- Joined
- Mar 16, 2016
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Greetings:
I am writing to those who have unmatched this application cycle.
I am very sorry that you are in this situation and I can understand the pain you are going through as a reapplicant myself. This match process is such a crapshoot and by no means you should take your result to heart. Keep moving forward, life goes on, and you will eventually get there.
I matched as a reapplicant and would like to share my experience if it helps any of you...
I found out last year that I didn't match. I was shocked. I had known I wanted to do dermatology from my first year of medical school. I tried my hardest in school, tried to obtain honors in rotations, published as many projects as possible, attended grand rounds from other institutions as much as I could (my school did not have a derm department). My advisors all felt confident about me matching the first time around which really gave me high hopes for the match. I was elated when I received 8 interviews and thought I would make it. Not matching was undoubtedly a major set back.
The ensuing one to two weeks were the toughest. I tried to be happy and enjoy in the celebrations of my friends who had matched, but it was very difficult. I was very fortunate, however, to have my friends and family, as they really helped me go through this difficult process and motivated me to try again. I had several rotations to go before graduation and it was very difficult to focus on my work while everyone was rejoicing. Regardless, I looked forward and focused on the positive aspects of my life - this is very important and I hope all of you focus on what you have. There are so many people who face harder challenges and this is relatively a small hurdle in your life that you will eventually pass through.
After graduation, I felt better and started to feel genuinely happy again. I was determined to try again in the upcoming cycle with a slightly different approach. I moved to a new location for intern year and was delighted to be in such a fun and focused environment. There were times where I felt sad and shed some tears after being reminded about the recent match, but there were so many more times where I felt happy to be in the supportive environment I was in and was thankful that I had the opportunity to actually help people as a physician. Always remember that we are truly privileged to be a part of the medical field as a whole. You are a doctor regardless of the match and that will always be your best professional accomplishment in life. Being around patients is truly inspiring and will uplift your spirits.
On anohter note, there are some things to keep in mind when you feel down. It is totally reasonable and expected that you will feel this way. A problem exists when you cannot find a way out of that momentary sadness. Talk to your loved ones and friends. Keep focusing on your positive aspects of your life, good memories, motivational stories, and the fact that this whole process is such a crapshoot. You have all worked really hard and do not deserve going unmatched. But keep in mind that there is light to the end of the tunnel. You will reapply again and again until you get there. YOU WILL GET THERE. There are so many options that we will discuss below and you will find success in one way or another.
Re-applying into derm during intern year is hard, but not impossible. I focused more on my application this year. On my personal statement, I mentioned that I am a reapplicant and what makes me a better candidate this year. It is also so important to really focus on that personal box where you can detail your interests. I also changed some of my recommendations (received some from my away rotations from the year prior). I also think it is essential to have your prelim/TY program director write you a LOR as well (I know it will be based on the first two months of your intern year, but they all know what to expect from an intern at that stage). I applied to all programs as I did before (I recommend applying to every program as you never know if there is a physician only spot available at a particular program). To the programs I had interviewed before, I detailed exactly what I loved about that program. One pearl is that you should remain in touch with your home program, or an institution where you did your aways or research. If you loved a program in your previous interview cycle, talk to them and try to receive their mentorship. They may bat for you, provide you with resesarch opportunities, or just motivate you to go forward. Don't worry about being informed about "out of the match spots" - I felt that most if not all programs who had a physician only position went through the next match cycle.
I received 10 interviews (including those with physician only positions) and was still nervous. This time, I really focused on being myself on the interviews and was perfectly honest. You will get these two questions repeatedly: "Why didn't you match?" and "How did you improve on your application?" Each person will have a different answer. Tell them honestly and I think it will go a long way. People will notice your dedication to the field and think it is admirable that you are still following your passion.
Attend every interview. You can request elective time during December/January from your intern/TY program director to attend these interviews. After going through this process twice, I still do not understand the importance of the dinners and do not know how much it impacts your ranking. I feel that smaller programs prefer that you attend the dinner.
I learned on Monday that I matched into dermatology
It has been a whirlwind of a year. You too, will realize soon that continued determination, perseverance, and humility will take you far and help you achieve your goals. Do not take your match result as the end result. There are so many options from here out that I hope to clarify below:
1. To reapply or not immediately? I highly recommend to reapply in the upcoming cycle during your intern year if you can afford it. There are a number of "physician only" spots that open up every year and you may find out of a program opening until later in the match process (November time frame). This is why it is so important to apply to every program in the country because you never know when and where these spots open up. Also there is a program in NY that accepts 3 interns to start immediately, but requires you to withdraw from the match. Regardless, apply to this program in addition to all programs in the match cycle. Now, there is no option on ERAS that shows if you are a reapplicant or not. I think the more times you apply, the higher your chances solely because programs see your determination (this is solely my personal opinion and is contrary to what many have advised). Side note, I have met with several attendings who have mentioned that their loved one or themselves have not matched their first or second time around, but made it their second or third time. One joked that it takes 3 times to get into dermatology (he continued medicine residency, and then reapplied). I think the only thing you have to lose if you apply immediately is your hard work (it is stressful to apply during intern year but doable), and money (you know that already).
