How bad is a LOA for a few weeks for board prep?

[BuildingMyOwnLuck]

So my school offers 4 weeks of dedicated, however I feel like that may be too short, and they mentioned in our talk today that they are able to give LOAs for up to 4 extra weeks for those who need it. Since I'm going to take both COMLEX and USMLE, those extra weeks could really be useful, if not for the peace of mind, but also because a strong step 1 foundation is important for step 2 (from what I've heard). I'll be applying for either psyc, pm&r or FM (unsure yet).

How bad will the short LOA impact my residency chances?

Appreciate any responses.

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[Dantes]

Did they actually call it a formal leave of absence? For four weeks that seems strange. For step 1 my school lets you take more time if you need it, but that comes off vacation time 4th year, unless you make up an elective between then.

If your school is actually suspending your full-time student status for more dedicated and putting that on your MSPE, I don't know if it's worth it if your Step 1 is p/f.

 

[thumbz]

If you don't have to extend your training, it means very little.

If you have to delay your graduation 4 weeks, that's more of a red flag and you shouldn't do it.

When I see a LOA (for boards) when I'm reviewing candidates I rate it as 0 importance if they did great on boards. If they took a LOA for boards and got a mediocre (below average) score then I dock points as it shows their foundation of knowledge is likely weak.