I am fairly certain that I want to stay in the midwest for my residency, that being said, I am trying to decide between doing two rotations at schools that I really want to go to versus doing one at where I want to go plus another at a "big name" school where I have a connection to a well known orthopod. I know I can get a great letter from him, but I don't really want to go to that school or even that part of the country.
Basically, do you think I should do both aways at programs I want to go to, or do one where I can get a great letter?
I would strongly consider doing your aways at programs in which you are most interested. While a letter from a "big name" can carry weight, if you are not interested in that area of the country I think it would be a mistake to "waste" your away rotation at that hospital.
An increasing number of programs throughout the country are putting more emphasis on rotators and you can make a great impression during that month.
As a follow-up question, if your priority is to simply match and location is a secondary consideration, do you advise your students to do aways in multiple regions?
I ask because I am beginning to think about where I will do my aways and in an effort to save money, I was considering doing them in cities where I can stay with friends or family. However, all of these cities are pretty much in one region. Will this considerably hurt my application to programs in other regions?
