Radiology 2012 applicants

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I've been on five, so I def have a skeleton based on these interviews. It's going to be tough in the end factoring training quality and location.
 
badasshairday said:
I've been on five, so I def have a skeleton based on these interviews. It's going to be tough in the end factoring training quality and location.
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This is how I am, I have only been on 3 though. I am pumped about 1 of them, the other 2 are solid but not as high for me. I have an idea of where some places will go on the list but I have to actually see the programs to see what I think afterward. How I feel about/around th residents is a huge key to where I'll choose.
 
This process is the gift that keeps on giving. This time its humor.

Got a waitlisted at a prelim medicine program (read: hard) after I already interviewed at the Radiology and cushy TY year in town.

I feel like tha REALLY?!?! skit from SNL.
 
MGH is still giving out invites. 4 of the dates are completely full, 3 still have AM and PM spots available and 1 has PM slots available.

Seems like there are still a decent amount of spots left, good luck to those still waiting.
 
2012mdc said:
MGH is still giving out invites. 4 of the dates are completely full, 3 still have AM and PM spots available and 1 has PM slots available.

Seems like there are still a decent amount of spots left, good luck to those still waiting.
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I can only hope.
 
No MGH here either... Was bound to happen eventually with a big name program. It's all good, I feel very fortunate so far. Congrats 2012!
 
killinsound said:
Only 2 "Big" programs... so humbling 🙁
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I think the process is pretty humbling in general for everyone, unless there are people out there who've gotten every invite, who knows there might be. I've been lucky enough to get invites from most of the programs I care about, but def getting a lot of hate mail too...
 
killinsound said:
Only 2 "Big" programs... so humbling 🙁
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All it takes is 1 and there are still big programs that haven't given out any invites.

And what are you considering to be "big"? Top 10? Top 25?

I would say 2 "big" programs isn't bad. I have classmates who don't have any. I feel fortunate to be in the position I'm in.

I'm actually happy to have 3 "big" interviews bc I knew the competiton at the top was fierce. Also 3 other very solid but less competitive programs, 3 competitive 2nd tier Cali programs, and 3 solid programs.
 
killinsound said:
I guess I'm bummed from rejected from stanford at USC, but got rest of CA?

Got hopkins and mallinckrodt though... i guess that's exciting.

A bunch of upper middle tier
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You can only attend one program, in the end. I'm all curious what constitutes a big program, top 10? I'm actually having a lot of trouble figuring out how to rank programs right now. I like every program I've visited, but the top of my list is pretty fluid.
 
killinsound said:
I guess I'm bummed from rejected from stanford at USC, but got rest of CA?

Got hopkins and mallinckrodt though... i guess that's exciting.

A bunch of upper middle tier
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I feel you. Stanford's response to my letter of interest was a rejection :laugh:. This was the subject line - ([radrejection] Stanford Radiology residency application). Ruthless

I would be pissed off right now if I didn't treat the silence on Friday as rejection and hadn't already gotten over it.

Edit - just received the same e-mail again. rejected twice in 45 mins. well damn
 
2012mdc said:
I feel you. Stanford's response to my letter of interest was a rejection :laugh:. This was the subject line - ([radrejection] Stanford Radiology residency application). Ruthless

I would be pissed off right now if I didn't treat the silence on Friday as rejection and hadn't already gotten over it.

Edit - just received the same e-mail again. rejected twice in 45 mins. well damn
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HAHA, i just got that second e-mail as I was writing you that PM and just put my head on the table. Geez, you don't gotta tell me twice!
 
2012mdc said:
I feel you. Stanford's response to my letter of interest was a rejection :laugh:. This was the subject line - ([radrejection] Stanford Radiology residency application). Ruthless

I would be pissed off right now if I didn't treat the silence on Friday as rejection and hadn't already gotten over it.

Edit - just received the same e-mail again. rejected twice in 45 mins. well damn
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Wow that's brutal. Thats almost as bad as the USC med school rejection...
 
2012mdc said:
I feel you. Stanford's response to my letter of interest was a rejection :laugh:. This was the subject line - ([radrejection] Stanford Radiology residency application). Ruthless

I would be pissed off right now if I didn't treat the silence on Friday as rejection and hadn't already gotten over it.

Edit - just received the same e-mail again. rejected twice in 45 mins. well damn
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Are these letters of interest/update supposed to be sent to the PD, PC, or PC with a cc to the PD? 😕
 
Gabujabu said:
Are these letters of interest/update supposed to be sent to the PD, PC, or PC with a cc to the PD? 😕
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I've been under the impression that they always go to the PC. An exception might be if you have met and talked with the PD while on an away.

