Death sentence if you don't do an on site elective?

[lostintime]

For competitive programs/locations (Toronto, Vancouver etc), if you don't do an on-site elective, are you pretty much asking for a death sentence? Would programs still consider you if you have good references/CV/overall profile, or would they rather pick someone else they've actually seen in person? Like would there be a point in even applying?

[Lactic Folly]

I think this would be program dependent - some places care more than others. Depending on how an elective is set up, they may see that you have visited their program but not even remember you that well.. while if your referee is well-known to them, they can call them up to get the scoop. If you are interested in a program, definitely apply - people change, committees change, and you should not count yourself out before even applying.

[A-Stark]

As LF said, and I do know someone who matched to UBC Rads without doing an elective there. It's really pretty variable.

[Jochi1543]

I agree that it's not a "death sentence." You have to remember, a lot of the competitive fields are also quite small, so people know each other well. If you submit a LOR from someone who the program director knows and trusts, then you should be fine. Many programs specify that you don't need an on-site elective in order to be considered. I think they also appreciate the difficulty involved in obtaining some electives - e.g. I hear getting electives at UBC is a nightmare.

[Madz25]

As LF said, and I do know someone who matched to UBC Rads without doing an elective there. It's really pretty variable.

 

lol, is that someone me?

 

to OP - i almost didnt apply to ubc because i hadnt done an elective there and figured it would just be money down the drain. but you never know!

[A-Stark]

Haha yep.

 

Oddly enough I got an elective in UBC confirmed a few days after sending my application - and right before they stopped accepting new applications. So it definitely can work out. (Mac also rejected me one day and offered me my first choice the next day, so it's a pleasantly random process.)