-focused, pairing you with a mentor purposefully who is not aligned with your career interest seems like a waste of time, residents seem overworked and there was poor turnout at the dinner

12. UCLA-Harbor
Pros: South Bay is a nice area to live in, nice mission to serve the underserved in the community, faculty are very dedicated to the county system
Cons: Simply too small and does not seem to have the same strengths in fellowship placement as the other programs on my list, County hospital means you work with very limited resources and there seems to be more scut work on average for the residents

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 240s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass

AOA Status: AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Significant volunteer experiences, strong LORs

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, Quality of training, Fit

RANK LIST

1. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago/Northwestern: best city in the country, amazing PD, residents get along really well and actually like to hang out with each other outside of work/overall younger vibe that's not so much married with kids, 100% board pass rate, reputation, beautiful hospital/tallest children's hospital in the world
Cons: don't cover the cost of step 3, don't feed you much unless you're on call, benefits not completely covered by the program

2. Children's National: great city with lots to do, unique opportunities for advocacy, residents as educators program, REACH program, PD was wonderful, unionized - higher salary plus bonuses most years, work an average of something like 56 hours a week
Cons: uses Cerner, cost of living, don't feed you unless you're on call (but higher salary sort of accounts for that)

3. CHOC/Denver: did a sub-I and really enjoyed my time there - faculty very invested in teaching, rapidly growing city with so many things to do, 2 unique hospital experiences (children's hospital and community hospital), breakfast and lunch provided (Monday-Friday), academic half day rather than noon conference (I realized how much I preferred this on my sub-I), main hospital is beautiful/newer
Cons: ultimately lower on my list just because their advocacy and residents as educators programs don't seem very robust

4. Baylor: I really enjoyed my interview day there and was extremely impressed by the PD and chair of pediatrics. They have a great reputation, wonderful teaching curriculum (residents as teachers), unique global health opportunities, nice perks like stipend for moving and for orientation/cover step 3/cover insurance in full/free tickets to events around the city
Cons: As much as I tried to love Houston I couldn't. Residents work really hard and just looking at some of my other top choices they actually have 3 weeks of vacation over 4 which isn't huge but significant when you're already working harder than a lot of other programs.

5. St. Louis Children's

6. Cincinnati Children's

7. Children's Mercy: great interview day but residents tend to be cliquey and passive aggressive

8. Milwaukee

9. University of Michigan

10. Indiana

11. Children's Hospital of LA: program was great but residents seemed really overworked and morning report seemed kind of intense, residents had lots of complaints when asked

12. I decided not to rank Rainbow Babies because the dinner I had there was so terrible and interview day wasn't much better.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1 250s, Step 2 260s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass in M3 but Honors in Sub I

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Good volunteering experience but not much research

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, Fit, and I'm applying Peds Neuro so looked at opportunities in neuro dept

RANK LIST

1. Lurie - I love Chicago and have a lot of family/friends close by so wanted to stay by my support system. Residents seem like they work hard but are very social outside of work too. Beautiful hospital.

2. CHOP - Residents seems a bit overwork but still happy. I really liked the neuro faculty and residents, seem like there are a ton of amazing opportunities for research, advocacy, whatever you are interested in. Hospital felt a bit older to me.

3. Cincinnati - Loved the neuro faculty and program director, and enjoyed my interviews with the peds faculty too. Residents seemed happy and like they had a pretty good work/like balance. Cinncinati isn't the most exciting city but has low cost of living which is nice.

4. Stanford - Loved the people, especially the program directors. Beautiful new hospital. Biggest con is its far away from my family and very expensive.

5. Michigan - Got along with all the residents/faculty I met during the interview, seemed like residents had a nice work/life balance. There is a resident union so they have a pretty good salary and benefits package. The neuro department here is a bit smaller than other places on my list so maybe less opportunities, not as much patient volume.

6. Wash U - liked the residents and program director. Schedule seems a bit too intense compared to other places, especially during the neurology years.

7. Seattle - Love Seattle the city and the pediatric program, WWAMI is cool. It fell lower on my list because I wasn't sure I liked the neuro program as much, and its really far from home for me.

8. Mayo - People seem happy here, there is a big focus on resident education and not just using residents for work. Not a stand alone childrens hospital, and I don't love the idea of living in Rochester. Not very high patient volume so learn more by reading than by doing.

9. Columbia - I liked the residents a lot. New York is a bit too expensive/overwhelming for me. Apparently nurses in NY are unionized and don't do IVs and stuff so residents have to work more to take care of those things.

10. UCSF - San Francisco is a great city but way too expensive. They have to rotate at many different hospitals which I would find frustrating.

11. Medical College Wisconsin - Milwaukee is a nice city. The peds neuro program is missing a lot of residents which was a red flag for me.

12. U Chicago - Liked the peds program, focus more on advocacy and serving the south side of Chicago. Neuro program was very small, felt like it didn't offer as many opportunities as other programs.

13. SLU - didn't get along as well with the residents. smaller neuro department, fewer opportunities, have to transfer some neuro patients to WashU so lose out on education.

 

[hlancaster]

"1 of 3 vacation weeks is actually jeopardy call, Seattle is expensive"

That doesn't sound right to me. The benefits site says residents get three weeks paid time off. Jeopardy call and vacation are different things so I would doubt that one of your weeks of vacation is jeopardy call. There was no mention of anything like that on my interview day or with any of the residents I spoke to. Albeit 3 weeks of vacation is still unfairly little IMO.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 240s, 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: HP

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: PhD, plenty of research, strong letters

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Combined training (without clear disparity in training strength between specialties); overall training strength (educational value, sufficient exposure, good mentorship); geography (not downtown in a large, expensive city); research opportunities - All the programs below are in terms of combined training, though if I had to rank solely on the pediatrics aspect (plus geography), I think the order would stay very similar.

RANK LIST

1. Cincinnati Children's - Loved every minute of the visit. Fun residents, seemed like a cohesive group. Ridiculously extensive clinical and research resources available. Faculty accessible. Lots of exposure; plenty of fellowships available. Unlike most on here (or so it seems), I don't care much for traditional nightlife, and am fine settling down, so the location doesn't bother me.

2. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh - Also full of many fun residents who seemed like a supportive group. Work plenty, but managed to not look overworked or burnt out. Tons of peds exposure.

3. Riley Children's / Indiana - A good program, but I didn't get the same *love* vibe from my visit. Strong research track.

