Are away rotations necessary?

[ILikeEyeballs]

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I'm about to complete my 3rd year of med school and will be applying for ophthalmology residency this fall. I'm doing a 4-week ophtho elective at my home institution and have decided not do any away rotations. My reasons for not doing any aways are:

1) I don't have a particular program that I feel like I need to match at. I would be perfectly happy to match at a little-known program that fits my personality.

2) I feel like I already have a pretty good application and don't need away rotations to strengthen it. Not great stats but solid enough to match (step 1= high 230's, top 20 med school, all HP's in 3rd year clerkships, 1 ophtho publication and should have 1-2 submissions by the time I interview, couple of interesting ophtho related extracurriculars, should have good letters of recommendation).

3) Away rotations are expensive and take a huge time commitment. There are a lot of other things I would rather do with my 4th year.

So am I making a big mistake? From looking at the SDN 2010 Ophthalmology Residency Match Poll, it seems like the majority of people who matched did away rotations. I know it's probably too late to sign-up for away rotations now but I just want to make sure I haven't screwed myself.

 

[JMK2005]

Most people do away rotations to increase their chances to interview/match at that particular institution or get a letter of rec if their home institution is weak.

Sounds like you are a good applicant, so not doing an away should not adversely affect you.

Goodluck.

 

[MR1]

totally agree with above, I wouldn't worry about it

 

[ILikeEyeballs]

Thanks for the advice and the votes of confidence. I know I don't have amazing numbers but have been told I should have no problem attaining a successful match. I've worked incredibly hard to put myself in this position and just want to make sure I don't do anything stupid to screw up on the final step of what has been a long process.

 

[liquidforce138]

It sounds like you and I have different approaches to this process, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I am the type to not take chances, and I really didn't want to look back at my 4th year and say what if. It sounds like you are an average to above average applicant, so I am not trying to scare you at all. I just think that 4th year is plenty long, and if you can afford it, it wouldn't hurt to do at least one away at a solid program where you would like to live. I think going to big time programs to get letters is a good idea, but going to them to try and get interviews can be harder. It is easy to get lost in a crowd of good applicants at a top tier institution.

If you really don't care at all where you match, odds are you will match and be fine. If you are worried, nervous, or there is a place you would like to give yourself a chance to live, taking a month can be a good investment.

This is probably painfully obvious, but a one month rotation tells you so much more than a 4-8 hour interview day when they are putting their best foot forward. Aways influenced my rank list, and this is another benefit.

my $0.02. good luck

 

[speyeder]

It sounds like you and I have different approaches to this process, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I am the type to not take chances, and I really didn't want to look back at my 4th year and say what if. It sounds like you are an average to above average applicant, so I am not trying to scare you at all. I just think that 4th year is plenty long, and if you can afford it, it wouldn't hurt to do at least one away at a solid program where you would like to live. I think going to big time programs to get letters is a good idea, but going to them to try and get interviews can be harder. It is easy to get lost in a crowd of good applicants at a top tier institution.

If you really don't care at all where you match, odds are you will match and be fine. If you are worried, nervous, or there is a place you would like to give yourself a chance to live, taking a month can be a good investment.

This is probably painfully obvious, but a one month rotation tells you so much more than a 4-8 hour interview day when they are putting their best foot forward. Aways influenced my rank list, and this is another benefit.

my $0.02. good luck

I agree with everything liquidforce said. I interview applicants and your credentials are average-above average. Attending a top 20 med school helps. If you just want to match you should be fine. However if there is a program you really want to go to, I would suggest doing an away. I am slightly paranoid and my approach would be to do everything I could to maximize my chances of matching. Every year there are good applicants who don't get in.

 

[ILikeEyeballs]

I agree with everything liquidforce said. I interview applicants and your credentials are average-above average. Attending a top 20 med school helps. If you just want to match you should be fine. However if there is a program you really want to go to, I would suggest doing an away. I am slightly paranoid and my approach would be to do everything I could to maximize my chances of matching. Every year there are good applicants who don't get in.

Would you say I'm an average-above average applicant among all applicants (including those who do not match) or an average-above average applicant among those who do end up matching?

 

[echinoderm]

at my med school, a majority of those who matched into ophtho did an away rotation at the place they ended up matching at.. that says something... agree with above though, that if goal is to just match in general (assuming qualified, good scores, etc.) than it probably is not necessary... also agree that if there is one particular program you're interested in, an away rotation could only help (...assuming you're not a fool or lazy bum, you know what i mean).

 

[speyeder]

Would you say I'm an average-above average applicant among all applicants (including those who do not match) or an average-above average applicant among those who do end up matching?

For those who match.