For those of you who didn't match, keep your heads up. While it is always easy to have a single answer about "what went wrong," sometimes it really is just "bad luck." I know of several people who got spots out of that match starting right after intern year. For those of you who are unsuccessful in SOAP (which unfortunately will be most), keep this in mind (especially those who are average-above average for derm)
what do you mean "intentionally unfilled"? wtf <- Yea, this is confusing and also offers false hope. I was a very good applicant that didn't match and didn't sniff one of the soap spots that year. Then, I found out that most of these are because the program got an extra spot, found their person before the match, but had to go through NRMP and purposefully didn't rank anybody and just took their selected resident after the match. This is called "going outside the match." That is also how I got my current residency position. Interviewed in January and the program took me so I withdrew from the match (though I had interviewed several other places) and signed a few weeks later with them. Not all soap spots are like that, but the year I didn't match, both were. Sorry, guys :/ I ok thank you for clarifying, so how many years off total is it if I reapply as a intern (prelim + up to 1 year with nothing to do right?) or as a research fellow? (Sorry confused and lacking sleep)
if you reapply as an intern, you have one gap year (fill it with research, personal recomendation). If you apply during your research year instead, you will have a total of 2 gap years (fill them with research). If you want to really pad you rapplication, do intern year, research year 1, and apply during research year 2, and have another gap year (total of 3 gap years, meaning intern, gap, gap, gap, derm). You may get lucky with an R spot but don't count on it.
I feel like in the past year or two there have been a LOT more ready to start positions that coming July that only research fellows or interns would be ready for.
there have been a lot but you'd be surprised how competitive they can be. I interviewed and narrowly missed out on quite a few last year. In addition to derm reapplicants, you also compete against people who are switching to derm from other specialties and have stellar stats. Also, a lot of places have their own internal reapplicant interns/fellows and they are prioritized. It's very possible to get one of these spots so definitely be on the look out and apply to all (the outside the match spots tend to pop up in the late spring/early summer, after the 2nd acgme meeting of the year which i believe is in April or May?), but don't rely on them. ie don't stray from the rigorous prelim/amazing fellowship path until you have an offer
OP --> I don't understand why a program would even participate in SOAP if they aren't open to receiving outside applications. What's the point? I would think the programs like the one you are describing would be those who have unfilled spots and choose to fill them outside of the match.
I think the unfilled positions in a particular match automatically go to SOAP at the beginning. but it doesn't mean they have to use the SOAP process timeline to fill within the week, if that makes sense. Kind of like before this SOAP mess when there was the Scramble.
they don't automatically go to the SOAP though. The unfilled programs that are participating and are not participating in SOAP are clearly listed
Are there really Derm programs participating in SOAP who will decide by Friday who they're taking?