Internship/Residency application

[anonp-vet]

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Hello!

I am currently a first year veterinary student with interests of pursuing internship and residency after school. I understand how difficult of a task this is and wanted to ask a few questions regarding what I should be doing now to set myself up for success in the future.

1. What class rank percentile are most internships/residencies looking for?
2. Should I be focused on gaining experience at different hospitals with internship/residency programs or should I try to obtain a paid position at a single hospital?
3. Overall, does anyone have any tips on how to set oneself up for success in pursuing an internship after school?

Thank you!

 

[JaynaAli]

1. As high as possible. A lot of places will say top quartile, and that’s ideal, but it’s definitely possible to match if you’re below that. You just may have to be less picky about where you apply to if you’re lower though. I wouldn’t stress about the actual number too much just do the absolute best you can.

2. I think visiting places you really want to intern at helps significantly since they will be able to put a face to a name on paper, but many people match never having visited anywhere. Traveling is expensive and takes time, and money and time can be hard to come by as a student. As an applicant who had a below average GPA and class rank, I do think visiting was why I got matched to the clinic I got matched to. Not sure what you mean about a paid position?

3. Keep your grades as high as you can and build good relationships with faculty. If you’re planning to specialize after an internship, it’s especially important to have strong relationships with specialists in the field you’re hoping to enter. Go to conferences and network. See if there’s some research opportunities in your chosen field, but only if you have enough time…things like research are icing on the cake, and things like having good grades and LORs are more important in my opinion.

 

[pp9]

Hello!

I am currently a first year veterinary student with interests of pursuing internship and residency after school. I understand how difficult of a task this is and wanted to ask a few questions regarding what I should be doing now to set myself up for success in the future.

1. What class rank percentile are most internships/residencies looking for?
2. Should I be focused on gaining experience at different hospitals with internship/residency programs or should I try to obtain a paid position at a single hospital?
3. Overall, does anyone have any tips on how to set oneself up for success in pursuing an internship after school?

Thank you!

Do you know what specialty you are interested in? These answers will change a bit depending on where you want to end up, and we can chime in with more specific tips. Everything Jayna said is accurate, but some specialties/options to pursue specialty are slightly more forgiving when it comes to GPAs/class rank than others.

Specifically for a rotating internship (generally the first internship completed by anyone who is specialty-bound, although not all specialties require it), there have been more internship spots than applicants in the last few years. You will get one, even if its not your top choice or you have to scramble. When you start progressing through training and get to specialty internships/residencies, competition increases drastically.

In general, having a good GPA/rank is going to keep a lot of doors open for you. I matched to my top choice rotating internship being in the bottom quarter of my class, so it's not unheard of. I know for a fact that my GPA was a red flag, but my interview made up for it (I did not visit prior). I got a specialty internship outside of the match, and they didn't even ask for my GPA. Residencies, though? Didn't even apply. Wasn't worth spending the money on VIRMP when I knew my chances were pretty abysmal for the specialty I was going for.

If you have the time and money, visiting a place you are interested in (either over school breaks, or as an externship/elective) is never a bad idea. Like Jayna said, it will help them remember you when it comes to match season, but you may also find you don't like the hospital and end up crossing them off your list.