2. Research fellowship? Be cautious of what you choose. Go through the match excel file posted by our fellow SDN'ers and see where matched applicants have researched. You will notice some have THE NAME followed by "Research fellow with Dr. ___ at X institution". Go for these institutions if you want to do a research fellowship. Minimal requirement will be 2 years, most likely, and you will not have the opportunity to immediately apply in the upcoming cycle. However, I feel that most places that offer the 2 year fellowship, match the research fellow. Just be cautious and speak to former research fellows about their experience. If I didn't match this cycle, I was going to look for 2-year research fellowships and reapply in the upcoming cycle, again (as my third time).
3. Continuing medicine. Some intern programs offer the opportunity to continue medicine. If your passion really is all about dermatology, I would rather pursue the above option of the 2 year fellowship. Continuing medicine for two years and pursuing fellowship for two years involve the same amount of hard work (may be harder for the medicine route). The difference is that if you choose to do a 2 year fellowship at a program that matches its own candidates, you have higher chances there, when compared to completing medicine residency, where you have to go out of your way to establish contacts in the derm dept, take special time to research and crank out pubs, and not really establish an obligation to help you match from the derm mentor you have been working. Best part about this option is that you can reapply in the upcming cycle, and if it doesn't work out, you can reconsider this option again
4. SOAPing into another field. I'm not too familiar about this option. If anyone has done this, please feel free to post below. I'd assume if you don't make it during the reapplication cycle, you can SOAP into another field or one of the open spots (?) in derm if there is one. Again, if you have a true passion for derm, the research fellowshp is a better option.
Again, the most important point to reiterate is to focus on the positive aspects of your life now. It is no doubt a challenging point of your life, but once you move forward, you will gain the courage and determination to do all of this again if derm is sincerely your passion. I would love to answer any questions/concerns you may have in the meanwhile. Feel free to PM me. I wish you all the success and hope that my message stirred the power within you to overcome this challenge.
-Reapplicant
I am writing to those who have unmatched this application cycle.
I am very sorry that you are in this situation and I can understand the pain you are going through as a reapplicant myself. This match process is such a crapshoot and by no means you should take your result to heart. Keep moving forward, life goes on, and you will eventually get there.
I matched as a reapplicant and would like to share my experience if it helps any of you...
I found out last year that I didn't match. I was shocked. I had known I wanted to do dermatology from my first year of medical school. I tried my hardest in school, tried to obtain honors in rotations, published as many projects as possible, attended grand rounds from other institutions as much as I could (my school did not have a derm department). My advisors all felt confident about me matching the first time around which really gave me high hopes for the match. I was elated when I received 8 interviews and thought I would make it. Not matching was undoubtedly a major set back.
The ensuing one to two weeks were the toughest. I tried to be happy and enjoy in the celebrations of my friends who had matched, but it was very difficult. I was very fortunate, however, to have my friends and family, as they really helped me go through this difficult process and motivated me to try again. I had several rotations to go before graduation and it was very difficult to focus on my work while everyone was rejoicing. Regardless, I looked forward and focused on the positive aspects of my life - this is very important and I hope all of you focus on what you have. There are so many people who face harder challenges and this is relatively a small hurdle in your life that you will eventually pass through.
After graduation, I felt better and started to feel genuinely happy again. I was determined to try again in the upcoming cycle with a slightly different approach. I moved to a new location for intern year and was delighted to be in such a fun and focused environment. There were times where I felt sad and shed some tears after being reminded about the recent match, but there were so many more times where I felt happy to be in the supportive environment I was in and was thankful that I had the opportunity to actually help people as a physician. Always remember that we are truly privileged to be a part of the medical field as a whole. You are a doctor regardless of the match and that will always be your best professional accomplishment in life. Being around patients is truly inspiring and will uplift your spirits.
On anohter note, there are some things to keep in mind when you feel down. It is totally reasonable and expected that you will feel this way. A problem exists when you cannot find a way out of that momentary sadness. Talk to your loved ones and friends. Keep focusing on your positive aspects of your life, good memories, motivational stories, and the fact that this whole process is such a crapshoot. You have all worked really hard and do not deserve going unmatched. But keep in mind that there is light to the end of the tunnel. You will reapply again and again until you get there. YOU WILL GET THERE. There are so many options that we will discuss below and you will find success in one way or another.
