Favorite co-applicants on the trail?
<where did these people match?
I think UChicago and Yale guys are at Harvard
New Haven, CT
💬1. Covered cost of in-person interview including hotel and travel
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Favorite co-applicants on the trail?
<where did these people match?
I think UChicago and Yale guys are at Harvard
only 1 person got the Yale RTM? others plz verify
sounds suspect to me if there was only 1 person. Wonder what these ppl get out of doing fake RTM? maybe they think the rest of us will rank these places lower?
Unfortunately its near impossible to interpret RTM calls on this spreadsheet
even when it says x2 or x3 it could be a random fake post from 1 person
Exactly
Yale might not do R2M but they are known to make it very clear that they want you so if there's been no correspondence, that's definitely a sign - also Stanford and Penn has indeed sent out calls
Yale won't get everyone they want, so don't worry if there is no correspondence from any of these programs
If a place has sent out RTM calls and you didn't get one... would it be unusual for you to still match there? x2 << not impossible, but your chances are much lower
<Not really. The applicants who are getting r2m calls at these locations are getting r2m calls from all the others that do them as well, and everyone can only go to one program.
Which programs sent out RTM calls already? Too many to count now... Please tell me the NYU one isn't real
Stanford, Yale, MCW
MCW wasn't an RTM call based on what was written 9-10 rows below here << do we think yale actually did?
A few programs have. It really doesn't matter though - rank in order of which programs you want to attend.
I agree it shouldn't change ranking but I do think it's reasonable to want to know which have sent them
RTM call from Yale
can anyone else please confirm this? was this only one person?
<on a saturday? x2
Any other programs offer a diversity second look other than UCSF?
Yale; MCW; stanford
Wash U
<we're all these through the derm departments?
Best food on the interview trail?
NYU
I'd like to give a nod to the University of Missouri for the pizza at lunch. Bahn Mi pizza was delicious
Henry Ford for the best snacks. Dried fruit, chocolate covered (dont remember what), and Rx bars
tx
Miami. That Cuban food was so good
I love this town, the people, the food - pork sandwiches - my favorite ... but tonight I'm hungry for something different
UCSFx2 gotta love that sushi and ice cream sandwich combo
Kaiser lunch had bomb build your own bibimbap
TX A&M had chick fil a sandwiches so them for sure
Yale "foods of New Haven" was bomb x 2
The Mexican food at Stanford + the mediterranean food at stanford
Dartmouth pre-fixe farm to table dinner the night before
How did Harvard, Stanford, Penn, NYU, and UCSF come to be the definitive top 5 programs? It seems like no one can agree on anything, except that these are the top 5. Makes me wonder how this was determined and why places like Yale/UTSW/Michigan/Mayo/etc aren't considered top 5?
<- i feel like a lot is based on history no? I know at NYU they trained some of the trailblazers in derm (like way way back) and it was also big during the AIDS epidemic -- That's good to know. Tbh, I actually don't know much of anything about derm history, and wasn't aware. So do you think they got their reputation mostly based on years of continuous contributions to the field?
NYU is the top creme de la creme program.
i would cream myself to match any of the top 5 x2 <My mentors have mentioned slightly different lists to me that they consider the top programs (though 3-4 of those always make the list), so it is all subjective. <<< Thanks for the input, good to know that they may not be as static as they seem
< would love to hear your mentors lists
Tufts, Harvard, BU, UCLA, UCSF
LOL <why are 3/5 in Boston? That just doesn't sound right to me.
Are there any programs that require Step 2 CS or Step 2 CK scores prior to submission of rank list? x2
UCSF, Cornell, Yale, (but Cornell and Yale apparently required Step 2 prior to interviews, according to Frieda but I don't know how stringent this requirement is). Mayo also said in Frieda that it requires Step 2 prior to interviews, but I got a waitlist there, so I don't know how true it actually is. UCSF is also known to make individual exceptions, according to my dean. In short, if they didn't ask for it, then I wouldn't really think much of it. A couple of residents at different top 5 programs told me that they never updated the Step 2 and the rank list is made after the interviews anyway so there's so many factors going into it (but also note that they were from top medical schools themselves).<<will confirm they werent stringent on step 2 criteria. got an interview invite from both without having taken step 2 ck or cs by that time.
