Look I think the reason most people aren't posting is because after going through the process you realize this stuff won't help. You will always hear the story of someone with a 220 and no research match and maybe it's because they had a connection or maybe they were hard workers with good personalities. I'm sure you also hear 270 AOA. 6 jaad submission people not match and then "average" applicants with a 245 not AOA and like a case report match. You also hear of those people not match. If your board scores are super high.. You will get interviews. If they are "average" you will still get interviews. There is no magic formula i assure you. People you think won't match will match and people you think are all stars might not match. Obviously the majority lie in between. There is enough info out there for you to gauge "what it takes to match" but the truth is every person has a different experience. I met kids on the interview trail with identical applications to me that had many more or many less interviews. Everyone who went through this has to agree. I always thought I can't wait to post my stats and help others but after going through it my best advice is to not let this get in your head. If you have a solid application.. You know you do and just get ready to go through the process! Good luck! Feel free to pm w any questions.
To answer your question: I was not a rockstar, had no publications, 251 step one, 253 step 2 ... Matched at my number 1... Other kids in my class 267 step 1, 273 step 2... AOA.. 5 pubs and awesome personality matched 9th on her list at a comparable program to me
😵 -- Your Step scores were greater than 1 standard deviation above the average. Hardly something to shy away from.
I think where someone matches on their Derm match list is quite irrelevant in this discussion. There's a reason the NRMP doesn't calculate anymore the percentage who got their "first choice". There's a reason for this -- it's bc the factors used to arrange a match list are based on so many factors: geographic, family, etc. Not every matched dermatology applicant used academic prestige as the sole factor to arrange their list. Also, not everyone who goes to a prestigious medical school, and is applying to derm, wants to go to a hardcore derm program. Remember, many applicants are of the age to where they're getting married, wanting to have children, etc. so being exhausted from being the Derm consult resident isn't the way they want to spend their 3 years of residency. Not everyone wants to match at Harvard, NYU, UPenn, UCSF, etc. in which you get a ridiculous amount of volume. Remember you have to have the strength to read when you go home.
I think applicants fail to realize that USMLE Step 1 is ONE metric. It's not THE metric. For all intents and purposes a 270 on Step 1 doesn't give you that much leverage over a 245/250. Are there 220s that match into Derm? I'm sure but you have to look at other things: did they do a research year/fellowship? Are they the wife/son/daughter of a derm faculty member? (Yes, this still happens), did they match into their home program which may not be as "prestigious"? Did they have an MD/PhD?
Also, you'll be amazed the rockstars who have excelled on every single medical school metric are AOA, etc. and on the day of the interview are one of the most spoiled, elitist narcissists when going on tours --- they give off such vibes which Derm residents pick up on and then put on another face to faculty interviewers. Sorry, but if you can't even fake being nice and kind on the day of a Derm interview - you don't deserve to be there.
By the way this also applies to audition electives.
Any faculty member in any specialty will tell you (but esp. in Derm), that you're not ENTITLED to a Derm residency. All one can do is point out the strengths and weaknesses of your application and what to improve on. The game has always been a playing of the odds in this process.
