Residency Application Timeline Questions

[gsinccom]

1) Do residencies operate on sort-of a rolling basis? In other words is getting your application in well before the application deadline going to give you a leg up on getting an interview? I've noticed some programs start interviewing only a week or two after their application deadlines. Please advise.

2) What type of things are advisable to provide the preceptors and professors that are writing my letters of recomendation? I've heard of giving them my CV and may do that but what else? What things do you recommend giving them and how soon should I be doing this?

3) Is it wise to have the same 3 people provide letters for all the programs I'll be applying to or should I mix and match it? Would it be a lot of work for only 3 mentors to be providing LORs to 6-12 programs?

Thank you for your time and wisdom. I always appreciate it

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[njac]

I don't think I had anything in more than a day or 2 before their deadline, and I still had 8 interviews (out of 10 applications). Most places interview throughout February. Most apps are due in Jan.

I gave those writing my letters a copy of my CV and letter of intent. I also discussed with them what I was looking for in a residency and what I want to do.

Because I had so many apps and so many people available to me, I made a spreadsheet of programs and letter writers so I was able to evenly distribute them throughout. I don't think any one person did more than 5 for me.

 

[gsinccom]

I gave those writing my letters a copy of my CV and letter of intent. I also discussed with them what I was looking for in a residency and what I want to do.

Thanks for the info njac One last question, how much time do LOR writers usually need to write a good letter...what is a good amount of time to give them? I am just trying to decide when I need to have my CV and letter of intent completed by.

Any one else care to share your experience regarding my original questions. thank you

 

[Glycerin]

1) Do residencies operate on sort-of a rolling basis? In other words is getting your application in well before the application deadline going to give you a leg up on getting an interview? I've noticed some programs start interviewing only a week or two after their application deadlines. Please advise.

I had all 9 of my application PACKETS (including letters of reference, letter of intent, transcripts, and current copy of CV) mailed to each residency program to which I applied by the Monday following Midyear. I was pretty aggressive. I also received an interview invitation to all places.

2) What type of things are advisable to provide the preceptors and professors that are writing my letters of recomendation? I've heard of giving them my CV and may do that but what else? What things do you recommend giving them and how soon should I be doing this?

I gave each person who was writing a letter of reference for me a copy of my current CV as well as my GPA and letters of intent for each place to which I was applying and to whom they were writing.

3) Is it wise to have the same 3 people provide letters for all the programs I'll be applying to or should I mix and match it? Would it be a lot of work for only 3 mentors to be providing LORs to 6-12 programs?

I had 5 people writing for me, and so I split up the 27 letters (9 x 3) among those 5 people. I asked them all around this time of year if they'd write the letters, and then I asked them when they wanted my CV and letter. Some wanted those things asap and others wanted them closer to Midyear.

 

[KARM12]

My goal was to have all my applications in by Christmas so I could enjoy the holidays and not worry about anything.

 

[MustLoveDrugs]

I used the same 3 references for all of my applications. I contacted each reference before Midyear, told them that I would be applying for residencies and provided them with my CV so they could start on the more generic parts of the LOR. After Midyear, I narrowed down my list of programs and e-mailed my references a list containing 1) program name 2) primary contact's e-mail/address and preferred form of communication 3) a brief explanation of any residencies that were out of the ordinary, i.e. one of the programs had a geriatrics focus. I followed that e-mail up with an envelope containing a printed copy of "the list" and addressed, stamped envelopes for each program that preferred to receive applications via mail. Unless a program specifically requested to receive all application materials together (only 1 of my programs did this), I let my references mail their LORs to the residency sites directly. I did this for several reasons: I didn't know how quickly my references would get their LORs done and my family was 12 hours away from school, so I didn't know at which address I would be when the letters were mailed. Also, most of my transcripts were sent by my university to each residency site because I didn't go back to school from October until January. If I would have waited until January, I would have missed most of the deadlines.

I think it just depends on your situation - if you know which programs you want to apply to before Midyear, what your rotation schedule looks like, your relationship and proximity with your references, etc.