when to do away rotations?

[star23]

I plan on doing an away rotation next year and we are starting to scheule 4th year. Does anyone who did or is planning to do an away rotation have any comment on the best time of year to do one? Is January too late?

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[joedogma]

I plan on doing an away rotation next year and we are starting to scheule 4th year. Does anyone who did or is planning to do an away rotation have any comment on the best time of year to do one? Is January too late?

The answer depends on your reason for doing an away rotation in path. If your intention is to see if you like pathology in order to make a decision about residency, do your rotation as early as possible. If you are looking for LOR's to put into your application, try to do your rotation in August or September (or even earlier) to make sure they make it into your file when eras opens. If your intention is for showcasing yourself, this can be done at any time before rol are due but I would recommend something before January. By January many places already have a good handle on their lists (I expect anyway.) If you think you will need to showcase just to be granted an interview, obviously you should rotate even earlier. October is a good month for showcasing imho