Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA-IL

fml looks like my parents should have had more kids

LOL same. But I'm just saying this to say that you REALLY shouldn't feel bad / wonder why you're not getting an interview to top programs. There is SO much backdoor dealings etc that go on behind the scene that in reality almost none of the slots are open to just a good applicant without any STRONG connections of some sort. <- another example: one of the UCSF residents has an uncle who is a dermatologist at UCSF

LMAOOOO this is too good

But I thikn the IN ADDITION point is important, having a connection but being mediocre doesnt work as far as I can tell.

<so if we got an interview to a top program without being internal or rotator, do we assume someone had a connection or said something on your behalf?

no, assume you just got an invite, but know chances are low you won't match :)

That's not nice >:(. OP, you've earned that interview, especially without obvious connections. You should go rock it and show everyone what you're made of.

sometimes the truth isn't nice :/

Or maybe you shouldn't take out your frustriations on random people online.<<with that mindset, people wouldnt match from external schools then

not true, the girl who matched penn whose brother is a derm resident at harvard went to northwestern. and to the other person, that's pretty presumptous of you - I'm just being honest. How you decide to take that honesty is on you, not me.<<well thats exactly what im saying, barring no other "real connections" how do people match at a program they are not from.

to be clear, outside of the top 10 programs it's a whole different world. This level of neoptism is almost unique to these programs. <- equivalent of legacy status for undergrad

I knew an applicant who's father-in-law was the chair of a derm department....so needless to say they got an interview at that institution. Other "ties" are research. Some programs really favor their research fellows....who can spend one year or MORE doing research for the department. Often unpaid or super low pay. There's a lot of politics. I'm sure other fields are similar but because derm is small, the effects feel (and probably are amplified).

to add another great story, my friend told me that one of the people who matched to cornell last year? her mom is derm at cornell. connections are everything!

<Northwestern may have been really high last year b/c they had A TON (I think 12?) of internal applicants (not including rotators - though rotators don't all get intervews).

I'm also surprised that their step i is slig lu below average for the general population of derm applicants.

look at other programs on there. They all have crazy low step scores reported. No way is the average for NW less than 250. I think programs lie.

<- as a reference, there were about 24-26 interviewees at the nu internal day (home students, away rotators, re applicants, and research fellows)

<< That sounds terrible. Anybody with experience at Harvard or UCSF? Even Upenn but that would hard for my SO << I have had several friends at Harvard who swear by their expeirences there << wherever you go, def pick clinical research over basic science research (more pubs). also don't just go for the fancy names, look into places that would actually match you after spending a research year there (not to say that you're not good enough for harvard/ucsf/penn, but also top programs historically don't give a crap if you spent time with them)

I don't know if I agree about a place that takes their fellows. It's not a bad strategy but also a mentor who fights for you can go really far!

Are there any specific people or groups that are worth reaching out to? How did you guys find where to go? << I have heard of people having success with Kroshinsky at Harvard, Koo at UCSF, Rosenbach at Penn, and Mostaghimi at Brigham

I did research with Mostaghimi. He wasn't around most of the time and I didn't find the experience that fulfilling tbh << Not sure why comment was deleted. Seems like someone has an agenda. I worked with Mostaghimi and thought he was really dedicated to me and his other students. If you are thinking about working with him he will put you in touch with people who have actually worked with him and you can get a sense of what their experience was like. Don't believe everything you read on these boards.

I found my research year by talking to just about every upperclassman who had done one in the 1-3 years before me. Really variable year to year and I agree that big name places can be a let down. There's just no way Harvard cares when they have so many research fellows. heck, they a least a few of their own med students didn't match last year so don't expect an interview.

<< Can't speak for insitution at large but both at Harvard and other institutions the specific individual that you work with is the most important part. Look at the people who have worked with these attendings in the past, they've genreally done well. Do your homework, find a person and talk to peple who have worked with them before

man i feel for you, im not saying its right or anything.

I feel for UConn and Maryland internals/rotators. Only given 1 date << can you imagine if you rotated at both, and then had to pick between invites at JHU, UCSF, Northwestern, UC-Davis, UMiami, Mayo-AZ?<<that was me, i had to pick between ucsf, northwestern, mayo AZ, Davis, and hopkins <goals x3

i would love to have those problems

I hate the overlap especially since I have had to pick even though I only have 5 invites. However, with people going to 15+ or 20+ interviews, I'm glad they do this to force a little trickle. << problem is for some of us we already got rejected from these programs, so even if the spots are now open...it won't be to us :(

As someone with far more rejections than invites, we have to accept that those were not for us.

everyone gunning for MGH and posting "i ranked it last" to convince others to do the same. only way to game the system, kudos.

<it's derm, you can do anything you want with training at most places. Go with what makes you and your SO happy x2

Current PGY-1. Ranked places closer to family ahead of top tier programs because ultimatelymy SO and I decided that we would be happier at those programs and they would be more supportive of any career path. Make your ranklist however YOU want to and dont let people on a spreadsheet, Doximity rankings, prestige, etc tell you how to rank places. WWYD really doesnt matter because everyone and every situation is different

i really want to believe in the positivity of these messages but the cynic in me says it's just applicants fucking other applicants over.

OP: really not my intention. I just want to admit that I personally struggled and it feels WEIRD to look at these top programs lower on my list but it works for me and just wanted to put it out there because I know a lot of people are struggling with the same thought process.

also posted about this and definitely not trying to screw anyone over. I wanna be close to family

Also, on the flip side, I would argue that if name/prestige DOES matter to you, then rank it that way! This makes it seem like it's black and white, that you're sacrificing something to rank the top programs higher. But sometimes there's a reason why top programs are top!

Please don't rank NYU, thats my top.. kthxbi

Who actually considers northwestern top 5 is my question

seemed like there were externals too Also, it seems Kansas went out? Is 1/16 interview date confirmed?

What are the odds of a Miami trickle?

Not horrible odds since many places like Northwestern, UCSF, Hopkins, and others overlpa with their dates

< I tried to creep and I think last year they had 2 invite dates in december, I'm wondering if that might mean they had those 2 in addition to the internal date in late october, so maybe they would have another date to release invites!!!

They also have a dozen internal applicants applying and will likely fill those spots with them

What happened this year?

They took 5/6 or 6/7 a few years ago

but they have a dozen? also heard rumor mill that northwestern has many applicants too

yale has 12

these numbers seem to get exaggerated....

Northwestern definitely has 15 or 16 this year. Heard it from one of them.

Why does Stanford only have 6 spots tho...

yale actually has 6. speaking as one of them.

<- mythbuster MVP