Re-applying into derm during intern year is hard, but not impossible. I focused more on my application this year. On my personal statement, I mentioned that I am a reapplicant and what makes me a better candidate this year. It is also so important to really focus on that personal box where you can detail your interests. I also changed some of my recommendations (received some from my away rotations from the year prior). I also think it is essential to have your prelim/TY program director write you a LOR as well (I know it will be based on the first two months of your intern year, but they all know what to expect from an intern at that stage). I applied to all programs as I did before (I recommend applying to every program as you never know if there is a physician only spot available at a particular program). To the programs I had interviewed before, I detailed exactly what I loved about that program. One pearl is that you should remain in touch with your home program, or an institution where you did your aways or research. If you loved a program in your previous interview cycle, talk to them and try to receive their mentorship. They may bat for you, provide you with resesarch opportunities, or just motivate you to go forward. Don't worry about being informed about "out of the match spots" - I felt that most if not all programs who had a physician only position went through the next match cycle.
I received 10 interviews (including those with physician only positions) and was still nervous. This time, I really focused on being myself on the interviews and was perfectly honest. You will get these two questions repeatedly: "Why didn't you match?" and "How did you improve on your application?" Each person will have a different answer. Tell them honestly and I think it will go a long way. People will notice your dedication to the field and think it is admirable that you are still following your passion.
Attend every interview. You can request elective time during December/January from your intern/TY program director to attend these interviews. After going through this process twice, I still do not understand the importance of the dinners and do not know how much it impacts your ranking. I feel that smaller programs prefer that you attend the dinner.
I learned on Monday that I matched into dermatology
It has been a whirlwind of a year. You too, will realize soon that continued determination, perseverance, and humility will take you far and help you achieve your goals. Do not take your match result as the end result. There are so many options from here out that I hope to clarify below:1. To reapply or not immediately? I highly recommend to reapply in the upcoming cycle during your intern year if you can afford it. There are a number of "physician only" spots that open up every year and you may find out of a program opening until later in the match process (November time frame). This is why it is so important to apply to every program in the country because you never know when and where these spots open up. Also there is a program in NY that accepts 3 interns to start immediately, but requires you to withdraw from the match. Regardless, apply to this program in addition to all programs in the match cycle. Now, there is no option on ERAS that shows if you are a reapplicant or not. I think the more times you apply, the higher your chances solely because programs see your determination (this is solely my personal opinion and is contrary to what many have advised). Side note, I have met with several attendings who have mentioned that their loved one or themselves have not matched their first or second time around, but made it their second or third time. One joked that it takes 3 times to get into dermatology (he continued medicine residency, and then reapplied). I think the only thing you have to lose if you apply immediately is your hard work (it is stressful to apply during intern year but doable), and money (you know that already).
2. Research fellowship? Be cautious of what you choose. Go through the match excel file posted by our fellow SDN'ers and see where matched applicants have researched. You will notice some have THE NAME followed by "Research fellow with Dr. ___ at X institution". Go for these institutions if you want to do a research fellowship. Minimal requirement will be 2 years, most likely, and you will not have the opportunity to immediately apply in the upcoming cycle. However, I feel that most places that offer the 2 year fellowship, match the research fellow. Just be cautious and speak to former research fellows about their experience. If I didn't match this cycle, I was going to look for 2-year research fellowships and reapply in the upcoming cycle, again (as my third time).
3. Continuing medicine. Some intern programs offer the opportunity to continue medicine. If your passion really is all about dermatology, I would rather pursue the above option of the 2 year fellowship. Continuing medicine for two years and pursuing fellowship for two years involve the same amount of hard work (may be harder for the medicine route). The difference is that if you choose to do a 2 year fellowship at a program that matches its own candidates, you have higher chances there, when compared to completing medicine residency, where you have to go out of your way to establish contacts in the derm dept, take special time to research and crank out pubs, and not really establish an obligation to help you match from the derm mentor you have been working. Best part about this option is that you can reapply in the upcming cycle, and if it doesn't work out, you can reconsider this option again
4. SOAPing into another field. I'm not too familiar about this option. If anyone has done this, please feel free to post below. I'd assume if you don't make it during the reapplication cycle, you can SOAP into another field or one of the open spots (?) in derm if there is one. Again, if you have a true passion for derm, the research fellowshp is a better option.
Again, the most important point to reiterate is to focus on the positive aspects of your life now. It is no doubt a challenging point of your life, but once you move forward, you will gain the courage and determination to do all of this again if derm is sincerely your passion. I would love to answer any questions/concerns you may have in the meanwhile. Feel free to PM me. I wish you all the success and hope that my message stirred the power within you to overcome this challenge.
-Reapplicant
