Prelim vs. Categorical

[kinav]

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Hey everyone,
just a quick question about prelim and categorical. I've just applied to neuro, hence the forum but only to the "advanced" programs since i was told that applying to both prelim and cat. would put me in some kinda danger or confusion when im ranking these programs. what's the deal here. i dont quite understand the procedure. is it possible to match into a neuro "advanced" without matching into a prelim? is there such a thing? or if you match to neuro the nrmp automatically matches you to a prelim for sure?

finally do you guys recommend applying to both prelim and categorical programs? what are the cons and pros?

thanks

 

[Raggaman]

You apply to prelims separate from advanced, so it is very possible that you get one and not the other. Apply to both categorical and advanced. The way the match works for advanced is that each advanced option on your list will have a supplemental (sub) list of prelims. This list will be tapped only if you match an advanced. Check out NRMP for a better explanation http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/special_part/us_seniors/order_list.html

 

[minstral]

you got bad advice.
You are smart enough to figure out how to do a rank order with prelims+adv and categorical.

I would talk to someone in your med school who knows what they are talking about

For instance my rank list last year looked something lke this

1) Program A Categorical
2) Prorgram B adv + Prelim list a
3) Program C adv + Prelim List b
4) Propram D categorical

In this scenario I would risk matching in an advanced program without a prelim spot an it woudl be safer to rank all categoricals in front of advanced programs but thats something you need to decide for yourself . I had a good 8 prelims interviews so i was confident id get a prelim somewhere even if it wasnt conveniently located in the same city as the advanced program.

in the end i matched in a categorical!

If none of this makes sense to you, you need to seek an expert at your school quickly!

 

[kinav]

thanks a lot to both. one last question:
so you talked about a "list A, list B". so let's say for program B (advanced), you had to make a list of prelims for it? and how many prelim programs can you list with each advanced? did you list all the 8 prelims with each of the advanced programs? how many slots are there available per advanced, is my question?
thanks again

 

[Nerdoscience]

Use common sense. You can list as many prelims with an advanced as you want, but MOST people apply to and rank programs that are near where they went to medical school or where they are going for their advanced position to avoid moving twice.

 

[minstral]

the list can be as long as you want (as many as you interviewed at)
for instance lets say my advanced is in chicago:
ranked prelims near chicago higher but to cover my ass I still ranked prelims I interviewed at in baltimore for instance
1) Advanced Program A in chicago with a prelim list a: Chicgao prelim 1
Chicago Prelim 2
Wisconsin Prelim 3
Maryland Prelim 4
2) advanced program B in Wisconsin + prelim list with Wisconsin prelim 1,
chicago prelim 2 etc...
so I reordered my prelims to give me the best chance to be close to my advanced program, but still listed all of them to cover my ass.
I would have rather needed to relocate from baltimore to chicago after my first year than risk having to scramble for a prelim spot.,

Of course still no guarantees but it increases your chances. some people however have no stomach for thinking about moving cross country after one year, so they may very well only list prelims very close to a specific advanced program even if they interviewed at more.

 

[soulofmpatel]

I'm having an issue here.

i thought that all of the programs I applied to were advanced programs. It was not clear to me which programs include preliminary positions in most cases, so I just applied to a ton of prelim programs at the same locations.

how can I find out which programs are truly categorical (have guaranteed prelim spots for applicants), and how can I arrange to interview at advanced neurology programs and prelim medicine programs on the same date?