Question about timing for interviews for Transitional and prelim year

[1dayatatime]

Hi guys,

Applying this year to mainly TY's and maybe a few prelim's.
I saw that TY's at least interview from Oct-Jan with a lot of choices of dates.
That said, I might schedule an away rotation for Oct-Nov and was wondering if it would hurt me to schedule my TY interviews for Nov or Dec instead of Oct.?

Also do ppl try to keep their TY's and prelim interviews separate months from their regular career interviews?

Does Step 2 CK (or CS) factor into TY decisions?

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[MU420]

Hi guys,

Applying this year to mainly TY's and maybe a few prelim's.
I saw that TY's at least interview from Oct-Jan with a lot of choices of dates.
That said, I might schedule an away rotation for Oct-Nov and was wondering if it would hurt me to schedule my TY interviews for Nov or Dec instead of Oct.?

Also do ppl try to keep their TY's and prelim interviews separate months from their regular career interviews?

Does Step 2 CK (or CS) factor into TY decisions?

- It's perfectly fine to do an away in October. Interview dates range Oct-Feb and most offer plenty of dates in November-January.
- It's entirely up to you on how you want to schedule your interviews. Nothing wrong with mixing intern year interviews and advanced program interviews.
- Yes, Step 2 CK does factor into TY decisions. Not so much for interview invites as a good portion of people don't have their CK scores back by then, but most program will consider it when they're making their rank list. CS you just need to have passed before they rank you. If you're an FMG then I would assume they'll want to see that CS pass before they invite you.

 

[dermie1985]

Hi guys,

Applying this year to mainly TY's and maybe a few prelim's.
I saw that TY's at least interview from Oct-Jan with a lot of choices of dates.
That said, I might schedule an away rotation for Oct-Nov and was wondering if it would hurt me to schedule my TY interviews for Nov or Dec instead of Oct.?

Also do ppl try to keep their TY's and prelim interviews separate months from their regular career interviews?

Does Step 2 CK (or CS) factor into TY decisions?

May depend on what your advanced specialty is. I applied in dermatology and they almost all interview in December or January with only 1 or 2 interview dates. I did almost all my TY/prelim interviews in October/November to avoid schedule conflicts with my advanced residency interviews...scheduling those derm interviews was hard enough without the added stress of worrying about prelim/TY interviews. Just something to consider.

 

[1dayatatime]

Thanks guys, actually i am applying to derm.

Do you think TYs consider CK score as much as derm programs do for final ROL (i.e. my impression is that they don't care as long as you passed b/c the ROL will be based on interviews for which everyone came into the interview as "equal")?

 

[MU420]

everyone came into the interview as "equal"?

That statement isn't really meant to be taken literally, although I've seen a couple cases (in a non-competitive specialty) where it does almost apply. Interview is obviously a big factor, but at the end your step scores still factor into their decision.

I can't tell you anything about derm programs, but TY programs do consider your CK in ranking you. How much weight it has is dependent on program directors.

 

[dermie1985]

Thanks guys, actually i am applying to derm.

Do you think TYs consider CK score as much as derm programs do for final ROL (i.e. my impression is that they don't care as long as you passed b/c the ROL will be based on interviews for which everyone came into the interview as "equal")?

Yeah. You are not "equal" going into interviews. Believe me. But that's another discussion.

I don't think Step 2 CK matters much for ranking. Just don't bomb it. Many people choose not to make this available to programs before ranking (though this is changing somewhat), so it's not really a good way to differentiate applicants if you don't have available "data" on everyone. To play it safe, just make sure you do just as well (or better) than your Step 1. Most people score about 10 points higher (the average is about 235 vs. 225 for Step 1), so it probably won't be a problem. If you got an insane score on Step 1 (say 260+) and get a 250 on Step 2, no one is going to care though. If you got a 210 they might.

 

[1dayatatime]

aha, ok, so and lastly - do i need to do my Med SubI before TY interviews or will they really just look at my 3rd year grades?

 

[dermie1985]

aha, ok, so and lastly - do i need to do my Med SubI before TY interviews or will they really just look at my 3rd year grades?

I don't think it's necessary if you have other reasons not to do your Sub-I early. But, you should include (at least) 1 letter from a medicine attending (core rotation attending fine) for your TY/prelim application. Generally, though, prelim programs go through so many applications I think interview decisions are mainly based on your Step 1 score/school pedigree/geography/and clinical grades. Many won't even read your PS until the day of your interview.

 

[1dayatatime]

thank you!