Rads--Competitiveness

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DrWhozits

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Hey everybody,

I know the past couple of years there has been a pretty steep dip in competiveness for DR, but I wanted to know what people thought about the next few years.

Do you think by 2020 there will be a big uptick in competiveness? Or will it be more of a gradual increase, or increase at all? What effect will the new IR options have? Will this divert some of the top people toward those programs?

Just interested.
 
cowme said:
Maybe.
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Sorry, I guess a clearer articulation of my question is:

Do people in radiology now think that competiveness over the next few years will increase, decrease or remain neutral?
 
Dr. Whozits, it's impossible to predict. If you look at trends, then yes, radiology is becoming slightly more competitive compared to a few years ago, but still no where near where it was in the mid 2000s. Will it continue in that direction? Unsure. No one can answer that.

How competitive was DR or IR/DR this year? We'll all find out together after the match results are released. No point in making blind assumptions at the moment.

Are you applying in 2020?
 
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FWIW I think it was more competitive this year than it was the last two years
 
It's definitely on the upswing at least in terms of number of applicants. The preliminary numbers for this cycle has 1309 people applying DR up from 957 and 1117 in the last 2 years. The peak in 2009 was 1567. This doesn't really speak to the competitiveness of those applicants though, as people could have been lured by last cycle's very high match rate.
 
oncomingstorm7 said:
It's definitely on the upswing at least in terms of number of applicants. The preliminary numbers for this cycle has 1309 people applying DR up from 957 and 1117 in the last 2 years. The peak in 2009 was 1567. This doesn't really speak to the competitiveness of those applicants though, as people could have been lured by last cycle's very high match rate.
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The average Step 1 from this past year was 240. I think applicants are mostly self-selecting.
 
Cyal said:
The average Step 1 from this past year was 240. I think applicants are mostly self-selecting.
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As a DO student with a 239, I see all of these 257s and 263s and think I have no chance. If I could have gotten a few more questions right, then maybe a 242-243 could have made me competitive at some respectable places.
 
postbacpremed87 said:
As a DO student with a 239, I see all of these 257s and 263s and think I have no chance. If I could have gotten a few more questions right, then maybe a 242-243 could have made me competitive at some respectable places.
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You'll be fine as long as you improve on step two and don't apply unrealistically. Quite a few mid tier very respectable academic places, especially in the midwest will absolutely look at you
 
#athleticsloth said:
You'll be fine as long as you improve on step two and don't apply unrealistically. Quite a few mid tier very respectable academic places, especially in the midwest will absolutely look at you
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Really? I hear of people with slightly higher stats applying to 80 places and getting like 7 interviews. That does not instill confidence.
 
postbacpremed87 said:
Really? I hear of people with slightly higher stats applying to 80 places and getting like 7 interviews. That does not instill confidence.
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I know two of my DO classmates with that exact step 1 who have both received 15 + interviews. One of them did way better on step 2 and has received quite a few midwest solid academic program invites while the other dropped even lower on step 2 and has had far fewer academic programs but even then still has had around 5 that would be deemed "solid" by most people. Feel free to PM
 
NON US-IMG YOG: 2014 - Dec. (i will need a visa j1 or h1)
Step 1: 243 (jun 2015)
Step 2: 238 (september 2015)
Step 2 cs: pass (dec 2015)
Step 3: gonna take it on february 2017.
All first attemp.
Ecfmg issued: feb 2016.
spent some time working as a general practicioner in latin america .

got a US rotation (university program) in rads for 4 months. got 5 US lors.

Research: submited 5 abstracs to ASNR (still waiting for an answer), 1 pub not rads no 1st author.

gonna apply to every single program than sponsor a visa (around 150 rad programs, excluding thoose in california and those who dosent sponsor a visa).

So honnestly WHAT ARE MY CHANCES
 
DrWhozits said:
Hey everybody,

I know the past couple of years there has been a pretty steep dip in competiveness for DR, but I wanted to know what people thought about the next few years.

Do you think by 2020 there will be a big uptick in competiveness? Or will it be more of a gradual increase, or increase at all? What effect will the new IR options have? Will this divert some of the top people toward those programs?

Just interested.
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Depends on recent grads perception of job market/quality
 
postbacpremed87 said:
Really? I hear of people with slightly higher stats applying to 80 places and getting like 7 interviews. That does not instill confidence.
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Relax. If you really think those 3-5 extra points matter then you're not really paying attention. It's kind of neurotic and most programs below god tier want people that they can stand being next to in a dark room for long hours at a time. 239 is not bad, I've seen DO's match with less. The thing you need to find out is to figure out what you want to do, and stop focusing on whether or not other people have matched in radiology for much less. It's a crapshoot and changes on a case by case basis. Adopt a more proactive (instead of reactive) attitude and put your best foot forward, and make a good impression on your aways and you should be fine.
 
knosway14 said:
NON US-IMG YOG: 2014 - Dec. (i will need a visa j1 or h1)
Step 1: 243 (jun 2015)
Step 2: 238 (september 2015)
Step 2 cs: pass (dec 2015)
Step 3: gonna take it on february 2017.
All first attemp.
Ecfmg issued: feb 2016.
spent some time working as a general practicioner in latin america .

got a US rotation (university program) in rads for 4 months. got 5 US lors.

Research: submited 5 abstracs to ASNR (still waiting for an answer), 1 pub not rads no 1st author.

gonna apply to every single program than sponsor a visa (around 150 rad programs, excluding thoose in california and those who dosent sponsor a visa).

So honnestly WHAT ARE MY CHANCES
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Not very good at all. There was a bit of a downtick admittedly in competitiveness for a few years, but a bounce back this past year. There are certainly a few IMG's that match into radiology every year, but they are almost individuals with a Visa / Citizenship. I don't really think radiology programs typically go for visa applicants, as even in a less competitive market they will opt for american grads / DO's or even IMG's from the carrib with slightly lower scores.
 
It's so hard to gauge chances overall with the high number of community programs out there. Radiology really sort of has a two tiered system with a highly competitive academic center/big community hospital group (80% or so of programs) and a really noncompetitive small community program/private practice group tier (20% or so of programs). The upper tier is as competitive as any other specialty and the lower tier is as competitive as psych/IM/etc..
 
Cubsfan10 said:
It's so hard to gauge chances overall with the high number of community programs out there. Radiology really sort of has a two tiered system with a highly competitive academic center/big community hospital group (80% or so of programs) and a really noncompetitive small community program/private practice group tier (20% or so of programs). The upper tier is as competitive as any other specialty and the lower tier is as competitive as psych/IM/etc..
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That's a bit harsh isn't it? - I don't think you can compare the competitiveness of community radiology programs to IM or Psych.
There is a large spectrum even within community programs - busy level 1 centers in major cities tend to be a lot more competitive than small programs in the boonies.
 
The small community rads programs that are mostly staffed by private practice groups and filled with IMG/FMGs are roughly equivalent to IM/psych. Not all community programs. I was including big community programs in that 80%.
 
Cubsfan10 said:
The small community rads programs that are mostly staffed by private practice groups and filled with IMG/FMGs are roughly equivalent to IM/psych. Not all community programs. I was including big community programs in that 80%.
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I honestly didn't know that was a thing. I'm in a major city and very involved in the community, even our community programs are by far mostly American MD, few DO's, almost no FMG or IMG.
 
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