Well, there is no magical answer for this and each applicant has his/her own situation.
Below are some sources that may help in gathering some info about programs:
1- www.Matcharesident.com
This paid (79$) website provides a list of programs that you are eligible to apply to after filling the following requirements: USMLE scores, Visa Status, AMG or IMG, time since graduation, having US clinical experience or not and of course the specialty you are applying for.
It gives you a list of the programs, arranged alphabetically according to state with USMLEs and year of graduation cut-offs in addition to “IMG-friendliness” of the program among many other factors.
2- ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service)
ERAS itself will show you all the programs available but without any filters, so you will need to check the website of each program individually to avoid applying for nothing. For example, ERAS won’t stop you from applying to a program in California even if you don’t have a PTAL - which is a requirement for all California programs.
Keep in mind is ERAS is the place where you apply to programs, so regardless of any source you use to create your list, ERAS is the final destination to choose programs from.
3- Website of each program
One of the most reliable ways to know about a program is to check the website itself. You ll find the info you need mostly under the name/title/tab of: Prospective Applicants or How to Apply and sometimes in the FAQ section.
Unfortunately, some programs websites are deficient and not organized or not even accessible. In this case, you ll have to use the other sources mentioned in this post to get the info you want.
4- FRIEDA (Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database)
FRIEDA is an online database of all graduate medical education programs in the United States that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Click here to access FRIEDA or just search FRIEDA on Google. Make an account and enjoy searching. You can use filters like: states, visa sponsorship..etc.
5- Doximity
Doximity is an online social networking service for U.S. clinicians. You can create an account and see programs in different specialties arranged according to research output or reputation and US news ranking.
6- Already made lists
You ll find many lists circulating around the internet. You may use them too but an advise it to double check them and make sure that they are uptodate since programs policies may change over the years.
7- Asking seniors
Seniors may help and give you a more detailed insight about programs and states. Ask them :)
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Tips:
> In order to apply to California programs, you need what is so-called: a PTAL ( Postgraduate-Training Accreditation Letter). For more information, click here.
> The situation may be different in different specialties. For instance, Peds has less than 200 programs which means searching will need less time and effort than IM which has 400+ progs!
> It is good to use more than one source. You can use matcharesident list in addition to checking ERAS and the website of each program. Matcharesident may rarely miss a program and sometimes programs show up late in ERAS.
> Search well and specify some good time to search programs. This is a very important decision that may affect the rest of your life :D
> Apply to all programs in a particular geographical location if you have a strong family tie and you REALLY want to match there. DO NOT MISS OUT ON ANY PROGRAM IN THAT CITY/STATE.
Wishing you a good Match season everyone :)
-Murad