RFUMS-CMS Match list is HOT!!!!!

[ocean11]

WOW! I'm so impressed, so glad I chose to come to this school! check it out:

DERM-4
Opthomology - 7
Ortho Surgery - 5
Otolaryngology - 3
Plastic Surgery - 2
Neuro Surgery -1
RAD Onc -3


+ Plenty of ER, anestheology, neurology etc etc.....

GO RFUMS-CMS! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[smAsh003]

WOW! I'm so impressed, so glad I chose to come to this school! check it out:

DERM-4
Opthomology - 7
Ortho Surgery - 5
Otolaryngology - 3
Plastic Surgery - 2
Neuro Surgery -1
RAD Onc -3


+ Plenty of ER, anestheology, neurology etc etc.....

GO RFUMS-CMS! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO!

 

[NRAI2001]

I hate CMS......the bastards took the AP program away just as I was gearing up to apply to it. I bet a lot of the people who matched into the fields you mentioned were AP students.

 

[JulioFly]

what is AP?
is that match for 2006 or 2005

 

[ieatpaste]

congrats

 

[71263]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE

 

[ShaggyHair]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think RFU's match is that amazing or anything. I'm not attacking RFU, but I feel the same with most schools when people claim a particular match list is outstanding. Sure, some people matched into great programs, but given the sheer number of residencies and the number of top universities/hospitals in the program, each and every school is bound to have people who match into these great schools/hospitals. Harvard, Stanford, Hopkins, etc have dozens of residencies fields each with many spots thereby making getting into a top 10 school not as difficult as one might think (esp for the less competitive fields). Plus, fields like neurosurg etc have often have match rates for US seniors above 80%. Having said this, I don't think RFU's match list is above the norm for most med schools - also noting that if 20-30 students get into great residencies in a class of 170 (I'm not sure how big their class is), I don't think that is that impressive. However, looking at match lists from Harvard/Wash U/Duke/Hopkins, you'll see the majority of students land great residencies making their match lists "amazing."

 

[ny skindoc]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think RFU's match is that amazing or anything. I'm not attacking RFU, but I feel the same with most schools when people claim a particular match list is outstanding. Sure, some people matched into great programs, but given the sheer number of residencies and the number of top universities/hospitals in the program, each and every school is bound to have people who match into these great schools/hospitals. Harvard, Stanford, Hopkins, etc have dozens of residencies fields each with many spots thereby making getting into a top 10 school not as difficult as one might think (esp for the less competitive fields). Plus, fields like neurosurg etc have often have match rates for US seniors above 80%. Having said this, I don't think RFU's match list is above the norm for most med schools - also noting that if 20-30 students get into great residencies in a class of 170 (I'm not sure how big their class is), I don't think that is that impressive. However, looking at match lists from Harvard/Wash U/Duke/Hopkins, you'll see the majority of students land great residencies making their match lists "amazing."

This match list is significant for the many matches into competitive specialties and top hospitals.Since this med school has frequently been viewed in a negative light for various reasons its worth noting that its grads compete on an equal footing with the majority of US med school grads.I agree there are many residency spots in the US but when you appreciate that the "prestige" programs fill many of their spots with their own students there are really not that many at the top to go around.Some schools get more of these than others.After the top 15-20 schools the match lists are very similar in quality.It shows that its how you do where you go rather than where you go is key for most. But surely if you can choose Hopkins over RF then by all means do it!

 

[potato51]

....

 

[ocean11]

This match list is significant for the many matches into competitive specialties and top hospitals.Since this med school has frequently been viewed in a negative light for various reasons its worth noting that its grads compete on an equal footing with the majority of US med school grads.I agree there are many residency spots in the US but when you appreciate that the "prestige" programs fill many of their spots with their own students there are really not that many at the top to go around.Some schools get more of these than others.After the top 15-20 schools the match lists are very similar in quality.It shows that its how you do where you go rather than where you go is key for most. But surely if you can choose Hopkins over RF then by all means do it!

EXACTLY! if you go to Harvard or Hopkins etc... you AUTOMATICALLy have an advantage in interviews, because those schools are well known and looked highly upon. In contrast RFUMS-CMS is not as well known (name change dosn't exactly help) + the whole probation thing last year and negative FALSE publicity puts the school in a negative light. So if so many students from our school can get these AWSOME residencies it shows you how high our board scores are and how superior these students truly are. And believe me, our board scores are WELL above average

GO RFUMS-CMS!!!!