4. Utah / Primary Children's - Great catchment area, so plenty of exposure. Lovely access to the mountains and the view of the valley. Actually lower on my list despite my love of nature, because of how much the mountains and 'time off for skiing' came up during interview day, making me question priorities within the program. Research more towards genetics, which isn't my thing. More continuity clinic flexibility.

5. Brown/Hasbro Children's - Residents seemed pleased with their training and seemed well supported. Not super enthusiastic about the facilities (except the med/psych floor was neat). Some research, but seemed like less in peds than in other specialities.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1- 250s, Step 2- 270s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honor

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Competitive: MBA, previous work experience; Not competitive: DO

Region of Country: All over

Main Considerations for Rank List: "fit", opportunities for non-clinical extras, good program for partner in couples match

RANK LIST

1. BCRP- Pros: excellent, high-volume program where I felt the opportunities for personal/leadership development were endless. You just can't say no to a chance to go to Boston.
Cons: Boston is expensive

2. Mayo- Pros: these were the kind of doctors I wanted to be. Selfless, amazingly smart, and endlessly committed to practice improvement and learning. Loved these people. Great training for significant other. Personally liked the idea of lower volume with more time to read.
Cons: facilities are not that great (hospital-in-hospital) and Rochester seems kind of boring

3. UNC- Pros: beautiful hospital, super-friendly people, real commitment to improving their surrounding community. Lots of opportunities for leadership, QI. Program director and residents were probably my favorite along the trail. I'm totally in love with North Carolina and Chapel Hill. I look good in Carolina blue.
Cons: None?

4. OHSU- Pros: Portland is awesome, coffee everywhere. Hospital is really nice and program seems very focused on taking good care of the residents. 3-week rotations seemed interesting. You can ride a gondola up to work!
Cons: maybe less 'extras' than first 3 programs, far from family

5. Duke- Pros: again, love North Carolina. Great opportunities for leadership development, really cool special track just for residents interested in developing administrative skills that allows for a year of research and working with hospital executives. Was expecting a very 'ivory tower' feel but actually everyone was super friendly and smart.
Cons: a little less community-focused than UNC

6. Wake Forest- Pros: great cost of living in Winston-Salem. Extremely nice residents and program director. Surprising amount of extracurriculars available. Very active residents in advocacy, community development, QI. Best relationship I saw between residents and hospital staff (nursing, PT, etc). Overall just a really nice little place. One of significant other's top choices.
Cons: not as much name recognition as others, not sure how much that matters for fellowship

7. University of Chicago- Pros: most diversity out of any of the programs on my list so far, really cool and fun residents. Love the program director, she seems very real and honest. Chicago is a great city with lots to do. Good research and business connections with associated UoC schools. Cons: Significant other wants to leave the Midwest so this was lower on their list

8. Dartmouth- Pros: great little program with really cool attached leadership/QI academy. Loved all the faculty I met during my interview day. Residents are nice, weren't quite my favorite at the dinner but met more fun ones at the interview day itself.
Cons: a little small for my taste, hospital is nice but old. Far from family.

9. Milwaukee- loved this program but significant other really didn't like it. Beautiful hospital and really cool opportunities for leadership development. Milwaukee is a cool and affordable city.

10. Cincinnati- actually my favorite program along the interview trail but sadly was not a good fit for my significant other. Not a huge fan of Cincinnati as a city.

11. UW-Madison- got a weird vibe from the PD like she didn't like me, program seemed OK but nothing spectacular

12. Maine Medical Center- Portland is an awesome city, such a beautiful place to live. Program was really small and the residents didn't quite click with me, very quiet during dinner. Partner's program seemed ridiculously rude and pompous so unfortunately fell to the bottom of the list.

 

[huskydock]

Good response so far! As is SDN tradition, seems like a very selective group of top applicants responding, so I encourage everyone to share their rank lists -- especially for people who would consider themselves "average" or "below-average".

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 235, 242

Pediatric Rotation Grades: H

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive:

Region of Country: I'm from Boston, but considered all locations

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, perceived fit, gut feeling

RANK LIST

1. Wash U St. Louis (St. Louis Children's)

2. Baylor (Texas Children's)

3. Children's National

4. Boston Children's

5. Seattle Children's

6. Nationwide

7. U of Michigan

8. Lurie

9. Emory

10. Tufts

 

[huskydock]

"1 of 3 vacation weeks is actually jeopardy call, Seattle is expensive"

That doesn't sound right to me. The benefits site says residents get three weeks paid time off. Jeopardy call and vacation are different things so I would doubt that one of your weeks of vacation is jeopardy call. There was no mention of anything like that on my interview day or with any of the residents I spoke to. Albeit 3 weeks of vacation is still unfairly little IMO.

Hey! Just got the anonymous response in a comment box to this post: "I don't recall it either, but a fellow applicant brought this to my attention and it was confirmed by someone on the peds SDN spreadsheet, so that's what I am going off of. big bonus if it's not true though!"

 

[hlancaster]

Hey! Just got the anonymous response in a comment box to this post: "I don't recall it either, but a fellow applicant brought this to my attention and it was confirmed by someone on the peds SDN spreadsheet, so that's what I am going off of. big bonus if it's not true though!"

Dang that is a bummer. By the way, anyone have a link to the peds spreadsheet? I tried looking for it but didn't know how to find it. Thanks!

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 210s and 230s (not everyone can score as astronomically high as the other applicants on this thread

Pediatric Rotation Grades: A. I’m doing med-peds as well but I won’t be commenting on those peds programs

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Competitive: GHHS, Master degree and strong work in research
Non-competitive: DO

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Free standing children’s hospital, medium sized (between 10-25), my gut feeling on that interview date, accepts DO in the past

RANK LIST

1. SLU: I like the city, reminding me of my hometown. Had a good dinner and interview date. Really hit it off with the faculties. Nice facility.

2. Grand Rapids: beautiful facility. The PD just come across as an awesome human being. The residents are easy to talk to. Only negative is a lot of snow in winter. Yuck. 100% board pass

3. Akron’s children hospital: the residents were cool. I’m a sucker for a new building and that hospital is nice. Had a weird interaction with the PD. But i chalked it up to being their first Interview of the season

4. Advocate- Lutheran (Park Ridge). The only program on my list that offers 3+1 schedule and I like that a lot. I did a rotation as a 4th year and really enjoyed my experience there. Residents are a happy bunch. They match well to fellowship. And the PD, despite being probably the most talkative person I’ve come across, carries a very positive energy about her

5. Tulane: this place is all about gut feeling. The facility is ok, but the PD killed it on my interview date. I really buy in their mission of taking care of the underserved folks of NOlA. The residents are diverse and appear laid-back. NOLA is obviously a cute town too.

