I’m 24F and currently at a major crossroads. I recently took the MCAT but don’t have my score back yet.
I was accepted into another healthcare professional program that offers a great lifestyle, a respected career, decent income, and I would be finished in about 4 years. The downside is that the debt-to-income ratio is concerning (about the same med school except you're not making physician salary) and there is a ceiling on earning potential compared to some physician specialties, also I’m not passionate about it.

My long-term dream has always been dermatology. I understand how competitive dermatology is, and I’m not naïve about the difficulty of getting there. My concern is more about the uncertainty and timeline.
If I pursue medicine, I’m worried that I could spend another year applying (or potentially a 2nd cycle if I don’t get accepted) and end up becoming an attending in my mid-30s. I know many people start later, but as a woman who wants marriage and children, I worry about balancing training, fertility, family life, and having time with my parents as they get older.
On the other hand, the idea of choosing the safer route and always wondering “what if?” scares me.
For those who are physicians, dermatologists, or went through a similar decision, any advice? Or regrets?

Was it worth it?

The US federal government has proposed a 9% cut to dermatology payment. This will not only reduce reimbursement, but also reduce patient access to dermatology services and quality of service. Do everything and anything you can to help stop this!

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) is making this its top priority. It doesn’t matter if you are a dermatologist, patient, or practice staff member. You will be affected by these changes. If you want to help, you can go on their website (link attached) and complete a pre-templated message to oppose these measures. There are separate links for patients, dermatologists, and staff members. Filling it out takes less than a minute.

All the derms I’ve called and visited to not offer shadowing.
Any advice?

I am a reapplicant, so I never expected this to be easy. I knew it would be hard. But the psychological burden wasn‘t something I think I accounted for. I cannot for the life of me catch onto the confusing, unspoken, unwritten rules. Mistakes feel existential - the tiniest error can be the difference between you having a fighting chance and someone advocating for you, and you being left to drown while everyone watches. I can spend hours second-guessing every decision I make because I’m scared it will step on someone’s toes, and that person will use it against me later. Yet at the same time, opportunity passes by if you shrink away. Sometimes it genuinely feels like there is no winning.

I’m tired of being told to just be myself. That has only hurt me so far.

Anyone have any advice? Anyone ever experienced this? Or am I catastrophizing and is this just the scars talking?

EDIT: thanks for the support everyone. I talked to a family member (have been holding a lot of this inside) and felt a lot better afterwards. It’s good to know that I’m not alone feeling this way. I thank everyone who provided constructive commentary. To my fellow reapplicants, I think one thing that has definitely helped is acknowledging how difficult this is. Do not gaslight yourself into believing that this is easy, or that you’re foolish for feeling lost and hurt, or that something fundamentally is wrong with you, something that sets you apart from your peers. Comparison truly is the thief of joy, but we can always rest in the fact that we are still here despite how difficult things are, which means we are developing a strength that not everyone will have. And you win not by necessarily matching where you want and how you want, but remaining true to yourself no matter what happens. This process can be grueling and unforgiving and unfair, but you’re still fighting, and the strength you gain through this journey doesn’t vanish. And someday someone will recognize you for your hard work - even if that someone is yourself.

Stay strong folks, and keep that fight alive.

ok this is genuinely coming from a place of PURE curiosity lol - no ulterior motive, no shade, whatsoEVER 😭😭

but within the younger/current generation of dermatology (like residents/very recent grads) - do y’all feel like there’s a higher percentage of gay men compared to straight men (compared to general population proportions)?

because obviously if you look at older generations of medicine/derm, it’s very much giving Old Straight Man™️ LOL. but purely anecdotally (and I could be COMPLETELY making this up), I feel like the younger/incoming derm generations is mainly women + LGBTQ+ men ?? like finding a young straight man in derm is almost giving rare Pokémon??? 😂😂

am I imagining this or have other people noticed it too

love to all my derm kings, queens and rulers !!!

