I will be applying for OBGYN and am currently applying to audition rotations, if I want to do 3 auditions how many should I be applying to? I know they are competitive to get, so I don't want to under apply and end up with none, but I don't want to apply to too many either.
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Audition rotations
Started by thegreatjaspy
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Only apply to ones where you think you'd reasonably get an interview without having done the audition. This is mainly for them to choose you over other students that are similar. I've heard stories of someone that did auditions at places out of her league. Got interviews at all places. Did not match any of them.
My list only includes do friendly schools that my board score puts me in range for, I am more concerned about how many I need to apply to to make sure I get 2 or 3 scheduled.
I’d argue that auditions at places you really want to go are risky. If you run into a cranky resident (likely), get a cervical exam wrong (almost guaranteed since there’s a ton of subjectivity), or in any other way fail to impress, your chances may be shot.
If you’re awesome, and confident you’ll impress; then fine. Otherwise I’d apply to reach places, busy your butt, and get letters. But I’ve seen too many people get screwed on Sub-I’s as visiting students to routinely recommend them at places one wants to match.
And for the love of god, schedule them before interview season. And certainly not afterward. Lots of people do this and it makes no sense.
If you’re awesome, and confident you’ll impress; then fine. Otherwise I’d apply to reach places, busy your butt, and get letters. But I’ve seen too many people get screwed on Sub-I’s as visiting students to routinely recommend them at places one wants to match.
And for the love of god, schedule them before interview season. And certainly not afterward. Lots of people do this and it makes no sense.
Hey @AlbinoHawk DO, OMS-0.5 here, so pardon the ignorance. Why would these programs have accepted the applicant for audition rotations, interviewed her, then not ranked her in their program? Does it have to do with her board scores? Or maybe she did not perform as well as she thought on the floor?
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This is very good advice.
Usually its personality issues and not working well with the residents, and if they do interview them it is a courtesy interview if the program is known for doing that. I've seen applicants get unranked after doing a rotation with a program they interviewed at for various issues. So yes auditions can go either way for applicants.
Well, I can't comment on her specific situation as I didn't see her performance and don't know how her personality jives with people, but I can definitely say that many programs simply take students to rotate with no intention of matching them. Why do they do that? I don't know. Maybe the spot is open and there's nobody else applying for that elective. Anecdotally I heard about a guy that rotated at a UC program only to be told that they wouldn't match this person because they didn't meet the cutoff for actual residency acceptance even though everyone liked him.
Thanks for your response. It’s very helpful! It sounds pretty harsh to get someone’s hopes up unnecessarily, but good to know.
I matched and did several auditions, did not match at any of them but had good feedback/interviews.
Auditions can be tricky - the more time you are at a place, the more opportunity there is to accidentally rub someone the wrong way or say something that gets misinterpreted. A month of great performance and all the effort and money can go out the window just because someone above you woke up on the wrong side of bed one morning. While I wouldn't discourage auditions, I would say if you can get a full rank list of interviews (10+) without doing them, don't do it.
Auditions can be tricky - the more time you are at a place, the more opportunity there is to accidentally rub someone the wrong way or say something that gets misinterpreted. A month of great performance and all the effort and money can go out the window just because someone above you woke up on the wrong side of bed one morning. While I wouldn't discourage auditions, I would say if you can get a full rank list of interviews (10+) without doing them, don't do it.
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Just make sure these rotations are at places that have accepted DO students int he past. I suspect too many people think that they'll be the one to kick open the glass door. Better to take advantage of legacy effects.
^Prime advice. Definitely keeping that one in mind this upcoming year
I know a few people who managed to be the first DO where they auditioned after taking that risk... but it was worth the risk because they really wanted the program for geographic and/or other reasons, and a calculated risk because they had other auditions at safer choices. It can be worth doing a rotation behind the glass door-- best case scenario it nets you a real interview and/or a sweet letter, worst case scenario you realize you had a courtesy interview or none at all but at least you get a good learning experience-- but absolutely don't put all your eggs in that basket.
The advice I was given (from my specialty chair/coordinator/and big sib) is to audition at "reach but possible" programs - ie for IM it would be mid tier university programs that have taken DO in the past. You will only have time to do 3-4 auditions and according to our coordinator the chance to get a spot is around 1/10. So apply to 10-15 spots for each month you want to audition and potentially you can fill 3-4 audition slots.
If you think you can absolutely murder your audition, then aim high.
Keep in mind, if your intent is to go in and "murder " your rotation, that there are other factors at play. You might find it frustrating as I did to sit on the sidelines as you only scrub a couple cases, get ignored by overworked or disinterested residents or get assigned 2 weeks of nights where just about nothing happens. If you're not a personality fit for that group, no amount of showing up early at 100% with your murderous efforts will change your fate there
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I agree with this as well, there is much out of your control and if it's a rotation you'd normally have an interview via stats, then it's actually riskier to audition than not.
But for those reach programs, if you generally have good rotations and audition well, then it's a good tactic to net more interviews (and match).
Does mayo make you rotate before they will extend an interview?
