interested in home program, how does it work?

[thegingerbreadm]

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Hi I just wanted to know how it works if you are interested in your home program for ENT residency? I am currently an M2 and go to a lower tier medical school by the way. I am considering the value of going to my own medical school's residency program because I would like to stay in the area. I just wanted to know how that affects the application process with respsect to Step I scores, grades, research etc. I guess it would be nice to hear anyone's thoughts, but esp. those who went to their home programs for residency. (And this is all under the assumption I still want to do ENT in one year)

Thanks and I appreciate any information.

 

[ent]

Doing very well is important no matter where you want to do ENT. Getting into ENT has become very competitive. Even if you classify your school as a low-tier program, you will still need high board scores, good performance during your third and fourth years in the ENT department, a good reputation in general, and basically the rest of the package. The thing is that your own school will know you best (what type of person you are and your work ethics). Other programs only know you by paper and a brief encounter during the interviews. So if you are a great person with a good work ethic and great school performance, you will be in good shape. But then, there will be more people like you fighting for that 1 to 4 spots available. Establishing a good relationship with your department is key!

 

[thegingerbreadm]

hey, thanks for the advice, i understand what you mean about still maintaining a good academic profile and still being a good candidate......

 

[Mariah246]

Hi I just wanted to know how it works if you are interested in your home program for ENT residency? I am currently an M2 and go to a lower tier medical school by the way. I am considering the value of going to my own medical school's residency program because I would like to stay in the area. I just wanted to know how that affects the application process with respsect to Step I scores, grades, research etc. I guess it would be nice to hear anyone's thoughts, but esp. those who went to their home programs for residency. (And this is all under the assumption I still want to do ENT in one year)

Thanks and I appreciate any information.

I would echo the advice that's already been given. Even if you want to stay at your med school's residency program, you'll want to nab the highest Step 1 scores, pre-clinical, and clinical grades you can get.

I would also recommend doing research at your home institution to facilitate making contacts.

I definitely wouldn't recommend "slacking" because you are aiming at a more familiar or "lower-powered" place and as you mention, this is all assuming you're still interested in ENT in one year.

My final piece of advice is to never trust what anyone says. Even if you're home program showers you with praise, you need to watch out for yourself and still make sure you apply broadly and attend as many interviews as possible. (You can still rank your desired location first but you need to have backup plans especially in a field as competitive as ENT)

Verbal agreements mean nothing so you can't just assume that you'll match at your home program. (I'd echo that written agreements mean nothing as well since that would be a violation of the match)

 

[resxn]

Also be careful in assuming your home school will want you. Many schools shy away from taking their own students for fear of being labelled "homers." I know that when I applied there were schools who traditionally always took 1 student from their own school. Well, that decreases the number of open slots by 30% in most programs. That reputation gets around and those schools get fewer applicants because of it. That's not good for the program.

It still happens frequently where a program matches their own, but I think it happens less now than it did 10 years ago.

 

[BOOURNS]

It still happens frequently where a program matches their own, but I think it happens less now than it did 10 years ago.

USC just filled all four of its spots with its own students, AFAIK.

 

[resxn]

USC just filled all four of its spots with its own students, AFAIK.

that sucks, for everyone except 4 students. Really, that just sucks.

Also, watch the number of applicants to their program decrease by 6-10% next year as long as the total applicant pool is steady.

 

[ent]

Are we talking about the University of Southern California?