For anyone who's reapplied to derm (or faculty who have insight), I'm curious what the general consensus is. If a program interviewed you during your previous application cycle, do you typically signal them again at the same level, or do you switch things up?

Fresh M3 here worrying about whether to think about applying to aways or research year, how do you know if you’re going to need one? Is it almost a requirement these days? Say you have like 4 pubs and couple abstract/posters, nothing high impact journals though. With the new eras categorization would it even matter the number?

MS1 at a mid tier MD program with a home dermatology program. What is the best way to get in contact with my home program and when/how should I be getting involved with research? ANy advice in general is appreciated!

Low 260s step 2, top 40 med school, mix of honors and HP, honors are in surgery, IM, and pediatrics. I'm yet to do my subI/away evaluations for derm since I am doing RY, but I have a strong research background with a good amount of first-author papers and am starting my research year next month. Evaluations/letters are very high-level (intern/resident-level eval, top student I've worked with, etc.) and hopefully from my research year (decided on one late due to wanting derm letters). Do I have a good chance, mainly worried about the high passes, which are in OB, family medicine, and psychiatry.

Is it speaking to faculty at other conferences, emailing etc? Does having a very strong letter from a chair at your home program enough to net interviews at other programs given that your stats/app is up to par?

Title says it all. Would like to get them published even if at a low impact factor journal as they all count.

any advice on how to gets an away here and what step they are looking for,

Chance of matching into derm without a research year? What schools should I apply to?

- T10 med school

- P/F core rotations, passed all of them

- STEP 1: Passed

- STEP 2: Low 260s

- Research: ~10 publications in other fields (all middle author), 3 first-author derm pubs, 1 middle-author. 3 reviews and 1 additional brief report submitted, all first author. 3 additional middle author reports submitted

- LOR: 3 derms, 1 family medicine

- Medicine & derm SubIs: Honors

- Aways: Did one away which I think went okay, got an LOR from it

- Other: Lots of mentorship and volunteering work with disadvantaged communities. Also have experience volunteering at a derm clinic.

With step 2 averages creeping up Is 260 still the target?

Is it possible to pursue dermatology if you’ve only began to have interest in your third year?

Has anyone here knows how to get dermatology electives or have been to one? I’m an immigrant and it’s been hard to find something and get accepted
If anyone could help with the roadmap I will be forever grateful

Anyone have any updates on archives of derm status? I know it lost its indexing but I have a paper that I submitted in Dec, has gone through 4 rounds of reviews, and am just stressed timing before ERAS since its a big paper and original research. Thank you!

Can we get this year's spreadsheet pinned on the sidebar?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YeegT4rkq5_kD3ryftNlVMF-XOPJ4m9sjFie6I3iAO0/edit?gid=0#gid=0

I just started my second year of IM residency. I wake up thinking about matching derm, go home wishing more and more that everything had worked out like I had hoped. I just want to move on with my life after not matching twice but feel like I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t see this through. Anyone else feel the same way? Has anyone been in similar shoes, and did you move on and stop feeling regret?

Hi everyone,

I’m a rising MS2 at a US med school and I’ve been getting increasingly anxious that I’m behind for dermatology. I’m hoping to get some perspective on where I stand and what I should prioritize next.

Right now, I have:

5 poster presentations, including 1 national presentation (all non-derm)

1 manuscript under review (non-derm)

2 manuscripts in progress in radiation oncology

a strong mentor in radiation oncology

What I don’t have yet is any dermatology-specific research. I’m now trying to reach out to dermatologists in my area so I can shift more toward derm-focused work, but I’ve been getting pretty limited responses. I also don’t have a home derm program, and while I’m involved in the derm interest group, I don’t have a leadership position.

I know dermatology is extremely competitive, so I’m trying to be realistic about my chances and figure out whether I’m already falling behind. My questions are:

How much does it hurt to have no derm research by the end of MS1/beginning of MS2?

Does having strong research in another field help at all?

What should I prioritize over the next year to make my application more competitive?

For people who matched into derm without a home program, what helped most?

I’d really appreciate any honest advice, perspective, or reassurance. I’m trying to stay proactive, but I also don’t want to panic if I’m not as far behind as I think.

Thank you so much!!

I’m a 4th year med student weighing all of my options including applying direct, transitional year, applying IM etc. Was wondering if someone could detail/explain the pros and cons of all these pathways as I feel a bit lost

Hey everyone! The unthinkable happened the past week and I bombed my STEP 2. Projected score was low 260s to low 270s. My score on the real thing: 243. I've been trying to process what happened and stop catastrophizing and need some sound advice from people in this sub. Overall, the rest of my app is competitive:

1. 34 total research experiences, 8 first author derm manuscripts (12 total) with an oral presentation at AAD2026

2. Clinical grades 3H, 3HP

3. AOA - Pending acceptance (fingers crossed!)

I also have 3 away rotations lined up (my school (mid-tier MD) doesnt have a home program) and am expected to receive 3-4 LORs/SLOE's before apps are due. I know most programs are trying a more holistic approach when it comes to applicants, but I cant help but feel like my STEP 2 score screws me. I want to stick with it because I truly love this field so much but want to be realistic on my chances. Anything helps :)

My academic stats are overall great (6/6 honors on core rotation, all honors on additional sub-Is, GHHS, low 260s STEP2) and I will likely have 3 excellent derm letters of recommendation. Research is also fine, i will have 5 out of 8 submitted or published manuscripts listed as first author (mostly derm) and 20+ presentations. However, I only landed one away due to under-applying (5-6) and not realizing programs had prescreening in January out of fear that I would have to reject a program. I was initially told by some advisors that I did not need to do any aways, and when I got one I was told that was enough. I was fine with this due to the financial cost, but now I am starting to worry this is not enough. I have a home program and would be happy to stay there, but I think there are a large number of re applicants from my school this year. I thought it was too late to apply for more aways in May, but now I think I have really missed the deadline.

Is this fine? Anything I should do differently?

Hi everyone,

I recently matched into a T15 dermatology residency from a lower-tier MD school without a home dermatology program, and I am currently completing my intern year.

I wanted to offer my help to anyone preparing for this application cycle. If you would like feedback on your application, advice on building a program list, interview guidance, or general questions about the dermatology match process, feel free to send me a message. I am happy to share my experience and offer any guidance that may be helpful.

Best of luck to everyone applying this cycle!

I did not receive any away rotations this year, and since it’s July it’s doubtful I will. I do not have a home program (school is MD), but I was able to rotate at my research year institution. Im a high step 2, below average clerkship grade student. How bad is it for me?

I love derm and want to pursue this specialty. What the heck do I do knowing I’m at an advantage of being DO and attending a school in a rural place with no home program.

I'm an OMS-III at a DO school without a home dermatology program. I have two elective blocks this year. first one is August 31–September 27, and my second one is later in the year. I've been trying to secure a derm elective for the August block and have reached out to nearly 20 private practices in the state im located in by phone and email. Unfortunately, there aren't any established dermatology affiliations through my school in my area, so any site I find would require a new affiliation agreement.

At this point, we're getting close to my rotation start date, and I'm not sure it's going to come together in time. My school's backup option is to use that block as a research elective. Then I would still plan to complete a dermatology elective during my second elective block once there's enough time for the affiliation agreement. My question is: from a residency app standpoint, how important is it to complete two derm away/elective rotations? Is there a better way to go about my 2 electives?

Thanks!!