6. University of New Mexico: I would have placed this place higher because my SO loves Albuquerque (its a cute place, Santa Fe is close by and I visited there during my interview trip. Beautiful town). Only peds residency in that entire state. Busy place, essentially takes care of everyone from the state. Major downvote is their terrible boards pass rates between 2014/2016. They did do better in 2017 (at national average)

7. Medical college of Georgia: this program fits all of my criteria. But being a minority from the Midwest, I felt a palpable cultural barrier. Everyone is either Georgia or the South. Also, terrible boards pass rate but did better this past year.

8. UConn: again, this program fits into what I like. But the interview didn’t do for me. Pure gut feeling here. Well, the mountain of snows around town didn’t help either.

9. Loyola: smallest program i interviewed at. Probably the most awesome bunch of residents on my trail. This one faculty was flat-out inspiring to me based on her life story. At the same time, they don’t do ECMO and they sent out a bunch of surgical stuff.

10. University of Illinois at Chicago: essentially same as above. But I heard mixed messages from my upperclassmen about this program.

11. University of Nevada: you rotate through two hospitals. The program is selling on its potential, which is appealing. UNLV is expanding and being the only pediatric residency in town, it will change for the better in the future. LAS Vegas offers more than just the strip. But neither the residents nor the faculty stood out for me. The residents were particularly clique as well.

12. Cooper: meh. Just ranked so I don’t have to soap. I do like how candid the PD is. But this program is located not too far from DuPont and CHOP. I feel like anything complicated will just go there.

13. Lady of our lake: meh. Just ranked so I don’t have to soap. They had a prayer before their morning report. Not for me.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms
EDITED TO ADD DESCRIPTIONS BY ORIGINAL POSTER

Approximate Step Scores: 220, 250

Pediatric Rotation Grades: A

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: MPH was definitely a talking point during most of my interviews; not sure if it made me competitive though. Poor shelf grades and low Step 1 were definitely the low points of my application

Region of Country: SE

Main Considerations for Rank List:
City, class diversity, fit

RANK LIST

1. UTSW: Pros: Has everything I'm looking for. Great city with low COL and close friends in the area. Strong program with a great global health track. Cool group of residents. Beautiful facilities. Food during noon conferences. Free covered parking.

Cons: Apparently the program is rumored to be malignant? I never heard this until I actually got there. But definitely never got that type of impression during my visit.

2. NYU: Pros: Awesome city, really great group of residents. PD was awesome, and we shared similar experiences. Good diversity in patients. Night shift instead of q4. Beautiful facilities, and they're constructing a "semi-standalone" children's hospital within the main hospital with a separate entrance, lobby, ED, etc. Highest salary in Manhattan area. Also provide subsidized housing.

Cons: No dedicated global health track. NYC $$$$$

3. UC Irvine: Pros: Great city, awesome group of residents. Had the most fun at their dinner than anywhere else (though it may have been moreso because of the super cool applicants). Really relaxed interview–interviewer even did Southpark impressions. Have close friend in area and extended family in LA. Beautiful facilities with tremendous emphasis on family and patient well-being. Cerner + EPIC. Provide $1700 yearly stipend if reside <5 mi from the hospital. Free breakfast and lunches.

Cons: Really busy program, which I prefer, but which may not be for everyone. Orange County/Anaheim are also really expensive.

4. Cohen Children's: Pros: One of the most robust global health tracks/experiences from anywhere I visited. Tons of diversity among the residents and patient population. Really chill interviews with the PD and a faculty. Have some personal ties to the area.

Cons: Queens isn't Manhattan. Highest salary for peds in the nation, but it turns out to be about the same, if not a bit lower, after considering taxes and COL as most other programs. Not the greatest facilities in the world, though definitely the worst I've seen.

5. UT Houston: Pros: Really close friends and other personal ties to the area. Beautiful facilities and great city. Only list 3 true electives on their site, but I cross-checked every rotation for all three years with many other programs, and after considering all the subspec electives I'd want to take anyway, turns out the curriculum exposure is basically the same, if not a bit better here. You'd do a few more NICU rotations here instead of ED or ward rotations compared to most other places. But you'd also have a few more "true" individualized electives as well.

Cons: PD was sick during our visit, so didn't get to meet him. Only a single resident showed up to our dinner. Then a single resident showed up to our lunch. Literally just got the meet the program coordinators and two of the chiefs the entire time. Just got the impression that residents were really overworked. But apparently our interview day was just an off-day, as other applicants did not have this experience. Still, the UT programs in general are known to really work their residents. They also do q4-5 28 hr call during 2nd and 3rd years. Don't really get free daily lunch. Paid parking. Don't always get funding for abroad rotations. Would not have ranked high if I didn't have such a strong support system in the area.

6. Phoenix Children's: Pros: Amazing facilities with awesome cafeteria. City is great for young professionals with some breathtaking views from the hospital. Residents seemed really nice, but didn't really connect with them too well. PD seemed really supportive of change to help the residents in anyway she can. Provide a $2000 moving stipend. Free covered parking.

Cons: Phoenix heat. Use 3 different EMRs. Few ties to the area. Still trying to work out kinks in wards schedule (which may actually be a pro). No call during wards.

7. UAB: Pros: Very strong program with tons of path exposure. 100% boards pass rate for the past several consecutive years. Residents and PD are really friendly. Interviews were super relaxed, even with the PD taking notes (she does this for everyone). Incredible ID exposure. Like the q4 short/long call system.

Cons: Birmingham. Even with ties to the area, I just felt out of place. Hardly any diversity among the residents, and about the same for the city itself.

8. Miami Children's: Pros: Incredible and very down to earth group of residents. Even faculty seemed very chill and relaxed. Great global health path exposure. Miami's a great city. Free food during noon conference daily. Free parking.

Cons: Miami's humid heat and terrible traffic. They do all their wards months in the first year, and then just subspec and electives the remaining 2 years. Residents said they don't forget anything, and that it doesn't make a difference. Still not sure how I feel about it. But their boards pass rate is 93%, so I guess it works for them. No ties to the area. Continuity clinic doesn't really have continuity.

9. UT Memphis: Pros: Very chill faculty and residents. Loved the PD's dry humor and personality. Liked their short/long call and night float system. No clinic while on wards. Chiefs hold pagers during noon conferences. Also free food daily

Cons: Each wards team has separate "morning report" among themselves. Get to rotate at St. Jude's few times, but it seems like it's mainly just shadowing when you're there. Wasn't too ecstatic about Memphis. It's beautiful, but just very little diversity in the city and among the residents themselves. Few ties to the area.

