Do away rotations help get more interviews from that region?

I don't think programs know where you did your aways when offering interview invites. It wouldn't be on your ERAS.

I think it only helps getting the interview at the site you rotated... I sure hell ain't gettin' invites from the other places in the region.

Same here.

Sorry I didn't add this earlier-

I would be looking to get letters of rec from the places that I did my aways, so programs would know that I had been to the region. If you rotate early enough, the electives should make it into the Dean's letter as well.

The possible downside with this could be that programs will say he/she went to 'x' program but didn't choose to rotate at our program and disregard you anyways. From the previous 2 posts, it sounds like this may be the case. Anybody have actual interview invites to sway this one way or the other?

I go to med school outside of Chicago. Did a rotation at Rush and got a letter. So far, only Rush has offered an interview. Rejected by U of Chicago, and according to this site UIC and Loyola have started giving out interviews, but I've heard nothing from them. And I hear that NW is notorious for interviewing rotators almost exclusively. So maybe Chicago is an exception because it's more competitive, but I don't think it helps if you rotate at one hospital in a city/region with getting interviews at other programs in that same area.

i agree, and want to add that all this depends on who writes the letter you get. if they're friends are all over that region, voila. if they're rivals are all over that region... (you do the math).

and, i'm not a spelling champ, apparently (substitute a their for a they're)

I'm from the midwest, I am definitely feeling the west coast love from rotations done there. My rotations were at places that don't guarantee interviews to rotators. And... I have more than only the places I rotated.

I go to school in Chicago, but I have noticed some regionalism in where I'm getting my interviews. I did one away in the South and another away in the Midwest, in addition to my home program. The majority of my interviews are in the Midwest and South. That's not to say that I haven't gotten interviews in the East though. Haven't gotten any love at all from California, but I'm not from California, didn't do a rotation out there, and am not an outstanding (ie AOA, Step I >250) applicant. From what I've heard, you should have one of the above if you want to get into a program there. As far as Chicago, this is arguably the 3rd most competitive place besides NYC and California to get into. You have to be outstanding to get in invitation at Northwestern if you didn't rotate, and Rush is also a competitive program to get an interview from. Loyola and UIC are programs that do give out a lot of invites to non-rotators though, but again it's tough because so many people apply to Chicago because it's a great city and there's so many programs here. The chairman at one of the places that I rotated at said that there definitely is some regionalism based on where you rotate and where you go to med school. Programs in the region know more about your med school and the people that come out of there and they may know colleauges at those places too. So if they see a great letter from someone that they know, then of course, your chances are better. Then again, if you get a great letter from someone like Rockwood, then regionalism may not matter and you can get an interview anywhere.

I'm a student at an east coast school who did two AIs in the west with the idea of 'overcoming regionalism.' One was at a UC school and I didn't end up requesting a letter from anyone, so no one would ever know I did one in Cali by looking at my application. So far I've been offered 5 California interviews and waiting to hear on 4 more. My other AI was at my No. 1 choice and they denied me an interview. I've wondered more than once if I had it to do over again if I would do an AI at my top choice. As my advisor warned me, AIs are more likely to hurt the strong (on paper) applicant and help a weak one. It's a chance for them to scrutinize you over a 2-4 week period and see your weaknesses. Yeah, sure you can bust your butt and preround, etc, but everyone else is doing that too so it's difficult to stand out. Overall, I think that you have to do an AI besides your home school. I've been asked at interviews what my commitment to ortho is and one of the follow up questions has been 'what ortho rotations have you done?' Where to do it is a tough choice, but I would use caution and consider not doing one at the place you just have to go to unless they interview all of their AIs. Based on my isolated experience, I really doubt that they help you overcome regionalism in general. I agree with above that if you get a letter from a well known name then that may help. Also realize though that if you get a stellar letter from a school in a region you want to be in that other schools may look at that and think that you've got a position 'locked up' there. So they may either not offer you an interview or not rank you as high since they may assume you'll want to be going there because you rotated there and got a killer letter, etc. In closing, this whole process is just so unpredictable and I think that we're all trying to figure it out but it's nearly impossible to. Perhaps the best advice is to do your homework, assess your goals, consider your options, and then go with what your brain and your gut says and have no regrets despite the outcome.
Rendering Error in layout BBCode/Image: Layout 'BBCode/Image:default' Not Found. Please enable debug mode for more information.