Great for if I failed CS. x2
Did everybody get f/u email from Yale PD today? <details? x2
<....nox1
Yale Rejection x12
Could anyone please share their thoughts on Hopkins program? especially if you rotated there.. likes/dislikes etc. There is minimal information online. Greatly appreicate your help. --- Hopkins is absolutely amazing, the only true drawback is that baltimore can be a high crime area, Similar to Yale in that it's an amazing program, but not in the nicest city<that being said, as someone who lived in baltimore in the past, it is a great city that gets so much more of a bad reputation than it deserves. ive lived in NYC, boston, philly, and can honestly say baltimore grew on me and easily became one of my favorite cities and I think it has that effect on a lot of people who end up going there, you just gotta give it a chance and not go off all the negative things you hear. <I've lived in some of those cities and Baltimore is lowest on my list out of the 3 I've lived in, BUT the people who love it really LOVE it so feel it out for yourself
<N=1 opinion. I think it is a really good and growing/improving program. Pros include patient diversity, nice faculty, lots of specialty clinics, cool Hopkins medical pathology for consults. Talking to residents, shortcomings seemed to be more on procedural/cosmetic side where some mentioned having less exposures (and students got very little exposure too). No mohs fellowship and lots of turnover especially in mohs, but residents mentioned lots of new faculty which could be great if they stay there. They said they get a lot of autonomy in both general clinics and procedural/mohs since there are no fellows. Also, research opportunities seemed variable. Other "upper mid tier" have more established research programs in a variety of areas, but this also seems to be growing at Hopkins. People seemed happy overall though<<to add on that as a rotator, even though they have no mohs fellowship they have matched people into mohs, including last year into great programs. <agree that hopkins is an absolutely AMAZING program in every way. the faculty, research, mentorship, clinical exposure are just phenomenal.
<<Not a Baltimore fan, but Hopkins seems solid << Thanks guys that was some great info! << What are the chances if you are a non-internal, non-researcher? - is it just me or looking at their current residents looks like Hopkins matches a lot of their own med students/researchers
if I want to be a private practice cosmetic dermatologist, should I go to Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Pitt, or Yale?
at least one fellowship from each
Doesn’t matter. All about your instagram presence at that point< HAHA
100% true
depends on how many giveaways/month
This may be dumb to say but maybe Stanford since the population may be most like private?
<<Dude, NYU for sure
NYU wasn't one of the OP's posted programs
Can we create some sort of list on what reputations/tiers are? Think this would be useful since I feel like there's not a great objective system of rankings. >>Maybe someone can make a tab and everyone can make their preconceived thoughts on program strengths, might be useful to compare especially since some of us geographically limited lol > A list like this is probably not useful or valid. But it would be fun to see what people think. Tier list page made!
Top tier: UPenn Harvard UCSF NYU Mayo Michigan, Emory, Henry Ford?) and Michigan and Mayo are not top tier. Would add Stanford, Hopkins, and UCLA instead)
would also add UTSW https://www.mdedge.com/dermatology/article/157864/practice-management/us-dermatology-residency-program-rankings-based/page/0/1 <<what is the difference between this article and the doximity rankings? Is there more validity to one vs the other? << lol, someone put UCLA in top tier (UCLA isn't even a Department, it's a Division) >> lol UCLA low tier for sure << realistically, probably middle to low, great overall health system but will always have hands tied and no real ability to grow
UCLA is a solid program, strong surgical training, lacks the super complex patients of some more intense programs but it depends on what you are looking for in your training << I don't think anyone's saying it's a bad program, just not a top tier, that's kind of silly
UCLA is the perfect example of a low-to-mid tier program that is nonetheless quite competitive given it's in California. Again, there's often a disconnect between prestige/quality of training and competitiveness. Location, location, location.