10. MCW: Pros: PD was hilarious. They put you up in a super fancy hotel. Residents seemed really open and friendly. Beautiful facilities, and everything's connected, so you wouldn't even have to walk outside if you didn't want to. Great global health track. Use EPIC. Like short/long call and night float system. Free food daily. Free covered parking.

Cons: Hardly any diversity among the residents. Almost the same with Milwaukee. Plus, there is tons of segregation. No ties to the area.

11. Hopkins All Children's: Pros: Great facilities. Liked the curriculum's emphasis on teaching and research. Faculty and residents seemed really nice. Pay is on the higher side, plus no state tax in FL. Get to rotate through local health department, which is kinda interesting. Free food daily. Free parking.

Cons: Have very few ties to the area. Wasn't too thrilled with St. Petersburg, though most people tend to love it. Minimal global health exposure.

12. Mayo: Pros: Incredible faculty and facilities. Great curriculum with tons of opportunity for electives and self-study. Boards pass rate >95% for the past several consecutive years. Use EPIC. Residents are really well taken care of. Free food daily and free parking.

Cons: Residents were really nice and all, but just didn't feel like I'd be able to connect with them on a personal level. Rochester is beautiful. I just wish I had more ties to the area. Requires more nursery rotations than do most others programs. Also requires guys to wear a suit or sweater daily for three years, but this was only a minor issue. ED exposure is very little.

13. Carolinas Medical Center: Pros: Beautiful and very family- and patient-oriented facilities. Residents and faculty all seem very down to earth and relaxed. TONS of money every quarter for food. So much that residents buy the students food to try to spend it all. Charlotte is apparently a great city.

Cons: Minimal funding for global health rotations. No ties to the area. Hardly any diversity among the faculty and residents that I noticed.

14. UC Davis: Pros: Residents and faculty seemed very chill. Sacramento seems like a fun city with lots of outdoors activities also nearby. Great global health track with funding. Liked q4 short/long call system. Use EPIC. Provide $1000 moving stipend.

Cons: No ties to the area. Total number of peds beds within the hospital building (shared with adults) seemed on the lower side compared to most other programs.

15. UF Jacksonville: Pros: Gorgeous facilities and city. Really down to earth faculty and residents.

Cons: No ties to the area. No global health track. No resident-run continuity clinic.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1: 230s, Step 2: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Was an English teacher in a foreign country for several years before medical school

Region of Country: New England

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, Gut feeling, Interactions with residents

RANK LIST

1. Tufts: Located in Boston making it convenient for my spouse and I. Pedi ED is small and there are rotations at BMC to make up for lack of exposure. No easy commute to BMC via the MBTA. Some community sites are a little far. Clicked with the residents that were there during the day and at the dinner. Boston COL can be quite high. Car is still required for this program.

2. UMass: Similar to Tufts but with a larger pedi ED. NICU is at a separate hospital down the street. Residents are very tight-knit and welcoming. COL is much more manageable around Worcester, but still within easy reach of Boston. Easy to live halfway between the two locations. Not as convenient for me location-wise, but may be a nice way for others to break into New England without the price shock.

3. UC Irvine: Thought I wouldn't really like the location, but I absolutely loved it. Interesting setup with two children's hospitals. CHOC is of one the prettiest hospitals I've seen. PD is great, and I probably had the best time at the dinner of any interview. Volume is quite high which is +/-, couldn't quite get a sense for how much support there is. They have a CVICU which is a plus for me. COL is quite high. Weather is tough to beat. It's far which makes moving with limited financial resources a pain. Located in a region my spouse and I hope to move to someday.

4. UConn: Nice hospital, but not the most convenient location for me. Didn't click quite as well with the residents. Hartford isn't the greatest place. Sort of a no-man's land with respect to being able to get away to Boston or NYC. COL is reasonable.

5. USC: Loved this program, but a couple residents seemed burned out. Facilities are nice, and it's in my favorite part of LA. COL quite high. ED here is legendary, though unsure if pedi ED shares the same resources. Seems a little overshadowed by CHLA, but overall there appears to be a pretty symbiotic relationship between the two. Very upfront and proud of their commitment to the underserved, which I liked.

6. Jacobi: Very friendly faculty and residents, but residents seemed a bit too reserved. In the Bronx, which isn't as sexy as other parts of NYC and not as well serviced by the MTA, though there are stops close to the hospital. Strong focus on medical education which I really liked. NYC is quite expensive.

7. Harbor-UCLA: Had a good interaction with the residents, and I love the location, but COL is fairly high, and the facility is quite small (surprising for a county hospital). I do plan on doing a fellowship, but it seems the program does not have as good support w/r/t research endeavors.

8. Baystate: Decent size program in western MA. I was the only person who showed up to the pre-interview dinner, but the residents were friendly and easy to talk to, which was nice. Interview day did not run so smoothly, ended up going over by an hour. COL is pretty affordable, and it's close to Northampton which is a perk. Not as convenient a location.

9. Hawaii: Location is really nice. Interviewed here in December which was a nice break from the cold. Was not prepared for the small culture shock I experienced. Hospital is really nice, newly built PICU, NICU and ED. Everyone is quite warm and welcoming. Really interesting pathology. Would have to leave Hawaii for fellowship, though, and even though Honolulu is quite cosmopolitan, it's quite isolated and I think I might end up with island fever if I move here. Spouse would absollutely love it, and I think I applied here more for her than for me. COL is crazy. Job prospects would likely be limited for what I want to do with my career, but likely very good for gen peds.

10. Maine: Lovely little program in Portland. Portland is a really nice location, COL is reasonable, and they have some fantastic restaurants and breweries up there. Easy access to some of the best hiking around, and summer in Maine is pretty great. The program is small, but seems to be very well supported. Didn't quite hit it off as much with the residents here.

11. Brooklyn Methodist: Small community program in Park Slope, which is a really nice part of Brooklyn. COL is quite high, although the salaries are relatively generous (though maybe not quite enough to offset the cost). Relatively strong research support since they came under the umbrella of Mt Sinai/NYP. Significant proportion of rotations can be done at Mt Sinai, and almost seems like a big selling point that it's almost a backdoor way to do residency at Mt Sinai. Fairly impressive fellowship match over the past 3-4 years. Interview day not the best organized. Residents were a bit stand-offish, didn't really click with them. Hospital layout is a bit confusing. There's limited subsidized housing across the street from the hospital.