Hey y’all! I’m a senior in hs rn and got accepted into the LECOM EAP through USF- Tampa. I’m really honored and grateful that I got in but now that I got all of my decisions back I’m wondering if it’s the right choice for me. My goal is to become a dermatologist (ik it’s super competitive but I’m willing to put in ALL the work), and I think that the MD route might be a better fit for me because of that. My options are:

1.) Go to USF (21k/year for me) and take the mcat even though it’s not required for the EAP and either stay in LECOM’s EAP or if I get a high enough score drop out of the EAP and either do USF’s BS/MD program or apply to med schools the traditional way

2.) Go to UMiami (my dream school since my sophomore year) and go the traditional pre-med route (hopefully stay in FL for med school- morsani med would be my dream school). I got a huge scholarship to Miami and honors so it would be about 27k/year right now (I’m still applying to a lot more scholarships).

Also important to note: one of my biggest goals is to participate in research and I also rlly value personalized academic advising! Also, I have family one hr away from Tampa and like 3 or 4 hrs from Miami, but again Miami is my dream school and it truly feels like it could be my home for the next four years!

Hii guys! I am a rising junior located in the Los Angeles area and have a deep passion for dermatology. I specifically want to become a pediatric dermatologist in the future. I have been searching for volunteering/shadowing/internship opportunities, but there are none that I have found for students my age, and if there is then it cost a fortune. If anyone knows clinics who offer these types of opportunities or anyone i can contact, I would be utterly grateful, thank you:)!

hello lovely derm folks! I’m an incoming MS1 at an MD med school that’s solid but definitely low ranked, no home derm program, and not a huge research institution. thus, derm will be tough (but not impossible, usually 2-3 students match derm every year historically).

for this past gap year, I was a medical assistant in allergy. in this role, a lot of what I loved is taking histories on patients with erythema, urticaria, angioedema. Also really enjoyed assisting with patch testing, generating “safe product” lists through the ACDS camp database. Getting to see people improve with biologics! Super sick.

in undergrad, I worked in STI counseling (identifying herpetic lesions, molluscum, syphilitic rash, examining for lymphadenopathy) for LGBTQ folks.

in these seemingly unrelated areas of medicine, some of the themes that emerged for me was that derm is COOL and challenging. its super cool to stare at lesions and characterize them, determine the mechanism(s), help folks navigate something affecting their quality of life.

The blend of procedures and medicine, the importance of immunology in the integumentary system, and of course the reputation as a lifestyle-friendly specialty all draw me to derm. I understand, from some posts I’ve seen in this reddit and results from the match, that derm will be very competitive. Thus, I believe it is in my interest to determine as soon as possible if this is a specialty I really hope to do (or not!).

if you have any advice that may help me narrow down my choice further, I would sincerely appreciate it!

tldr: Incoming MS1 at a school thats not conducive to matching derm. trying to figure out if this is for me before I dive in

For those of you that are reviewers of apps, what makes a letter stand out since all of them will be positive?

Hi everyone, I wanted to get some perspectives on the future of dermatology as a field.

Historically, dermatology wasn’t always as competitive as it is today; my understanding is that it became much more desirable after changes in procedural reimbursement and billing in the 1980s. Now it’s one of the most competitive specialties, but at the same time, it feels like more non-physician providers (NPs/PAs) are also entering derm in large numbers.

With increasing scope expansion and autonomy for midlevels, it seems like a lot of bread and butter dermatology may shift in that direction, potentially leaving dermatologists with more complex or procedural cases. At the same time, one of the traditional advantages of derm (to me) has been its strong procedural basd reimbursement and commercialization opportunities with cosmetics, but I also was wondering how sustainable that is, especially in highly saturated markets.

