When is the earliest date that orientation could start?

[aalamruad]

Currently planning a pretty long overseas backpacking trip for this summer and curious to know when I need to be back by. No idea where I'll be going to school yet so I figure I should plan for the earliest possible orientation. What's the earliest you know of?

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[JeffSwag]

Currently planning a pretty long overseas backpacking trip for this summer and curious to know when I need to be back by. No idea where I'll be going to school yet so I figure I should plan for the earliest possible orientation. What's the earliest you know of?

A lot of my schools had this info in the MSAR, so you could at least check all the places you had interviewed at. Some said class start dates, some orientation start dates and others both. The earliest I saw for schools I applied to was some time in mid-July for Mayo, but I am generally anticipating August 1st or later for the schools I interviewed at.

 

[eteshoe]

Why don't you call the schools you've been accepted at?

 

[aalamruad]

Why don't you call the schools you've been accepted at?

A lot of decisions won't come out for another month or two

 

[Chelsea FC]

Currently planning a pretty long overseas backpacking trip for this summer and curious to know when I need to be back by. No idea where I'll be going to school yet so I figure I should plan for the earliest possible orientation. What's the earliest you know of?

Actually in the same position as you. Also have you thought about finding a place to stay? Finding a room is alot of leg work and best done in person.

 

[Catalystik]

arent there a few that start mid june?

I also recall that there are some June start dates.

 

[gyngyn]

I keep a hard copy of start dates (from the AAMC) at the office.
I can look them up next week if you remind me.

 

[Gurby]

Actually in the same position as you. Also have you thought about finding a place to stay? Finding a room is alot of leg work and best done in person.

Also immunizations and all that...

 

[WhittyPsyche]

Start dates and orientation dates are listed in MSAR


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[aldol16]

Go to the MSAR and look up the schools that you have interviewed at/will interview at. The earliest I know of is early July (Case) but there could be earlier.

 

[Lannister]

If you're planning on traveling this summer, make sure you do all your vaccines now (if you get a negative hep B titer it takes months to get the full series again) and that you'll have access to the internet to fill out pre-orientation paperwork.

 

[aalamruad]

Actually in the same position as you. Also have you thought about finding a place to stay? Finding a room is alot of leg work and best done in person.

Haven't thought about it at all, there's basically an equal chance that I end up in NYC, SF, or LA so I can't even consider that for another couple months unfortunately

 

[aalamruad]

If you're planning on traveling this summer, make sure you do all your vaccines now (if you get a negative hep B titer it takes months to get the full series again) and that you'll have access to the internet to fill out pre-orientation paperwork.

Is all the pre-orientation paperwork something I could complete in time if I came back a week before orientation starts?

 

[ciestar]

Is all the pre-orientation paperwork something I could complete in time if I came back a week before orientation starts?

At my school, it had to be completed a month (at least) before school started. I need a physical, titers, and the two-step ppd. Problem with the ppd, is i had to get two tests, and you have to space them out and a week wouldn't have been enough time.

 

[Lannister]

Is all the pre-orientation paperwork something I could complete in time if I came back a week before orientation starts?

We had tons of stuff due over the course of 2-3 months.

 

[Lannister]

At my school, it had to be completed a month (at least) before school started. I need a physical, titers, and the two-step ppd. Problem with the ppd, is i had to get two tests, and you have to space them out and a week wouldn't have been enough time.

Yeah those TB tests were the bane of my existence haha, ended up costing me over $200.

 

[aalamruad]

Yeah those TB tests were the bane of my existence haha, ended up costing me over $200.

Do they not allow Quantiferon gold tests??

 

[Lannister]

Do they not allow Quantiferon gold tests??

Lol had to google what that was. I'm not sure. I know they specifically required the two skin tests, one week apart. It cost me $50 per test and another $100 for the 8 Uber trips I had to take to get to the only place near me that offered them (didn't have a car, >2 hours away by public transportation). God, thinking about those TB tests and the hep B titer makes me so angry. My school threatened to rescind my acceptance over the hep B titer.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

My school threatened to rescind my acceptance over the hep B titer.

Good lord. I had to get a screwy titer fixed by start of M3.

 

[Lannister]

Good lord. I had to get a screwy titer fixed by start of M3.

Yeah I have to do the same. Basically I had a negative titer, but didn't find out until right before the deadline, so then I had to get the first shot in the series and a positive titer, but by the time I sent those in I was weeks past the deadline and that's why they threatened. Then I get to orientation and they're like lol jk if you got the first shot + positive titer that's not good enough, you now have to get the whole series redone + positive titer. But we only have to do it if we want to do away rotations. So I figure I'll do that sometime next year. I'm sure I'll regret putting it off.

