Program or Location??

[fourthyear]

Just curious about how you are all making your rank order list decisions.

Are you going more for the quality of program or for location?

I am sure everyone has thier own answer, but I am interested to see the reasons argued on either side.

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[LaCirujana]

As someone who matched last year and tried to choose a top-notch program in a location I thought I could at least tolerate (i.e., I chose program over location), if I could go back and do it again, I would have made location more of a priority. My location is a gigantic change from where I grew up and where I went to med school. Trying to adapt to both the stress of being a resident and living in a small college town with very little to do (when I manage to find some free time) has been pretty painful.
Just one person's opinion.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Let's keep this thread going. This is the biggest problem I'm having making my rank list. Right now I'm kind of thinking 50% program, 20% how well I like the residents, and 30% location.

In some specialties I think it matters very little. I know a very Western-U.S. type MedPeds resident in Dayton who feels like all she does is work and location doesn't matter a bit. I think in EM, when you have up to 10 days off a month (while working in the ED,) it matters a little more than that. Its funny, when I go to Portland, everyone talks about how important location is. When I go to Indianapolis, everyone talks about how important the program is. So I suppose, whereever I go I'll be there with people who feel the same way about this issue as I rank it.

 

[dankatzzz]

The weight one gives to program or location is somewhat dependent on your family situation. If you are single, unattached, then you may put some more weight on a location where there are other single people (tend to be the expensive happening cities such as Boston, NYC (Manhatten specifically), SF. If you are married and thinking about having kids than you really care about a place that will be affordable because you will need more room. As a married applicant who is about to have a kid location is very important to me. I want to be relatively close to my parents or my wife's parents. Wherever an "attached" applicant goes it is important that the significant other will have some sort of a social network to rely on when you are spending many hours in the hospital. That said, let us not forget the main objective of residency: to obtain the best education you can without too much of a sacrifice. So, location is important, but the actual program is more important. I find it hard to judge the programs (at least in OB/GYN). There are some superb community programs with strong university affiliation and then there are some worse university programs. This is what I find hardest.
Dani

 

[md-student]

Location is definately important for my ROL.

First...I tried to find a happy medium b/w programs that I applied to (solid programs in a city I knew or thought I would like to live in)...I know this isn't always easy for the very competetive residencies.

At this point...the places that I have interviewed at are really more the same than they are different...so I'll probably rank using a combination of "gut-feeling" and location.

 

[DR]

Location. Picking a place based solely on the program rep is a mistake, in my opinion. Having lived in a few different places for a few years apiece, I can tell you it SUCKS to be trapped in a place you don't like. You will not perform well at your job if you're not happy where you are, whereas you can be a star in a place where you are happy to be...regardless of how prestigious it is. This is coming from someone who can't wait to get out of the place he's in, so that's my standpoint. I just know what it's like going to a good place, in a bad location. I would have settled for less in a better locale (see above poster). Just my opinion.

 

[nychick]

Location is a huge factor for me, and it is how I narrowed down the number of programs I applied to in the first place. So, in my ROL right now, the fact that I want to live in a city etc. plays a huge factor. And of course, like dani said already, my family situation plays into that as well.

In fact, one small community suburban program I interviewed at was clearly (and logically) marketing itself to the family crowd--and indeed, it seems almost all of the residents were married and a number had kids as well. Despite the attractions/quality of the teaching etc at that program, I think the location would end up being a poor fit for me--I may not rank the program at all because I can't see myself in that place.