12. SUNY Downstate: Large county-type program in Brooklyn. Residents were OK, but some appeared clearly burned out, and they weren't really a tight-knit bunch. Probably a good place if you want to slip in and out of residency relatively unnoticed. Training experience was summed up as "sink or swim" by a few residents. Rotations at Coney Island are kind of a PITA to commute to. Many fellow interviewees (including myself) had some antagonistic interactions during our interviews. Program felt somewhat malignant, especially after residents said that relative to other public hospital programs in NYC it was good. Got lukewarm impression from current MS4s at other interviews when I asked about the program. Salary is poor relative to other NYC programs.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted via PM

• Include a description of your thinking process/priorities you considered to create your rank order list (i.e., fellowship matches, community vs. academic, location, reputation, residents/faculty, work hours, etc.). This is tremendously important for future applicants as they are trying to determine which programs they are applying to
• List the programs you are ranking in their respective numerical order, providing a brief summary of cons/pros you considered for each.

Osteopathic applicant with COMLEX only (no USMLE). 495 Level 1, 566 Level 2. Passes PE on first attempt. Very average, middle of the road grades. High A on categorical pediatrics and Sub-I (this would probably be equivalent to HP or honors in other systems. I know I had the highest score among my cohort during the month...)

I am wanting to do peds critical care, so programs with a good variety and acute patient population, along with fellowships in house or at the very least good fellowship Match rate was important to me. I am also wanting to remain in the south if possible.

1.) Arkansas Children’s. Truly a diamond in the rough. It is the only peds hospital in the state and has every specialty, and multiple fellowship opportunities. Extremely friendly faculty, residents, and staff.

2.) Advocate Lutheran - Park Ridge. I did a sub-I here as I have family in the area and hands down this hospital has one of the best teaching services and does an incredible job of family centered rounds. Highly resident run and the attendings have high expectations. 3+1 was very appealing to me also.

3.) OU Community Health in Tulsa, OK. I liked St. Francis and geographically this program appealed to me. The faculty, residents and staff were very nice.

4.) EVMS in Norfolk, VA.

5.) Texas Tech in Lubbock.

6.) Carilion in Roanoke, VA.

7.) Mercer in Macon, GA.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1 250s, Step 2 270s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: core HP, sub-I honors

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Research, strong LOR. Not competitive: did not honor any of my core rotations.

Region of Country:

Main Considerations for Rank List: resident autonomy, general fit

RANK LIST

1. Johns Hopkins. They take care of the exact patient population I'm interested in. The city is really affordable (in contrast to Boston).

2. MGH. This one really surprised me. I didn't interview at BRCP so I can't compare, but I really liked how individualized the program is and how much they support their residents. There's also lots of resident autonomy (in contrast to what I heard from residents at CHOP)

3. University of Chicago. Awesome program director. Probably the best morning report I saw on the whole interview trail

4. CHOP. This one also really surprised me. I thought I was going to love it because it's CHOP, but I got such a weird vibe the whole interview. The residents did not seem happy. I had one interviewer who was really condescending and off-putting

5. Duke

6. Baylor/Texas Children's

7. UNC

8. Vanderbilt

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 219/237

Pediatric Rotation Grades: HP

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: JAMA PEDS publication

Region of Country: NE

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location

RANK LIST

1. University of Wisconsin

2. University of South Dakota

3. OHSU

4. Nationwide Children's

5. Children's Seattle

6. University of Colorado

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 230s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honors, Honors Sub-I

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Competitive: 2 pediatric publications, Excellent LOR
Not Competitive: DO, didn't take step 2

Region of Country: SE

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, fellowship placement, social atmosphere

RANK LIST

1. CHOC/Colorado Location sells itself. Residents were the most competent I saw. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun at work. Really enjoyed visiting Denver Health and the opportunity to do PICU during your first year.

2. WashU PD was hysterical. Residents were also wonderful. This sounds odd, but carpets on the inpatient service floors kind of grossed me out. Endless opportunity for research with some of the most world renowned physicians.

3. Cincinnati

4. Hawaii

5. Children's Mercy

6. Johns Hopkins

7. Seattle Children's Too expensive for me and no real family connections within 2,000 miles.

8. University of Minnesota Cold. Lots of traveling between sites.

 

[profundus]

Dang that is a bummer. By the way, anyone have a link to the peds spreadsheet? I tried looking for it but didn't know how to find it. Thanks!

This isn’t correct—I graduated from this program and, unless something changed, first-years get 3 weeks of vacation + a holiday block of several days (Christmas or New Years) + 5 extra days at the end of the year. Second and third years get the 3 weeks + a holiday. It is definitely less than some programs, but there are never jeopardy responsibilities during a vacation. Hopefully, that clears some stuff up.

Good luck to you all!

 

[hlancaster]

This isn’t correct—I graduated from this program and, unless something changed, first-years get 3 weeks of vacation + a holiday block of several days (Christmas or New Years) + 5 extra days at the end of the year. Second and third years get the 3 weeks + a holiday. It is definitely less than some programs, but there are never jeopardy responsibilities during a vacation. Hopefully, that clears some stuff up.

Good luck to you all!

Thank you for clarifying!

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1 230s, Step 2 240s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: H; sub-I H

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: international HIV research; lots o' leadership

Region of Country: West-Southwest-Midwest (where I applied to)

Main Considerations for Rank List: Family-orientedness of program and hence cost of living and benefits; gut feeling; I want to do PEM

RANK LIST

1. Phoenix Children's Pros: second half day a week (the first being clinic) during second and third year to work on research or whatever for personal learning; two locations for training with very different patient populations; large stand-alone hospital but not as fellow heavy; my wife and I are from there, family there; love the mountains and the warm; PD is awesome; beautiful new ED with like 8 trauma bays; Copa's ED is run by residents and attendings only
Cons: weak in research; residents work really hard and most outpatient months in first year have you cross covering in the ED one weekend day a week (I want to do EM, so not as much of a biggie for me); didactics are more spread out (might be a good thing); Phoenix's (not Copa's) EHR is outdated

2. Cincinnati Pros: EVERYTHING. Beautiful hospital, every research opportunity available with funding up the whazoo; residents are friendly and great camaraderie; PD was very helpful when I was back and forth between Cinci and Phoenix, gave me her cell phone number to call her; I'm ready to settle down so that feeling was a pro; ED is gorgeous
Cons: city isn't fantastic; flights to the West where I'm from are pricey and kinda weird routes; hospital isn't in the greatest part of town; one of the only places I interviewed at with no guaranteed vacation around the Christmas or New Year's