 

[aalamruad]

assume pre matriculation paperwork is needs to be started at least 2 months before school begins, especially financial aid. Failure to clear this paperwork hurdle is certainly one of the causes of forced deferment. If you are not medically cleared or financial aid has issue, this can mean you miss school. I usually recommend that students take care of this as soon as possible but certainly prior to June 1st. Of course, if you get a late waitlist acceptance, if you are not here to deal with the rush of frenzied paperwork, that can be an issue

Oh I see, so I suppose I could just take care of everything well before I go backpacking this summer

 

[ciestar]

We had tons of stuff due over the course of 2-3 months.

I neglected to even mention all the background clearance stuff. You have to be fingerprinted and all that lovely stuff done in time for the results to be in before school starts.

That, and my financial aid took probably until mid-June to get fixed. It was their error, not mine, that was made and they refused to address it for a very long time. So, I had to wait forever to find out what I needed to get. It was a pain.

 

[Lannister]

I neglected to even mention all the background clearance stuff. You have to be fingerprinted and all that lovely stuff done in time for the results to be in before school starts.

That, and my financial aid took probably until mid-June to get fixed. It was their error, not mine, that was made and they refused to address it for a very long time. So, I had to wait forever to find out what I needed to get. It was a pain.

Wait I did not have to get fingerprinted.

 

[ciestar]

Wait I did not have to get fingerprinted.

Guess it goes school by school?
I had to do certiphi, the PA child abuse clearance, and FBI clearance.
Well, actually now that I'm thinking about it... PA might just have stricter laws when it comes to potential contact with kids thanks to one Jerry Sandusky. Even volunteering regularly I had to pass these clearances well before med school started.

 

[Vrachika]

OP, your plan sounds like lots of fun, and I have always wanted to do a long backpacking trip, or training across Europe, and kept telling myself I would do it summer before med school...until I realized all of the things everyone else on here is telling you.

May I suggest planning a mini backpacking trip for this summer, then saving the long trip for either summer after med school (though honestly there will probably be some obligation that you need to attend to instead during this time, especially if you need research, etc for a competitive speciality), or after school/residency?

My parents hiked the Appalachian Trail after they finished residency, taking a full 6 months off before starting their careers. Just a thought.

 

[aalamruad]

OP, your plan sounds like lots of fun, and I have always wanted to do a long backpacking trip, or training across Europe, and kept telling myself I would do it summer before med school...until I realized all of the things everyone else on here is telling you.

May I suggest planning a mini backpacking trip for this summer, then saving the long trip for either summer after med school (though honestly there will probably be some obligation that you need to attend to instead during this time, especially if you need research, etc for a competitive speciality), or after school/residency?

My parents hiked the Appalachian Trail after they finished residency, taking a full 6 months off before starting their careers. Just a thought.

Those would be good alternatives if I thought I'd actually be able to follow through with them when the time came, but I'm sure I'll be busy with a ridiculous workload at those points and I'm fed up with putting off traveling to jump through hoops for med school admission so I really want to make this trip work

 

[Vrachika]

Those would be good alternatives if I thought I'd actually be able to follow through with them when the time came, but I'm sure I'll be busy with a ridiculous workload at those points and I'm fed up with putting off traveling to jump through hoops for med school admission so I really want to make this trip work

Yeah, I get that. Are you currently finishing up school? If not, maybe you could make the trip earlier (like April or May), in a southern climate of course. Also, check out the Camino in northern Spain for overseas. You backpack, but it goes through lots of towns. My parents just did it over a period of ~6ish weeks, and they had wifi/cell service a decent amount of the time. You may be looking for more "wilderness" experience, and if so the Camino may not be what you want but it could be an alternative so you are still able to keep up with email.

 

[aalamruad]

Yeah, I get that. Are you currently finishing up school? If not, maybe you could make the trip earlier (like April or May), in a southern climate of course. Also, check out the Camino in northern Spain for overseas. You backpack, but it goes through lots of towns. My parents just did it over a period of ~6ish weeks, and they had wifi/cell service a decent amount of the time. You may be looking for more "wilderness" experience, and if so the Camino may not be what you want but it could be an alternative so you are still able to keep up with email.

Unfortunately I don't graduate college until early/mid-June. And I'm planning on backpacking through a couple countries in South America, probably won't have much wifi/cell service, if any

 

[Vrachika]

Unfortunately I don't graduate college until early/mid-June. And I'm planning on backpacking through a couple countries in South America, probably won't have much wifi/cell service, if any

Ah. Well then honestly, let's hope you get into the school you want to go to (with a start date in August) soon so you can get all of the medical/paperwork done well before the summer. Additionally, if this does happen you should probably try to figure out a way to access email at least once a week. Otherwise, you could get yourself into trouble.

