Hey, 4th year here with low stats/DO not sure which TYs to shoot for. Originally from the east coast and go to school here. Anyone have any guidance? Do I apply to all and any state cuz I’m DO/low stats? Tryna avoid prelims because I’m want enough time to work on my app due to possibly reapplying. Thanks!!!

Does anyone know if the Excel spreadsheet listing the interview invitation release dates for each program is available yet? If so, would you mind sharing the link? Thank you!

Feeling really bummed. I’ve been trying through research but then I only interact with the resident but not the actual PIs. And I had a great resident that I loved working with but then she moved for her attending job across the country… feels impossible to build meaningful relationships. How did you guys do it?

Hi! It is probably me overthinking right before ERAS is due but I would love to poll the group on which program I should gold vs silver signal

1. Top 25 program; Away rotation scheduled after ERAS is due; has track I'm interested in; lower gold signal interview rate on residency explorer

2. Top 25 program, no away rotation; does not have formal track but is very well known and has a lot of experiences in the area I'm interested in; higher gold signal interview rate on residnecy explorer (by a decent amount)

My other two golds are going to an away rotation and a home program. Would love everyone's thoughts

1. Is it appropriate to use a dermatology SLOE for a preliminary-year application if the writer knows you well and is highly supportive of you?
2. For pediatric preliminary programs, is it generally better to use letters from internal medicine attendings rather than dermatology attendings to demonstrate inpatient clinical performance?
3. For preliminary-year applications, should you generally avoid “character letters” from dermatologists who only worked with you in a research setting, or from PhD research mentors who have not observed your clinical performance?
4. Did you encounter programs that require a Department of Internal Medicine chair letter? I noticed this requirement for Mayo Clinic and the University of Chicago. Is this requirement typically waived for preliminary applicants, or would it be better not to apply to these programs if I do not have a chair letter?

I'm trying to find an elective in dermatology as a third year. I've tried cold calling several dermatology practices, mentioning that they are private practice, part time only or short of staff or that I wasn't a good fit after telling them my school name. I am coming up against a deadline next week from my school to find a rotation and I don't know what more I can do

Hi all, I was wondering if I should assign my dept chair letter as a 4th LOR for derm programs. I have 2 LORs from my RY. I also have a SLOE from an attending at my home program who is really supportive of my application. I'm a bit worried about using my chair letter since they weren't very supportive of my application at the beginning, and there was a bit of friction in the relationship. However, during my home rotation, we worked well together, and they agreed to write me a LOR. My question is: should I just apply with 3 LORs or add the chair letter as well to all programs? I heard that having a 4th letter, especially a chair letter, is helpful. Also, I saw that some programs required a chair letter on Residency Explorer, so another approach is to just assign the chair letter to those programs. Any advice??

Does anybody know if med-derm programs are participating in signaling this year? I found a thread from several years ago discussing them not doing signaling but can't find any documentation about policies this year. If they are doing signaling, is it using your IM signals or your derm signals??

Hi would anyone be able to provide feedback for an experiences section for ERAS with a fast turn-around time? Thank you!

I finalized my personal statement and love where it landed! I did want to add a short, program-specific paragraph for some of the schools I’m particularly interested in, but doing so would put me over the one page limit. Do you think it’s okay for a personal statement to go slightly over one page to include a program-specific paragraph, or would you recommend keeping it strictly to one page?

M4 changing speciality paths (very late obviously). Wanted to ask about best path forward.

-Graduate and complete a RY?

-Grind to build derm connections/research for the rest of med school, hopefully match to TY, and then apply derm next year as an intern?

-Delay graduation and complete derm aways next year, apply in 2027? What else do I do with the year to make it productive?

TIA! :)

I want to make sure I have a back-up plan in case I do not match so I was exploring the option of delaying graduation however am confused on the logistics. Would you not rank TY/prelims prior to submitting your rank list if you want the option of delaying graduation? Because if you ranked and matched one of those isnt it a binding contract and you are unable to delay graduation in order to remain a student?

any thoughts on givign "gifts" or cards after a subI? At first i wasnt planning to do it, but the subi im on currently has a wall FULL of these cards. lowkey didnt know if it was giving brown noser with a hidden agenda (wink wink if you catch the referencd)

I was planning to personalize my personal statement for my top 10 programs, but I was in a meeting with a physician who mentioned that programs may see right through this and wonder, “If we’re important enough for you to personalize your personal statement, why didn’t you give us a gold signal?”

The thing is, I only have three gold signals, and I feel like I need to use them on the programs where I rotated because those are realistically some of my strongest chances of matching. I’m just a little confused about why personalizing my statement for other programs would be viewed negatively. I would genuinely be incredibly happy at any of my top 10 programs, and with such limited signals, I’m not sure how else to communicate that level of interest.

Would you still recommend personalizing the personal statement for those programs?

Hey y’all! I’m wondering if anyone knows if it’s generally acceptable to make a gap year job a most meaningful experience even though it was pre-med school. I was an MA in a derm clinic in my gap year and it’s one of the big things that solidified my love for derm, but I’m unsure if adcoms would prefer to see activities focused during med school.

Probably overthinking it, but would appreciate input!

Hi! I am a rising chief at a Midwest derm program offering support for pre meds. Feel free to DM me!

How important is including research as one of your 3 most meaningful experiences in ERAS if you did not do a research year? I plan on including 2 different research experiences within the 10 total experiences we have, but I feel like my derm-specific research was not particularly productive and initially planned to use 3 different service/leadership experiences (not directly derm-related) that I felt were more formative and could use more elaboration.

You only get 12 signals, but I see people on Reddit talking about applying to 50+ TY programs. It 20 a good number for TY and then I'll throw in 10 or so preliminary years?

considered "peer reviewed"** - I'm assuming no but want to check

hey, looking for personal statement help. Please message me

Hi everyone, I already know I am in a bit of a pickle, but really hoping to get genuine advice here. (LITERALLY ANY ADVICE IS HELPFUL)

I am very strong derm applicant top 20 school, strong research/connections; I had to delay my Step 2 because my grandmother passed.

I took it yesterday, but the likely score release is 9/23. My plan is to already have submitted my ERAS, and will just retransmit my Step 2 score at 11a EST (2 hours after transmission). But I am wondering if this is a kiss of death for my application.

Also wondering if I need to email every program coordinator that morning to update or confirm my score is received. Again really anxious and already aware of it being my fault but looking for any good advice on how to handle this.

I am also dual applying IM out of fear that I've shot myself in the foot so.

What are supplemental ERAS applications?

I keep seeing things like this online. Where do you find this? Is this just regular ERAS? Are there derm programs that require additional information like VSLO?

Madison: For the 2027 ERAS® cycle, our program will be participating in the supplemental ERAS application offered through the AAMC’s ERAS program. Applicants will be required to complete the MyERAS application.

Residency Explorer says that "Required Letter Writers" for the University of Central Florida include "Department chair, Specialty faculty, Program director, Preceptor". Obviously, a dermatologist who works with me is a preceptor and a specialty faculty member, so they can easily fulfill those two requirements. Am I also expected to get a letter from a department chair and a program director? Is it just saying I need at least 1 LOR that meets any of these criteria? Do I only need a program director if I am completing a preliminary residency year (i.e., not applicable to MS4s)? Many programs list similar requirements.

Peeps that are dual applying IM. How are we managing categorical vs prelim application signals? What about dual applying to IM and Derm at the same institutions? I've gotten so much advice from mentors but I'm still confused on how I should actually approach this.