advice, please!

[youngrace]

first off, let me just say that i've wanted to be a derm for a really long time.

i'm currently a pre-med, and considering medical school options. do any of you experienced, wiser folk know if it's better to go to a top medical school (will i have to duke it out tooth and nail for a derm residency?), or something a little below that (but have an easier go at placing)? this is where i have no clue--i don't necessarily want to go to a top med school only to end up with a residency in something i can't enjoy. any advice?

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[ny skindoc]

first off, let me just say that i've wanted to be a derm for a really long time.

i'm currently a pre-med, and considering medical school options. do any of you experienced, wiser folk know if it's better to go to a top medical school (will i have to duke it out tooth and nail for a derm residency?), or something a little below that (but have an easier go at placing)? this is where i have no clue--i don't necessarily want to go to a top med school only to end up with a residency in something i can't enjoy. any advice?

If you can go to a truly TOP med school,yes it will help.The numbers matching into Derm from Harvard and Yale are much higher than most med schools.However it does not seem to make much difference from most other prestige med schools.The majority of matched applicants do not come from "top" schools.A large percentage match at their home programSo its more important to go to a med school with a strong derm dept and do well there.A look at the most recent match lists in Derm will make this clear.But if you can go to Harvard or Yale by all means do so, that is still not a guarantee. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/longk/Derm2005.htm

 

[PathOne]

Generally speaking, you'd want to get into the best med school that will accept you.

It's true, as ny skindoc pointed out, that especially Harvard and Yale has a track record for getting grads into the residencies they want - in Derm and almost any other specialty.
However, beyond the really famous schools, I can assure you that Derm residency directors spend A LOT less time looking at the US News rankings than prospective med students do. An outstanding applicant from a lowly-ranked med school has a significantly better chance of matching than an also-ran at a "top-15" or whatever med school.
So, apart from getting into a med school where you will enjoy spending four years of your life at, get cracking at opportunities that can show that you truly is interested in Derm. There's no accredited US school which will exclude you, or significantly decrease your chances, for matching into Derm. And if you want, you can do away-rotations at derm departments that may have a better reputation than your home school.