Ranking issues

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Radiologyreviews2015

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I am interested in academic medicine/research, and still don't know how to rank these programs: UCSF, NYU, Penn and BIDMC. I had better "fuzzies" at NYU but feel Penn and UCSF might have better research opportunities. BIDMC was an awesome place too. SF seems more expensive than Boston and NYC. I preferred NYC to SF, but Philly is fairly affordable and that is a plus as I am hoping to at least start paying interest on loans.

Any opinions on these programs?
 
I LOVED Penn, I thought it was the best program with the most opportunities in the most affordable city. I got weird vibes from BIDMC personally and was very under impressed so I don't plan on ranking them high. UCSF was awesome but don't think I'm as committed to research as everyone else there, but they have amazing connections everywhere after residency. You could get any job you wanted. Didn't go on my NYU interview so can't speak for that, but heard from numerous people that its the only "malignant" program in radiology.
 
Didn't interview at BIDMC, but interviewed at the other three. It's funny the other poster said UCSF seemed less committed to research than Penn, I would agree - or at least felt that the faculty/residents were less research intense, I didn't look into actual funding. I'll probably end up ranking UCSF over Penn because of location preferences and because it seemed less intense overall. Cost of living in SF seems to suck, but I want to end up in Cali so I'll bite the bullet. I just couldn't get excited about living in Philly, but I'm sure others do.

My rank list is UCSF, X, Penn, X, X, X, NYU. Heard the rumor that NYU is malignant as well. Didn't get that sense from talking to the residents on interview day, but they certainly seem to work hard/harder than comparable programs.
 
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UCSF>Penn>NYU>BIDMC. You could argue ranking Penn over UCSF for location or research, but I wouldnt rank NYU or BIDMC over either.
 
UCSF>Penn>NYU>BIDMC. You could argue ranking Penn over UCSF for location or research, but I wouldnt rank NYU or BIDMC over either.

Any particular reasons why you wouldn't rank NYU over UCSF or Penn? And I keep hearing this "malignant tune" about NYU, but I did not get the malignant vibe when I visited, and I spoke to several residents on the "low"; except of course they were bullied by the program into lying to applicants.

My top 3 are still Penn, UCSF and NYU and I do not know how I will rank them yet. I might be building castles in the air with these 3 programs and fall down my list :shrug:
 
Any particular reasons why you wouldn't rank NYU over UCSF or Penn? And I keep hearing this "malignant tune" about NYU, but I did not get the malignant vibe when I visited, and I spoke to several residents on the "low"; except of course they were bullied by the program into lying to applicants.

My top 3 are still Penn, UCSF and NYU and I do not know how I will rank them yet. I might be building castles in the air with these 3 programs and fall down my list :shrug:

So I know one of the current and one of the former residents (who left) at NYU. I don't think NYU is malignant, but I do think their residents work harder than residents other top programs. NYU has great research opportunities too, but it felt like volume is emphasized over education. Their vagueness on the new call system and what their new hospital acquisition will mean for residents didn't help my ranking of them.

If your end goal is just academic/research, I think UCSF and Penn have a slight edge. If your first priority is location, then I would rank NYU over Penn (just my personal preference, not bashing Philly.)
 
I did not interview at UCSF, but from what I've been hearing UCSF and Penn are very similar in terms of opportunities. If you want to break into the California market moving forward, being at UCSF would not hurt (though the Penn name, and to some smaller extent NYU name, does resonate). I also did not interview at BIDMC but it is definitely less academic than UCSF or Penn, and is known as a "more chill" Harvard program with more clinical focus.

Penn: definitely has the better infrastructure in terms of residency program for research. You get a half day off a week, and they even have research spots within the residency where your 4th year can be integrated. The research interviewer I met with was very laid back and was very open that whatever residents want to do they can do. The city is also markedly cheaper, although you could honestly fit much of what the city has to offer in a couple NYC neighborhoods. Penn is also one of the "top 5" for rads, although NYU isn't far behind.
NYU: definitely a more clinical residency, with residents saying they train hard, although I see this as a benefit. Penn residents did not feel like they were pressured to do work and only said "you can find volume if you want it," whereas NYU makes sure you are a confident strong radiologist. And NYU is installing a cyclotron and has NYCs only 7T magnet for clinical use, so it's definitely got research if you want it.
 
I also did not interview at BIDMC but it is definitely less academic than UCSF or Penn, and is known as a "more chill" Harvard program with more clinical focus.

MGH resident said, clinically speaking, MGH is the most cush Harvard program and BIDMC is the most work.
 
Ranking UCSF > >Penn > > >BIDMC > NYU.

Living in bay area versus philly seems like an easy decision to me. Sure cost of living sucks in SF, but when you're 60 are you gonna look back on how cheap your rent was or how awesome of a place you lived at in your 20s/30s.

I really liked the PD from BIDMC. Not sure where it falls between chill and workhorse, but the residents seemed very happy to be there. Could see myself getting along with them much better than residents at some of the more research heavy institutions.

Not a huge fan of NYC and heard too many rumors about NYU to risk it.
 
Interviewed at UCSF, Penn, and NYU. I would be willing to eat the cost of UCSF only with <$10k in loans to worry about. Philly will be a less financially stressful experience for you. Plus, since you're interested in molecular imaging, the Penn nucs division is bigger than UCSF's. Dave Mankoff is legit. Penn gives everyone half-day/wk for academic pursuits, whereas Soonmee seems to be opposed to heavy duty research during the first half of residency. There's a difference in approach.
 
Interviewed at all three as well. I do love Penn's half research days. Sad that the NYU's malignant issue is coming up-- seems to be years old. The residents seemed very happy, been told there have been lots of changes in the past few years. NYC > philly. UCSF might win it for me though. UCSF> NYU > Penn >> BIDMC. I hear they work super hard at BI, more so than MGH.
 
Interviewed at all three as well. I do love Penn's half research days. Sad that the NYU's malignant issue is coming up-- seems to be years old. The residents seemed very happy, been told there have been lots of changes in the past few years. NYC > philly. UCSF might win it for me though. UCSF> NYU > Penn >> BIDMC. I hear they work super hard at BI, more so than MGH.

I don't understand why UCSF might win it for you.
 
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