Can I send in the same personal statement and LORs for prelims? Do I have to modify my personal statement to talk about Medicine rather than the specialty I'm actually going into?
I agree. My personal statement for preliminary medicine just has a one-liner at the end of it. A friend of mine last year went through the trouble of writing up a new personal statement for prelims and on interviews was questioned why she talked about medicine when she wanted to do anesthesia after her PGY1 year.
I wondered about this too. I ended up using almost the same personal statement bc the programs know I'm just applying to a transitional year before I do an advanced residency (or just do a categorical residency), and I didn't want to look like I was hiding that fact.
maybe this is just funny to me but i can just see a preliminary/transitional focused letter
"I have always dreamed of being in transition in my medical education. As I made my way through 3rd year, it became more and more clear to me: a preliminary year was the right path for me to take. I cannot wait for the day when people ask me what field of medicine I went into and I can proudly reply: "I am a trained and licensed preliminary physician."
maybe this is just funny to me but i can just see a preliminary/transitional focused letter
"I have always dreamed of being in transition in my medical education. As I made my way through 3rd year, it became more and more clear to me: a preliminary year was the right path for me to take. I cannot wait for the day when people ask me what field of medicine I went into and I can proudly reply: "I am a trained and licensed preliminary physician."