jlkhhylyiluh6 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hey everyone, so starting to gather all my things to apply for away electives next year, and am just a bit confused about the applications themselves. So if Im understanding this correctly, I cant even select the dates on the application page until 2 weeks before...so does that mean if I want to apply for lets say 3 electives at one school each 2 weeks apart (in case I dont get one), I have to make 3 separate applications for each time the next 2 week block opens up? And pay 3x for essentially the same application? Or am I able to apply for multiple weeks at once? I guess follow up question I also have is what is the likelihood of getting an elective if I only apply to one school per 2 week block? I know they give you 6 possible choices, is it pretty much a guarentee youll get one of those, making it not necessary to apply to multiple schools per block? Im applying for psych. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSWschnoodle Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 It depends on how competitive the discipline you are applying for is and how many preceptors they have that are able to take students. I know for some of the more competitive surgical disciplines some of my classmates are submitting multiple applications to multiple schools for any given block (and the answer to your question is yes, if you are applying for 3 different blocks then it's 3 separate applications in most situations. Some schools might let you select multiple dates on your application but all of those dates would need to be open at the time of your submission so if you want to apply as each block opens then it would be multiple apps). For psych you'll probably be OK as long as you pick a few different choices, especially if you're applying for something like "adult inpatient" where there will be lots of preceptors. If you are picking more niche areas (specialized clinics) then you might not get your first choice but with 6 on the list your odds should be alright :-) I've successfully booked an elective with every application I have put into AFMC so far, but a couple of my friends who are wanting very competitive or in-demand electives have had an unsuccessful application or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlkhhylyiluh6 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 13 minutes ago, MSWschnoodle said: Great, thanks for the response! How long does it usually take for them to get back to you regarding if you got the elective or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSWschnoodle Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 3 hours ago, beeboop said: Great, thanks for the response! How long does it usually take for them to get back to you regarding if you got the elective or not? This is HUGELY variable not just between schools but between programs at the same school. Sometimes you'll hear back in 24 hours. Other times you'll wait weeks. Some schools won't let you know that they are refusing your elective until 8 weeks before the start of the elective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlkhhylyiluh6 Posted January 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 9 hours ago, MSWschnoodle said: This is HUGELY variable not just between schools but between programs at the same school. Sometimes you'll hear back in 24 hours. Other times you'll wait weeks. Some schools won't let you know that they are refusing your elective until 8 weeks before the start of the elective. ugh, i was worried about that. Makes it harder to just apply one at a time and wait back, since you might be waiting weeks only for them to tell you that you didnt get it...why is this so difficult to organize? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSWschnoodle Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 59 minutes ago, beeboop said: ugh, i was worried about that. Makes it harder to just apply one at a time and wait back, since you might be waiting weeks only for them to tell you that you didnt get it...why is this so difficult to organize? There's just a lot of moving pieces. The visiting electives coordinator has to go through every single application submitted and make sure they are actually eligible for an elective and included all the right documentation. Then they have to email the department. The department has to check for availability and reach out to preceptors to determine if they are able to take a student at that time. This is in addition to all the home students also requesting electives. Once the department makes a decision it goes back to the electives coordinator and they have to process everything for the AFMC portal before the AFMC portal will finally email you with a decision. It's frustrating at times but it's really not that bad. You put in your application(s) for each block then you sit back and wait to hear from them. Most of the time you'll be too busy to think about it until an email from AFMC pops into your inbox. If you start to notice a particular application is dragging on, then you can get advice from the electives coordinator at your home school about what the next steps should be. NOTE: Talk to your HOME electives coordinator as many of the away electives have a policy that they will not provide updates to students on applications in progress (to prevent themselves from getting 16,000 inquiries a day) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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