What do u think? Any advice?

[Dr. AYY]

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I have been blessed to be accepted at the University of Florida and Mt. Sinai and I am turning to you for some advice.

So my question is if I want to go into a competitive residency (Radiology) how much does the school I go to fatcor in?

A few factors that come into play besides the initial matching question:

I am in-state for Florida = $17,000, Mt. Sinai = $32,000

Sinai= Pass/Fail 😀 , UF= pretty competitive 🙁

I have been at UF ( a really small town 😴 ) for 6 yrs

I prefer to do my residency in South Florida

I only have a few friends in NY, but I am a personable individual and know I can make friends in due time.

P.S. My family is in Miami and I am close to them, how much should I consider the University of Miami (tuition= $28,000)

P.P.S. Essentially, I am wondering what influenced your decisions when deciding between State (cheaper) and Private (better) schools.

 

[doc05]

sinai isn't that much better. In your position, you should consider UMiami vs. UFlorida.

and radiology is competitive, but not it's not nearly as tough to match as people would like to believe: multiple market forces are driving down salaries and hence the field has become somewhat less attractive. good luck.

 

[scootad.]

I dont think it matters which one you go to. Since youre already from Florida, you'll get interviews there come residency time if you wanna go back after Sinai.

Go where you will be happier - weigh the pros and cons (cost, desire to get out of florida, etc). But dont go to Sinai b/c of its rep; its a good school but not great and wont in an of itself get you a competitive residency.

P.S. for your info I am graduating med school in May going into rads. I had the choice to make between Buffalo (my state school) and NYU. I chose NYU, but more b/c its closer to home (long island) and I was very sick of upstate NY weather (after cornell undergrad). While I am definitely in more debt I am glad I made this choice. But in the end, while I have matched in rads I dont think NYU helped me significantly with it - only slightly. Im sure I would have done just as well coming from Buffalo.

Good luck!

 

[LSUwannabe]

Thanks to the previous posters for your insights as I found them helpful as well.

Since I'm beginning in August my opinion is based solely on what I've been told re: the same type of situation. Mine dealt w/ was it "worth it" to attend Tulane vs. LSU.

To be succinct, essentially EVERYONE has indicated where you go to school is much less important than how you perform while there. The name recognition of top-20 schools CAN be a help especially if research is a goal.

Again, I'm no expert but if you're in the top 10% of your class (wherever that is) and your scores are solid aren't you likely to match in your field of choice?

Conversely, if you're middle of the class at Harvard/Hopkins/whatever I doubt that name will help you score a competitive residency...just my opinion.

 

[jcoola]

A few factors that come into play besides the initial matching question:

I have been at UF ( a really small town 😴 ) for 6 yrs

I prefer to do my residency in South Florida

P.S. My family is in Miami and I am close to them, how much should I consider the University of Miami (tuition= $28,000)

AY,
I say go to Miami especially considering some of your buddies are going there like me 😀 . Honestly tho, look at your selection factors. I have only been in Gainesville for 4 years, yet I couldn't take another 4 years. I mean, Gainesville is great, but I just don't think it is 8 years+ great (yet this is more up to the individual).

Residency in South Florida = UMiami. Altho, all florida schools have those that match down south, I'm fairly certain Miami has the majority. Also, in my opinion, Miami does a really good job in the match. I want to do residency at Baylor's TCH (pretty competitive I would think), and I saw that Miami did quite well at getting people to Houston (at least for the 2004 match). If you have a specific place in mind, compare the match lists. Things may change, but it is never a bad idea to have an idea where a school's grads go.

My family lives in South Florida and this was an important selection factor for me also. I know I can count on their help with the little things (laundry, a meal, ect.) if it is ever needed.

My brother-in-law told me to take money out of the equation and go where I would be happiest. I did this and he will be paying if it bites me in the butt (just kidding).

Also, I'm hoping to take a few road trips to visit friends at USF, FSU, and UF next year. If everyone takes a turn driving, we should all be able to get some studying in along the way.

Up for some more Pizza Hut? KP and I discussed this topic the other day there. Nothing goes better than some Pizza Hut triple pepperoni pizzas and med school talk 😳 . Good luck bro, you will do great wherever you go. Oh, I posted it here instead of calling you so people could disagree with me if I was wrong.