3. Children's Mercy Kansas City Pros: Leadership and residents seem to have an awesome relationship; new research facility being built, looks really nice; Kansas City was actually a better city than I expected
Cons: Merger with KU's peds residency program looks like it might get sticky; residents a bit too chummy during lunch and as an applicant felt excluded from their conversations

4. Utah Pros: similar to Phoenix, second half day a week during second and third year non-hospital months for individualized curriculum; PD is hilarious, has great relationship with residents; mountains and outdoors; family there
Cons: on the smaller side compared to what I applied, concerns for ability to cover if I'm sick or whatever; not a fan of Utah culture even though I did undergrad there

5. MCW Pros: home program, large hospital, lots of opportunities for research for fellowship, I've grown to love Milwaukee
Cons: home program, not a fan of the PD, felt like they could have done a much better job showcasing the program and city during the interview day; residents didn't really interact much with applicants during the dinner; big homestyle feeling, lots of people who haven't ever left Wisconsin/Northern Illinois

6. Rainbow Babies Pros: liked this a lot more than I thought I would, great interview experiences, the area around the hospital is pretty awesome, lots of museums; I laughed harder at this dinner than anywhere else; I liked Cleveland, probably b/c it reminds me of Milwaukee where I am now Cons: the ED is tiny (I think like 18 beds) and that's what I want to do; even though I liked it more than expected, still kind of a weird feeling in the hospital and with the residents during the tour

7. Seattle Children's Pros: loved it here; very nice people, resident wellness seems paramount here, beautiful new hospital, the area is very nice, weather was gorgeous when I was there (October), outdoor culture is promoted, WWAMI is a cool feature; plenty of research opportunities
Cons: this would have been top 3 if it wasn't for 1) cost of living compared to compensation (can't raise a family on that) and 2) the ED isn't a level 1 trauma center which is what I want to do. Trauma/burn experience comes during county hospital rotation

8. UTSW Pros: warm, people seem down to earth; surprisingly great fellowship match despite how non-academic the program seemed; crazy high pay with free benefits compared to cost of living
Cons: not a great feeling when I was there. Maybe it was the not great interview experience with the PD (which some people liked. I didn't liked sweating in my sweat more than usual), I'm not sure, but I wanted to like this one a lot more than I actually did

9. Indiana Pros: basically everything else the programs in my list checked off (stand long children's hospital, research opps, etc.)
Cons: nothing wowed me here; I felt like the residents were a bit immature and not really where I am in life, which, granted, most residents are not married with kids, but just a younger feeling there; lots of homebodies; PD didn't seem too interested in really anything, just kinda going through the motions

10. Baylor Pros: every research and global health opportunity imaginable
Cons: residents kind of ignored the applicants during the dinner, one resident in particular really bothered me (sorry that's such a lame criterion); Houston was my least favorite city; overwhelming medical campus with UT Houston and other programs in the vicinity, morning report had more applicants than residents

11. Louisville Pros: very kind people, laid back
Cons: Louisville; not much research going on and guy I interviewed with in PEM didn't seem to have much to say about research opps I could create

12. Wash U Pros: every research opportunity possible; Forest Park is amazing
Cons: This was the only place I had a very, very bad feeling about going here so it immediately went to the bottom of the list. Not sure why, but I didn't like the residents, felt like they were a bit snobbish, especially at the dinner; lots of people liked the PD but I wasn't a fan

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1- 219, Step 2 - 223

Pediatric Rotation Grades: A's (school doesn't do honors)

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Not competitive - Caribbean IMG. Pretty average with everything else except solid LOR's / clerkship grades.

Region of Country: West to east coast and everywhere in between

Main Considerations for Rank List:
#1 Match (not guarantee as an IMG), thus the school encouraged mass apply.

#2 See, treat, and do everything. If not a big city, a program that is somewhat isolated where you are "it" for acute care. In addition, not splitting procedures with a large fellowship program (not that big of a deal, but still happens at a few programs)

*Wanted to give an average application and an IMG type application as well since I know you're out there too

RANK LIST

1. University of Minnesota, ME
Pros - Solid university program. As far as North Minnesota and NW Wisconsin is concerned, you are the center for top pediatric cases. Mixed community/university program (UMN hospital is stand alone peds with BM transplant, and all the fancy stuff you could want. The two community hospitals St Paul/Minneapolis is your basic pediatric cases, and community hospital setting.).

Cons - A lot of driving to different hospitals (although I was told never on the same day, you're at one hospital a day), but the drive is only 15-20 minutes in between. It's cold (I don't care, but some do.)

2. Western Michigan University, MI
Pros - PD was super nice, residents were even nicer. New medical school built with all new facilities including library, sim lab, etc. that residents are welcome to as well. Serves as sizable portion of SW Michigan and Northern Indiana.

Cons - Not all specialties in house, but have a lot and are adding them soon (just something to look out for, but it didn't bother me that much)

3. University of Buffalo, NY
Pros - Brand new free standing pediatric hospital. Everyone was super friendly, and seemed to enjoy their time there. Liked there 4 + 1 system for rotations --> 4 weeks of rotation then 1 week of clinic week that is split into your continuity clinic/specialty outpatient clinic. Essentially so you can focus on the floor, NICU, PICU, etc. for your month then have a relaxing week with a guaranteed golden weekend at the end.

Cons - Wind is cold and strong

4. Lehigh Valley, PA
Pros - Great program, and only children's hospital in that area of PA. Residents are extremely happy, and faculty is super supportive of the program and the residents.

Cons - I didn't have any

5. Marshfield, WI
Pros - Northern Wisconsin and NW Michigan have no where else to go, but to you for acute care. Sizable amish population so rare diseases you will treat (brucellosis, farming accidents, vaccine preventable diseases) according to residents.

Cons - Small program (6 residents/year) which I liked but others might not. Because you are "it" as far as a hospital, you are in the middle of nowhere. It's two hours drive in any direction to get to big airports and city amenities.

6. West Virginia University, WV
Pros - Only children's hospital in WV. Severely underserved populations coming from all parts of WV. It's a college-town with a lot of young professionals. It was BEAUTIFUL, all the mountains, everything. Clinic was spectacular, nicest one I had seen across the interview trail.

Cons - Got an "up and coming" university program feel. Was a community program with a large patient population which again was nice for me but not for anyone wanting to see university program fellowship type cases.

7. Winthrop University, NY
Pros - Resident subsidized housing (approx 500-700/month) on Long island is unheard of. On long island, very few competing pediatric hospitals. Smaller, tight knit NY program unlike others I looked at.

