Freaking the F' OUT!!!

[nieceyj12]

So. It's almost Sept 1 and my apps aren't done yet. I can finish the personal statements, etc, but I only have 1 LOR which I want the professor to change, and nothing in Rad Onc yet, with a research month and 2 rotations to go.

SO... How important is it to submit Sept 1? I don't care about pre-lim programs, my school will definitely take me. Should until I have 3 letters, which will probably be closer to the end of the month? Or should I submit and update?

Please help!!!

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[Gfunk6]

Relax and take a deep breath.

Sending out your application on 9/1 is more of a psychological boost than anything else. Virtually no program will seriously look at applications so early.

Letters of Rec are commonly uploaded a couple of months after ERAS opens. This was true in my case as, I'm sure, many other applicants.

If you like you can upload your common application sooner and your LORs as you move forward.

 

[nothingman]

Agree w/Gfunk's post above. Many of my apps (last year) were not downloaded until into late September-early October.

Finish up your PS and CV in the next week or two ideally, then submit that (the certify ERAS app part).

Submit your USMLE transcript (click the release button) unless you're waiting for an awesome Step II score to come back in the next one or two weeks, and have a less than awesome Step I.

Upload your one LOR as soon as it's ready and assign it to programs as long as you have reason to expect that it's good. Have the others be written as they come (if there's a long delay (i.e. >1-2 weeks past your writer's specified date), your school's dean's office can sometimes ask people to expedite things in a polite way), and assign them as they're ready.

Bottom line, the common wisdom seems to be to submit stuff piecemeal as it becomes available, and that there's a safe-ish window of a month to do it in.

One more thing - I WOULD care about prelims a bit more. Even if your school promised you a spot, 1) those promises sometimes are broken for various reasons, and 2) you might find a happier way to spend an intern year at places that are not big, school-affiliated academic hospitals. The extra $60-$120 to apply to up to 10 TYs and up to 10 med prelim years are well worth it IMO. These can be local so the pain/cost factor for traveling to them will be minimal. You can use your radonc PS and letters if you'd like, though some write separate prelim PS and use non-specialty letters. It's probably mostly a wash unless you're gunning for some nationally competitive prelim spot.

 

[Seldon1985]

First off, good luck with this upcoming application season! I remember exactly what it felt like last when I had finally decided on this great field and then was scrambling to get away rotations, simultaneously wondering when I'd get done my ERAS app and have my LORs uploaded. Its a tough process, but take a nice deep breath, and head into it as calm and cool as you can.

I agree with completing the application in piecemeal. The Sept 1st deadline doesn't matter as much for the Rad Onc programs, since most programs don't even look at your application until later (even until the Dean's letter comes out). A good strategy however is to apply to your prelim programs sooner rather than later (i.e. closer to the Sept 1st deadline). Many prelim programs will start downloading your application materials within a few days, and I even had several prelim interview invites in hand during the first half of September. The benefit of this is that you will have your first pick of your preferred interview date, so you can get them out of the way early to make way for your Rad Onc interviews later. The second piece of this is that you should check out some of the TY programs in the location you'd like to be in. I went into the prelim interview season thinking I'd just do a prelim medicine year at an academic program, and interviewed at a few TYs just in case. I ended up LOVING the TYs and am having one of the best years of my academic life this year in a great TY program - great mix of flexibility and tons of solid medicine experiences. You can use the same Rad Onc personal statement and LORs if you like or something more geared for Prelim, doesn't seem to make too much of a difference...

Overall, take a deep breath and keep moving forward. LOR's take a while to get uploaded, but you can be on top of it by being in contact with your letter writer(s) (but only gentle reminders!) and your office of student affairs... Good luck!

 

[Carotenoid]

So. It's almost Sept 1 and my apps aren't done yet. I can finish the personal statements, etc, but I only have 1 LOR which I want the professor to change, and nothing in Rad Onc yet, with a research month and 2 rotations to go.

SO... How important is it to submit Sept 1? I don't care about pre-lim programs, my school will definitely take me. Should until I have 3 letters, which will probably be closer to the end of the month? Or should I submit and update?

Please help!!!

I am finishing up my surgery rotation - and simply haven't had the time to complete the Personal Statement (I mean, it has to be PERFECT, right? )... About a week ago, I was about to post pretty much the same call for help as my esteemed colleague nieceyj12 above, but I was afraid to hear something like "Oh, if you don't submit by Sept 1, you are screwed", in response - so I didn't. Thank you Gfunk, nothingman, Seldon1985 - both for the encouragement and for the great additional info. I am now able to do what I need to do with a little less anxiety.

 

[nothingman]

Just to further enhance the anxiolysis of this thread...

I've been told by deans, program directors (albeit in other fields), etc. that the personal statement carries fairly little relative value unless you have some very (positively) extraordinary story to tell, and then only if you tell it without appearing "strange."

Basically, I was told that getting overly creative with the PS can hurt you much more than it can help you, and that if you're going to get an interview based on other factors, an unexciting "vanilla" personal statement will probably not hold you back.

I think it helps to clearly describe why you're interested in the field, what relevant experiences have swayed your interest this way, and what you hope to accomplish during/after your training. Beyond that, it doesn't have to be a work of Hemingway, Dostoevsky, or Garcia Marquez. Having a mentor/senior resident proofread it may not be a bad idea.

Bottom line - I wouldn't worry too much about the perfect personal statement either, egregious typos and that kind of thing excluded.

Good luck to all applying this year!

 

[Seldon1985]

I've been told by deans, program directors (albeit in other fields), etc. that the personal statement carries fairly little relative ...

Yep, I definitely agree with this. I had spoken with quite a few deans/guidance counselors at my school about this, and the consensus (in general) was that the PS (personal statement) is as hard for the residency programs to evaluate as it is for you to write. Overall, put together a well-constructed, simple, easy-to-follow PS that has no spelling or grammar errors. Don't try to pack in too much... You may really want to go into detail about your life, experiences, etc but I think that the PS won't affect things significantly. You should try to address: 1) What got you interested in Rad Onc/Oncology? 2) What things in med school pointed you in that direction? 3) What do you hope to do in your career (was there an experience you had that galvanized this interest?) and what would you look for in a residency program? These general points are exactly that... Very broad categories to help organize your thoughts. For me, plain as vanilla was what I was shooting for. Good luck!