Away rotation help: NYC?

[whackamole21]

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I know Aways aren't 'necessary' for Psychiatry, just curious if any recent students have done away rotation in NYC--specifically at the Sinai programs (main campus, Mt Sinai West, Beth Israel)?

I'm a moderately competitive applicant coming from the a state school out West. I'll be couples matching as well and hoping to show interest in the Northeast by doing an away there. This may do nothing for me in terms of getting my foot in the door, but I know it won't hurt...besides the wallet. If I do poorly there, which I don't anticipate, sure I may not get an interview at that specific spot. But with minimal ties (just extended family) to NYC/Boston/DC for me and my couple we'd like to be proactive in showing interest. Obviously these cities have a lot of school options, and we truly enjoy each of these cities.

Thoughts? Worth shelling out $2000 for a month to maybe open some doors? Or can I use some family ties my sig. other does have to one of the big cities out there in my PS? PD at my school says aways help, but obviously there's no good answer for this. Says he screens his 1000+ apps pretty quickly for people with any ties to the region, and focuses on those apps much more than the others. Any thoughts are appreciated

 

[Amygdarya]

From what I've seen, aways do tend to help one's application *at that particular program*; I'm not sure if they ever succeed to "open a region".
Speaking of regions, unlike pretty much any other part of the US, the Northeast doesn't require ties to the region; this is especially true for NYC. Basically, given how many programs are in the region and the general desirability of NYC and Boston, there are plenty of applicants from all over the country and nobody questions the seriousness of their intentions. To put it in a different way, New Yorkers are so convinced that everyone should want to live in the city that they see applications from other regions as perfectly natural 🙂

Tl; dr: you don't have to do an away to "open" the Northeast but an away is likely to help *at that particular program*. Another thing that may help are emails to PDs/PCs stating that you're couples matching and your significant other has family in the city. (I don't think you should put this in your PS because it would be a distraction from the main point which should be a well articulated "Why psychiatry"). Other than that, no need to reassure Northeastern programs about the serious of your intentions; they already believe you want to be there.

 

[FlowRate]

From what I've seen, aways do tend to help one's application *at that particular program*; I'm not sure if they ever succeed to "open a region".
Speaking of regions, unlike pretty much any other part of the US, the Northeast doesn't require ties to the region; this is especially true for NYC. Basically, given how many programs are in the region and the general desirability of NYC and Boston, there are plenty of applicants from all over the country and nobody questions the seriousness of their intentions. To put it in a different way, New Yorkers are so convinced that everyone should want to live in the city that they see applications from other regions as perfectly natural 🙂

Tl; dr: you don't have to do an away to "open" the Northeast but an away is likely to help *at that particular program*. Another thing that may help are emails to PDs/PCs stating that you're couples matching and your significant other has family in the city. (I don't think you should put this in your PS because it would be a distraction from the main point which should be a well articulated "Why psychiatry"). Other than that, no need to reassure Northeastern programs about the serious of your intentions; they already believe you want to be there.

+1, no one at my program cares where you're from in reference to whether they think you're interested in our region. We have residents from all corners of the country.

OP, have you lived in the NE? You sure you want to move here? 😉

 

[ziggyhope]

From what I've seen, aways do tend to help one's application *at that particular program*; I'm not sure if they ever succeed to "open a region".
Speaking of regions, unlike pretty much any other part of the US, the Northeast doesn't require ties to the region; this is especially true for NYC. Basically, given how many programs are in the region and the general desirability of NYC and Boston, there are plenty of applicants from all over the country and nobody questions the seriousness of their intentions. To put it in a different way, New Yorkers are so convinced that everyone should want to live in the city that they see applications from other regions as perfectly natural 🙂

Tl; dr: you don't have to do an away to "open" the Northeast but an away is likely to help *at that particular program*. Another thing that may help are emails to PDs/PCs stating that you're couples matching and your significant other has family in the city. (I don't think you should put this in your PS because it would be a distraction from the main point which should be a well articulated "Why psychiatry"). Other than that, no need to reassure Northeastern programs about the serious of your intentions; they already believe you want to be there.

Hahaha, too true for our region, why WOULDN"T anyone want to move here? In all seriousness, away rotations will certainly help with the particular programs, doubt a lot of programs around here care if you are "tied" to the region, especially some of the higher caliber programs.