JC

 

[Dr. AYY]

Thanks to everyone for posting your thoughts.


JC,
I appreciate your comments 😀 I actually spent a few hours last night looking through residency match lists and realized that University of Miami does get the most south florida residencies. I know Mt. Sinai isn't that much better then UM but my only question is (assuming I work hard and do well) would it be easier, or better coming from Mt. Sinai (probably being one of the only applicants to S. Florida residencies from that school) or being from UM med school where nearly everyone applies to S. Florida residencies. That is the question that match lists don't answer, we don't know what the rank of the matched resdiencies where, nor do we know from what other schools people applied to the S. Florida residencies from.

I'll admit Any of the three schools will be a great match, each with their own plusses and minuses but with my family and so many friends going to UM it might be drawing me more towards that option, that is if it becomes viable. Of course Iif you ask me in a week I might say the Mt Sinai is the best for me 🙄 I have a tough decision to make and I appreciate all of the insight, and I just want to make this clear I am extremely thankful that I have this decision to make (especially being a re-applicant, I can appreciate the options). If anyone else has any food for thought, I'm hungry

 

[chameleonknight]

Dude, go to UF. I would consider that a better school by reputation anyway. If you are hell bent on going into rads, then programs will pick up on that and you will get a spot. Plus, if you want to stay in Florida, then it is more likely that the Rads people at UF know floridian rads PDs better than say, the guys up in NY. Personally, I would rate this as a no-brainer.

 

[Dr. AYY]

Dude, go to UF. I would consider that a better school by reputation anyway. If you are hell bent on going into rads, then programs will pick up on that and you will get a spot. Plus, if you want to stay in Florida, then it is more likely that the Rads people at UF know floridian rads PDs better than say, the guys up in NY. Personally, I would rate this as a no-brainer.

Where do you think University of Miami should play into the decision?

 

[bof]

If you are saving 10-15K a year i don't think miami or mt sinai should play any part in the decision. do well in any of those schools and you will get into rads. if you want to stay in florida for residency i would go to med school there. go to UF!

Where do you think University of Miami should play into the decision?

 

[chameleonknight]

I don't know how these things stack up in Florida, but I would consider UF to be at least as good as UMiami.

Ok, I'm going to take a cheap shot; LSU-Shreveport is about as non-prestigious a med school as any. It's a good school, just not a "name" school. They had five people match into rads and probably anybody in the top half of that class could eventually be a radiologist if they REALLY want it (e.g. take a year off to do research, then apply for the match).

So, in short, as much as I hate their football team, go to UF. When it comes time to pay off your loans, you'll be glad you did.

My name is chameleonknight and I approve this message.

 

[jcoola]

I don't know how these things stack up in Florida, but I would consider UF to be at least as good as UMiami.

If you consider US News rankings, then UF would be about two points ahead of UMiami.

AY,
Most people are saying to go to the cheaper school and this makes sense, but I want you to go to Miami with me so ignore them . Anyway, I would do a pro and con list of all your schools and see what happens. Also talk to your family and see what they think. Oh, and don't forgot to converse with your med student friends from these schools. Anyway, I’m confident in the fact that no matter where you go, you will excel. Now just pick Miami 😉 .

JC

 

[Dr. AYY]

So thusfar the general consensus is go to the cheaper school: UF. But putting aside monetary issues (i.e. I get scholarships), does the advice change? Looking at math lists all three schools do well, however UF only matched three people in South Florida in the past three match years, while UM is the exact opposite nearly half the class matched in S. Florida. How much should this be a factor, i.e. since the match lists doesn't show much info how can I find out if people from UF just didn't want to go to S. Florida Residencies or if they just weren't accepted over UM students. Finally, what about Mt. Sinai in this respect, some UM people matched in Sinai but no Sinai people matched in S. Florida (now who knows if they tried DARN incomplete match list) but does the fact that UM people matched at Sinai mean that they have a relationship that if tapped might become reciprical?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is a big decision and all of your insight is extremely appreciated.

