Transitional Vs Preliminary

[StrawberryMD]

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I am applying to a residency that requires a IM Prelim or a Transitional year. I had interviews at several prelim and 1 trans. I am confused as to rank which one 1st. I like the location of the prelim but I am aware that an IM prelim won't be easy compared to the transitional (don't like the location). I am also worried of not matching into an advanced position. . . wouldn't it be an advantage when applying next year to have a prelim of IM under my belt instead of a transitional?

Any comments?

 

[Icefrog]

I am applying to a residency that requires a IM Prelim or a Transitional year. I had interviews at several prelim and 1 trans. I am confused as to rank which one 1st. I like the location of the prelim but I am aware that an IM prelim won't be easy compared to the transitional (don't like the location). I am also worried of not matching into an advanced position. . . wouldn't it be an advantage when applying next year to have a prelim of IM under my belt instead of a transitional?

Any comments?

I'm also a medical student applying to an advanced specialty.

First, I'd figure out if the prelim is actually harder than the TY, and by how much. There are some pretty cushy prelims out there and some tougher TYs. It's up to you decide how important location is and what kind of workload you'd put up with to be in that location.

Second, I'd figure out what you would do if you didn't match into your advanced position. Would you reapply to the same specialty? If so, then my thought is that doing a PM or TY wouldn't make much of a difference, as long as you work hard and get good evaluations. But if you apply to something like medicine or neurology, then it would probably be to your advantage to do a PM because you would not have to repeat your intern year.

 

[gutonc]

Agree with above. You need to figure out what you would do if you don't match advanced. If you're just going to re-apply to the advanced position, it doesn't much matter. If you fail to match advanced and will just go for something else (IM for instance) the prelim year is a better bet.

Finally, I know that everyone hopes to match their #1 slot and you should rank as if you will match #1. But keep in mind that you could go lower than that. So don't overthink this.