Applying to combined and general program at same place

[8049975056]

Hello All,

I'm applying to combined programs of Peds + another specialty and general uncombined programs. In some places I want to apply to both the general and uncombined program (for geographical reasons and because I can still do a fellowship to get to my desired sub-specialty). My question is the following - if I apply to both programs on ERAS, is it OK to use my personal statement and LOR's that are specific to the combined programs for the general program as well? I'm thinking that the PD will see both applications regardless and it would look confusing if they saw both. If I get interview there, I can explain in person my plan, but I'm afraid that if I send only the essay/LOR specific to the combined program, then they won't bother to consider me for the general program as well. This is a small Peds combined specialty (eg not like Med/Peds), and I've had a hard time finding advice in SDN and at my school.

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[physicsnerd42]

I applied peds-anesthesia and categorical peds as a backup. Most people applying peds-anesthesia apply to peds or anesthesia as a backup because there are so few spots and the programs encourage people to apply to at least one as a backup, so I applied to both the categorical programs and the combined programs at the same institution and it didn't hurt my application at all. I think if you're applying at the same place it's fine to have the same personal statement, but you should probably find out if it's expected to apply to both categorical and combine. If you're applying to other categorical programs you need another personal statement.

My general impression is that for med-peds and peds neuro, it's somewhat expected that at one institution you only apply for the combined program to show dedication (especially since there are a lot of spots both). For the other types of peds-combined programs it's probably fine to apply to both but I'd look into whether it is or not for the specialty you're applying to. I only really know for peds-anesthesia.