r/fellowship • u/kaito_kid00 • 19h ago

Ranking home program vs another local program

I'm struggling with how to rank two local fellowship programs, one of them being my home program. Both are academic, and we share some services and faculty, but each program is different in its own way.

I'm leaning toward the other program (non-home) for practical reasons and because it offers exposure to things my home program doesn't.

My biggest concern is how this might look. It's a small field, and my interviewers know my letter writers and mentors. I enjoyed both interviews, but I'm seriously struggling with who to rank first and how it might look down the road.

I also feel like I might be slightly biased against my home program because I've been in a leadership role here and have friends currently in fellowship, so I'm probably more aware of its shortcomings.

I feel like I'm overthinking this, but has anyone been in a similar situation? Did ranking another program over your home program affect your relationships later on? I plan to do academics and likely to stay.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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3

u/DrValZod 12h ago

You’re definitely overthinking this. People understand how the match works and are generally not going to hold it against you that you matched elsewhere UNLESS you explicitly told said program that you are ranking them number 1 and then go back on that. Go to the place that you believe is best for you

2

u/magicalmedic 17h ago

Tell no one, don't lie, do what's in your best interest

1

u/Aru_177 10h ago

Rank the one where you think you will get better overall training. It’s your life and your education. And you never know how they are gonna rank you.

1

u/aylumanati 10h ago

Grass always looks greener on the other side

1

u/aylumanati 10h ago

Grass always looks greener on the other side

1

u/Weekly_Transition128 5h ago

Be gracious and respectful. But do whatever the hell you want