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Another boring rank order thread
Background: I’m a 4th year student applying DR, looking to eventually do private practice. Might also consider a pseudoacademic/hybrid job.
I’m struggling to decide which program to rank higher within my top 3: University of Rochester (URMC) or Case Western Reserve University Hospitals. For me, location is a draw, and I got great vibes from both programs during interviews. This leaves me to decide based on the objective strength of each program, and the relative desirability/competitiveness of the radiology job market in each region, where my connections from residency would be strongest. I recognize that this is probably some high order hair splitting, but I do have to rank one over the other.
For the programs themselves, Case seems to be perceived as the stronger program as they are consistently an AM semifinalist. Case also does more transplants, including lungs. URMC is nonetheless very close behind and seems to be an underrated program. Both are large tertiary centers with level 1 trauma.
For job markets, URMC has a pretty significant alumni network in upstate NY, versus Case in northern Ohio. I like both areas and could see myself living in either. Neither seems like the most desirable location for young people though so I can’t imagine it being too competitive.
So here are my questions that I hope some of the veterans here can help me with. Does one of these programs stand out in some other way that I am missing? Does the prestige of training at an AM semifinalist matter at all? Does anyone here have a sense of what the upstate NY and northern OH markets are like? Will the Bills or Browns win a super bowl first?
One more related question: I’ve decided to rank a very famous ultra top tier three letter program as my #4 below these programs based on my location preference. Is this an idiot move to make? Is the prestige of such a program worth biting the bullet on location for when I’m planning on going for PP?