"Less competitive" residencies
By Guest on Wednesday, 08 March 2006
Posted in Match Center
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Reading through these discussions there seems to be somewhat of a concensus that the most competitive ortho programs are UPenn, Harvard, Duke, HSS, Rush, Jefferson, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, etc.

I know "less competitive" orthopaedic residencies is somewhat of an oxymoron, but does anybody know of resources, or have suggestions regarding university ortho programs that somebody with a less-than-stellar Step One score should do an away rotations at?

So far these programs have been suggested to me by my advisor; UVA, GWU, Temple, Drexel, SUNY-Stonybrook and Dartmouth. Does anybody have any suggestions on:

Univ of Florida (either in Jacksonville or Gainesville)
UConn
Univ of Arizona
UNC
Univ of Maryland

I am trying to arrange one or two 4th year clerkships at programs I have a chance of getting accepted to for residency.

Thank you in advance to all those that reply.
I would knock Rush and Jefferson off of that first list. As for the second list, I would add USC, UCLA-Harbor, and Saint Mary's (San Fransisco) to the list of places that consider applicants with less than stellar boards and you should consider doing an away at.
Guest
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20 years ago
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I'm not sure where Jalby gets his info, but Rush is highly competative. And being from Philly, I'm guessing you're aware that Jeff is not easy to get into, although it's probably not among the most competative.

While interviewing at UNC I got the impression from an interviewer that their average interviewee has between 240 and 250 on Step 1, so I wouldn't say they're less competative.

I matched at Temple with a 241 on Step 1, but I have no idea what the other residents have, so I can't tell you yet how competative they are.

Good luck. You have an uphill battle if you're below 225-230, but it's certainly possible... just look at the matched lists from the last few years.
Guest
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20 years ago
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lsu shreveport should probably be on that list too
Guest
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20 years ago
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UVA is a very competitive program with excellent faculty. I would not include them on your list. I would include:
University of Illinois
Lennox Hill Hospital
Saint Vincent's NYCOM
University of Buffalo
Hamot Medical Center (Erie, PA)
Mount Carmel Medical Center (Columbus, OH)
LSU-New Orleans
LSU-Shreveport
Geisinger Med Ctr (Danville, PA)
Texas Tech
Guest
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20 years ago
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Also, I would not think that Dartmouth's residency program belongs on a "less competitive" list.
Guest
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20 years ago
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True that the top ten programs are Mayo, HSS, Harvard, Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, UCLA, Iowa, Rush, UW, and Duke.

But even without stellar board scores I think most people would say it's still worth applying to these programs as well. First, you never know. And second, there is no question that the top programs consider much more than just board scores.

Good luck.
Guest
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20 years ago
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I'D Take lenox hill out of the "not competitive" list. Actually one of the more competitive program to match into.
Guest
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20 years ago
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The NYC area programs that I suspect from interviews and hearsay that are less competative (note not easy, just not Harvard/HSS/Duke/UCSF/etc) are:

SUNY Downstate (not a great program in many peoples opinions)
NYMC (so-so program in my opinion)
NYMC Brooklyn (not the best reputation, also has a few FMGs)
probably Albert Einstein (although a great program)
maybe St. Lukes/Roosevelt (again fairly strong program)
Guest
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20 years ago
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I would take UVA off the "less competitive" list. With their faculty and research facilities. They were pulling in about 600 applicants too during interview season. UF-Jacksonville is a good addition to the list. Consider Atlanta Medical Center as well. Keep in mind that many of these programs are still competitive due to reagional preferences when it comes to the applicants they interview, etc.
Guest
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20 years ago
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UVA is a very competitive program with excellent faculty. I would not include them on your list. I would include]LSU-New Orleans
LSU-Shreveport[/b]
Geisinger Med Ctr (Danville, PA)
Texas Tech


Were the LSU programs always less competitive or just since Katrina?
Guest
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Keep in mind that many of these programs are still competitive due to reagional preferences when it comes to the applicants they interview, etc.


cannot emphasize regional preference enough....for soon to be 4th years, ur chances of obtaining an interview is significantly higher in your region.....And if you are considering a diff region...rotate there.

i'm from nyc and i went 0 for florida, 0 for chicago ...1/4 in texas...and only 2 interview offers west of the mississippi.
Guest
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Keep in mind that many of these programs are still competitive due to reagional preferences when it comes to the applicants they interview, etc.


cannot emphasize regional preference enough....for soon to be 4th years, ur chances of obtaining an interview is significantly higher in your region.....And if you are considering a diff region...rotate there.

i'm from nyc and i went 0 for florida, 0 for chicago ...1/4 in texas...and only 2 interview offers west of the mississippi.


I agree. I'm from a midwest med school and was able to get a fair number of midwest interviews, but only a handful of east coast interviews, zero florida interviews, one west (Utah) interview. Region factors in unless you happen to be a "superstar" and then you might get just about every interview you apply for. Good Luck!
Guest
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20 years ago
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Lenox Hill is one of the MORE competitive programs in NYC and in the country. They have some of the top names in the country (Ranawat, Nicholas, Hershman). Nearly all who interview there are AOA from top schools around the country. I am not a resident there, but even just being aroung the area, I recognize that including them among the less competitive programs shows a lack of insight. Personally, if given the choice, I would choose Lenox Hill even over Columbia any day of the week.
Guest
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20 years ago
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Regarding the regional issue: if you are in a given region (I am midwest) but determined to train in another (east/south atlantic), can you enhance your chances of getting many interviews in an area by doing a single rotation? Stated differently, if I rotate at one DC program will the others in DC/Baltimore area take note? Florida? NC? Etc...
(I understand there may be no clear answer)
Guest
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20 years ago
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Good question BP....

ANYONE have some insight?

-WISCite
Guest
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I'm starting med school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall and I am currently extremely interested in ortho. Would be nice to know what you guys thought of the program here and others in the southeast regions.
Guest
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20 years ago
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Regarding the regional issue]

good point..I should have done this. and also, you could write different personal statements for different regions of the country if you really wanted to go nuts!

good luck!
Guest
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20 years ago
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How can you write multiple personal statements??? I have not gone through this process yet... does ERAS have a form for that?

WISCite
Guest
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20 years ago
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ERAS lets you write as many personal statements as you like - you just give them each a name and then assign them to programs individually. Even if you don't plan on writing region-specific PS's, you will probably have several different versions anyway because some schools want you to include MCAT scores and other random stuff in your PS. Make sure you check every program website for their app requirements! Some of the more self-involved programs even ask you to write a PS specifically addressing why you want to come to THEIR program.
Guest
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20 years ago
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ok, people applying this year-- if you write different essays, give them very specific names and make sure you send them to the right programs. seems like a given, but when you have several slightly different versions and 40 (or 50 0r 60) programs, mistakes happen....

like getting to an interview in galveston and having to explain why your essay says you're ready to leave texas....

and having to choose between looking careless, insincere, or geographically unaware that galveston is actually in texas....

yeah, i'm cool.

cheers.
firegirl
Guest
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