Separate Letter for Prelim/Transitional

[Ernny]

This has probably been asked before, but I just couldn't find one definitely for radiology.

Should the Prelim/Transitional LOR be different from Radiology letter?
I told all my letter writers that I will be applying to radiology so their letters will be directed to this specialty. What will the internship PD think about this?
I asked my school's student affairs dean, and she said I should prepare separate LORs for the internship programs, or ask my current letter writers to write a 2nd one that's not directed to radiology, which I don't really want to do because i don't want to bug them again....

Same question for Personal Statement too. Different PS for prelim, transitional, and radiology as well?

Advise?
Thank you!

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[BeardedRunner]

The answer is no, you can use the same PS and same LORS that you designate for Rads - for Prelim/TY. It's obvious to the Prelim PD's that you are only going to be there for one year and that you are interested in Radiology instead of Medicine/Surgery - they won't be offended if your letter is geared towards Radiology. As for TY PD's they REALLY don't care, because the Transitional Year is essentially worthless and cannot be applied towards a license in any specialty.
From my experience talking to fellow applicants at ~35 Rads + Prelim medicine interviews - the Prelim programs can get even more competitive than the Rads. I'm from Brooklyn, NY, I didn't enjoy my experience in the outer-borough hospitals so I tried to apply to Prelims in the suburbs like Long Island and New Jersey and found that these cushy, suburban hospitals were flooded with highly competitive RadOnc/Optho/Derm/Rads/Ans applicants from schools like UMich, NYU, Cornell, etc. and ended up getting my second to last ranked choice - so it's definitely hardcore. I think in the end the Prelim programs are looking for High Step scores and Highly ranked students.
Most of my colleagues did what I mentioned above - (they used the same LORS and PS), but I actually wrote a separate one - my Step 1 was mediocore and rank was bottom 50% and in the end, the separate PS didn't help get the Prelim program that I wanted, while my fellow Radiology comrades who had above average Step 1 and AOA status got the Prelims they wanted and they did NOT write a separate letter. Some more info on my friend, he had a 253 Step 1, was AOA, had 2 TY interviews and ~6 prelims. He ended up matching into his 3rd choice (with the 2 TY's being 1 and 2) and #3 being prelim medicine at a nice Manhattan location.

 

[qxrt]

I used the same letters for my radiology and prelim/transitional applications. I matched at my #2 rank for intern year, so I don't think it hurt me much, if any.

I can second what BeardedRunner says about some prelims in desirable locations being ridiculously competitive. I'm currently doing my intern year in a very competitive city, and seeing where my fellow prelims are going next year, I'm surprised that I even managed to get a spot here among them. In addition, I got numerous rads interviews at places that didn't even offer me a prelim interview. Conversely, I know many fellow applicants who applied to only a few prelims and were unpleasantly surprised at how few interviews they ended up with. Don't underestimate the difficulty of getting into prelims in good locations.

 

[Ernny]

Oh wow, it is crazy to know that prelim can be this tough...
so i am guessing probably apply to 20 prelim/TY programs?

 

[Ernny]

- double post..

 

[qxrt]

It depends on where you apply for prelims. Since no one really cares about the brand name of a prelim program, most people rank prelims based on location and, to a lesser extent, perceived difficulty. This means that prelims in cities like SF, LA, and Boston are going to be much tougher to get than prelims in the middle of nowhere. NYC is kind of a special case in that the location is desired by many, but there are so many programs in that area that most people who want one can get one.

 

[Doctor D]

Use your home program as a backup. Even if you would prefer not to go there for a prelim year. I agree that they are more competitive than most perceive.

 

[BeardedRunner]

My Radiology adviser suggested applying to 8-10 prelim programs, 20 might be overkill because you may run into problems with scheduling the interviews. The prelim interviews may get in the way of Rads interviews. Also, the interviews get very tedious and expensive after a while. I think it can still be done though. I suggest only applying to places that would really see yourself going and maybe only 1 or 2 safety programs (programs with ~10 prelim spots), because they are generally easy to match into. So I wouldn't worry too much about actually securing a prelim spot, I would focus more on places that I would actually WANT to be.

 

[qxrt]

My Radiology adviser suggested applying to 8-10 prelim programs, 20 might be overkill because you may run into problems with scheduling the interviews. The prelim interviews may get in the way of Rads interviews. Also, the interviews get very tedious and expensive after a while. I think it can still be done though. I suggest only applying to places that would really see yourself going and maybe only 1 or 2 safety programs (programs with ~10 prelim spots), because they are generally easy to match into. So I wouldn't worry too much about actually securing a prelim spot, I would focus more on places that I would actually WANT to be.

Your adviser's advice doesn't make sense. No one is forcing you to schedule all your interviews. Schedule your interviews as they come, and drop interviews that you are less interested in if they conflict with ones you like better. Better to apply broadly and have your pick of interviews than to apply to only a few programs and be sweating all the way up till match day due to a lack of interviews. I agree that overkill isn't the best option either, but unless those 8-10 prelim programs are in the middle of nowhere and are practically free for the taking, there's still going to be decent competition for those spots.