 

[worriedwell]

4th year med student who just went through the match weighing in here. You actually make an interesting point regarding being one of the few people from sinai to really be trying for the florida residencies. i am of the humble opinion that this might work in your favor as sinai (while not on the level of columbia or yale) is no slouch and residencies do like diversity. that being said, don't ignore the match list that shows you that miami is sending people repeatedly to south florida residencies. it means the programs develop a relationship with the medical school and they know what they are getting. the downside of that, though is that if you don't perform well, they will probably have other people from miami aiming for those residency spots and therefore you might be passed over for someone else at miami. but if you are confident you'll do fine, then no worries, and my feeling is that miami should be at the top of your list. other the other hand, an average student from sinai who shows a strong interest in florida schools may have the advantage of residencies looking for diversity and not knowing the secret code of what kind of student you really are, and they may give you the benefit of the doubt.

i feel very strongly that 10 grand a year should not influence much if at all. it should be low on your list of important thinks as that is nothing to pay off in the long run. that makes me believe that UF should not be high on the list if you don't think you'll be happy there. Also, new york is a once in a lifetime experience that really is amazing. miami is no slouch either in terms of enjoyment. is gainesville any fun? i doubt it even scratches the surface of the other two cities, but thats just my opinion.

Bottom line, go where you think you'll have the best 4 year experience, with an eye on residency, but not letting that take you somewhere that your gut is really telling you that you don't want to be. But do not let money be a factor in this situation. i'm 200K in debt (by choosing a new york med school even though i'm from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere) and while i know that it will take me a while to pay back, my gut feeling made me come to this med school and its been such an amazing four years i wouldn't trade it for the world (much less for a measly 10 grand a year).

 

[winsicle]

I have been blessed to be accepted at the University of Florida and Mt. Sinai and I am turning to you for some advice.

So my question is if I want to go into a competitive residency (Radiology) how much does the school I go to fatcor in?

A few factors that come into play besides the initial matching question:

I am in-state for Florida = $17,000, Mt. Sinai = $32,000

Sinai= Pass/Fail 😀 , UF= pretty competitive 🙁

I have been at UF ( a really small town 😴 ) for 6 yrs

I prefer to do my residency in South Florida

I only have a few friends in NY, but I am a personable individual and know I can make friends in due time.

P.S. My family is in Miami and I am close to them, how much should I consider the University of Miami (tuition= $28,000)

P.P.S. Essentially, I am wondering what influenced your decisions when deciding between State (cheaper) and Private (better) schools.

This is the exact situation I am in, same schools, same considerations but I recieved a partial scholarship to Miami making it similar in cost to UF which makes my decision even harder. I am also strongly considering MSSM. My thinking is that going to one of the good NY medical schools will NOT keep you out of any residency programs in FL, but I don't know if the same could be said for FL schools and going to NY residencies. I wish they had stats on where people applied to residencies, that would help immensely.

 

[Dr. AYY]

So I spoke with a few 4th yrs at UF and asked them why only one person matched in a S. Florida residency. Their answer seemed simple enough: "It wasn't anyones top choice" they said how the residency programs at UM and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach (apparently not affiliated with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine) are much tougher then others, especially compared to UF, and you don't have an oppurtunity to moonlight and make extra cash to start paying off loans (mind you there is a deferment for economic hardship for residencies, but you still accrue interest and if you moonlight you can no longer claim economic hardship)
Anyway, their opinion was that the programs (asides from opthomology) are weak in S. Florida so noone at UF had them as top choices, something I thought people might be interested in kowing. Their advice was to go to UF as it would save me about $100,000 in loans and it is a great school. LIKE I DIDN'T KNOW THAT 😛

I also spoke to a M2 today that had the exact same choice as winsicle and myself. She chose UF b/c of the money, but told me that she still thinks of the "what if?" She gave me great advice though, go to the 2nd look and make my decision before the plane takes off to come back to Florida.

I know that noone can tell me which school is better for me except myself, and that when I talk to students at each school they say theirs is better, duh who would put down their own school. I guess it will come down to which one feels right on May 15th AGHHHHH. Mind you as a reapplicant I know I am extremely blessed to be in this perdiciment

winsicle are you going to the second look weekend at Mt. Sinai?