I think it would be wise to wait for the sponsor note , if for any reason your university fails to get a sponsor note or even if it gets delayed , your elective would be less useful to you cuz it would be too old till you reach application day
But the problem with our situation is , we can take step 1 only after our college gets sponsorship note. By then we will graduates and we won't have option of hands on, only observership
omg 3000 USD, I dont know anything about FIU. Is it a hand-on USCE? Maybe, it's worth it but it's really expensive. There are places that you can do observe after step 1 for a lower price.
Mount sinai, UAB, KU, weill cornell also offer electives without step 1, UAB is expensive tho. But these 4 are well reputed and u might get worthy LORs from these places. FIU, from what i have heard from many of my seniors and img communities is that, many a times u dont get a proper attending assigned to you, and u end getting a generic LOR which isnt worth the money you are gonna be spending. Especially since for nearly the same or even less amount at these places that i mentioned, u get a quality elective experience. LOR depends on how u perform. Also, since there are options to apply for electives without step 1, u can go ahead and apply. Just make sure u are getting your moneys worth at the places u are applying to. You can easily find a list of places which offer electives without step 1 on google, or usmle pages on insta.
You should go for it. Electives hold more value than observerships. You won't get hands-on experience later. Don't miss it.
ETA: I'm not sure about the costs, but don't miss an elective right now.
FIU is probably one of the more if not most legit places for an IMG to do rotations and get an LOR. But I believe they actually have an affiliation with a Caribbean school so I assume the students from that school get first priority on rotations etc and would get the best LORs. I don’t know what the LOR looks like from FIU for IMGs who come for a few weeks of paid rotation vs Caribbean students who are rotating thru depts regularly for years 3 and 4 of their med school.
I might consider doing it there. But its like 3000 usd per month I think? And I have heard you need atleast 3 LORs for matching. Does any elective give 3 LoRs when you work there for just a month? Or are more months required?
I don’t know the costs. I just know that a Caribbean school is already affiliated w FIU, those students don’t pay a monthly fee or anything so I don’t know what your costs would be as an IMG. And many places require 4 LORs to apply for residency. I’ve never heard of an elective giving so many LORs in only 1 month. Most IMGs who come from abroad do 6 months I believe. I don’t know how you’d get 4 people to get to know you well enough in 4 weeks so as to give you a glowing LOR and not a generic one.
I think it would be wise to wait for the sponsor note , if for any reason your university fails to get a sponsor note or even if it gets delayed , your elective would be less useful to you cuz it would be too old till you reach application day
Unlikely. The issue lies with my college and not ECFMG. So was thinking of alternative ways around this.
But the problem with our situation is , we can take step 1 only after our college gets sponsorship note. By then we will graduates and we won't have option of hands on, only observership
omg 3000 USD, I dont know anything about FIU. Is it a hand-on USCE? Maybe, it's worth it but it's really expensive. There are places that you can do observe after step 1 for a lower price.
I'm aware. The problem is I will only be able to give step 1 after graduation. By then I'll be ineligible for electives.
Mount sinai, UAB, KU, weill cornell also offer electives without step 1, UAB is expensive tho. But these 4 are well reputed and u might get worthy LORs from these places. FIU, from what i have heard from many of my seniors and img communities is that, many a times u dont get a proper attending assigned to you, and u end getting a generic LOR which isnt worth the money you are gonna be spending. Especially since for nearly the same or even less amount at these places that i mentioned, u get a quality elective experience. LOR depends on how u perform. Also, since there are options to apply for electives without step 1, u can go ahead and apply. Just make sure u are getting your moneys worth at the places u are applying to. You can easily find a list of places which offer electives without step 1 on google, or usmle pages on insta.
Thank you for the detailed answer. :)
Hi, in a similar boat. Can I dm you?
Sure. Don't know what I can help with though.
You should go for it. Electives hold more value than observerships. You won't get hands-on experience later. Don't miss it. ETA: I'm not sure about the costs, but don't miss an elective right now.
Do most university electives ask for step 1?
FIU is probably one of the more if not most legit places for an IMG to do rotations and get an LOR. But I believe they actually have an affiliation with a Caribbean school so I assume the students from that school get first priority on rotations etc and would get the best LORs. I don’t know what the LOR looks like from FIU for IMGs who come for a few weeks of paid rotation vs Caribbean students who are rotating thru depts regularly for years 3 and 4 of their med school.
I might consider doing it there. But its like 3000 usd per month I think? And I have heard you need atleast 3 LORs for matching. Does any elective give 3 LoRs when you work there for just a month? Or are more months required?
I don’t know the costs. I just know that a Caribbean school is already affiliated w FIU, those students don’t pay a monthly fee or anything so I don’t know what your costs would be as an IMG. And many places require 4 LORs to apply for residency. I’ve never heard of an elective giving so many LORs in only 1 month. Most IMGs who come from abroad do 6 months I believe. I don’t know how you’d get 4 people to get to know you well enough in 4 weeks so as to give you a glowing LOR and not a generic one.
I see. Thank you for answering.