Rank List Help

[radanon]

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I would love to know the collective perspective on the following programs: Northwestern vs OHSU vs Emory and Tufts vs Indiana vs UVA. Will offer my thoughts on progs once rank lists are in. Thanks, the SDN community has been a HUGE help throughout the process.

 

[deleted4401]

All are pretty strong, but I don't think Tufts has very much volume, specifically at main site at NEMC.

Otherwise, my non scientific reputational ranking:
NU = Emory > OHSU > UVA > IU > Tufts

S

 

[radanon]

You should really make your rank list based on which program is the best fit for you (location, teaching style, academic interest, research interest, technology/techniques), not on how other people on a message board rank them.

Hah little faith in an MS4. I doubt anyone would base a rank list on how people on a message board rank them. But I do think it's at least somewhat enlightening, and at the very least kind of interesting. The happy smiley face programs put on during the interview day occasionally doesn't reflect the program. It's helpful to get the perspective of someone more substantially involved with the department than just an interview( through aways, friends in the program etc.) As well, it's kind of hard to get a sense of a programs academic footprint and amount of quality research produced at the level of a med student, esp for the non giant programs. So it's nice to hear from residents and attendings on this.

 

[RockyMtOysters]

Emory and Indiana are both great underappreciated programs that you would get an excellent education at. I prefer Atlanta to Indianapolis. OHSU is on the rise... great program that is growing rapidly and it's in a fantastic city. I think its a drop from those three programs down to Northwestern, Virginia and Tufts.

 

[radanon]

Thanks for the posts! Hope others use this resource, seems like this thread usually takes off on other specialty forums.

 

[mordecai10]

A friend of mine who interviewed this cycle tells me she has received calls from some of the programs she interviewed at telling her they would rank her to match there.. anyone knows how common it is for radonc programs to call applicants at the top of their rank lists? just curious.

 

[Seldon1985]

From an academic viewpoint and getting academic jobs down the line, how would you compare Jefferson vs UTSW, and Maryland vs Pitt? Thanks!

 

[Pewl]

A friend of mine who interviewed this cycle tells me she has received calls from some of the programs she interviewed at telling her they would rank her to match there.. anyone knows how common it is for radonc programs to call applicants at the top of their rank lists? just curious.

I personally have never heard of a rad onc program doing this. None of the places I interviewed at did. Besides, if there's anything I learned from the interview trail it's to NEVER NEVER NEVER believe anything anyone tells you until it's written and signed.

 

[thesauce]

I personally have never heard of a rad onc program doing this. None of the places I interviewed at did. Besides, if there's anything I learned from the interview trail it's to NEVER NEVER NEVER believe anything anyone tells you until it's written and signed.

Amen to that.

I have only heard of two instances of programs sending these emails. In one case, the person went unmatched and in the other case, the program went unfilled.

 

[ChasingtheCurve]

It does, in fact, happen, and not just at the small programs. It is impossible to know how "common" it is, but i suppose some programs use it in an attempt to sway applicants who may be considering but not committed to their program. You shouldn't be too concerned if it doesn't happen, because the vast majority of candidates match without so much as a word being spoken to them by their matching institution, but if a program director at a well-respected academic institution is going to take the time out of his/her busy schedule to call you personally, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. I know personally of several people who have received these calls, it affected their rank lists, and they ended up matching to the program that contacted them.

 

[Seldon1985]

From an academic viewpoint and getting academic jobs down the line, how would you compare Jefferson vs UTSW, and Maryland vs Pitt? Thanks!

Bumping, in case anyone would care to share.

 

[deleted4401]

Bumping, in case anyone would care to share.

All are pretty good. No program impedes you from getting an academic job. In my practice, we have people from UPMC, Jeff, and UMD, and we all could have landed in academics if we wanted.

My presumption is that one would be best situated for an academic position if they had a chance to conduct research/publish during residency.

At UPMC, there is a dedicated year for research (basic or clinical or both), many databases, and a strong infrastructure for research in general. So, if you were there, you could get quite a bit done. One of our grads had ~15-20 pubs at graduation, and our current PGY-4 might hit that, as well. Yet, we've never had anyone take an academic position.

Go where you think you will have the time/resources to be most active and you'll set yourself up well.

-S

 

[clintpark]

From an academic viewpoint and getting academic jobs down the line, how would you compare Jefferson vs UTSW, and Maryland vs Pitt? Thanks!

At UTSW, residents are actively involved in research. Unlike most other institutions, our residents do NOT do chart biopsies or retrospective reviews. Most residents write their own clinical protocols (mostly on SBRT related stuff or concurrent chemoRT given Dr. Timmerman's and Dr. Choy's presence) starting their first year and by third or fourth year have multiple first author papers/abstracts. This allows us to have something to show for when it's time for your job search and, more importantly, give you a taste of what academia is like so that you can make an informed decision.

There will be ample opportunities also to write review articles in conjunction with the above two.

Dr. Choy's and Dr. Timmerman's recommendations would take you far when you are looking for an academic job.

We have had five graduates so far. Two went to academics and three to private practice. At least one of current graduating resident is going to a (semi-) academic practice.

As for me, I did mathematical modeling research and had a few papers. I found a good private practice, but I remember multiple interviewers questioning whether I really wanted to go into private practice given how many papers I had written.

 

[johno83]

Good luck to everyone finalizing ROL's today. The next 3 weeks will fly by.

 

[Gfunk6]

Ditto, best of luck to all of you. It was a pleasure meeting many of you personally.

 

[stankem]

Can't stop staring at the rank list! TYs might have been the hardest.

 

[babyjbobby]

agreed....rad onc list was much easier than deciding on internship year...

 

[Seldon1985]

It's all in! Great feeling. Now, its completely outta our hands. Good luck!