Hey, I have a question regarding the importance if doing an additional away rotation. As of now I have good boards(259/273), AOA, good 3rd year clerkships. I took a year off in the middle of my fourth year, after my urology sub-I and 1 away rotation, to do some uro research and I spent 6 months volunteering abroad. I am home now finishing research and I am worried that programs may look down on the fact that I haven't done a urology rotation in over a year and my letters are a year old. I would like to fit in another uro rotation but I need this time to finish my research. Is only having these 2 months of urology rotations last year and nothing new seriously going to damage my application and is it worth leaving my research unfinished to do another rotation now. Thanks
Your application seems pretty strong.. in a case like yours, it can potentially hurt you more than help you to do an away rotation.. remember, an away rotation is basically a 30 day interview. That's a lot of opportunities to screw up and piss someone off. The only exception to this would be if the program that you desire prefers to match those who rotate through, in which case it may be worth it.
I have a Sub-I scheduled for Nov-Dec at a program I would love to be at, but the way things worked out, it was the only time I could do it there. Obviously, this is a heavy interview time, and so I'm thinking about canceling it and scheduling something less rigerous. I guess, what is the opinion out there on doing a sub-I but interviewing at the same time? Do I take my chances, cancel and hope to interview and match there or do I go on the Sub-I, and end up leaving for 5-6 (crossing my fingers) interviews durning the rotation? Thanks!
When you do a sub-I, the last thing you want to do is keep on taking off for interviews elsewhere. The ideal sub-I times are between July and October. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. I would be hesitant to take the sub I in Nov/Dec and take off for half of it because of interviews. But, that is assuming that you get a bunch of interviews. Plus, you are also there when they are doing all of their interviews as well. If you are going to cancel, cancel early and graciously. On the flip side, if you are rotating through in December, most interviews will be done by then, and you would be there for most of the 4 week rotation.