Cons - NY

8. University of Maryland, MD
Pros - Well established program. PD was one of the best I met on the interview trail.

Cons- Competes with John Hopkins in Baltimore. Didn't connect with residents on my interview day or at the dinner the night before.

9. University of Kentucky, KY
Pros - Similar to WVU above, underserved population and your are the only pediatric hospital in the state. Loved the residents and the faculty from my visit there.

Cons - Brand new hospital addition, but only new pediatrics addition is the expanding NICU coming soon. Pediatric floors seemed a little outdated for the other nice features of the program.

10. Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, MD
Pros - Did a Sub-I there so familiar with the system there. Great Heme onc peds for a community program. Faculty is great and residents are even better.

Cons - You see bread and butter peds, but have U of Maryland and John Hopkins in same city. PICU is low on numbers, but you do second PICU at John Hopskins.

11. Cooper University, NJ
Pros - Pediatric trauma hospital for all of south jersey. Camden is severely underserved, and you will get your numbers of interesting cases. Affiliation with duPont so easy to get rotations scheduled there if desired.

Cons - Someone mentioned above, you have St. Chris, CHOP, and duPont all nearby so a lot of high level pediatric hospitals nearby.

12. Staten Island, Hofstra
Pros - One of the highest paid programs. Loved my interview day there. Had the feel of NY without that nonstop NY feel (hope that makes sense?)

Cons - NY cost of living

13. Jersey Shore Medical Center, NJ
Pros - Extremely nice facilities. Residents worked hard, but new there stuff and were very comfortable for intern here.

Cons - Increased numbers in the hospital, so they're adding another resident for this upcoming class. Residents were hoping that would cut the workload/call schedule down a little.

14. Mercy St. Vincent, OH
Pros - Small program. Everyone was extremely nice, and walking around the residents are really part of the team.

Cons - New program (this will be second year) which probably adds to the feel from the pros.

15. Crozer-Chester, PA
Pros - Split time at Du Pont (good or bad to some)

Cons - paper charts still in house for H&Ps

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 235

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Extracurriculars

Region of Country: West

Main Considerations for Rank List: Prestige, location

RANK LIST

1. UW

2. Colorado

3. Rainbow Babies

4. San Diego

5. Emory

6. Oakland Children's

7. Oakland Kaiser

8. Peoria

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1- 240s, Step 2- 260s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honors

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Leadership experiences

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location, ranking, atmosphere

RANK LIST

1. UPMC - Great city, phenomenal residents and faculty. Beautiful facilities

2. CHOP - Philadelphia is great. Residents were kind of tepid on the day I was there.

3. Cincinnati Children's - Had a fantastic day there. Beautiful hospital. Residents seem less autonomous.

4. BRCP Categorical - Great atmosphere, but Boston is so expensive and the 2nd/3rd year seem unnecessarily intense.

5. BRCP Urban Health

6. Children's National

7. Vanderbilt - Looooved Vandy but a bit too small a program for my taste.

8. Lurie Children's

9. Nationwide

10. University of Michigan

11. Rainbow Babies

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1 235/Step 2 255

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Honors

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Significant research, MS degree, leadership experiences

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Good general peds training and opportunity to complete fellowship in same location (couples matching with a surgical specialty that will necessitate staying in the same city after finishing residency), good program fits for my parter.

RANK LIST

1. CHOP - incredible program. Great opportunities for research experiences, stellar fellowship in my desired area, in a desirable locale for me, cheaper than Boston or other cities with comparable programs. Cool advocacy curriculum, great program director.

2. BCRP - again, incredible opportunities for research and fellowship. Enjoyed happy hour with the residents, seemed like a great camaraderie within the program. Loved the idea of rotating at both BMC and Boston Children's. Boston is more expensive but still within the east coast so that is appealing to me.

3. Stanford - beautiful new children's hospital, great mentorship and a TON of emphasis on providing curricula that is tailored to individual interests. Very strong fellowship for me with a leading researcher in my desired field. Farther from our families than we would prefer, and COL is high in Palo Alto but Stanford does really seem to try to compensate appropriately and the opportunity to live in the subsidized housing is appealing. Partner could potentially match to Stanford or UCSF, although the commute if one of us was at UCSF and the other at Stanford would be brutal (and more likely worse for me as my partner would need to live closer to the hospital).

4. Michigan - beautiful new children's hospital, really liked the PD, great research opportunities and committed financial support for residents interested in research. Good training options for fellowship (although less well established for me than CHOP/Boston/Stanford/Cinci, but still strong with researchers in my desired area). We both loved Ann Arbor and would be able to afford buying a home, etc which is very appealing to us.

5. Hopkins - incredible children's hospital, some of the best didactics I observed on the interview trail, incredible autonomy of the senior residents, cool chief year structure with the intern/senior dyads continuing into the senior/chief periods. Baltimore is affordable (although safety is somewhat a concern). Hopkins has a strong fellowship in my intended field, BUT they do not have any researchers within my specific area of interest, so this is why Hopkins is not higher than 5 on our list.

6. Seattle - beautiful children's hospital, LOVED seattle, but is expensive and far from my family and not a ton of research going on in my desired field.

7. Pittsburgh - really invested faculty, but not a large clinical or research program in my area of interest. Research support is awesome.

8. Colorado

9. Vanderbilt

10. Texas Children's

11. Duke

12. Cleveland Clinic - this was a compromise with my partner, as it is a very strong program for him and the top of our list reflected more of my desired programs than his. I opted to rank Cleveland Clinic over Rainbow because I felt they offered similar training experiences but that the environment at the Cleveland Clinic was more supportive with better lifestyle, and Rainbow does not have a clinical or research program in my area of interest, although neither of the two programs has a strong fellowship for me.

13. Cincinnati - This was my FAVORITE interview day on the trail. They have INCREDIBLE research support. Their chair of pediatrics will forever be a role model of mine, as she is an incredible female chair and researcher and does a great job empowering and supporting physician scientists in pediatrics. I loved the clinical experiences as Cinci and they had a very strong fellowship and research offerings for me, but UC was not a good fit at all for my fiance's interests.

14. Northwestern

15. Rochester

16. Emory

17. UAB, Phoenix Children's, Indiana, ...

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1: 220s Step 2: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: No Research, DO, international volunteer experience, good LOR's

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Urban Area, Fit, Reputation, standalone

RANK LIST

1. St. Christopher's: did away there. People are great. Bigger program (for my standards) but very cohesive. LOVED Philly. Lots of opportunities for community health and advocacy. Faculty seemed super engaged, best educators I've had in all of med school. Super busy ED.

