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Before all of us that went through the match forget about our interviews, I thought it would be nice if we posted our final thoughts on the programs that really surprised us. Most of the posts in the interview impression thread are about how awsome MDACC, sloan, harvard, yale etc are. We are all in agreement that these top teir places live up their reputations. I thought it would be nice if we made a condensed thread with our thoughts on mid-level programs that really caught our eyes. I think next years crop would appreciate that.
For me there were two programs that stood out:
Ohio State: Pros: This was where I honestly figured I would match after inteviewing there. I ranked it pretty high so it was right behind a couple places no one can count on matching at. I had no real expectations going into it because I had heard nothing about their program. OSU as an institute is great, but that was all I knew. However, this is probably one of the fastest growing rad onc programs an really on the up and up. Dr Chakravarti has a real drive to produce an academic research center and has hired a ton of young faculty to accomplish this. They have just about all the technology you could ask for with great patient volume. Research wise, you have the resources of the medical center which are as good as most other major cancer centers. They are also very interested in experimental therapeutics and are a designated phase 1 center if your into that sort of thing like me. Cons: this place is all potential and that means a lot will change while you are a resident there. Its a pretty safe bet it all works out, but you never know for sure. Also, a lot of the faculty are very young. That brings energy but also they are trying to establish themselves as emerging faculty and as mentors. There is good and bad to that but it is something to consider.
Cincinnati: One of the happier places I went. The residents really were happy there. The facutly were great and the PD, Dr Laveign is one of the most open and honest people you will ever meet. They are a solid clinical department with just about everything except protons and a very high clinical volume. Much more than I expected in terms of clinical training. Like OSU they are trying to become a more research oriented program too. Unlike OSU, they don't have the core facilities but as an institution they are working towards it. They have some basic science mostly through the childrens hospital. That was the deal breaker for me which hurt because I think they will be there in the future but Im not sure how well I would compete for a basic science job fresh out of residency from there now. Being the people they are, they straight up encouraged me to consider that balance. Cincinnati is a great affordable place to live and a clinically focused applicant may be very suprised by what they find there. Cons: I already talked about the research. The other is that the main facilities are pretty old. This is one of the few places that doesn't have a shiny new cancer center. The childrens hospital, where you spend a good bit of time, is suppose to be very nice.
Case western was another place that stuck out as suprising me. Great new cancer center and they had way more technology than I could have garnered from the web site. I guess that was something annoying, a lot of places just don't update their websites, so you don't really get to know anything without going. OSU was a great example. I thought they had 3 lin acs, no SBRT and room for 5 residents. Thats where these forums can really help.
For me there were two programs that stood out:
Ohio State: Pros: This was where I honestly figured I would match after inteviewing there. I ranked it pretty high so it was right behind a couple places no one can count on matching at. I had no real expectations going into it because I had heard nothing about their program. OSU as an institute is great, but that was all I knew. However, this is probably one of the fastest growing rad onc programs an really on the up and up. Dr Chakravarti has a real drive to produce an academic research center and has hired a ton of young faculty to accomplish this. They have just about all the technology you could ask for with great patient volume. Research wise, you have the resources of the medical center which are as good as most other major cancer centers. They are also very interested in experimental therapeutics and are a designated phase 1 center if your into that sort of thing like me. Cons: this place is all potential and that means a lot will change while you are a resident there. Its a pretty safe bet it all works out, but you never know for sure. Also, a lot of the faculty are very young. That brings energy but also they are trying to establish themselves as emerging faculty and as mentors. There is good and bad to that but it is something to consider.
Cincinnati: One of the happier places I went. The residents really were happy there. The facutly were great and the PD, Dr Laveign is one of the most open and honest people you will ever meet. They are a solid clinical department with just about everything except protons and a very high clinical volume. Much more than I expected in terms of clinical training. Like OSU they are trying to become a more research oriented program too. Unlike OSU, they don't have the core facilities but as an institution they are working towards it. They have some basic science mostly through the childrens hospital. That was the deal breaker for me which hurt because I think they will be there in the future but Im not sure how well I would compete for a basic science job fresh out of residency from there now. Being the people they are, they straight up encouraged me to consider that balance. Cincinnati is a great affordable place to live and a clinically focused applicant may be very suprised by what they find there. Cons: I already talked about the research. The other is that the main facilities are pretty old. This is one of the few places that doesn't have a shiny new cancer center. The childrens hospital, where you spend a good bit of time, is suppose to be very nice.
Case western was another place that stuck out as suprising me. Great new cancer center and they had way more technology than I could have garnered from the web site. I guess that was something annoying, a lot of places just don't update their websites, so you don't really get to know anything without going. OSU was a great example. I thought they had 3 lin acs, no SBRT and room for 5 residents. Thats where these forums can really help.