A word about strategy: A preference, including a top preference, is not a guarantee that you will be assigned that preference. A preference is an input into EVOS. Other inputs considered by EVOS include your classmates’ preferences (considered equally and simultaneously with yours) and site availability/enrollment maximums. Because you can’t predict what other students will preference it is almost impossible to strategize beyond entering what is important to you.
A reminder: Regardless of how you preference, it’s not possible for you and every one of your classmates to get everything you want at the time and location and in the order you want it. Your classmates also have preferences and sites don’t have unlimited availability, and your schedule is impacted by both. You may get more of your preferences than other students or you may get fewer – it all depends on what you entered, the priority you gave it, and what everybody else entered and prioritized. Rest assured, though, that the scheduling algorithm considers all of this simultaneously and equitably.
The bottom line: Your schedule will be the best result possible based on your preferences, the preferences of your classmates, and availability limits, and you’ll be making unimpeded progress toward your degree.
With this in mind, there are a few tips….
PRIORITIES
Preferences should be based on your priorities and what is important to you. Preference 1 should be your most important ask, preference 2 your next-most-important ask, etc.
SPECIFICITY
It’s best to be specific with the first few preferences and less specific with preferences further down. For example, if you would prefer Course A in Timeframe B at Site C, that should be your first selection. However, if you really want to get Course A at Site C, then your second selection should be Course A in Any Timeframe at Site C. Doing this means that the optimizer will first try to assign Course A in Timeframe B at Site C, but if this is not possible the optimizer will move on to the more flexible request of Course A in Any Timeframe at Site C.
WHAT IF YOU DON’T ENTER PREFERENCES?
It is always in your best interest to enter preferences. Not entering preferences does not assign random selections, but rather sites with unfilled availability.
It is always in your best interest to enter the maximum number of preferences. Students who enter their dream schedule and stop (e.g. one preference per course at a particular time at a particular site) never end up with schedules they like. Note that Track students and students who have already completed some Patient Care courses have specific restrictions.
If you truly do not care when and where you take a particular clerkship, don’t waste a preference on it. EVOS will give you a complete schedule with all clerkships, even if you have no preference for a particular clerkship.
DEPARTMENT CHANGES TO ASSIGNMENTS
All departments reserve the right to adjust schedules as needed due to drops and changes in site availability.
For Internal Medicine (IM) and ObGyn: Site assignments may vary from what you see as site options. Students assigned to the Greater Puget Sound area may be moved to a WWAMI site or vice versa. Sites are not finalized until you get your specific hospital/clinic assignments from these departments. Please see Medicine Clerkship for important information about that clerkship. All departments may change site assignments based on site constraints and availability.