Will my Aways alienate some programs?

Hi!

I'm trying to map out where to do my aways and I'm concerned my choices will either rub people the wrong way or lead them to believe I am unlikely to want to do residency at their location. I'm at a top 10 USNWR and am planning to do aways at two very competitive academic institutions in desirable locations. People have mentioned you're expected to explain why you selected your rotations at interviews, which isn't an issue, but I'm worried that places 1.not located in that desirable location or 2.aren't a high-powered academic program will automatically assume I'm going elsewhere when it comes to making their rank lists. Will I be pigeonholing myself to very specific programs that are ultra competitive due to my choice in aways? Hope I'm not overanalyzing.

[Disclaimer: Personal Opinion from current applicant]

You've probably read a lot of posts about similar topics (i.e., where to do aways), but the best advice I received is to do rotations at programs you want to go to for residency. Beyond that, doing an away at a school may not "open up" another region of the country, it will improve your chances of interviewing at that specific program, but provides no guarantee for any other interviews there.

From personal experience, I did three away rotations in the northeast and got many interviews here and scattered interviews in other regions (mid-west, mid-atlantic, west coast). Other applicants in my class did west coast aways and only got interviews at that program. It seems to me that schools with a national reputation will interview all strong applicants, regardless of region, while state schools and community programs are more likely to take applicants they think will rank them highly and interview more regionally. However, if you're in the Northeast and want to be out West or down South, I think it would be wise to do multiple aways in those areas.

Thank you for your post. I suppose the value of a second away at a program I'm really interested in is worth more than a second away for the sake of diversity.

If residents (particularly those at strong academic programs outside of the stereotypical desirable cities or at strong community programs) have additional insight, I (and hopefully others) would love to hear your thoughts.

Per my experience, I can agree with the initial responder. Rotate where you think you'd like to be and se la vie.

FWIW, certain classic alienations are being reported here on the trail, though. The most common one I've heard is that rotating in a given CITY/STATE may exclude you from other programs within that city (a sort of "hey, why didn't you rotate here?" effect). I've heard this story multiple times about the Baltimore programs and the four North Carolina programs (definitely happened in my case haha). Haven't heard this about the Chicago, Houston, or Tennessee programs so hey.

But you know what, the process is mad random. Rotate where you can, apply to a gazillion other programs and take the interviews you can get. Can't really focus on these quasi-reports. Again, se la vie. Que sera sera too haha

I'm a current resident, but only one individual. Happy to relay my experiences though.

First, regarding programs even knowing where you rotated - keep in mind that unless you include a letter from a doctor from that away or volunteer that you rotated regionally (weird), it's often not listed where you rotated at anywhere on your application. You should ask your registrar if your course listing says the name of the institution or geographic location. Mine just said "Orthopaedic Surgery Rotation" 3 times. You couldn't even tell my home rotation from the aways.

Next, it doesn't make a lot of sense to rotate anywhere except where you'd like to end up. Things are so competitive that everyone needs a way to make themselves known. Outside Daddy buying your #1 choice a new building, no leg up is more influential than rotating somewhere. We get to know you, work with you, learn with you - and ultimately that matters a lot when we rank so many amazing applicants. It should matter to you too, what happens if you hate us/our program? Plus, imagine saying to the place you really wanted to go to "well, I love your program, really I do! But I needed to game the system and didn't have enough time to rotate with you too". Not only would the hospitals you "gamed" not necessarily even know you rotated in that region unless you tell them, you basically stubbed your toe at the starting line at a place you actually wanted to go to.

Me personally? I didn't rotate within 1000 mi from the WC and got an interview there. I got more interviews around my birthplace than where I lived for 20 years (shrug), and the variety and caliber of the interview offers was humbling. It's hard to tell this to anyone as a MS4 and expect them to believe you, but just relax, have fun visiting cool places - and get pumped for March. One way or another it'll all be over then.

So forget the game - just rotate where you want to be most. The rest will come.