What's the point of spending so much time money and energy on aways/networking when most people just match at home. 123 people matched at home after using control +F on the Match List.
I mean I matched at an away in a top tier city at a place that my program never matched anyone before. Aways can open up doors for you
I'd consider the fact that a LOT of students actually WANT to stay at their home programs. Although this is not true everywhere, it's certainly true at my program. Many Derm applicants were also competitive med school applicants and chose their med school precisely because they like the programs there and/or the city (Chicago, NY, Cali, etc). But you're right, it's hard to 'break into' a program
complete data is probably something like 33%-40% of people match at their home. thats really not that high to where its pointless to network. 60+% match elsewhere.
i appreciated external experiences and thought about it but decided the grass isn't always greener lol
some programs seems to have started not matching their own students as often as they did in the past. Harvard used to match 3 - 5 HMS students every year, the last two years they only matched 2 (this year ~14 applied from Harvard!).
I ranked my home program #1 above more "prestigious" programs where I did aways, but I really like my department and the location
I think doing aways (esp in a different region) can help to communicate a willingness to relocate as well. I matched at a program outside my region without having rotated there and I think the away that I did complete is likely part of the reason they even interviewed me