Prelim and Derm Invite Same Location Scheduling

[BigFightIllini]

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I've gotten several invites to prelim programs to which I've also applied for derm interviews.

Should I schedule the latest prelim interview date possible in case I also get a derm interview at the same program?

Could I wait to respond to the prelim invite until the derm invite letters go out per Dermatology Residency Interviews Database at http://www.derminterest.org/interviews?

I'd rather not fly to these places twice.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

I've gotten several invites to prelim programs to which I've also applied for derm interviews.

Should I schedule the latest prelim interview date possible in case I also get a derm interview at the same program?

Could I wait to respond to the prelim invite until the derm invite letters go out per Dermatology Residency Interviews Database at http://www.derminterest.org/interviews?

I'd rather not fly to these places twice.

I would not wait to reply to the interview invite since this will decrease your chance of getting your desired interview date. I also would not just schedule the latest interview date since derm programs tend to only have 1-3 interview dates. You could schedule the prelim interview for around the same time as the listed derm interview on the derminterest site though. That would probably be the best option.

 

[Cheebs09]

I wouldn't wait for derm interviews. I would advise to do as many internship interviews in Nov/early Dec as possible to get them done and free as much time to be available for as many Derm invites as possible.

For derm you probably won't have the luxury to coordinate interviews with internship. But it's better to be as available as possible in Dec/Jan to go on as many derm interviews as possible. You can check the derm interview schedule on DIGA website to try to plan in advance.
Good luck!

 

[oracle07]

Here's what I did, and it worked out well I think.

I applied to prelim and TY programs that I could drive to within a few hours.

I interviewed at those places early (i.e. October/Nov) to get them out of the way.

When I got a derm interview far away, I quickly applied to the Prelim at their hospital/city. The application-to-interview turn around time is usually quick for prelim programs... so you usually hear back in a few days. It may help to call that program and say you're interviewing for derm and want to do prelim in same city/program if you match there. Medicine programs typically LOVE derm applicants.... and they'll sometimes schedule a special interview day just for you.

It's a very reasonable approach and some programs like to hear that you're interviewing for prelims close by.

 

[love skin]

Here's what I did, and it worked out well I think.

I applied to prelim and TY programs that I could drive to within a few hours.

I interviewed at those places early (i.e. October/Nov) to get them out of the way.

When I got a derm interview far away, I quickly applied to the Prelim at their hospital/city. The application-to-interview turn around time is usually quick for prelim programs... so you usually hear back in a few days. It may help to call that program and say you're interviewing for derm and want to do prelim in same city/program if you match there. Medicine programs typically LOVE derm applicants.... and they'll sometimes schedule a special interview day just for you.

It's a very reasonable approach and some programs like to hear that you're interviewing for prelims close by.

That's a great idea. My question is, were you able to apply to prelim programs after you got interviews to their respective derm programs even after Nov. 1st?

 

[oracle07]

I applied to several prelim programs in December. There may have been 1 or 2 in January as well. If you explain to the IM program director, they're pretty likely to interview you from my experience.

I don't remember for sure, but I think the first 25 programs were a flat rate. So I applied to around 15 prelims initially, and then to around 10 in late Nov/Dec/Jan.

 

[rolling wheal]

Oracle is right on. If I could do it over again I would only apply to a few local prelim/Ty programs within easy driving distance (for interview practice more than anything) and wait to apply to the places where I got derm interviews. Oracle is right, you can apply for a prelim/ty interview well after the deadline if you get a derm interview there. Usually they'll let you do the prelim interview the same day. Some places I interviewed at for derm but didn't apply to their prelim spot asked me on the day of my derm interview if I also wanted to interview for the prelim spot. I didn't want to because I wanted to catch my plane and I knew there was no way I wanted to be in this city any longer than I had too but I've heard if I had I would have just applied to the prelim spot when I got home to make it official.