 

[NRAI2001]

EXACTLY! if you go to Harvard or Hopkins etc... you AUTOMATICALLy have an advantage in interviews, because those schools are well known and looked highly upon. In contrast RFUMS-CMS is not as well known (name change dosn't exactly help) + the whole probation thing last year and negative FALSE publicity puts the school in a negative light. So if so many students from our school can get these AWSOME residencies it shows you how high our board scores are and how superior these students truly are. And believe me, our board scores are WELL above average

GO RFUMS-CMS!!!!

 

[abcabc1]

CMS has a reputation as a 'bad' or 'safety' school, but it has a LOT of very good students nonetheless. There are CMS students with excellent board scores (235+) left and right. Those numbers don't surprise me at all.

I agree with others that, even if student A from CMS has the same scores as student B from Harvard/JHU/P&S, etc, student B will have a big advantage. If you have better options (either less expensive or at schools with more prestige), you should choose them. If not, CMS is sufficient and, as you can see, provides you with the opportunity to match well if your record is strong.

 

[BrainBuff]

CMS reputation has been "bad" forever. Both of my parents graduated from Chicago area schools back in the early 80s and they tell me that the school was considered a "safety" even back them and as long as you had the money (it had one of the highest tuitions in the country).

I wonder how their Match list looks this year. In any case, it beats having to go to the caribbean...

 

[geogil]

wait, why are we resurrecting this thread? it's 3 years old guys...

 

[GeraldMonroe]

I just looked at this year's match list. Among other tidbits : there were 19 radiology matches.

 

[VincentAdultman]

WOW! I'm so impressed, so glad I chose to come to this school! check it out:

DERM-4
Opthomology - 7
Ortho Surgery - 5
Otolaryngology - 3
Plastic Surgery - 2
Neuro Surgery -1
RAD Onc -3


+ Plenty of ER, anestheology, neurology etc etc.....

GO RFUMS-CMS! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You do know that raw numbers without context tells you very little right?

**DAMN! 3 year old thread

 

[powermd]

I'm now almost five years out from graduating CMS and I've had a lot of exposure to med students and residents from a wide variety of institutions. I did my residency at Columbia so I've had plenty of time to work with people who went to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. I can say with great confidence all med students enter internship totally clueless, awkward as f*ck, and utterly useless. What separates people is raw brain power, how fast they adapt to new surroundings, their work ethic, and how they treat their patients and colleagues. Where one went to med school really isn't all that predictive of how well they do on these criteria. There are brilliant and talented people from humble origins, just as there are dumb dumb oaf alcoholics from Harvard (who managed to get in and pass despite themselves). Having a flawless academic pedigree does not by any means guarantee that someone is a hard worker, team player, dedicated caregiver, moral person, or has a pleasant personality, or common sense. This is the **** that actually affects patient care and makes people want to work with you. People (mostly pre-meds) obsess over this stupid issue of institutional prestige. If you go to a top 20 med school, the deck is definitely stacked in your favor to get a residency at one of these institutions. If you don't, realize that if you're really good, people will notice, and doors will open for you. Seemed to work for me. One of the reasons it worked for me is because CMS is actually a great school that can give you a STELLAR education if you make the most of it.

I'm not sure how CMS calculates it's accepted student GPA, but I suspect it tends to run low due to a large chunk of the class coming from the AP (postbac) program, which almost certainly is going to drag the average down. This is not intended to disparage folks who come in through the AP route. Some of the hardest working students I knew went through that brutally cutthroat route to garner a place in the med school class.

Could somebody post, or PM me a link to the actual match list. I'd like to see how they did.

 

[StreetFighter]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7912570&postcount=83

 

[AKADoc]

Yay CMS 2009!!!! But honestly, our Match Lists have always been hot. I recall looking at the 2004 Match List during my interview thinking dang this is nice! In comparison to other schools I interviewed at, CMS's list was substaintally better. Regardless of our issues with bad press, I don't really think that ever affected how we looked to residency programs because our board scores have always been above the national average and our students have always been quality. So, if this thread is similar to one posted 3 years ago, GOOD it bears repeating!!

 

[ChiDO]

Just because a school has a ton of specialty matches doesn't really make it hot. What if all those students got their last choice on their rank lists, while another school produced all FM doctors and they all got their #1 choice?

Please refer to http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8064217&postcount=244 for a better explanation on how match lists mean nothing without more information.

