1 year GPR/Work vs 1 year of OS Intern

[easyas123]

Situation: late bloomer.. didn't realize OS was what I wanted to do until recently. Not enough time to take the CBSE and do well. Will working/GPR while studying for CBSE be better or doing 1 year of OS internship?

Thanks in advance for your opinions/advices/suggestions.

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[omfsing]

1 year OS internship and take CBSE asap. GPR will be a waste of time.

 

[easyas123]

1 year OS internship and take CBSE asap. GPR will be a waste of time.

Excuse my ignorance but why would it be better? 1 year internship would hardly give any time for studying CBSE whereas a GPR/work would allow more time. Also, if I were to apply this cycle and did not get in anywhere, is there a separate cycle post-match for applying to internships?

 

[bubblysauce]

I personally would do work/GPR, because you will have much more study time. You will have 0 time to study for the CBSE during an OMFS internship year, and the CBSE is literally the only thing that matters. Sure, some may argue that some programs may look down on not doing an OMFS intern year, but I'd bet you'd score many other interviews if you were to have a competitive score. It sure beats getting screened out of all programs due to a low score.

 

[nealofgrafton]

how bad do you want to go to OMFS? if it is the only thing you can see yourself doing -> do an internship
if you aren't 300% sure do a GPR -> much more useful if you don't make it into OMFS (I can attest to that) even though I did get to meet vivek during my intern year)

 

[mmc12]

I think killing the CBSE should be the number one priority. It seems to be the main factor in getting interviews. There were several interns at my previous that did not match or even get interviews (some not even matching doing two years of OS internship) into OMFS residencies because their CBSE scores were low. As previous posters stated, don't plan to study much during the internship: you are only call every third or fourth day generally with very early morning round sessions every day.

 

[omfsing]

This is completely true. CBSE score ultimately trumps all. If you can, try to take it in August (if you’ve been studying) early into your OS intern year. If not, do something else (even work as a GP) and take the time to study and kill that test. Best of luck

 

[DustFreeEraser]

This is completely true. CBSE score ultimately trumps all. If you can, try to take it in August (if you’ve been studying) early into your OS intern year. If not, do something else (even work as a GP) and take the time to study and kill that test. Best of luck

I agree.
If you have a great score already, I think intern year will be valuable. But until then, it might be worth your while to prioritize making time for studying than building your extra curriculars.

 

[easyas123]

Thank you all so much for your input. Greatly appreciated.

 

[toothsucker]

Here’s the thing. ALL programs will like seeing an internship. SOME programs will not like the GPR and will either screen out your app, or absolutely roast you in interviews about your decision. Why should a program director take you over the guy who did an internship and also took the CBSE and maybe got a couple points less than you?

 

[DustFreeEraser]

All OP wants to do is to maximize the yield from his time.
If someone can study during their internship and do well on CBSE, honestly, that's just more power for that person.