Too late to apply for ENT this year?

[steaksauce]

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some insight on my current situation. I am a 4th year who has had some trouble finding the right field for me. My school has a small ENT department but no ENT residency program and I recently gained exposure to the field during my search for a specialty. Long story short, ENT clicked for me.

My question is have I missed the boat on applying for ENT this year in your opinion? ERAS is opening on 9/15 for submission and while the ENT chair at my program knows I have developed an interest in the field, I wont actually be able to do an AI in the department at my home institution until near the end of October.

A rough breakdown of my stats: Step 1: 244; Honors in all 3rd year clerkships and Honors in all courses year 1 and 2; Junior AOA; 1 Surgical publication (Non-ENT) and 1 Case report submission (Non-ENT).

I wish I had gotten some shadowing time in the field earlier, but this is the current situation I am in. Is it too much of a long shot to be applying this year with 1) No ENT away rotations 2) No ENT specific research and 3) LORs from my home institution ENT program not coming in until October (Currently have LOR from the Surgery Department Chair, but not from the ENT Chair).

Any insight or experience with similar late deciders would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance everyone.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[steaksauce]

Thanks for the response, I completely agree that I would be handicapping myself if I applied this year. The decision to wait another year is definitely a big one to make, but in the end you have to do whats needed.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how severe that handicap would be from their experience?
Am I looking at more of a "id be shocked if this person matched" type scenario or something less severe? Would greatly appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Hoju]

If you would plan to apply next year anyway, why not give it a shot this go around? You may be at a disadvantage, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Who knows? Maybe you save a year. If not, you're right where you thought you may be anyway (minus application $$). Maybe your ENT dept would allow you to spend some of your free time with them in the clinic/or to get the LORs earlier.

Disclaimer: I haven't applied so this is opinion not based on experience.

 

[steaksauce]

Definitely a thought that has been running through my mind. I imagine the question of why didn't you wait and a year in order to do away rotations + research would come up on potential interviews if I went that route.

Any thoughts? Thanks again in advance

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Definitely a thought that has been running through my mind. I imagine the question of why didn't you wait and a year in order to do away rotations + research would come up on potential interviews if I went that route.

Any thoughts? Thanks again in advance

talk to the chairman at your med school. They are generally excited when people are interested and will want to help you succeed- whether that means applying this year or next. That person can provide a more realistic view of your chances than we can.


As far as the above, sometimes it's a red flag if you've applied before and been rejected.

 

[steaksauce]

Thanks for the response. I will definitely be meeting with the chair to figure out the best approach.

I know there is always discussion about the stigma of applying after graduating, but in a case such as this where you could show a genuine need to wait due to discovering your field of choice late, does that stigma still apply from your experiences?

If waiting is the route I take, the plan would be to do some ENT AIs during this coming winter/spring along with research that I would continue with next year.

 

[medstylee]

i'm an ENT resident currently. you're application looks very good overall. i'm wondering why you shouldn't just go for it this year. i think it's good advice to really have a sit down talk with the head of the ENT dept at your institution. see if you can muster up a few letters from people there. do whatever it takes, try and get into ORs, clinics, etc with them during the next month. although it's late, you could also try and get an away rotation spot in October. people have definitely done that before. it's really hard to say whether or not there is a stigma attached when someone foregoes applying and tries after a year - obviously it's different than trying and failing, but who really knows how it gets perceived. one of my coresidents decided on ENT very late (later than right now) and did no ENT rotations - not even at his home program and he got lots of great interviews (i didn't ask but i suspect he had a very good application).