Best Medical Schools for Dermatology

[Sophia88]

I am currently deciding between several medical schools and I have wanted to go into derm since high school! I have been accepted already to Mt. Sinai and NYU and my other top choices include Columbia and Cornell (I would really like to stay in the NYC area for personal reasons). I was wondering which of these medical schools would be the best choice to maximize my chances of obtaining a residency in derm? I know NYU has a very strong derm program but its medical school is not ranked as highly? Thank you!

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[asmallchild]

I am currently deciding between several medical schools and I have wanted to go into derm since high school! I have been accepted already to Mt. Sinai and NYU and my other top choices include Columbia and Cornell (I would really like to stay in the NYC area for personal reasons). I was wondering which of these medical schools would be the best choice to maximize my chances of obtaining a residency in derm? I know NYU has a very strong derm program but its medical school is not ranked as highly? Thank you!

Unfortunately, this is a question that doesn't have an answer.

One route to take would be to attend the "best" or "highest-ranked" school. Assuming you are able to achieve top grades, top USMLE scores, secure research opportunities, network within the derm department and are affable, you should be able to match.

However, would you be able to get better grades at a school that isn't "higher-ranked"?

Would certain schools afford you better research opportunities?

Would you fit in better with one derm department over another?

Being a student at say, NYU doesn't necessarily mean you will be favored over other applicants for a derm position at NYU.

Again, there are plenty of variables at play here and unfortunately, no definitive answer to the above questions.

My advice would be to go to the most affordable school and try your absolute hardest there. If your intention is to remain in NY during residency, it would be to your benefit to go to a school within NY as well. While I did not come from an East Coast school myself, meeting others along the interview trail has left me with the impression that NY interviews are somewhat easier to come by if you've built connections within the NY area.

My advice (and I want to say that not everyone will agree with me here) would also be to temper your derm aspirations at least for the 1st year. I think it's admirable to aim high and to keep yourself in the running for all competitive specialties but you may acquire an unfavorable reputation by indicating your desire for derm so early. At this point, there's really no benefit in snooping around the derm department even for shadowing/research/volunteering work as a 1st year.

I would recommend getting involved in some derm research AFTER at least the 1st half of the year so you can get your feet wet and are confident you will be able to handle both the academic workload and any research responsibilities. Even for those who are highly ambitious and interested, most don't pursue derm research until that 1st summer after MS1

 

[ChocolateKiss]

I am currently deciding between several medical schools and I have wanted to go into derm since high school! I have been accepted already to Mt. Sinai and NYU and my other top choices include Columbia and Cornell (I would really like to stay in the NYC area for personal reasons). I was wondering which of these medical schools would be the best choice to maximize my chances of obtaining a residency in derm? I know NYU has a very strong derm program but its medical school is not ranked as highly? Thank you!

Hi Sophia,

I agree that this is a tough call. Asmallchild gave good advice.

One thing I'd add is that one problem with coming out of a top program is that there are often many others in your class applying in derm. Because programs don't want to interview tons of people from the same school, they often will compare you head-to-head with the other applicants from your school. If there are ten stellar applicants applying from Columbia in a year, this can make it difficult for any given applicant to get a lot of interviews. That said, LORs (and phone calls) from well known derm faculty are crucial in this process, and you'll have more opportunities to get to know such faculty if you go to a school with a great derm program. Also, coming from a top-name school does tend to earn you some bonus points in and of itself.

I would suggest NYU, Columbia, and Cornell over Sinai.

 

[N-Surge]

I'd start by looking at who Matched where from each of these programs. It will ultimately depend on your performance despite this information. But this may help show you where you might end up getting some of your interviews/ranks from.

I'd go as far as to keep your Derm aspirations quiet through at least M2. Could be just me.

 

[thamsenman]

Hi all,

I really like Dermatology, not for the lifestyle necessarily (although that may not be a bad reason either) but because the very little I know about it is very interesting physiologically. Seems like they are a lot of interesting pathologies and it's pretty engaging.

