Thanks all for the advice. I am a DO student without a home program so 2 aways is necessary. I think we can do up to 5, which I know some people have done, but I feel like it'd be overkill especially because I have to squeeze in Step II/Level 2 in there somewhere.
Yep, similar deal. I took July off to study and took Step/Level 2 at the end of July. I did 2 auditions the next 8 weeks, until late September. Then I did my rural med required rotation with a super chill attending and squeezed in a few interviews and my PE (early October.) The relaxed rotation was quite a welcomed break before my next two auditions.
I think 2 auditions is sufficient for DO students, as long as you get both SLOEs in by October 1, but you probably would be better off doing 3 based on the fact that most (not all) people end up matching at one of the places they auditioned.
Personally, I did 4 because the first two were mainly for SLOEs but also at programs I knew I would be ranking highly based solely on location, and the second 2 were at the programs I knew would be my number 1 and 2. My SO is already a resident so I knew my rank list would be influenced significantly by location.
FWIW, I only did the fourth one because it was at the program my SO is a resident at. They don't generally take DOs so it was probably my only shot at an interview. Too bad they're now a DO-free program after this year's Match. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So, I wouldn't recommend using an audition at a program that has no DOs unless you have similar ties, and even then it might not be enough to change anything (I got awesome feedback and the PD told me to get a SLOE from them because it was going to be "really awesome" even though it was so late I wasn't planning to ask for one... I digress.)
I think the magic number is 3. It gives you a chance to get your SLOEs and focus on crushing your audition at the program you're really interested in. I do think 4 was doable and I enjoyed all my auditions and I'm glad I did them all. I think having the chill rotation to split them up was key for not getting burnt out, but I know 4 in a row has been done!
Finally, it may be worth noting that I didn't ask for any time off of auditions for Interviews (though I did take time off during one for Ironman, so it's definitely doable to take time off.) I did the interviews for the respective programs while I was rotating there (if they were offered.) I did the rest during that rural med rotation in early October, between the end of my last audition rotation and Christmas, and most of them in January.
Sorry, I know this got long-winded, but I had some questions/anxiety about my plan working when I was in your position last year and I wished I had more information. If you have any other questions on anything (especially regarding being a DO in the process) feel free to PM me!
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