- Joined
- May 9, 2013
- Messages
- 88
- Reaction score
- 22
- Points
- 4,621
- Resident [Any Field]
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm starting this thread so people who recently match can share their wisdom with future applicants.
The best resource/guide out there is the Iowa guide to the ophthalmology match. It is extremely helpful. It applied to me for the most part, but my situation was a little bit different because I came from a school that didn't have an ophthalmology program. My advice for applicants without a home program:
-Be extremely proactive to find shadow and research opportunities outside of your medical school. It is possible, but it requires persistence and sometimes a little creativity. Your goals should be to find someone who can help you publish and someone who can write a good letter of recommendation.
-Consider setting up your away rotations so you can spend two months at one place. If I could do things all over again, I would do a clinical month and a research month both at one location. I didn't even know this was a possibility until late in the game.
As far as letters of recommendation, I learned that after you get an interview many places allow you to send an additional letter of recommendation. I could have picked up a really good letter or two, but I wasn't aware of this possibility so I didn't even ask. As Iowa advises, turn your three letters in along with your CAS application as soon as possible, but when you get an interview consider sending in an extra letter that you'll hopefully already have.
That's all I can think of to add. The Iowa guide covers pretty much everything!
The best resource/guide out there is the Iowa guide to the ophthalmology match. It is extremely helpful. It applied to me for the most part, but my situation was a little bit different because I came from a school that didn't have an ophthalmology program. My advice for applicants without a home program:
-Be extremely proactive to find shadow and research opportunities outside of your medical school. It is possible, but it requires persistence and sometimes a little creativity. Your goals should be to find someone who can help you publish and someone who can write a good letter of recommendation.
-Consider setting up your away rotations so you can spend two months at one place. If I could do things all over again, I would do a clinical month and a research month both at one location. I didn't even know this was a possibility until late in the game.
As far as letters of recommendation, I learned that after you get an interview many places allow you to send an additional letter of recommendation. I could have picked up a really good letter or two, but I wasn't aware of this possibility so I didn't even ask. As Iowa advises, turn your three letters in along with your CAS application as soon as possible, but when you get an interview consider sending in an extra letter that you'll hopefully already have.
That's all I can think of to add. The Iowa guide covers pretty much everything!