I only sent a letter because I didn't know if they had multiple waves and I had a connection, albeit a weak one, to the program
 
The interview process seems somewhat random. I applied to 45 schools, received interviews from MIR, MGH, Stanford, and Wake but rejections from Penn, Duke, Hopkins, NYU and the majority of the top 25 programs that I applied to. Happy to have finally reached 15 interviews though with a few top programs and a handful of upper, middle, and lower tiers.
 
Illusive Man said:
The interview process seems somewhat random. I applied to 45 schools, received interviews from MIR, MGH, Stanford, and Wake but rejections from Penn, Duke, Hopkins, NYU and the majority of the top 25 programs that I applied to. Happy to have finally reached 15 interviews though with a few top programs and a handful of upper, middle, and lower tiers.
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Definitely random.

I got MGH, Hopkins, and NYU.

Rejections from Stanford, Duke, Northwestern,

Silence from MIR, UVA, Wake, Michigan, UW, Cornell, Columbia.

Waitlist at Penn, BIDMC

I had no idea how to distinguish the top programs when applying so I basically applied to all of them except Mayo (cold and in the middle of nowhere? no thank you haha)
 
I think I'm going to rank programs by how incomprehensible their noon conferences were. If I understood at least 50% of it obviously they aren't very advanced and it must be a poor program. If it was all jargon and I had no idea what was being shown on the screen it has to be a highly advanced program.
 
2012mdc said:
Definitely random.

I got MGH, Hopkins, and NYU.

Rejections from Stanford, Duke, Northwestern,

Silence from MIR, UVA, Wake, Michigan, UW, Cornell, Columbia.

Waitlist at Penn, BIDMC

I had no idea how to distinguish the top programs when applying so I basically applied to all of them except Mayo (cold and in the middle of nowhere? no thank you haha)
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I got most of the big ones.

But not Michigan, Mayo, Northwestern (Midwest)

And silence from MGH (random hate i guess)
 
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Any advice for the Step 2 CS? I am taking it tomorrow and skimmed First Aid cover to cover yesterday. I hear the occasional stories of good students failing so I want to avoid this. Also how did you folks deal with the time constraints with regards to the physical exam (i.e. cardiac or neuro exams)?
 
Illusive Man said:
Any advice for the Step 2 CS? I am taking it tomorrow and skimmed First Aid cover to cover yesterday. I hear the occasional stories of good students failing so I want to avoid this. Also how did you folks deal with the time constraints with regards to the physical exam (i.e. cardiac or neuro exams)?
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If you read FA you'll be fine. Just remember most of the pts are from hpi/ros, and wash your hands!
 
drizzt3117 said:
Ucsf invite!
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Congrats man. That's huge.

No idea why I'm getting more love from the east coast elites vs the west coast ones

I guess it's down to SD, LA, and BWH :xf:

Edit - just got the rejection.
 
2012mdc said:
Congrats man. That's huge.

No idea why I'm getting more love from the east coast elites vs the west coast ones

I guess it's down to SD, LA, and BWH :xf:

Edit - just got the rejection.
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Thanks!

Sorry man, I know you really wanted the bay area programs, I guess you'll have to settle for mgh 😉
 
drizzt3117 said:
Thanks!

Sorry man, I know you really wanted the bay area programs, I guess you'll have to settle for mgh 😉
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I'm just hoping LA comes through.

I really wanted Stanford bc that's my undergrad and I love the area.

I really wanted UCSF bc it's UCSF and I love the city.

I really want LA because I'm born and raised SoCal and all of my immediate fam is still there. Don't let me down UCLA!
 
The humor of the radrejection listserve has slowly been getting to me -- not to mention that they sent me two e-mails. It's kind of a catchy name, really!

I feel like someone at Stanford has a weird sense of humor 🙂.
 
Idk about the rest of you guys but for me, about the first half of my interviews are done.

Thoughts so far:

1) this process is far more tiring than I had anticipated.

2) it's definitely humbling at times.

3) deciding on a rank list is going to be hard.

Discuss.
 
Rescheduled step 2 ck today, I was supposed to take it in a week, and I'm sure itd've been fine but I don't really feel comfortable sitting for a board exam without feeling prepared. Now that we know most interview dates, it's easier to do. Taking it the 19th now.
 
drizzt3117 said:
Idk about the rest of you guys but for me, about the first half of my interviews are done.

Thoughts so far:

1) this process is far more tiring than I had anticipated.

2) it's definitely humbling at times.

3) deciding on a rank list is going to be hard.