No way that Hopkins and UCLA would be top tier over Michigan and Mayo
Mid-tier: OHSU, Iowa, Minnesota, UPMC >> Would probably put MN as low tier? >> Thoughts? Why? >> Minnesota would probably be in same tier as OHSU, Iowa, UPMC. Iowa has great faculty, but I think it does suffer from being in a relatively non-diverse, predominately white, smallish-city in Iowa. Minnesota, OHSU, and UPMC are in more urban environments with at least UPMC and Minnesota having more ethnic / racial diversity, (Portland is super white as well). Also, no one should trust that MDedge nonsense x5
To be fair they tried to make an objective measure. Many of the opinions here leave out some good programs and add in top medical schools that are not top derm programs
MN, Iowa as med-high tier? Would drop UPMC to low tier (just feel like no residents really enjoy it there but maybe that's just me lol)? And Iowa usually as a top 20 program on almost all ranking systems (though you cant always trust these things so who knows). I think its one of those places that suffers in many peoples minds because they have a not-so great med school and its in the mid west, but the derm program is actually extremely well-respected independednt of those facts
1. Penn 2. UCSF 3. NYU 4. Harvard 5. Stanford 6. Northwestern 7. Emory 8. UTSW 9. Hopkins 10. Wash U 11. Mayo 12. Michigan 13. Iowa 14. HF 15. OHSU 16. Colorado 17. Minnesota 18. Utah 19. Cornell 20. Vanderbilt
<-What is this list based on? Its totally inaccurate. Hopkins and Vanderbilt are mid tier programs at best. No Yale? No UW? No Wisconsin? No Miami? No Sinai? Cornell over Columbia? UPMC is definitely mid to top tier. Also, tiers maybe, but I dont understand how you can possibly rank 1 vs. 3 vs. 8 off the cuff << yeah, 1-3 is pretty standard, gets messy with next 5 I was about to post how accurate this list is. Some of the programs listed above are no way in the conversation. You can maybe disagree with Wash U/Cornell to the left tho. I'd agree Vanderbilt too high too
<Yale for sure. x4 . Think that list is pretty accurate for top 20 minus Wash U, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. Would replace with Yale and Columbia. And Cleveland Clinic maybe. <<I question the order of some of these too. Hopkins is not a top 10 (but it is a top 20 probably). I agree that Sinai, miami, Columbia would also be top 20. Vandy should not be on that list and neither should a few others.
<How good are the following programs: UPMC, Hopkins, UCSD, Miami.
I think those are all decent programs (mid-top tier?). I would say that I typically view Hopkins as a mid-tier program (they don't have a lot of diversity in terms of training sites, though Hopkins itself is a great hospital). Miami is typically considered a Top 10 program - but they also are quite disorganized, old facilities, longer hours (Saturday clinics). UPMC takes a lot of MD/PhDs and has great Mohs training, though I never found their program actually attracts people who want to be there. UCSD is solid, somewhat basic-science focused. It's outshined by other programs in California (e.g. Stanford, UCSF, USC) and San Diego has great weather / beaches, though admittedly isn't the most exciting place to live / lacks a lot of arts / culture compared to most bigger cities in the United States.
name me a state with better Mexican food tho
Harvard interview x16
congrats! how many interviews does Harvard usually give out?
~30 << not true
more? less?
def more. they have 8ish spots. << wahhhhh I wanted this one!!!
probably closer to 60 invitations
seems like a lot. their yield is probably high <lol no WAY is it 60
It's probably the same as most other programs, ~40. But if you look at the match list from last year, for example, not a single person on that list wasn't connected in some strong way. So likely applicants are ranked before interviews and it doesn't change much after interviews.
Fake news. Not everyone last year was connected to the program
Who wasn't? x2
Even the non-Harvard rotators had gone to Harvard for undergrad << This.
