Questions about applying to multiple specialties

[Bus2MD]

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3rd year trying to plan for next year. One of the fields I'm applying to is going to require a few away rotations. Is my backup specialty going to see that I did aways in another field? Basically, do those rotations show up on my application? I'm worried they would see this and it would hurt me getting interviews/matching my backup.

Also, it looks like most places want 3 LORs. Is it possible to get a couple of generic letters (meaning they don't mention a specific specialty) and then a specialty specific letter for each field I'm applying to? Just trying to figure out if I need a total of 4 LORs or 6.

 

[Tozanzibarbymotorcar]

Just to add another question..is it the norm for DO students to apply to multiple specialties?

 

[docbsb2015]

Just to add another question..is it the norm for DO students to apply to multiple specialties?

No unless you are applying to something really competitive like ortho, derm, etc. or are very weak academically. However, we had several people I know who applied to those competitve specialties I named and did not apply to a backup specialty.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

3rd year trying to plan for next year. One of the fields I'm applying to is going to require a few away rotations. Is my backup specialty going to see that I did aways in another field? Basically, do those rotations show up on my application? I'm worried they would see this and it would hurt me getting interviews/matching my backup.

Also, it looks like most places want 3 LORs. Is it possible to get a couple of generic letters (meaning they don't mention a specific specialty) and then a specialty specific letter for each field I'm applying to? Just trying to figure out if I need a total of 4 LORs or 6.

I believe this is school specific. I believe that my school list anything prior to september in the MSPE. But now that I think about it, they are always so behind, maybe not.

 

[Norwood-Sano]

I would like to hear more about this too, particularly the part about applying to multiple specialties.

 

[doc05]

Aways are listed on your transcript.

You absolutely don’t want a generic letter that doesn’t make any mention of specialty. For obvious reasons. Just think about how you’d ask your letter writer to do this!

Good luck!