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- Thread starter Piolho
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Not having a home program hurts. How many away rotations are you planning on doing? The more you do the better your chances and seeming interested/personable will help. Try to do a research elective with someone for a month or two at another program if possible. When will you be taking Step 2? Obviously doing research will help if you take a year between 3 and 4. Many programs require fellows to have completed an internship prior to starting but there are others that take medical students. Your experience between those two types of research fellowships are quite different.
Options:
1)Just apply without taking time off. If you match then you saved yourself a year and the expenses of moving multiple times.
2)If you don't match into dermatology then make sure you match into a PGY-1. Apply for a research fellowship during your internship early on in the year. Most fellowships are two years. During your first year of your fellowship repply for dermatology residency.
2)Take a year off in a student research fellowship between M3/4. I've seen some students go to the NIH to do research in more competitive fellowships.
Options:
1)Just apply without taking time off. If you match then you saved yourself a year and the expenses of moving multiple times.
2)If you don't match into dermatology then make sure you match into a PGY-1. Apply for a research fellowship during your internship early on in the year. Most fellowships are two years. During your first year of your fellowship repply for dermatology residency.
2)Take a year off in a student research fellowship between M3/4. I've seen some students go to the NIH to do research in more competitive fellowships.
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241-250 is the second most common range of successful applicants below 251-260. See the chart from the last NRMP charting outcomes 2018.
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Do more research. Do your best to honor your rotations. Get good letters of recommendation with someone that will vouch for you especially at that same program. You are in the same boat with a lot of people with your numbers and it's not an easy ride.
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Isn't 240s a great score though? 
For derm, does it have to be 255 or above for you to be competitive?
For derm, does it have to be 255 or above for you to be competitive?
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Isn't 240s a great score though?
Average Step 1 score of those who matched in dermatology in 2018 is 249. Average Step 1 score of those who didn't match is 241.
So yes, 241 is a pretty good score, it should get you past most cutoffs, but the other parts of your application profile need to be just as good or better in order to match up well with everyone else.
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Isn't 240s a great score though?
About 7,000 US MDs (1/3 of all students) get above a 240 on step 1, so while it is a respectable score, it's hard to call that a great score. I would imagine those matching with 240s are very highly qualified and have many other great aspects in their application. A 240 alone won't cut it, nor would a 250 or a 260 alone.
I liked the previous suggestion of a research year between 3rd/4th year. That could really strengthen an applicant on the lower end of Step 1 scores.
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Simply completing a research fellowship is not enough. It's more about how you are performing, and how much you accomplish. Successful people are very productive. One guy i heard of had 20-25+ publications from one year (and no, I am not talking about case reports). And yes, with a supremely productive research year, very few people will care about a 241.