Discuss.
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1) Absolutely. Definitely overestimated how much even a 6 hour drive takes out of you. Thanksgiving + RSNA is a much needed break. Christmas/NYE break will be equally as nice after a brutal stretch in December.

2) Absolutely.

3) I think my top few and bottom few will be easy, but the middle ones will be the hardest. (Probably harder for you as almost all of your programs are top tier).
 
Btw guys, if you want more interviews, reschedule your step 2, more likely than not you'll get an interview offer for the new date..........

I have a definite top 4, below that it gets tough, and figuring out the top 4 will be a s*show.
 
Yeah I agree. I hate how after the whole day is about wrapped up, I have to sit through a noon lecture. I don't know what theyre trying to show us by making us sit there for an hour for a lecture that is out of context with the entire curriculum the residents are privy to., by that point I start looking at my watch and wanting to leave.

We get it, you have didactics.. fantastic, I don't care right now, everyone does, it's not going to change my opinion on the program.
 
drizzt3117 said:
Rescheduled step 2 ck today, I was supposed to take it in a week, and I'm sure itd've been fine but I don't really feel comfortable sitting for a board exam without feeling prepared. Now that we know most interview dates, it's easier to do. Taking it the 19th now.
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Took it yesterday. I basically hadn't been able to study because of interviews during the couple weeks leading up to it (but had done most of UW before). It would have been fine. It's much more a test of endurance than anything else.

On the other points, it is definitely exhausting. I appreciate the places that keep the days short. Two of the seven I've been on had days that lasted till almost 4 and that is simply too long. And it's definitely humbling. I felt pretty good through early November and now that some of my top programs that waited are sent out, I feel pretty well crushed.

The rank list will be interesting. At 7, I have a clear number 1. Number 2 is a little bit iffy between two programs. The middle is mostly okay and number 7 is solidified nicely. When it grows even more, I could see it becoming really tough to choose 2-4.
 
drizzt3117 said:
Idk about the rest of you guys but for me, about the first half of my interviews are done.

Thoughts so far:

1) this process is far more tiring than I had anticipated.

2) it's definitely humbling at times.

3) deciding on a rank list is going to be hard.

Discuss.
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1) can't comment yet. Only have been on 4 combined interviews so far. My worst week is in December with 3 interviews in 3 separate cities.

2) yes, definitely

3) oh yes.


And don't worry about CK unless you plan to release your score. It's so much easier than Step 1 and you could be half asleep and pass
 
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The main reason I delayed it was bc I didn't want to study during t-giving and RSNA, I'm pretty much crushing UW right now, I have to release the score for UCSF though, I'd prefer it not be mediocre since it'll come out just before rank time,

2012mdc said:
1) can't comment yet. Only have been on 4 combined interviews so far. My worst week is in December with 3 interviews in 3 separate cities.

2) yes, definitely

3) oh yes. I've come up with a pre-interview ranking that's basically top west programs (if i get any), top non-west programs in good locations, 2nd tier Cali, top programs in bad locations and everything else.

I can't even decide between the 2 interviews I've had so far haha


And don't worry about CK unless you plan to release your score. It's so much easier than Step 1 and you could be half asleep and pass
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drizzt3117 said:
The main reason I delayed it was bc I didn't want to study during t-giving and RSNA, I'm pretty much crushing UW right now, I have to release the score for UCSF though, I'd prefer it not be mediocre since it'll come out just before rank time,
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Yeah if you're crushing UW you'll be fine. I found it easier than UW.

I probably would have pushed it back if I had gotten UCSF but my motivation was just so low. Glad it's over.
 
bigdoc12 said:
I've gotten 0 invites so far, any advice?

DO applicant, applied very late
Top 5% of class
Step 1 245+ step 2 265+
Clinicals: 50/50 honors/hp
Some minimal non-rads research, 0 publications though
Issues: No official rads rotations yet (scheduled for early 2012) and no rads LORs yet, both bc changed my career choice late in app season
ECs: bunch of volunteer, a few leadership positions, etc

Applied to 20ish progs in Midwest, obviously now thinking I need to add a bunch more across country
Thanks for any advice
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hey guys just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice in this thread, been a long time lurker here 😉

anyway, just to update from the above post, upped list to 45 programs, mostly areas where I have some sort of tie, all mid/low tier.

Thus far I have 3 interviews, 7 rejections, and silence from 35...about par for my app and very late application due to seeing the rads light late in the process (better late than never?) I know the silence can mean anything, but how often do programs send out additional interviews via pulling people off "waitlists"?

thanks again
 
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