Programs that favor away rotations?

[LABrondo]

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Does anyone have any input on any programs that seem to favor the M4s that do an away rotation at their program for getting an interview and/or matching there after? If you got an interview at a place you did an away at can you please post it?

 

[FlowRate]

IMO the way you phrase this question is too binary. It's not that there are programs which auto-accept sub-I's and those that reject you for doing one. Pretty much all programs will factor sub-I performance in on whether to interview/rank a candidate. Some weight that more heavily than others. Sub-I's can also hurt you and are still not required in this specialty the way they are in others. Do Sub-I's at places you really want to check out. Or don't do any. But trying to use Sub-I's as a ploy for getting a match spot is not a good strategy unless you're a very borderline candidate to be invited to interviews otherwise.

 

[mbgr2014]

On the other hand, I doubt I would have received some of my west coast interviews if it weren't for my away rotation at a University of California hospital. I was by no means a "red flag" or borderline candidate, but likely not competitive enough to get their attention without some kind of California connection or experience. Time will tell if it affects my match...

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

In general doing a sub-I is a good idea, but programs never have this as an expectation. At best you can only do a couple of places and with people applying to 30 places... well the math should be obvious. In general, I think most programs do interview sub-Is. It is just easier to interview them as opposed to interviewing some but not all and have everyone talking about it. On the applicant side, you might as well go for it. Even if it goes the other way and the program doesn't like you, you wouldn't want to be there anyway. It is best that both sides figure this out before rank lists go in.

 

[LABrondo]

I’m below avg and don’t have ties to places otherwise which was why I wanted to know what places tend to pick the people who did rotations there as I’m open to going anywhere to be a psychiatrist. I am definitely not competitive in my own state that I do have ties to (California)

 

[PlasticBag]

I did a few sub-Is and it definitely helped. Just remember to meet with the PD or aPD when you’re there, otherwise the person reviewing your application might not even know you did a sub-I there (especially true for big programs or if your sub-I is in one of the more specialized units like C&A where you might work with people not involved in admissions).

 

[Evidence Based]

On the other hand, most people in psych (including me) did no aways and matched well. No one in my intern class did an away here before matching. I don't know of anyone in my med school class in psych who did an away. Probably would help more if you're trying to go somewhere you have fewer geographic connections to (ex. California as mentioned above)

 

[cafescrooge]

I got 3 interviews from psych aways and that helped me match, so I will always tell people to do them if you can. I have less than stellar stats though and am more tolerable in person than on paper so that helped.