2020-2021 Duke

BU Medical Sciences
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SpreadKindness20 said:
Duke's secondary was not released until the end of July. So you couldn't have been complete on June 30th.
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They probably meant 7/30 or misunderstood the question. This might not be your intention when writing this but why be accusatory?
 
Noodle22 said:
They probably meant 7/30 or misunderstood the question. This might not be your intention when writing this but why be accusatory?
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I didn't intend to sound accusatory, and yes it was likely an error. I pointed it out to indicate that being "complete" requires submission of the secondary -- and to try to prevent other people from getting nervous or anxious thinking that it could have been possible to be complete that early.
 
SpreadKindness20 said:
I didn't intend to sound accusatory, and yes it was likely an error. I pointed it out to indicate that being "complete" requires submission of the secondary -- and to try to prevent other people from getting nervous or anxious thinking that it could have been possible to be complete that early.
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you’re good bro i didn’t think you were being accusatory
 
Unconditionalloves said:
how was the third year? and did it affect your preparation for step 2?
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Third year is pretty great (even with COVID disrupting everything this year). Essentially, the school is giving you the gift of time, and you get to explore, for better or for worse, what the research process looks like.

Timing for Step 2 is pretty variable across the board, and people tend to take it anywhere from August - December of their fourth year. Credits are easy enough to come by in fourth year that you can take a month off to study, if you want. Or just take it over the holidays during the interview season. The world is your oyster. DukeMed becomes more and more of a choose your own adventure once you complete second year. Lol. I didn't think it was that bad to get back into the swing of studying.

tl;dr Choosing a school because of dedicated board prep time/board scores is the wrong reason to choose a school, imo.
 
MC_Infarction said:
Third year is pretty great (even with COVID disrupting everything this year). Essentially, the school is giving you the gift of time, and you get to explore, for better or for worse, what the research process looks like.

Timing for Step 2 is pretty variable across the board, and people tend to take it anywhere from August - December of their fourth year. Credits are easy enough to come by in fourth year that you can take a month off to study, if you want. Or just take it over the holidays during the interview season. The world is your oyster. DukeMed becomes more and more of a choose your own adventure once you complete second year. Lol. I didn't think it was that bad to get back into the swing of studying.

tl;dr Choosing a school because of dedicated board prep time/board scores is the wrong reason to choose a school, imo.
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Thank you, since my class Step 1 will be pass fail, step 2 will be fundamental will it be feasible to take step one at the end of year 2, and step 2 during year 3? what are your thoughs?

Thank you.
 
Unconditionalloves said:
Thank you, since my class Step 1 will be pass fail, step 2 will be fundamental will it be feasible to take step one at the end of year 2, and step 2 during year 3? what are your thoughs?

Thank you.
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Yes. Right now, this is the typical schedule for how Duke students take boards:
Step 1: August of MS3 - December/January of MS3 (~6 weeks dedicated that you work out with your research mentor, who might have a preference as to when you take it, or they might not care).
Step 2: July (i.e. as you're finishing research) - December/January of MS4 - As mentioned above, it's pretty easy to get the necessary requirements for 4th year so it's very reasonable to fit in a 4 week dedicated study block sometime during the summer/fall, before or after a Sub-I. Again, it's kind of up to you as to when you take it and if you want to take it before/after the ERAS deadline. I don't know exact numbers but seems to be a pretty even split in my class of people taking it before/after the ERAS deadline. Dependent on a lot of factors - specialty you're going into, Step 1 score, etc.

There are also a handful of people who choose to take Step 1 in the summer between 1st year and 2nd year (you get ~the month of July off), and then take Step 2 right as they've finished 2nd year (basically just pushing everything forward by a year). I think taking Step 2 right after clinicals isn't a bad idea, but right now, Step 1 is the limiting factor - the summer is only ~4 weeks, and you've just finished a pretty intense year of school. That being said, I would imagine that this option becomes slightly more popular as Step 1 becomes P/F and some of the stress is taken off.

So, if you want Step 2 on your ERAS app, there are many ways to go about it.
 
MC_Infarction said:
Yes. Right now, this is the typical schedule for how Duke students take boards:
Step 1: August of MS3 - December/January of MS3 (~6 weeks dedicated that you work out with your research mentor, who might have a preference as to when you take it, or they might not care).
Step 2: July (i.e. as you're finishing research) - December/January of MS4 - As mentioned above, it's pretty easy to get the necessary requirements for 4th year so it's very reasonable to fit in a 4 week dedicated study block sometime during the summer/fall, before or after a Sub-I. Again, it's kind of up to you as to when you take it and if you want to take it before/after the ERAS deadline. I don't know exact numbers but seems to be a pretty even split in my class of people taking it before/after the ERAS deadline. Dependent on a lot of factors - specialty you're going into, Step 1 score, etc.

There are also a handful of people who choose to take Step 1 in the summer between 1st year and 2nd year (you get ~the month of July off), and then take Step 2 right as they've finished 2nd year (basically just pushing everything forward by a year). I think taking Step 2 right after clinicals isn't a bad idea, but right now, Step 1 is the limiting factor - the summer is only ~4 weeks, and you've just finished a pretty intense year of school. That being said, I would imagine that this option becomes slightly more popular as Step 1 becomes P/F and some of the stress is taken off.

So, if you want Step 2 on your ERAS app, there are many ways to go about it.
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This is great, thank you.
 
Got an II but the emails say nothing about AAMC VITA--- But Duke is listed as a VITA school? Has anyone received the VITA invite yet?
 
Local-Chef said:
Got an II but the emails say nothing about AAMC VITA--- But Duke is listed as a VITA school? Has anyone received the VITA invite yet?
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Good point! Hadn’t thought about it! Maybe we’ll get the update email today including Duke as the schools who have access to it.
 
Noodle22 said:
Good point! Hadn’t thought about it! Maybe we’ll get the update email today including Duke as the schools who have access to it.
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Yeah- I'm wondering if it needs to be completed prior to our actual Duke interview?? Would be a tight window to squeeze it in at this rate
 
purpleaux3 said:
When? I got an II yesterday and every time I check it says no dates available check back later lol
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Don’t wanna share which date I picked but there were like 6 options within the next 1-2 weeks. I guess email admissions?
 

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Local-Chef said:
Got an II but the emails say nothing about AAMC VITA--- But Duke is listed as a VITA school? Has anyone received the VITA invite yet?
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Got my VITA update, Duke was not one of the schools. Maybe they’re taking longer to sync with vita?
 
what’s the dress code for the 6-9 session tomorrow evening?
 
pennylane8991 said:
Has anyone interviewing soon taken their photo yet? Their standard of 2in by 2in seems incredibly small and looks super weird haha am I doing something wrong?
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Where are we uploading this picture too? Just under “upload files” ?
 
mr-dookie said:
what’s the dress code for the 6-9 session tomorrow evening?
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I don't know what exactly the session you're referring to is, but in general, I would do the same dress code as when interviews are in-person. So, other than the fantastic provided advice to show up in your birthday suit, here's my quick advice:

Anything 'informal' w/ students before/after the interview - i.e. tour, student social - wear what you want. It makes no difference. I promise. Seriously. We have no say in the admissions process.

Actual interview day - business formal (suit + tie, pantsuit, etc.). I'll leave it up to you as to what you wear for your bottom in the Zoom era.

No need to make it more complicated than that!
 
Does anyone think it’s a thing that Duke checks out one’s LinkedIn before offering an II?
 
Has anyone heard anything about VITA yet? Duke requires it but I've gotten silence. Does it need to be done before our interview?
 
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