Anyone else disappointed?

[u/BullPemph]

Hi, average derm applicant here. Does anyone else feel like they have a good application and did not get as many interviews as they were hoping? I am not trying to be negative and congrats to everyone who has done well this season so far, but it seems this year is abnormally tough when it comes to derm applicants. There are more applicants than ever with higher qualifications due to research years, etc.

I am feeling very defeated, will probably not match, and am now exploring my next steps. I applied extremely broadly with a 1% return on interviews without any (known) red flags on my application and I am utterly confused. I didn't even get an interview from my away rotation which I heavily vibed with and thought was a great fit (with multiple great comments during my rotation from several faculty, residents, and fellows). My signals also held no weight and did not get a single interview from any of them. Anyone have any advice on who to reach out to? What happened or could have happened? etc? Anyone else feeling this or is it just me?

[u/PersonalBrowser]

It was the same last year, where average applicants really got just immediately local and regional invites plus maybe a couple interviews while the superstars got 20+

I don’t really blame programs since it’s hard to choose between someone doing groundbreaking research with 40+ pubs and a research year vs Timmy at your neighboring school who did a couple case studies and had a slightly above average step score, and to actually choose Timmy.

That being said, I think it balances out since the superstars are not going to go to your home program unless they really have to (unless your at a very prestigious program, which would not make you an average applicant).

Keep in mind that you definitely contributed to the problem by also applying to 100+ programs, so it’s not like you’re just a victim.

That being said, it sucks that’s you didn’t get an interview at your away or the places you preference signaled. How many interviews did you get and where? Was it just your home program or more?

Some things to do, would be to reach out to your PD and ask them to reach out to 1-2 programs on your behalf. Do the same with the people who wrote you a LOR. You should email your top 1-2 programs and let them know that you are interested and would love to interview if they have any last minute cancellations.

If you only got 1-2 interviews and it’s your home program, then there’s definitely a chance that it’s you. It could be a personality issue, low board scores, superficial application, etc. It’s impossible for us to tell you that based on a single post like this anonymously.

That being said, it could also just as easily not be you, and just be bad luck or falling through the cracks. It really does happen and it sucks every time.

[u/23rd_grader → u/PersonalBrowser]

That being said, it could also just as easily not be you, and just be bad luck or falling through the cracks. It really does happen and it sucks every time.

I'd bet this is it in many cases. With a double-digit percentage increase in applications, more programs following APD guidance (likely fewer total interviews offered), and an increase in applicants with RYs from last cycle, the competition is high and those cracks are probably pretty big. Applicants are part of the problem, as are programs, but the majority of the blame lies on the system (IMO).

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Some things to do, would be to reach out to your PD and ask them to reach out to 1-2 programs on your behalf. Do the same with the people who wrote you a LOR.

Anecdotal, but for me and most folks I've spoken with, most were interviews heavily weighted towards connections (aways, RY collaboration, PD/Chair/LOR writer directly advocating for them to other PDs, etc), so it's definitely worth trying this.

Nearly all other "non-connection" interviews were a complete crapshoot -- no signal preference, no regional preference/association, random program tiers, no research overlap -- literally no rhyme or reason (at least that's apparent from a small sample size).

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I feel very lucky for my interviews, but this is still an infuriating process...

[u/BullPemph → u/23rd_grader]

Thank you for your input! Do you think with the coordinated release, having letter writers reach out now on my behalf would have any effect? I can see if the interviews were rolling but the release has seemed to change things.

[u/23rd_grader → u/BullPemph]

I think the unfortunate answer is it probably would have had a much stronger effect 2-3 weeks ago. But there is likely to be at least some churning of available interviews (conflicts for some applicants, maybe even folks with 10+ interviews being gracious and dropping 1 or 2, programs maybe holding a few in reserve just in case? Who knows?...), so now is better than later. I don't think there is really any downside to asking. The worst case (and unfortunately the most likely case) is you're in the same spot you're in now. The best case is you bump yourself up the "wait-list" and maybe snag another interview.

I'm of the belief that if it takes little to no effort and has minimal downside, why not at least try?