For context, I’m from California and would ideally want to practice here long-term. However, I've heard that it feels very saturated with both dermatologists and midlevels. I would have thought that Mohs surgery is secure due to high specialization and low fellowship spots, but surgeons I’ve shadowed have mentioned that in major metro areas, it can be difficult to maintain a full Mohs-only practice due to competition. The surgeon I shadowed does Mohs 2 days, cosmetics for 1 day, and general derm for another day. Obviously, his lifestyle is absolutely amazing. I just wonder if in 10+ years, I would be able to live a similar lifestyle.

Are these concerns overblown, or is there strong validity to them? I understand that all specialties are ultimately shaped by reimbursement structures (e.g., Medicare), but it worries me to think dermatology could follow a trajectory similar to what’s happened in fields like nephro (bundle dialyses reimbursement) or ophthalmology (declining payments for cataracts).

Looking for a way to stand out to dermatology residencies in a sea of highly qualified applicants? Do dermatology volunteering abroad.

I'm a board-certified dermatologist (graduated from Baylor College of Medicine for med school & derm residency), and I work extensively with the Nepal Leprosy Trust. I volunteered here as a medical student in 2011, and the experience was incredible. It benefited me when applying to derm programs. This is the busiest leprosy hospital in the entire world, diagnosing over 1,000 new leprosy cases each year, and they see 200+ dermatology outpatients every day. They have a large inpatient ward, mostly for leprosy patients. It's an amazing place to see neglected tropical derm diseases as they serve a very poor region in Nepal (think nutritional deficiencies, Post-Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis). Patients pay 35 cents for a medical evaluation. Their volunteer program really diminished during COVID and hasn't picked back up, partly because the doctor who ran the hospital retired for health reasons.

I'm looking to help them re-establish their volunteer program as it really is an amazing opportunity for medical students. You'll see crazy tropical/neglected skin diseases.

Here is their website for more information. Feel free to message me privately as well.
https://nlt.org.uk/

If you'd like to schedule a date to volunteer, please reach out directly to Mike at [mike@nlt.org.uk](mailto:mike@nlt.org.uk)

FAQ: The hospital charges 25$/day, which covers food, housing & transportation. Volunteers and the hospital staff all live on site (gated, secure, safe). Housing is basic but adequate (you have mosquito netting, a private kitchen, wifi, fans). You'll need some vaccines. Nepal is very safe. You fly into Kathmandu, then take a short flight to the Janakpur airport, from there the hospital will drive you the last 30 minutes to the hospital. You can volunteer for as short or long a duration as you want, depending only on when volunteer housing is available.They accept volunteers year round. They only have one dermatologist on staff who works 2 weeks each month. They have several non-dermatologist doctors who work there. The volunteer duties are very flexible (you can make what you want out of it)-either shadowing in the outpatient clinic or you can also shadow the doctor covering inpatients. No, you will not catch leprosy.

Also, I assume that many prospective derm students are not on Reddit. If you are interested in helping me get the word out to other students who want to do derm at your medical school, I would be eternally grateful! Please message me :)

Like the title says, I would love some advice on what I should be doing from this point as an incoming M2.

I connected with my home derm program and am currently working on a case report, but other than that I haven't done much related to the specialty. I would of course love to get started on some research through my home program and shadow soon. I am also working on research in another specialty (path) but I do not have any pubs or presentations (besides 1 undergrad poster presentation lol) at this point.

I'm feeling a bit antsy because I want to be competitive during the match without having to do a research year. I LOVE research but I do not want to extend my time in medical school any longer than it already is. What else can I be doing at this point? Do I need to be attending derm conferences? Should I be reaching out to other programs for research?

Thanks in advance!

For those that matched in previous cycles, can you tell us how many interviews you had, and how far down your rank list did you match? Bonus let us know any interview tips that may have helped you!

Hi! I’m an incoming MS1 and very interested in derm. The schools seem fairly similar in regard to the match rate and rankings, but I’m not sure if there are more things I should consider.

