no you start in may of next yr. sgu has 2 starting classes

but I guess that's still 2 semesters worth of leave that you'd have to take, yeah?
so do only some hospitals start rotations in May? I haven't heard of anyone starting before july/august....is it not a common thing to do?

lots of hospitals start at the end of May, they're geared towards the January class. You also wouldn't have to take an entire year's LOA b/c there are January start dates for the UK hospital system. You could take the LOA, write the exam anytime between Sept and Dec and head across the pond for your first 6 months of rotations and then come back to join the class in the USA for July and August.

how common is LOA for studying the usmle at sgu

not common at all. most people just study the 6 to 8 weeks, just like US med students.

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keep in mind that if you do take a LOA, that means you are also using up your loans grace period!

and also when you apply for residency, they will see the LOA. it could be a redflag bc such programs will be more cautious to accept such applicants , bc they may not pass the boards; and all programs want a close to 100% passing mark for their residents

I thought the clinical rotations begin in September of 2009 (for those finishing basic sciences in May 2009)???

Can someone give an exact date or month that clinical rotations begin in 2009??

if you're in the Jan class then they begin in May/June if you're in the Aug Class they begin in Aug/Sept. The exact dates aren't posted by the hospital until a few weeks before the start of the rotations.

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SGU-SOM, Class of 2010
Due to the high volume of private messages, I can only answer questions that are posted in a forum. Private messages will be ignored.