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- Mar 20, 2018
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Hi, all!
I am a current MS3 applying to general surgery in the fall. I had not been planning to do any aways, but after speaking with several MS4s who matched last week who said that they wished they had done aways and that >70% of the people they encountered at interviews had done at least 1 away, I am having second thoughts. To provide some context, I am planning to couples match (SO applying anesthesia), attend a top 40 med school, got a 259 on step 1, have honored all clerkships so far (still have two left, so no word on AOA yet), have some research experience but no publications at this time, and ultimately hope to go into pediatric surgery. Knowing I eventually want a very competitive fellowship, I feel like I need to target primarily upper-tier academic institutions for residency.
So far I have gotten very mixed messages on the usefulness of away rotations and would love any insight anyone might have about whether I should do one and, if so, what type of program I should target. I have heard that they can hurt you, so targeting a reach program might be the best approach, but at this point, I honestly don't even know how to identify which programs are reaches and which ones I would be competitive for (especially considering my lack of publications).
So, all that said, should I try to do an away? Multiple aways? Anyone had a good and/or bad experience at any particular program? Thanks so much in advance!!
I am a current MS3 applying to general surgery in the fall. I had not been planning to do any aways, but after speaking with several MS4s who matched last week who said that they wished they had done aways and that >70% of the people they encountered at interviews had done at least 1 away, I am having second thoughts. To provide some context, I am planning to couples match (SO applying anesthesia), attend a top 40 med school, got a 259 on step 1, have honored all clerkships so far (still have two left, so no word on AOA yet), have some research experience but no publications at this time, and ultimately hope to go into pediatric surgery. Knowing I eventually want a very competitive fellowship, I feel like I need to target primarily upper-tier academic institutions for residency.
So far I have gotten very mixed messages on the usefulness of away rotations and would love any insight anyone might have about whether I should do one and, if so, what type of program I should target. I have heard that they can hurt you, so targeting a reach program might be the best approach, but at this point, I honestly don't even know how to identify which programs are reaches and which ones I would be competitive for (especially considering my lack of publications).
So, all that said, should I try to do an away? Multiple aways? Anyone had a good and/or bad experience at any particular program? Thanks so much in advance!!