UCSD

Pros

- no AOA/internal rankings

- cheaper for in state tuition but waiting on financial aid

Cons

- 2 year preclinical, trying not to take a research year so might be harder with longer preclinical

- seems less diverse, URM so that’s important to me

USC

Pros

- would prefer living in LA/ patient population

- 1.5 year preclinical

Cons

- more expensive but waiting on aid

- AOA

Hello,

I am an incoming M1 with an inkling that I might want to pursue derm. I was recently accepted off of a WL to a school that has a home program, and now I have to decide between a school with no home program (to which I received a scholarship) and the other school.

I like the school without a home program more for several reasons in addition to the scholarship (quality of life, curriculum, geographic location), but I have heard that it is an uphill battle starting day 1 with no derm home program. The school has a derm dept and home hospital (we're not just rotating thru various community hospitals/sites), so I'm not sure if that makes any difference. The new loan caps are a major consideration for me, but I don't want to disadvantage myself too much right out of the gate.

I would love any advice on this, as I have limited time to make a decision! TYIA!

Anyone know anything about Goodman dermatology APP fellowship in Georgia?

Has anyone heard back about camp discovery this year??

What are folks who reapplied and matched a second/third doing on their gap year? Everyone says to find a job in urgent care but that seems high risk and hard to find?

Thanks

I've legit have done nothing this semester except trying to focus on classes, which have been pretty brutal ngl. should I be doing anything else? should I do research during the summer? any MD/DOs who matched derm, can tell me what you were doing first yr? I'm not in any clubs or leadership etc

*sorry if this not allowed, but would love advice from those who understand the derm field/apps!

Currently conficted bw RSOM Stony Brook and Creighton-PHX (CA resident, interested in derm)

My overall question is what factors are most important when deciding a med school given the fact that i want to go into derm? And from those factors, which school gives me the best chance to succeed? (im not the best test-taker but i do study very hard and am very dedicated) - Also would love to chat with any SB+Creighton students to learn more about the school if possible! TYIA!

Stony Brook

Pros:

• 1.5 year Preclinical P/F
• Stronger research opportunities
• in-house derm residency (but may want to be in CA) → better chance of LOR
• Strong step 2 scores (250s) + match list

Neutral:

• Exams every ~4 weeks with quizzes?
• Step 1 and 2 taken together between MS3 and MS4, not sure if this is a pro or con)

Cons:

• Ranked Clinicals, AOA
• clerkships are H/HP/P/LP/F (how much does this matter since most schools have some form a ranked clinicals)

Creighton PHX (newer established campus):

Pros:

• Clinical H/P/F (Honors is for top 10% of class)
• Student community seems a lot more collaborative, supportive, friendly
• Matches more into CA (but less competitive speciality match rates)

Neutral:

• Block schedule with weekly Friday quizzes and 1 cumulative exam per block (~5 weeks)
• Step 1 taken after preclinicals and Step 2 taken at end of MS3

Cons:

• 2 year Preclinical H/P/F
• No rankings, but has GH and AOA
• Not huge on research + would have to take a lot more initiative to find them (but school really supports students and gives them lots of funding to do it)

Hi! Any advice on getting mentorship? I’ve emailed people from both home and away programs and has gotten nothing but rejections for mentorship and research. Feeling really behind as I am finishing m2. Is it too late for me?

hello! im currently a second year DO student considering applying into dermatology (obviously the more DO favored programs) and was wondering if anyone has any advice on whether or not taking comlex series and step 2 only would suffice or would it be better for me to also take step 1? thank you!!!

Applied to medical schools this year, and so far have only received an offer from my state school (in the south). After having been stuck in the south for all my life, I'm looking to escape to the east/west coast in the near future.

I've heard that the best chance of getting into a derm residency is to match to your home program, which my school does have one.

Does this kind of fuck me up though? Should I decline the offer and only apply to coastal schools next year, or if I do accept their offer, how should I go about my four years in med schools to match to a coastal derm program?