Best wishes with your plans! Sounds like fun and I wish I could go! (One day lol...)

 

[aalamruad]

Ah. Well then honestly, let's hope you get into the school you want to go to (with a start date in August) soon so you can get all of the medical/paperwork done well before the summer. Additionally, if this does happen you should probably try to figure out a way to access email at least once a week. Otherwise, you could get yourself into trouble.

Best wishes with your plans! Sounds like fun and I wish I could go! (One day lol...)

That's a good idea, I'll try to make sure I have internet access at a few points during the trip.

Thanks for the good wishes!

 

[longhaul3]

It may not be realistic to get everything done well ahead of time as you hope. Sometimes the people who run your orientation and pre-matriculation programs are occupied with the graduating class through June. Don't be surprised if your school doesn't send out the to-do list and paperwork until 4-6 weeks out, leaving you SOL if you're in Tierra del Fuego needing a physical, bloodwork, and immunizations.

 

[aalamruad]

It may not be realistic to get everything done well ahead of time as you hope. Sometimes the people who run your orientation and pre-matriculation programs are occupied with the graduating class through June. Don't be surprised if your school doesn't send out the to-do list and paperwork until 4-6 weeks out, leaving you SOL if you're in Tierra del Fuego needing a physical, bloodwork, and immunizations.

You don't think I'd be able to contact them immediately upon acceptance to ask for a to-do list? I'm sure it's basically the same list every year, right? Plus, I'll have already completed all the requirements for my backup schools that have already sent me to-do lists, and I'm sure there's a ton of overlap between different schools' requirements.

 

[Vrachika]

The above is also very true...you could try emailing schools you are waitlisted at or have accepted you with your plans to find out if something could be worked out ahead of time. Communication is key!

You know the saying "better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission"? Very bad advice in this instance (and honestly, probably most instances)

Edit: I see you already came to this conclusion

 

[longhaul3]

.

 

[Lannister]

Unfortunately I don't graduate college until early/mid-June. And I'm planning on backpacking through a couple countries in South America, probably won't have much wifi/cell service, if any

I actually found WiFi access to be much better in South America than in the US, haha. Most restaurants, malls, stores, and hostels have free WiFi. Obviously if you're like hiking the Inca Trail or the W you won't have WiFi, but I'm sure you'll want to hit up Cusco, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Quito, etc. and you shouldn't have issues with WiFi there, in my experience.

 

[aalamruad]

I actually found WiFi access to be much better in South America than in the US, haha. Most restaurants, malls, stores, and hostels have free WiFi. Obviously if you're like hiking the Inca Trail or the W you won't have WiFi, but I'm sure you'll want to hit up Cusco, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Quito, etc. and you shouldn't have issues with WiFi there, in my experience.

Awesome, thanks for the info!

 

[chibaddie]

Do they not allow Quantiferon gold tests??

Yes, they do! Depends on the school though so call and check.

 

[arory]

I keep a hard copy of start dates (from the AAMC) at the office.
I can look them up next week if you remind me.

Does orientation date=matriculation date?

What is the earliest orientation date and what is the latest matriculation date? And what schools are they?

Thank you!

 

[gyngyn]

Does orientation date=matriculation date?

What is the earliest orientation date and what is the latest matriculation date? And what schools are they?

Thank you!

Once orientation has started you cannot be accepted to another school.

Three of the Puerto Rican schools begin in June.
Last year, Meharry started on 6/19, U of AZ Phoenix started on 6/27 and Morehouse started on 6/29.

The latest start date was 8/29 (UCSD and NEOMed).

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

FSU orientation starts May 30. It's out outlier but you never know...there may be others.

 

[gyngyn]

FSU orientation starts May 30. It's out outlier but you never know...there may be others.

Nice catch! My list shows 5/31.

 

[xffan624]

FSU orientation starts May 30. It's out outlier but you never know...there may be others.

Yeah I had a friend who basically had to commit there even though he was still on more desirable school's waitlists.

 

[protego]

It is still pretty snowy in the mountains in Northern Georgia then so be prepared.

Thank you thank you! I've got some pretty warm clothes so hopefully I'm well prepared haha. Have to start early to finish for school


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[prehealthadvisor55]

Nice catch! My list shows 5/31.

No problem. They typically start the Tuesday after Memorial Day. I'm sure your list is much more extensive than mine! I only knew that one off the top of my head because of my previous position.

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

Yeah I had a friend who basically had to commit there even though he was still on more desirable school's waitlists.

That's a pretty common issue there. But for all that's said about their program, most who go through it love it in the end.

 

[Luka75]

one of the schools I got accepted at starts first week of June or something