Chicago, IL
Applicant sentiment — from 140 anonymous posts, 2017–2027
6.5 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Anonymous posters frequently described Northwestern's program as highly competitive, citing large applicant pools relative to available spots. Many comments framed the program favorably in comparisons with other programs, and a few highlighted strengths in pediatric dermatology and Mohs training, while some posts referred to it as a 'rotation mill.'
AI-generated summary of opinions expressed in anonymous, unverified posts. It describes what posters wrote, not verified facts about this program. Based on these 140 posts · Updated Aug 2026 · Contest or respond to this entry · Takedown & right of reply
❌1. Formal between faculty and residents and tense. Not a relaxed feeling and some residents are standoff-ish and rude (some are wonderful, but it's very hit or miss). Generally not as social as they may seem. I was sad as this was my first choice in the beginning (esp given their social media) and I was a little shocked at how much I disliked it. I ended up ranking them very low after my interview. Also, only 1 resident has matched MOHs since 2019 and that match was back in 2020. One match in 2020? Are they not interviewing their own candidates? This was a red flag for me but if this is a consideration for you, maybe talk to the current residents to sus out program support. There do seem to be residents aiming for MOHs in the next classes, so hopefully their outcomes are better. Anyways, always try to get the most exposure to your top programs if possible, because they may surprise you in a bad OR good way. More info is better.
❌2. Have heard this is not a great program for Mohs since department is not as supportive in taking their own residents.
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How is cosmetic training at NW?< the PROPER abbreviation for northwestern is NU, you should know that if you are interviewing for a job there. < omg its really ok lol < anyways, hows cosmetics training at NW? < lol chill. Not OP but I know it is NU and still call it NW because NW is more logical < just say NU it's not hard < anyways, hows the cosmetics training at NW?
Why does Northwestern's interview day have 13 interviews scheduled for >60 interviewees applying for 4 spots in their residency .... < why does northwestern interview so many people? < maybe a lot of people don't want to move to chicago but it really is ridiculous for 4 spots < no one wants to go to Chicago? Interesting take
https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalschool/comments/rwwvh8/bye_medtwitter_see_you_never/ The shit about Jon Stewart/JK Rowling today (misunderstanding) just goes to show how much of a cesspool that site is. Can't wait to delete on match day. < wuts wrong with jk rowling < nothing. Twitter went into a frenzy today and yesterday because of something Jon Stewart said about her, whom later clarified it and said it was taken largely out of context by the hive mind on twitter. Everyone is sick of the keyboard warriors on twitter, medtwitter & dermtwitter lmao // It was taken out of a context by a Newsweek journalist, as that entire publication has gone to shit. << There is a white female med student (she was like in MS-1 at the time) at Northwestern Med on Twitter who makes it her goal in life to stoke "woke" cancel jihads against people. She did it to an Asian American cardiology attending at Pitt. That's the type of toxicity that MedTwitter has. They did it to the editor of JAMA and he had to step down. < did you actually fucking listen to the poscast that JAMA put out? because it was egregiously bad < I see the "woke" med student who said something racist against white female med students is back. Go away. I watched it. Get over yourself. Find some other cells to get locked. < out of loope. wat happen?? can i get a tldr << https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/health/jama-bauchner-racism.html
Anyone else's school's AOA really straight up odd? Like mine pools applicants based on ethnicity status so that certain groups are compared against themselves. Not to mention some arbitrary essays and students from the same class year making decisions on students in the same year (junior AOA deciding on senior AOA members). Hopefully programs see through this, AOA just seems to have lost its meaning over the past few years < Northwestern changed the way they decided AOA in an attempt to be more racially "equitable" [a.k.a. too many Asians and white students were getting AOA in past years]. It used to be based on being in top quartile, USMLE Step 1 score, and clerkship grades and a CV review. It's now changed to a more vague "holistic review." < AOA is such a joke. Always has been, only now people are starting to see it. I don't give a shit if an applicant/resident/attending was AOA in their class and neither should anyone else, including residency commitees. < A lot of Derm faculty (especially old school Derms) value AOA status, but this was before when at least academics was a much greater predictor on whether you got AOA or not. This new phase of "holistic review" likely came after the NPR article on AOA. < well AOA themselves changed their selection criteria so this isn't just on schools. Also a selection process that is only white and asian people across the country, annually, has to be inherently racist and was worth reevaluating < National AOA only changed the selection criteria in terms of the percentage allowed to be inducted. Racial disparity or disproportionality alone isn't evidence of racism. Grow up. < Statistical disparity does not and never has equaled systemic discrimination. To assume otherwise is a falacy. They can coincide, yes, but to automatically assume this destroys the argument. < my school had never had a black aoa member till last year. classmates argued well maybe no black person ever made the cut which is indeed an asinine comment but lets leave that for now. turns out that despite having at least one black student in the top 10% of our class every year for the past 10 years, they were either never nominated or had enough votes. So yes, we scrapped the system we had and revamped it. The AOA selection process in many schools was racist and biased. Argue amongst yourselves because it ain't coming back and I'm okay with that. < your comment just highlights even more how subjective and weird AOA is, and also further highlights some of your own inherent biases. The fact that "votes" are part of the selection process for this is weird enough as is.m < Oh great, the "woke" brigade from Derm Twitter has hopped in. "Wokeness" truly destroys everything. "because it ain't coming back and I'm okay with that." --- Of course you are. Not shocked there. What it will result in is PDs just going by class rank or the MSPE adjective instead.
is northwestern really malignant? Chicago seems like an amazing place to live but not sure about going to a place that is malignant just to live in a cool city< not sure if malignant but definitely elitist lol< I will definitely put NW as my top top choice if I got an interview. Chicago is a great place to live (being affordable, functional as a BIG city) although weather in winter is terrible < why do people keep saying chicago is affordable?? < I should have been more accurate. It is relative. Comparing to SF, NYC< Chicago functions as a big city because it IS a big city. Third biggest city in USA to be exact. < ive literally never heard that NW is malignant < "<home student at falsely accused malignant programs and i lived in feaer during my med school yrs cuz of reputation but it really isnt true/attendings even respond to feedback well. tbh still kind of intimidated but def not malignant. a very kind and well-meaning resident program explained the differences between intense v malignant cultures" < don't worry if I match then I will write a name and shame dedicated to NU Derm < you mean Nw?? i wish youd tell us so we know how to rank it
is NW med derm more competitive than just their derm program?
confirmed by the coordinator that a NW Med-Derm interview is also an advanced Derm interview for all those still wondering
does anyone know if yale and northwestern have released all their interviews?
just realized that only four of the top 20 programs have released invites (emory, yale, UTSW, northwestern)... 11/29 is the big day < I mean also Pitt, UNC, Duke, Cornell, Minnesota < are you implying all these are T20? < all very strong programs but not top 20 if we're going off of doximity.. which is flawed but yeah < what are you judging their strength based on? < doximity does it mainly based on research and reputation I think, not sure how to evaluate a program otherwise... maybe we should come up with a rubric for quality and breadth of training?
For you who just received IV from Northwestern, what interview dates are there?
has Northwestern released all their interview invites already?
when do you think yale and northwestern will release next batch?
Has anyone heard back from Northwestern yet after emailing to confirm?
Anyone heard back from NW med-derm about scheduling/confirmation of dates?
What's the update with northwestern? This is my top school! Did they already release signals ? < some IIs today
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