This also applies to Penn. x2 << Basically applies to every top program in the country
Based on my extensive sleuthing, it 100% applies to Harvard, Penn, and Yale. As in you're SOL if you don't have a strong connection of some kind. To a much lesser degree, it applies to Stanford and UCSF
Definitely less with UCSF since they don't have an undergraduate college :)
but you have to have CA ties
Stanford and UCSF to a much lesser degree yes, but CA ties are almost required
disagree no california ties and got UCSF
aren't you a special cookie? We're talking about people who matched, not interview invites you snowflake
I was going to say what this person to the left said, but not as rudely. Yes I'm talking about people who MATCH, not get invited for an interview.
lol got it. thanks for the non-rudeness person #2 i get what ur saying<<what exactly do strong connections mean for these top programs? Like regional, rotating there etc?
reposting from edit history:
congrats superstars!!! are any of you external without any connection/away?
myself x5
that's so awesome, congrats friend!
thank you amigo/a!
Are you guys from other top schools though or have 260+ Step scores? There must be some method to this madness, it can feel so random sometimes x2
I think if it were just 260+ they would still have a lot of work to do to pick candidates. Doubt a place like HMS has to go just based off stats to pick their bunch.
Not true, there's only around 40 applicants with step 1 scores > 260 and they likely interview around 40 candidates" >> as an interviewee, I can tell you the assumptions above are not true x4
what assumption? x2<<needing 260+ step scores.
<hey guys is harvard a good program; first time hearing about it
I think they’re relatively new, I wouldn’t rank personally
yeah my PD asked if its a community program when I mentioned it
My PD didn't recognize the name, is it DO? << I thought it was in the Caribbean, I didn't apply for that reason.
oh SHIT it was spelled with an H in the front; been calling it ARVARD
either way, I think the program is low on brand recognition. who would go there?
yeah the interview date conflicted with a race in my city (which I organized, for just myself) so I declined it
yeah probably not worth the money of flights and hotels, tbh. good call. <I've seen ads for this school inbetween my youtube vids I think
:'D >> Heard Harvard is on probation and might not get accredited next year :/ Pretty poor reputation
LOLOL
Rotated at Harvard. They have overall good breadth of training with MGH, Brigham, BIDMC, few other sites. Lots of research opportunities and seems supported by the department. I found the resident surgical skills, dermatoscopy skills, and skin cancer screening skills were subpar at least in comparison to my home program. The department is great and has lots of leaders in derm - but it has a bit of of a very "old-school" feel with lots of white-haired, Caucasian males at the top of the leadership chain. It definitely has an old-school, East Coast medicine feel. This was sort of a turn off for me. Some of the faculty are primarily research clinicians who work 1/2 day a week in cinic - some of these attendings have really not maintained good clinical skills / not particularly interested in clinical medicine and it clearly showed. The number of faculty is huge - which means many residents don't get a lot of exposure to working 1:1 with a smaller group of faculty (there a few expections - for instance, Kroshinky who runs the inpatient service and is just overall the best person ever). Overall, my take home from my experience there was that Harvard has good training and great research opportunities, but that "prestigious" programs aren't necessarily everyone's preference / despite Harvard's own self-perception as "the holy grail of medicine", you can get similar high-quality of training at other less prestigious institutions.
did you get an interview?
no
oh no! you seem really nice, I'm sorry. thanks for the write up! x 2
< Is Kroshinsky nice? I've heard not as positive comments about her, but I much prefer to believe she's as nice as some people have said. Did you interact with Mostaghimi or Chen while you were there? I thought they are both big on inpatient? Were they nice? << Kroshinsky is a superstar x3
are you 3 internals?
not me. Did a research year with her
oh so you're matching Harvard? ;)
<-- Korshinsky is nice. So is Mostaghimi. I didn't work with Chen.
thank you!
Dr Chen is seriously the nicest person on the planet, encourages even med student autonomy in clinic/inpatient
Have heard conflicting things about Mostaghimi though. Heard he can be hard to get along with from an external rotator there
Are you serious?? Hard to get along with in what way? He seems like he'd be so nice and funny! << seemed judgmental and not very friendly << maybe he just has RBF (resting bitch face lol)?? I really don't want to believe he's not as nice as seems :(
< did your friend who was a rotator recieve an interview? << yup
<< white-haired white dude leadership is a thing at a lot of derm programs.... suprised it's still a thing I thought we were in more modern times
Any other 260+ step 1 applicants still at 0 interviews?
