Benefits/Downsides to Starting in May or January

[david_snow]

Hello all,

I was wondering if there are any benefits/downsides to starting in January or May? in regards to timing of clinicals and matching, and USMLE's, etc.

If you guys had the choice, which would you choose?

Thanks in advance,
David.

[wifeofDr2b]

Isn't this being discussed in at least 2 current threads already??? :shock:

[levator]

Hello all,

I was wondering if there are any benefits/downsides to starting in January or May? in regards to timing of clinicals and matching, and USMLE's, etc.

If you guys had the choice, which would you choose?

Thanks in advance,
David.

HERE IS A COPY OF MY PREVIOUS EXPLANATION FOR THIS:

starting auc in january is the worst semester as far as the match is concerned. the only reason for this is that if you start in january of 2005 at auc, then you will finish in five semesters which will be august of 2006. you need about two years for taking step 1 and finishing rotations to graduate with your MD. this will put you at about at the end of the summer of 2008. recidency starts on july 1st for the match every year. which means.. you either need to do everything super fast with no time off... which i heard can be done (its called the kamakazi approach by some) or take your time and wait for the match the next year. i am in a may class which means that i will finish auc in december, hopefully start clinincals a few months later and be done with clinicals around feb or march 2007... which mean i will have about 4-6 months to do whatever needs to be done.

hope that helps...

ps.. if you have to start in january, do it... there are plenty of people that have pulled it off without a problem.

[david_snow]

apologies for not searching a little bit more...

Thanks for the help guys. Love the site....

[gtheofilis]

I thought there would be differences with regards to when you start.

[anencephalic]

I thought there would be differences with regards to when you start.

Difference is in class size:

September = Largest class (120+)
January = Smaller class (~90)
May = Smallest class (~60)

Aloha,

[BluGirl]

Is the reason for the decrease in class size in January and May is because there are less people applying?

[microphage]

Yup. Most people apply for Sept as it is the most "traditional" time to start school

[gtheofilis]

I would assume that the smaller class sizes in Jan and May mean a closer student teacher interaction.

[microphage]

I would assume that the smaller class sizes in Jan and May mean a closer student teacher interaction.

If closest student teacher interaction is what you want, then apply for May. I personally can't stand the desks and chairs in those rooms but that's just me(it's the kind you have in high school where the chair is attached to your 'table"). The bigger sept class has the lecture hall type seats or something similar to movie theater seats(although not stadium seating). :wink:

[levator]

I would assume that the smaller class sizes in Jan and May mean a closer student teacher interaction.

If closest student teacher interaction is what you want, then apply for May. I personally can't stand the desks and chairs in those rooms but that's just me(it's the kind you have in high school where the chair is attached to your 'table"). The bigger sept class has the lecture hall type seats or something similar to movie theater seats(although not stadium seating). :wink:

LOL... yeah... its a tough decision... seating vs more resources...

although, my first semester class started off with 55 people and we had lecture hall 2 for that semester. the good old days..... :twisted:

[microphage]

I would assume that the smaller class sizes in Jan and May mean a closer student teacher interaction.

If closest student teacher interaction is what you want, then apply for May. I personally can't stand the desks and chairs in those rooms but that's just me(it's the kind you have in high school where the chair is attached to your 'table"). The bigger sept class has the lecture hall type seats or something similar to movie theater seats(although not stadium seating). :wink:

LOL... yeah... its a tough decision... seating vs more resources...

although, my first semester class started off with 55 people and we had lecture hall 2 for that semester. the good old days..... :twisted:

New take on Sept vs may discussion:

Sept: better seats, less crowded, more whining, more people to look at(or more people to hate, whichever comes first)

May: uncomfy seats, more time for Step 1 prep if you wanna make the match in time, possibly better clinical situation(yeah, I know MEIO and faculty hate us saying this as they say it's not true but for next year, this is the case).

[Skipper]

I would assume that the smaller class sizes in Jan and May mean a closer student teacher interaction.

If closest student teacher interaction is what you want, then apply for May. I personally can't stand the desks and chairs in those rooms but that's just me(it's the kind you have in high school where the chair is attached to your 'table"). The bigger sept class has the lecture hall type seats or something similar to movie theater seats(although not stadium seating). :wink:

LOL... yeah... its a tough decision... seating vs more resources...

although, my first semester class started off with 55 people and we had lecture hall 2 for that semester. the good old days..... :twisted:

New take on Sept vs may discussion:

Sept: better seats, less crowded, more whining, more people to look at(or more people to hate, whichever comes first)

May: uncomfy seats, more time for Step 1 prep if you wanna make the match in time, possibly better clinical situation(yeah, I know MEIO and faculty hate us saying this as they say it's not true but for next year, this is the case).

i think that might slightly be true......

the skipper