I've been accepted by 2 medical schools already, Tufts and Stonybrook...

My dermatologist (whom I love, the head of a derm clinic in AZ) has offered to write me a good letter from her group if I shadow their clinic while I'm in medical school. Will this help me at all get a derm position or should I do something a bit more high yield like research, etc.?

I already have a few publications so I have some clinical research experience already but that may get me farther than shadowing.

What do you think?

I'm just asking in addition to good impressions on rotations, USMLE scores, etc.?

 

[sweatybrain]

too early to think about this. Go to the best medical school that you can afford and do the best you can each year of medical school. Make connections with the derm chairman, PD, and get started on a research project. Everything else will fall (or not) into place.

 

[pedronavaja2005]

I am currently deciding between several medical schools and I have wanted to go into derm since high school! I have been accepted already to Mt. Sinai and NYU and my other top choices include Columbia and Cornell (I would really like to stay in the NYC area for personal reasons). I was wondering which of these medical schools would be the best choice to maximize my chances of obtaining a residency in derm? I know NYU has a very strong derm program but its medical school is not ranked as highly? Thank you!

I would not choose a med school based on what residency you think you'll match into just because of the name. Where you ultimately end up will depend on many variables and plans often change along the way. Choose the place that you think is the best fit/where you think you are going to excel the most...if you happen have the board scores, letters of recommendation and research/clinical experience required to go into dermatology (or any other field for that matter) you will have little problem matching if you attended any of the above medical schools. I highly doubt that among the choices mentioned, everything else being equal, it will make a big difference where you end up matching. I remember making a big deal about wanting to be a medical student at Cornell but never making it past the waitlist....now, 10 years after in retrospect it was not such a big deal after all. I'm in route to doing what I wanted to do (with some bumps along the road here and there) and very successful without having that Cornell medical degree.

 

[asmallchild]

Hi all,

I really like Dermatology, not for the lifestyle necessarily (although that may not be a bad reason either) but because the very little I know about it is very interesting physiologically. Seems like they are a lot of interesting pathologies and it's pretty engaging.

I've been accepted by 2 medical schools already, Tufts and Stonybrook...

My dermatologist (whom I love, the head of a derm clinic in AZ) has offered to write me a good letter from her group if I shadow their clinic while I'm in medical school. Will this help me at all get a derm position or should I do something a bit more high yield like research, etc.?

I already have a few publications so I have some clinical research experience already but that may get me farther than shadowing.

What do you think?

I'm just asking in addition to good impressions on rotations, USMLE scores, etc.?

This varies wildly from what you've learned in high school and college but shadowing means next to nothing once you are in medical school. A good letter from your dermatologist may also end up meaning nothing if he/she is not in an academic position. Most LORs are typically from attendings at an academic institution.

Research, conversely, can help. But I will repeat my advice from above. Research means nothing if you don't have the grades and USMLE scores to back it so I would at least give yourself 6 months to see how you handle the transition to medical school

 

[sensitive skin]

Dr. Lebwohl, chair at Sinai is one of the biggest names in derm, especially in NYC. He has many research projects going on with relatively high $$$ funding. Also be aware that their post-internship fellows are pretty much guarantees a spot in their residency program (only one exception I can think of in many years). The fellowship is 2 years long. Incredible didactics and big-name clinical instructors. You can't go wrong with Sinai.

 

[N-Surge]

Let's use California as an example, probably one of the most well known examples. It actually CAN matter where one goes to med school when it comes to where one is most likely to the get interviews and Match. Then again, if you score 260+, are AOA, have a PhD, and are a really great person to work with (something the program already knows from working 4 weeks with you during your M4 year), and have a letter from the chair and PD then you might just about Match anywhere you please.

But I will repeat my advice from above. Research means nothing if you don't have the grades and USMLE scores to back it...

I am glad this isn't always true!
But it may usually be true (?)...