So what do my fellow budding radiologists think about how things are going so far in the process. I've gotten 7 interviews, 2 rejections and waiting on 12 programs still. One of the programs that rejected me said that applications were up 25-30% compared to last year at their program and the other program that rejected me said they were up about 15-20%. Seems like this may be a very tough year for radiology. Any other thoughts?
Radiology Seems more Competitive this year
- Thread starter Jim Picotte
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Maybe I was just scared by reading posts on auntminnie.com (a radiology web site) or by talking to people, but based on the number of interviews I've gotten so far (15), its not as bad as I expected. I must point out that I was so worried about the competitiveness of rads that I applied to 40 programs! The average radiology applicant last year applied to 31 programs.
I guess if you expect the worst (I was already thinking about what I'd do if I had to scramble), its not that bad.
I guess if you expect the worst (I was already thinking about what I'd do if I had to scramble), its not that bad.
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I just got back from an inteview and the program director mentioned that he's so swamped with highly qualified student and physician applicants that he's rejecting some with board scores in the 230's, completely unheard of a couple years ago. My stats so far: applied to 41, 7 interviews, and 2 ganks.
Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
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Which program was this, if you don't mind sharing?
A
ana
Last year, the "magic" cutoff number for board scores was >220 (at least, according to the buzz word, although there were claims of people getting in with 215 or so scores) -- so it looks like this year it's going to 230? Geez, and I thought last year was tough!
Good luck everyone, and GO RADS! 😀
Good luck everyone, and GO RADS! 😀
i find that hard to belive. if 230 is the cutoff then radiology would never fill because there's alot more radiology spots then people scoring 230's. furthermore not everbody that scores 230 or above goes into radiology, some these guys end up in derm,ortho, and even filds like im and peds and everyother field. So i know for a fact there aren't enough 230's(which is like the 94th percentile) to fill all of these spots. ie people with lower scores do get in (especially in things like rad and er which have a ton of spots). Anyways misinformation like this is often the cause of considerable grief for already anxiety ridden 4th years so please consider this when you guys throw your wild exagerations out there.
ps i know somebody who matched at a community radiology program with 202 last year so don't give up people.
ps i know somebody who matched at a community radiology program with 202 last year so don't give up people.
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Godfather,
I respect your opinion and have wondered the same myself. However, I am not lending out misinformation, trying to scare other rads hopefulls, or trying to start a flamer. I heard what I heard and reported it as such. Also, 94th percentile is in the 250's, or approximately 2 standard devs above the mean in a gaussian distributed bell curve. Because there is such a large number of test takers of a well written exam, usually this bell curve is closely represented each year. That "2nd" number on the ULSME score report is a mystery to me; however, it does not represent a percentile score. Thus, scoring in the 230's is approximately 1 standard deviation above the mean. With that in mind, and with approx 16,000 graduates each year, there are approx 2400 graduates with 230's and higher, 2 1/2 times the number of available radiology spots.
Every program has their own criteria for interviewing, as we all know. If program A judges only on board scores and gets 60 applicants (their allotted number of interviews) with 235 and higher, it's quite conceivable that rejection letters will be mailed out to those who didn't reach that level. If program B gets several DO applicants who score in the 230's and their program director has DO issues, they won't be interviewed. Etc., Etc...
Even Radiologists are finding it hard to believe, like you, that their field is as competitive as it is. However, medical students are not stupid; they understand where the good jobs, money, and lifestyles are right now, all wrapped up in a rapidly changing and exciting field.
Respectfully yours,
Pags
I respect your opinion and have wondered the same myself. However, I am not lending out misinformation, trying to scare other rads hopefulls, or trying to start a flamer. I heard what I heard and reported it as such. Also, 94th percentile is in the 250's, or approximately 2 standard devs above the mean in a gaussian distributed bell curve. Because there is such a large number of test takers of a well written exam, usually this bell curve is closely represented each year. That "2nd" number on the ULSME score report is a mystery to me; however, it does not represent a percentile score. Thus, scoring in the 230's is approximately 1 standard deviation above the mean. With that in mind, and with approx 16,000 graduates each year, there are approx 2400 graduates with 230's and higher, 2 1/2 times the number of available radiology spots.
Every program has their own criteria for interviewing, as we all know. If program A judges only on board scores and gets 60 applicants (their allotted number of interviews) with 235 and higher, it's quite conceivable that rejection letters will be mailed out to those who didn't reach that level. If program B gets several DO applicants who score in the 230's and their program director has DO issues, they won't be interviewed. Etc., Etc...
Even Radiologists are finding it hard to believe, like you, that their field is as competitive as it is. However, medical students are not stupid; they understand where the good jobs, money, and lifestyles are right now, all wrapped up in a rapidly changing and exciting field.
Respectfully yours,
Pags
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This is not meant to scare either, but to just pass along what I heard straight from the source. I visited a community-based program who rejected many >230's and no osteopaths or foreign medical grad's this year, not even those with 260's, due to the raising of the bar this year. Nuts, I tell you. That makes all our current interviews seem much more valuable, eh?
The chairman of Radiology at my medical school told me that he's gotten 500 applications this year for 8 slots! I'm still waiting to hear from the Boston programs--has anyone heard from BU, B&W, MGH, or BI yet?
Regarding the above posts I've gotten rejected by a couple of first tier programs and one community hospital; my USMLE I is >230 and my transcript is pretty good, though I'm not AOA. Crazy how this works.
Good luck everyone!
Regarding the above posts I've gotten rejected by a couple of first tier programs and one community hospital; my USMLE I is >230 and my transcript is pretty good, though I'm not AOA. Crazy how this works.
Good luck everyone!
How much does research in radiology help with a match in rads? I'm going to be starting an MD/PhD, probably do my thesis research in something MRI related.
Will that help at all or not make much of a difference?
Will that help at all or not make much of a difference?
R
Roentgen
Although it probably makes little difference to many programs, I'd like to encourage you to pursue the MD/PhD for a different reason. MRI research is fun, and there are a lot of fantastic people in the field to work with! The bottom line- IF you are interested in research, consider the combined degree. If not- don't waste your time; you'll be miserable!
i was wondering if any of you had an opinion on the importance of step 1 score in matching. i have a 250+ score, but no research experience. will the score be enough for interviews?
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The American allopathic students that I've talked to with scores 250+ have had good success in getting interviews at good programs. I'm suprised to see that there are so many students with Step I and II scores above 250 going for radiology this year and not other competitive fields. That does not bode well for me. 🙁