2. Dupont: Beautiful facilities. Friendly/happy residents. Rockstar faculty. Good reputation.

3. UConn: Would be my #1 if not for location. Best fit for my personality. good standalone children's hospital with research opportunities.

4. SLU: Similar to UConn, but not as good a fit with the residents. Awesome advocacy/community health opportunities.

5. Inova: Cool location (But high COL). Nice facilities but not standalone. Faculty were super engaged. Not enough research opportunities.

6. Advocate Lutheran - PR: Love Love Love Chicago, otherwise would not be this high. PD was probably the nicest person I met on the whole interview trail. Too much emphasis on outpatient gen peds education. Residents were toxic and overworked at times during away rotation.

7. NYU - Winthrop: Cool location and do a good job taking care of residents. Housing! Food! Very small feel. Not enough patients. NYU just taking over this year. Not a fan of PD.

8. Loma Linda: Location was not super fun. Dinner and interviews were awkward. SDA thing is a minus for me.

9. USC: Really hard for me to pick a spot for this program. But ended up putting it low bc they just didn't have enough patient volume. Really clicked with faculty. Loved the mission and dedication to the undeserved.

10. Loyola: Really specific to me, but they were a perfect example of being totally isolated from their community. No knowledge about or engagement in the surrounding community.

11. Louisville: Cool program. Bad location.

12. Stony Brook: Too rural for me.

13. Children's Hospital of Michigan: better than not matching.

 

[TheRebels]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: Step 1: 220s Step 2: 250s

Pediatric Rotation Grades: Pass

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: No Research, DO, international volunteer experience, good LOR's

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Urban Area, Fit, Reputation, standalone

RANK LIST

1. St. Christopher's: did away there. People are great. Bigger program (for my standards) but very cohesive. LOVED Philly. Lots of opportunities for community health and advocacy. Faculty seemed super engaged, best educators I've had in all of med school. Super busy ED.

2. Dupont: Beautiful facilities. Friendly/happy residents. Rockstar faculty. Good reputation.

3. UConn: Would be my #1 if not for location. Best fit for my personality. good standalone children's hospital with research opportunities.

4. SLU: Similar to UConn, but not as good a fit with the residents. Awesome advocacy/community health opportunities.

5. Inova: Cool location (But high COL). Nice facilities but not standalone. Faculty were super engaged. Not enough research opportunities.

6. Advocate Lutheran - PR: Love Love Love Chicago, otherwise would not be this high. PD was probably the nicest person I met on the whole interview trail. Too much emphasis on outpatient gen peds education. Residents were toxic and overworked at times during away rotation.

7. NYU - Winthrop: Cool location and do a good job taking care of residents. Housing! Food! Very small feel. Not enough patients. NYU just taking over this year. Not a fan of PD.

8. Loma Linda: Location was not super fun. Dinner and interviews were awkward. SDA thing is a minus for me.

9. USC: Really hard for me to pick a spot for this program. But ended up putting it low bc they just didn't have enough patient volume. Really clicked with faculty. Loved the mission and dedication to the undeserved.

10. Loyola: Really specific to me, but they were a perfect example of being totally isolated from their community. No knowledge about or engagement in the surrounding community.

11. Louisville: Cool program. Bad location.

12. Stony Brook: Too rural for me.

13. Children's Hospital of Michigan: better than not matching.

This is crazy. The DO bias is real. Some of the above applicants got similar stats but vastly different interviews.
Whatever though.

 

[huskydock]

Submitted anonymously via Google Forms

Approximate Step Scores: 240, 260

Pediatric Rotation Grades: A

AOA Status: Not AOA

Other parts of your application that made you competitive/not competitive: Extracurriculars and board scores made me competitive, DO student made me less competitive

Region of Country: Midwest

Main Considerations for Rank List: Location. Spouse is not able to relocate. Interested in peds EM.

RANK LIST

1. Advocate Lutheran General - designated peds ER with peds ER trained doctors, open 24 hours. Love the PDs

2. Rush University - no peds ER but PD is peds EM, super nice facility. Had trouble picking between my top 3 so I just put Rush between the Advocates.

3. Advocate Christ - same reasons as LGH

4. Loyola Chicago - location

5. Medical College of Wisconsin - location and has peds ER fellowship

6. University of Illinois Chicago

7. University of Wisconsin

8. CHOI - Actually loved this program but location was less than ideal

9. Akron (NEOMED) - Really loved this program too, just too far away.

10. Rainbow Babies - did not enjoy my interview very much. The dinner beforehand was awkward and seemed disorganized.

11. St. Vincent Indy - too small for me

12. Southern Illinois University

 

[huskydock]

Good luck tomorrow to all C/O 2018 applicants! WE DID IT.

 

[pedssped]

Applying for peds in the upcoming cycle - thanks for all the info so far everyone, super helpful!

How many peds programs did you all apply to? (With the goal of going on 12-15 interviews, I assume...)

If there is a discussion of this elsewhere, please share/ point me to the right place.

 

[mvenus929]

Applying for peds in the upcoming cycle - thanks for all the info so far everyone, super helpful!

How many peds programs did you all apply to? (With the goal of going on 12-15 interviews, I assume...)

If there is a discussion of this elsewhere, please share/ point me to the right place.

How many you apply to should have to do with how competitive you are. If you have a good step score, good grades, research, etc, then you probably only need to apply to 15. If you are borderline, you should apply more broadly. It also depends on the mix of places you apply to. Applying to only top tier programs won’t result in as much success as a mix.

In the past several years, people have been applying to more and more programs, and some larger programs have increased their size. The competitive people are going on more interviews, which leaves programs to decide to interview more or try to get the top candidates. This resulted in a huge number of unfilled slots this year—something on the order of 50 positions in SOAP. Last year, there was like 5 positions open.

So if you are competitive, do your colleagues a favor and don’t apply for 20-30 programs and go on 15 interviews. I interviewed at 9 programs and matched mid-list.

 

[doc111111]

St Vincent all interviews no longer available no options to waitlist. Is it error? Just heard 2 hours ago

 

[PatriotMedicine]

Is there a new thread for 2019?

 

[virchow?]

Is there a new thread for 2019?

Nope--probably won't be until late January or February 2019. We haven't been to any interviews yet so trying to rank wouldn't make much sense.

 

[PatriotMedicine]

Nope--probably won't be until late January or February 2019. We haven't been to any interviews yet so trying to rank wouldn't make much sense.

Makes sense! Goodluck. Looking forward to following everyone this year.