 

[Handy388]

Just because a school has a ton of specialty matches doesn't really make it hot. What if all those students got their last choice on their rank lists, while another school produced all FM doctors and they all got their #1 choice?

Please refer to http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8064217&postcount=244 for a better explanation on how match lists mean nothing without more information.

well, you can't generalize that. I say that a 8th ranked derm/rad onc spot match is more competitive than a 1st ranked FM match in rainbowville, Nebraska.

 

[fizzle]

Just because a school has a ton of specialty matches doesn't really make it hot. What if all those students got their last choice on their rank lists, while another school produced all FM doctors and they all got their #1 choice?

Please refer to http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8064217&postcount=244 for a better explanation on how match lists mean nothing without more information.

A "bad" match list isn't indicative of anything (maybe they all wanted "easier" residencies), but a good match list does give some indication of the limits to what is possible at that school. It's not completely meaningless.

 

[ChiDO]

well, you can't generalize that. I say that a 8th ranked derm/rad onc spot match is more competitive than a 1st ranked FM match in rainbowville, Nebraska.

This is the notion that SDN instills in pre-meds heads. The more specialties, the better the match list; and in all seriousness that has nothing to do with it. That #8 derm spot might be more competitive then FM, however, if that person would have rather gone to the 7 spots above it, then obviously his match was less then stellar then the FM who got his #1 spot. (This FM person could have had a 260 USMLE and wanted to practice rural medicine in his hometown of rainbowville, NE).

I'm done argueing this because without MORE information that we will NEVER have, match lists are useless.

If Harvard had 100% of their class go IM/FM in one year, does that make their match list "bad" compared to UIC who had 50% specialize? According to SDN definitely, but since it's from Harvard, a lot of pre-med heads would probably explode in utter confusion.

 

[ChiDO]

A "bad" match list isn't indicative of anything (maybe they all wanted "easier" residencies), but a good match list does give some indication of the limits to what is possible at that school. It's not completely meaningless.

Doesn't matter what school you go to. If you work hard, do well, you can do any specialty from any school. Just because you went to a "top 10" school doesn't mean you can do any specialty you want...you have to work hard for it no matter where you are from.

SDn pre-meds believe that if you go to Hopkins you automatically are that much better then people from other medical schools, which is simply not true. If you suck it up at Hopkins, the name of the school won't save you.

 

[phospho]

This is the notion that SDN instills in pre-meds heads. The more specialties, the better the match list; and in all seriousness that has nothing to do with it. That #8 derm spot might be more competitive then FM, however, if that person would have rather gone to the 7 spots above it, then obviously his match was less then stellar then the FM who got his #1 spot. (This FM person could have had a 260 USMLE and wanted to practice rural medicine in his hometown of rainbowville, NE).

I'm done argueing this because without MORE information that we will NEVER have, match lists are useless.

If Harvard had 100% of their class go IM/FM in one year, does that make their match list "bad" compared to UIC who had 50% specialize? According to SDN definitely, but since it's from Harvard, a lot of pre-med heads would probably explode in utter confusion.

great post!

Out of curiosity, if you were a premed right now trying to decide between medical schools, how would you use the match lists? As you probably know, each school gives them to us at the interview, or makes them readily available at their website.

I guess I'm just wondering if they are worth anything to a premed. Do we just throw them away? if you're deciding between two schools with similar tuition, geography, curriculum, etc etc etc, can you use a matchlist to break the tie?

 

[ChiDO]

great post!

Out of curiosity, if you were a premed right now trying to decide between medical schools, how would you use the match lists? As you probably know, each school gives them to us at the interview, or makes them readily available at their website.

I guess I'm just wondering if they are worth anything to a premed. Do we just throw them away? if you're deciding between two schools with similar tuition, geography, curriculum, etc etc etc, can you use a matchlist to break the tie?

I wouldn't use matchlists, nor did I use them when I choose a school. I'd go to the cheaper school, if they are both equal, then place closer to home/where I want to be after graduation.

 

[fizzle]

Doesn't matter what school you go to. If you work hard, do well, you can do any specialty from any school. Just because you went to a "top 10" school doesn't mean you can do any specialty you want...you have to work hard for it no matter where you are from.

SDn pre-meds believe that if you go to Hopkins you automatically are that much better then people from other medical schools, which is simply not true. If you suck it up at Hopkins, the name of the school won't save you.

