switching to peds at the last second??

[lostms4]

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Hi everyone, I'm a current MS4 at a bottom tier US MD school. So far my scores are good (Step 1 240s, CS pass, no CK score yet), have a few research pubs in the works and i got honors in all 3rd year clerkships. However, in the past month I had a last minute change of heart and have decided to switch from IM to peds. I know peds typically wants applicants that have been committed to the field for a long time, so my question is how will this affect my application? Do I still have a shot at top programs? I'm having trouble gauging how competitive my application is.

 

[differentiating]

Will you have at least one peds sub-I under your belt prior to applying? You’ll also want 1-2 peds letters, possibly a chair letter if your school does one, so the more exposure you can get before application season the better.

 

[lostms4]

Will you have at least one peds sub-I under your belt prior to applying? You’ll also want 1-2 peds letters, possibly a chair letter if your school does one, so the more exposure you can get before application season the better.

The earliest I was able to squeeze in a peds sub-i was mid September to mid October. Could I still get a letter out of that? I have two other peds letters lined up, a very strong letter from my IM sub-i and one from my research PI.

 

[differentiating]

The earliest I was able to squeeze in a peds sub-i was mid September to mid October. Could I still get a letter out of that? I have two other peds letters lined up, a very strong letter from my IM sub-i and one from my research PI.

No - that’d be too late for a letter or to show up on your application, since you’d apply Sept 15. Are both peds letters from your third year rotation, or where are they from?

 

[lostms4]

No - that’d be too late for a letter or to show up on your application, since you’d apply Sept 15. Are both peds letters from your third year rotation, or where are they from?

One would be from a 3rd year attending I had, the other is the peds clerkship chair

 

[mvenus929]

You'll want to articulate in both your application and on interviews why you had the change in heart if your application is geared towards IM, but we're a pretty accepting field.

 

[nimbus]

Way better than switching into derm or ortho.