Can't take PTO before December 1st, 4 IIs already

[foldinthecheese]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all,

I have been lucky enough to receive 3 DO II (Western CA, AZCOM, CCOM) and 1 MD II (Indiana) for this cycle. I also just started an awesome new job at a community health center working with patients with OUD at the beginning of this week. I had been searching for a job for four months, and so when I found something great, I took it -- even though the organization requests we do not take scheduled time off the first 90 days. I thought that this would be fine, because last cycle, my two II's ended up having me interview in late November and February.

Indiana is still processing my pre-interview paperwork, but according to the thread, they assign an interview date to the interviewee. For this one, I am planning on calling-out whatever day that they give me, because the MD cycle runs earlier than DO.

My question for the other schools is: will it look bad/like I am not interested to admissions if I schedule my interview for after Dec 1? Which schools should I prioritize to attend interviews at first to gain a higher chance of acceptance?

I really do not think I can switch jobs because I rely on public transit and do not have access to a car, and cannot afford to get one right now. Plus, I really am excited about this position and believe that it'll be really valuable. I want to do well by my boss, patients, and organization, but I do not want to miss out on getting an acceptance as a reapplicant.

 

[foldinthecheese]

@Goro @LizzyM @Faha I would love your input on this!

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

I have been lucky enough to receive 3 DO II (Western CA, AZCOM, CCOM) and 1 MD II (Indiana) for this cycle. I also just started an awesome new job at a community health center working with patients with OUD at the beginning of this week. I had been searching for a job for four months, and so when I found something great, I took it -- even though the organization requests we do not take scheduled time off the first 90 days. I thought that this would be fine, because last cycle, my two II's ended up having me interview in late November and February.

Indiana is still processing my pre-interview paperwork, but according to the thread, they assign an interview date to the interviewee. For this one, I am planning on calling-out whatever day that they give me, because the MD cycle runs earlier than DO.

My question for the other schools is: will it look bad/like I am not interested to admissions if I schedule my interview for after Dec 1? Which schools should I prioritize to attend interviews at first to gain a higher chance of acceptance?

I really do not think I can switch jobs because I rely on public transit and do not have access to a car, and cannot afford to get one right now. Plus, I really am excited about this position and believe that it'll be really valuable. I want to do well by my boss, patients, and organization, but I do not want to miss out on getting an acceptance as a reapplicant.

Contact the Admissions Office and explain your situation. And No, it won't look bad!

 

[foldinthecheese]

Contact the Admissions Office and explain your situation. And No, it won't look bad!

Thank you so much, I will do! Do you think that interviewing for these DO schools after December 1st will still give me a decent shot at acceptance?

 

[deleted769052]

Thank you so much, I will do! Do you think that interviewing for these DO schools after December 1st will still give me a decent shot at acceptance?

Goro has a magical orb and knows the ins and outs of every school's admissions process.... only you can answer that question for yourself. Look at your stats compared to the class, then ask yourself if you'd rather secure an acceptance earlier in the cycle or take the risk. No matter how awesome this job is, your medical career will be much more valuable to you and sometimes you'll need to make a tough decision

 

[foldinthecheese]

Goro has a magical orb and knows the ins and outs of every school's admissions process.... only you can answer that question for yourself. Look at your stats compared to the class, then ask yourself if you'd rather secure an acceptance earlier in the cycle or take the risk. No matter how awesome this job is, your medical career will be much more valuable to you and sometimes you'll need to make a tough decision

You're absolutely right about this, yeah.

 

[Goro]

Thank you so much, I will do! Do you think that interviewing for these DO schools after December 1st will still give me a decent shot at acceptance?

Absolutely!!!

 

[foldinthecheese]

Absolutely!!!

Thank you for the input Goro, have a great weekend! I really appreciate it.

 

[KnightDoc]

You're absolutely right about this, yeah.

As good as the job might be, your future is medical school, not the job. If you have 4 IIs this early, the odds are VERY high you are not done yet. If it were me, I'd prioritize each and every interview, regardless of whether or not later interviews were viewed unfavorably. I'd explain the situation to my supervisor, and then whatever happens happens. JMHO, but you really need to put yourself first. Every employer and every med school will certainly do the same.