That's the catch..."work hard" is such a vague term, and no one can deny that it's definitely helped along by brand name. Sure, anyone has to work hard whether at Harvard or at some other school, but name brand can make that hard work "easier," relatively speaking, whether through opportunities or networking.

I don't see how your argument can be debated, since assuming that everything is based off of hard work implies that human perception of name-brand doesn't play any role at all in getting chosen for residencies, and anyone from a lower-ranked school who doesn't make it into his/her top choices for residencies can simply be categorized under the broad, over-arching theme of having "not worked hard enough," regardless of the circumstances.

 

[ChiDO]

That's the catch..."work hard" is such a vague term, and no one can deny that it's definitely helped along by brand name. Sure, anyone has to work hard whether at Harvard or at some other school, but name brand can make that hard work "easier," relatively speaking, whether through opportunities or networking.

I don't see how your argument can be debated, since assuming that everything is based off of hard work implies that human perception of name-brand doesn't play any role at all in getting chosen for residencies, and anyone from a lower-ranked school who doesn't make it into his/her top choices for residencies can simply be categorized under the broad, over-arching theme of having "not worked hard enough," regardless of the circumstances.

I'm not saying that by going to Harvard you *may* have more chances to network at prominent places. Unforunately, if you are at the bottom of the barrel at Harvard and didn't do well on your boards, these connections don't mean a thing. Thus, someone who works hard at School A will probably work hard at School B and more then likely do the same on their boards.

To summarize: by going to a "top 10 school" (w/e that means), that DOES NOT guarantee you the specialty of your choice even if the current match list had 100% specialties to their #1 choice. What grades you earn, how well you do on boards, and where you go for residency is SOLELY on YOU. No medical school has some secret teaching material that others don't. We all use the same books and resources. I will agree with you that going to a known-named school might push you over the edge for that super competitive specialty, but YOU had to FIRST ACHIEVE the CREDENTIALS to obtain a chance at interviewing there.

 

[fizzle]

I'm not saying that by going to Harvard you *may* have more chances to network at prominent places. Unforunately, if you are at the bottom of the barrel at Harvard and didn't do well on your boards, these connections don't mean a thing. Thus, someone who works hard at School A will probably work hard at School B and more then likely do the same on their boards.

To summarize: by going to a "top 10 school" (w/e that means), that DOES NOT guarantee you the specialty of your choice even if the current match list had 100% specialties to their #1 choice. What grades you earn, how well you do on boards, and where you go for residency is SOLELY on YOU. No medical school has some secret teaching material that others don't. We all use the same books and resources. I will agree with you that going to a known-named school might push you over the edge for that super competitive specialty, but YOU had to FIRST ACHIEVE the CREDENTIALS to obtain a chance at interviewing there.

I wasn't arguing anything about the benefits of hard work or what any individual could achieve, which is what your post is directed at. I'm arguing that there are additional factors directly related to a top college that impact how a student performs and how far "hard work" gets him or her. Basically, if it's all completely dependent on the individual and not on external factors, then what's all the public brouhaha about rankings at all? There's a reason that everyone makes a big deal out of it (whether openly or not).

To summarize: Yes, individual performance is the most important factor. However, it is nowhere near the ONLY factor of significance.

 

[JaggerPlate]

CMS reputation has been "bad" forever. Both of my parents graduated from Chicago area schools back in the early 80s and they tell me that the school was considered a "safety" even back them and as long as you had the money (it had one of the highest tuitions in the country).

I wonder how their Match list looks this year. In any case, it beats having to go to the caribbean...

I would argue that there is no such thing as an allopathic safety school these days. You have absolutely no idea where you will and will not get in.

 

[Handy388]

This is the notion that SDN instills in pre-meds heads. The more specialties, the better the match list; and in all seriousness that has nothing to do with it. That #8 derm spot might be more competitive then FM, however, if that person would have rather gone to the 7 spots above it, then obviously his match was less then stellar then the FM who got his #1 spot. (This FM person could have had a 260 USMLE and wanted to practice rural medicine in his hometown of rainbowville, NE).

I'm done argueing this because without MORE information that we will NEVER have, match lists are useless.

If Harvard had 100% of their class go IM/FM in one year, does that make their match list "bad" compared to UIC who had 50% specialize? According to SDN definitely, but since it's from Harvard, a lot of pre-med heads would probably explode in utter confusion.

I merely tried to suggest that it is more competitive to match derm as 8th choice than match FM as 1st.

Most USMD grads can probably get into their 1st choice FM, not that many USMD grad can get into their 8th choice derm.