< that would be suprising. do you go to a low tier school? Mid-tier
that was a stupid question on my end. what even is high/mid/low tier? like top 10/40/100 or something? but to harken back to your situation, the only things I can think of that could be adversely affecting you other than being from a "low" tier school would be not taking a research year / limited research or your geographical area. <I agree with you. I can't really think of much else besides geography and below average research. I have read all but one of my letters and they were strong. I really don't know what to do at this point.
I'm sorry, friend. I'm assuming it is then the combination of geography and below avg. research. But I'm also SURE you're going to get interviews. Just hang in there! Nothing else you can do now, and with a 260 you clearly worked hard already.
Yes minus the 260 :D
Glad to have you on my team << 260+ can give you that same "top tier" school curse where some programs may think you're out of their league. Hang in there, we're with you
im <260 but PhD (non-research track) and it doesn't look good. low tier school, did good aways, got LoR, SILENCE, it's crazy that this is happening.
0 interviews at all? <aside from internal no << did you get interviews from your aways?<--any updates for you?
top tier med school, 260+ Step 1, 15 publications, great LORs, 0 interview invitations. I'm devastated
Yooooo that SUCKS. Are there a lot of applicants from your school with your stats or better?
yes. double digit applicants, all similar .
damn I'm at a double digit school with way worse stats...now I know why I'm not getting invites
dang OP of this cell, man I feel for you. That is rough, but there is no way you do not match and get a lump sum of interviews at some point.
TBH, OP, if you're at a Harvard/Yale/Stanford etc. school, chances are you're going to match your home program. You're fine.
As someone from a top school with a top home program, not true. I wish that I could match into my program, but the schools want a residency class filled with the best folks from other great institutions to add influx of new idea, skills, and connections to the class. This is true ESPECIALLY if there are a ton of us.
im really starting to realize how big a factor the # of people applying from my school is
# of people applying is a factor but applicants from top schools are typically safer with fewer invites at top programs compared to non-top school candiates with mid/low tier interviews. Top programs want applicants from top schools so you're competing with a small pool of applicants for all the spots at Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Penn/UCSF etc.
This . If you look at the people in the Y/H/S/P etc. schools, 80% of residents are from that program, 15% from another Y/H/S/P etc., and MAYBE 1-2 a year from a more "random" school—and that person 100% either had a 100th percentile Step 1 score and/or connections. Also, if you look at their match lists from the past couple years, not a SINGLE one of those programs had an unmatched applicant. So not sure why you're "devastated" when you have a 100% chance of matching—and likely at your home or another top program (unless your personality sucks).
Swap out Yale for NYU, and you have the proper list of top programs.
I seriously dont know how this process works. thats insane . <<Not OP (have way lower stats than that lol), but as someone who goes to a top 5 place I can say with fact that there is not a 100% chance. I do not know how all top programs work, but the fact is even though we have more residents than the average program, the number of applicants from our school is greater than th enumber of spots. On top of that, our school does not rank its own first (but yes 1/2 the porgram tends to be our own/research/rotators). It is a top programs and it wants the best from the country. If you look at our match list it looks AMAZING, but it never mentions the people who do not match. I know for the last 3 years, there was 1 or more unmatched derm. We're all in this shit together
<--- I review applications. While there are some programs that highly value Step 1 score -- I think applicants overestimate how much most programs care about these things. I don't think there are any functional differences betweeen applications with a 240 versus 260 on Step 1. Again, the more important differentiators are clinical grades, letters of recommendation, research, and personal statement (probably in that order). << Agreed, and same is true for whether Top/Mid med school
< It's really heartening to know that, thank you! Do you know if most programs feel the same way you and the program you're at does about scores? And what programs really do care a lot about scores?
< does anyone know if school look at clinical grades out of 6 or 7 rotations? (aka including neurology or not?)
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
There was mention of kindness from an Indian dude from UChicago, Asian dude from Yale and a cosmetics? guy from Penn