 

[foldinthecheese]

As good as the job might be, your future is medical school, not the job. If you have 4IIs this early, the odds are VERY high you are not done yet. If it were me, I'd prioritze each and every interview, regardless of whether or not later interviews were viewed unfavorably. I'd explain the situation to my supervisor, and then whatever happens happen. JMHO, but you really need to put yourself first. Every employer and every med school will certainly do the same.

I think my main concern comes from the employer firing me, not being able to find another I can get to by transit because I am financially on my own. I'm afraid I will not find something to support myself during the cycle to pay the bills and rent, since this was the first offer I got during four months of searching. I have been saving since my first job, and could support myself for a month or two if that does happen, but also have shelled out a lot for applications this cycle. That being said, becoming a physician is my main goal and if I do not put myself first, who will?

 

[KnightDoc]

I think my main concern comes from the employer firing me, not being able to find another I can get to by transit because I am financially on my own. I'm afraid I will not find something to support myself during the cycle to pay the bills and rent, since this was the first offer I got during four months of searching. I have been saving since my first job, and could support myself for a month or two if that does happen, but also have shelled out a lot for applications this cycle. That being said, becoming a physician is my main goal and if I do not put myself first, who will?

I totally understand. Hopefully you won't lose the job, and, if you do, hopefully you will find another one. What percent chance would you take at not being able to go to your #1 school just to be able to hold onto this job until next spring?

What are you going to do if you receive another 4 IIs? 6? 8? You're not going to be able to push everything off until after 12/1, and, if you do as well as it looks like you might, it will absolutely not be in your interest to have so many interviews in such a short period of time even if you could push them all back.

 

[LizzyM]

Contact the Admissions Office and explain your situation. And No, it won't look bad!

agree!

 

[KnightDoc]

agree!

It's not just one school! It's 4, and August isn't even over yet. What's he supposed to do? Take off the month of December? 🙂 He's as likely to get fired for doing that as for taking a day here and there as necessary between now and then!

 

[LizzyM]

It's not just one school! It's 4, and August isn't even over yet. What's he supposed to do? Take off the month of December? 🙂 He's as likely to get fired for doing that as for taking a day here and there as necessary between now and then!

If he can postpone long enough and if he gets a decent offer sooner rather than later, he could cancel the rest. I'd prioritize the MD interview. Given that these interviews are online, at least the amount of time away from the job may be minimized. Employers need to understand that people do have things that come up in life and taking off an average of 1 day per month for personal business is sometimes unavoidable.

 

[squids82]

As a disclaimer, I’m not in med admissions.

I do, however, work in government which sounds similar (to a degree) to what you’re doing. While we do have rules about PTO, the most important thing to do is to talk to your supervisor. We understand that life happens and that things come up. We are in fact people! Sometimes department heads have to run this sort of stuff by us for approval, but we’re more than willing to accommodate especially if the person has a positive attitude about it.

To reiterate, it doesn’t hurt to talk to your supervisor!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

If he can postpone long enough and if he gets a decent offer sooner rather than later, he could cancel the rest. I'd prioritize the MD interview. Given that these interviews are online, at least the amount of time away from the job may be minimized. Employers need to understand that people do have things that come up in life and taking off an average of 1 day per month for personal business is sometimes unavoidable.

OP at least needs to take PTO for each of the interview days, so may need to prioritize and take couple early and delay the others. Does your work place offer weekend shifts or multiple shifts per day?

 

[foldinthecheese]

OP at least needs to take PTO for each of the interview days, so may need to prioritize and take couple early and delay the others. Does your work place offer weekend shifts or multiple shifts per day?

Mine is only a 9-5pm, unfortunately, but I have been talking to my supervisor and she is supporting me with dealing with HR!

 

[foldinthecheese]

Thank you all for everything, I wholly appreciate all of the opinions and advice, and I am going to work with my supervisor to take PTO earlier and push it through HR and explain my situation to schools if needed!