Now that you've done Sub-Is

[Neurofibroma]

Any advice for an incoming MS4 on applying for Sub-Is, what you could do differently etc?

[Guest]

don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

[wtf]

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Whoa whoa whoa, are you shitting me?

[nope]

(01-09-2017, 11:39 PM)wtf Wrote:

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Whoa whoa whoa, are you shitting me?

No. Some programs require drug screens. For example, Cleveland Clinic required a 10-panel drug screen that was performed within the past calendar year. Others are ok with your drug screen that you may have taken at the start of medical school.

[Neurofibroma]

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Thanks!

Here's what I don't get, how do you strategically apply to Sub-Is? On the one hand I want to be rotating somewhere in July, and will apply to more than one place to be safe. On the other, I don't want to turn down a Sub-I anywhere because that basically says, sorry, you're not my #1. 

Also, how many Sub-Is? I plan to do one at my home program in May, then 3 more. Is that too many?

[Guest]

(01-10-2017, 01:10 AM)Neurofibroma Wrote:

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Thanks!

Here's what I don't get, how do you strategically apply to Sub-Is? On the one hand I want to be rotating somewhere in July, and will apply to more than one place to be safe. On the other, I don't want to turn down a Sub-I anywhere because that basically says, sorry, you're not my #1. 

Also, how many Sub-Is? I plan to do one at my home program in May, then 3 more. Is that too many?

I ended up applying to 2 Sub-I's for each month just to have a back up. The moment I got one of the Sub-I's set up I withdrew from the second. Did withdrawing my application hurt my chances at the other location? That's tough to say with the small sample size, but one place snubbed me and another one gave me interview offer in spite of our history.

[Guest]

(01-10-2017, 09:51 AM)Guest Wrote:

(01-10-2017, 01:10 AM)Neurofibroma Wrote:

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Thanks!

Here's what I don't get, how do you strategically apply to Sub-Is? On the one hand I want to be rotating somewhere in July, and will apply to more than one place to be safe. On the other, I don't want to turn down a Sub-I anywhere because that basically says, sorry, you're not my #1. 

Also, how many Sub-Is? I plan to do one at my home program in May, then 3 more. Is that too many?

I ended up applying to 2 Sub-I's for each month just to have a back up. The moment I got one of the Sub-I's set up I withdrew from the second. Did withdrawing my application hurt my chances at the other location? That's tough to say with the small sample size, but one place snubbed me and another one gave me interview offer in spite of our history.

Yes, this is what happened for me. I applied to 3 total. When I got one, I immediately withdrew from the other one that I applied to within the same period. Still got an interview to that place even though I withdrew, but I did so BEFORE i was accepted to that 2nd place.

Regarding the # of sub-I's, most people do 1 at home and then 2 aways. Some people do more based on extenuating circumstances (couples matching, not as competitive, actually just have multiple programs in mind).

[lulz]

(01-10-2017, 10:03 PM)Guest Wrote:

(01-10-2017, 09:51 AM)Guest Wrote:

(01-10-2017, 01:10 AM)Neurofibroma Wrote:

(01-09-2017, 09:45 PM)Guest Wrote: don't just do sub-I's based on program reputation. really think about where you'd be interested in training, and really look into the opportunities available at that institution. Fact of the matter is that most people match at either their home program or at one of their sub-I's. It's not very high yield to say "hey I think i'm a competitive applicant so I'm just gonna do a subI at barrow and hopkins and maybe throw in UCSF for shits and giggles". Are you more academic vs. clinical? Do you like cold/hot midwest/atlantic/south etc. Then talk to your program director to see your competitiveness at those places. Pick ones that you have a real shot of getting into. i.e. If the program has a published step1 cutoff of 230 and you got a 220, then what's the point in wasting your time there?

Then look into whether or not they use their own application or if they use VSAS. Then get together all of your application materials as applicable, including drug tests, background checks, transcripts, letters of reference, essays, etc. Apply early, and do your best to not turn down sub-I's that you've been accepted to.

Thanks!

Here's what I don't get, how do you strategically apply to Sub-Is? On the one hand I want to be rotating somewhere in July, and will apply to more than one place to be safe. On the other, I don't want to turn down a Sub-I anywhere because that basically says, sorry, you're not my #1. 

Also, how many Sub-Is? I plan to do one at my home program in May, then 3 more. Is that too many?

I ended up applying to 2 Sub-I's for each month just to have a back up. The moment I got one of the Sub-I's set up I withdrew from the second. Did withdrawing my application hurt my chances at the other location? That's tough to say with the small sample size, but one place snubbed me and another one gave me interview offer in spite of our history.

Yes, this is what happened for me. I applied to 3 total. When I got one, I immediately withdrew from the other one that I applied to within the same period. Still got an interview to that place even though I withdrew, but I did so BEFORE i was accepted to that 2nd place.

Regarding the # of sub-I's, most people do 1 at home and then 2 aways. Some people do more based on extenuating circumstances (couples matching, not as competitive, actually just have multiple programs in mind).

Shoulda done the ole double snub and rejected the interview!

[Strategy]

If I do 2 aways in philly and one in Chicago, will that put me at a disadvantage for programs in the south and west? Should i do each rotation in a different city or does it not matter too much?

[illmatic]

(01-11-2017, 04:00 PM)Strategy Wrote: If I do 2 aways in philly and one in Chicago, will that put me at a disadvantage for programs in the south and west? Should i do each rotation in a different city or does it not matter too much?

it is very possible, in fact likely, that you will not receive a single interview in the south or west. think wisely before you proceed