Samuel Merritt vs. Western

[texandoc51]

Hi all!
I know there was previously a thread regarding the pros and cons about Samuel Merritt and Western but I had a different question this time (I'm sorry, this is my first time posting, I'm new to this!)

I was wondering how the 3rd and 4th year rotations work for both schools. I am originally from Texas & want to do my residency here, so I would love to be able to do rotations back home here. Is that possible with either of the schools?

Thanks!

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[881635]

I can speak on Western. During your 3rd year you are on a "track" and I believe there are 3 tracks that are within this area. You don't go to any other states during your 3rd year as you can choose which track you want. Some tracks overlap and you can be in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Riverside, Pomona, etc.
During 4th year you will do externships and you get to pick which ones you want to go to and if they want you to extern with them, you get an invite. You aren't guaranteed that you will be accepted to every externship you apply to and the whole point is really to try out different residencies, show your skills off, and get hands on. Texas only has maybe 5 or 6 externships so you'd have to apply others outside the state since you rotate 7 months or so. Professors say not to limit yourself to one or two states when applying to residencies and since the externships are kind of like try-outs it is something to think about.
You should also apply to as many residencies as you can even though you want to be in Texas, if you only apply to Texas and don't get matched with any residencies, you'll be scrambling. You could definitely make them your first choices, but have backup residencies you would also be happy at.

 

[SLCpod]

Both schools will allow you to visit the Texas programs.

There are quite a few residents at the Texas residencies from Samuel Merritt. Go to the school which will give you the best training in order to make you a better candidate. The two programs differ slightly and by visiting the schools you can see where you will excel the most.