Can I have the same personal statement for community and academic programs? In my personal statement I spend a couple of paragraphs talking about the research I've done during med school, and in the last one I emphatically say I want to be an academic radiologist. Do I have to modify the whole thing for community places?
personal statement for community vs academic programs
- Thread starter vega70
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I specifically know of a situation of a person with a personal statement that had a similar line as yours that applied to a community program. It was the running joke all fall as this particular program. The attendings and residents at the program gave the guy an interview solely because they wanted to see who the guy was and to make fun of him all morning, having no intention of ranking him. Very true story.
Why are you even applying to community programs if you want to be an academic radiologist? It makes no sense to me...nor would it to them! Most community programs make no secret of the fact that if you want to do academics you should probably go elsewhere. Most people who apply and rank community programs have zero desire to do academic radiology. Research opportunities are extremely limited at community programs...because no one really cares!
I have said before and still maintain that 98% of radiology programs offer good training as long as you put the effort in. That being said, it's not going to make a difference where you go (academic or community) in your future as a competent and good radiologist. However, if you are set on academics, I would strongly consider not even applying to community programs. You are just going to be ultimately frustrated by the nature of the program and the attitudes there.
Why are you even applying to community programs if you want to be an academic radiologist? It makes no sense to me...nor would it to them! Most community programs make no secret of the fact that if you want to do academics you should probably go elsewhere. Most people who apply and rank community programs have zero desire to do academic radiology. Research opportunities are extremely limited at community programs...because no one really cares!
I have said before and still maintain that 98% of radiology programs offer good training as long as you put the effort in. That being said, it's not going to make a difference where you go (academic or community) in your future as a competent and good radiologist. However, if you are set on academics, I would strongly consider not even applying to community programs. You are just going to be ultimately frustrated by the nature of the program and the attitudes there.
I don't think it's that simple. I don't think people are either applying to community, or academic places. Truth is all university-based programs want applicants who have research experience and 'interest' in academic radiology. Regardless of whether you want to do academics or not, if you want to be accepted at a competitive program, you need to have research credentials. So this was the point of my question. Obviously I want to be accepted at a competitive program, but I'm also a bit limited geographically, and I want to match. So I know I can't just apply to competitive programs.
In any case, you made a good point with the 'good fit' thing. When I now looked at my personal statement, it was clear it's targeted to a competitive academic program. That's why I got confused I thought of writing a different one for community places.
And don't get me wrong, I also think many community places are great, and I agree with you in that regardless of where you train you can have a good practice later on.
This is probably an extremely obvious question. I am an M1 interested in radiology, and I have never heard of the distinction of academic versus community based residency programs. Is the difference here simply focus on research? Is there a different accreditation? Do programs typically spell out if they are one or the other? If you go to an academic program, are you expected to work in an academic setting when you are finished? Thank you for your help!
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Programs, academic or not, know that 80-90% of radiology residents will go into private practice after residency/fellowship. Most programs would like it if their residents stayed in academics but I don't think any program really expects it.
Since someone else resurrected this thread, I'll rebut the argument.
I'm interested in academics. I also like smaller programs where I can do a high volume of reads, have interesting pathology, and can do a few research projects with a lot of personal attention. This required knowing a little bit about which community programs have this combination (+ hopefully some high-powered faculty for connections). There are definitely a few out there that are comparable to university programs. There are also a lot like the old post I quoted where you learn to work fast but not much else is possible. I didn't apply to those.
I compromised on my personal statement by including a paragraph in which I said my career goal was academic radiology. After that, two sentences which differed for academic vs community programs and were targeted to what I like best about each type.
I interviewed at about 60/40 community/university this season. At all of the community programs except the two backups, the PDs stated 1 or 2 from every class went into academics. I didn't feel like I was invited for a laugh, but I also spent some time on the community version of my PS to show why I thought they'd be good for me.
While ultimately I'll rank most of the university programs higher, I don't think you have to ignore the community programs if you're thinking about academics.
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Does doing a community program residency limit you in the fellowship match?
First, only IR and neuro actually have a match these days (I feel like I'm missing one). Body, etc, are done on a first-come first-offer basis where you usually have two weeks to accept the offer once made.
Fellowship directors do look at what program you came from. From talking to residents, there are three reasons why stronger academic programs could have an advantage:
1) Academic programs will take a reasonable percentage of their own, and going through the match/interviews is merely a formality. So if you are at a program with the top MSK fellowship, you might be able to walk in.
2) Connections. If your program has Dr. Bigshot and you get a letter from him, that opens doors.
3) Name. Least important of the three, but most susceptible to local bias. If you came from a strong but not well-known Philly program, your fellowship options are probably weaker the further away you get from Philly.
Keep in mind that fellowship positions are still easy to walk into since many programs have more openings than applicants. And many strong community programs have one or two big-name attendings who can and do write letters that open doors.
So yes, it helps, but it's not a large factor. Each program will give you a list of their fellowships. It'll be easy to identify which of the community programs are good at getting their residents into top fellowships, and which are not. I was told at the beginning that everyone gets good fellowships. I've seen a broad enough range of programs that I can tell you that's not that true.
Another thing that varies considerably is support and advice from the residency itself. At a smaller program I otherwise liked one of the senior residents told me that they'd received no advice on timing of applications and so everyone in that class had missed out on the spots that filled early. Ask the residents. They have been pretty honest.
