is it worth it?

[tigress]

I know that not many people read this forum, but I thought I'd go ahead and post in case somebody does

I'm deciding which med school to go to. I've always been very gung-ho about EM, although definitely open to all possibilities. But the thing is, I really love dermatology. Meaning I can sit for hours with a derm atlas, and when people at work (I work in a clinic) have derm problems they call me in because they know I'm interested. I've been reluctant to even consider derm as a speciality for a few reasons: obviously it's very competitive, which puts a lot of pressure on me in school, and also I'm sort of wary of the "pimple popper" reputation. So my first question is how many people actually go into derm because it fascinates them, and not just because of the lifestyle? I'm assuming there are many, and it's just a stereotype otherwise.

My second question involves where to go to school. I'm leaning towards a less prestigious school without many research opportunities. However, yesterday I heard a student talking about how difficult it has been for her to do research in derm, and it's hurting her application. Is it worth going to a school with more research opportunities even if I don't like it as much otherwise (it has fewer resources available in the first two years, and is less student-friendly, which will be important to me as I will be a mother and a student)? My issue here is that dermatology is just one of many options for my future, so I'm not sure if it's worth basing a school choice on.

Thank you for indulging me here. I suppose they are minor questions, but since I heard this student talking about it yesterday I've been wondering...

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[ny skindoc]

I know that not many people read this forum, but I thought I'd go ahead and post in case somebody does

I'm deciding which med school to go to. I've always been very gung-ho about EM, although definitely open to all possibilities. But the thing is, I really love dermatology. Meaning I can sit for hours with a derm atlas, and when people at work (I work in a clinic) have derm problems they call me in because they know I'm interested. I've been reluctant to even consider derm as a speciality for a few reasons: obviously it's very competitive, which puts a lot of pressure on me in school, and also I'm sort of wary of the "pimple popper" reputation. So my first question is how many people actually go into derm because it fascinates them, and not just because of the lifestyle? I'm assuming there are many, and it's just a stereotype otherwise.

My second question involves where to go to school. I'm leaning towards a less prestigious school without many research opportunities. However, yesterday I heard a student talking about how difficult it has been for her to do research in derm, and it's hurting her application. Is it worth going to a school with more research opportunities even if I don't like it as much otherwise (it has fewer resources available in the first two years, and is less student-friendly, which will be important to me as I will be a mother and a student)? My issue here is that dermatology is just one of many options for my future, so I'm not sure if it's worth basing a school choice on.

Thank you for indulging me here. I suppose they are minor questions, but since I heard this student talking about it yesterday I've been wondering...

Its better to go to a school with a strong Derm dept if you have a choice.Some very prestigious schools have mediocre Derm and it wont help much ...Less super prestige name places like Jefferson have a nationally regarded Derm dept with top names-they match many more students into this field than most places.You would have to spend some effort to research this. Overall unless you are really sure about Derm I would not pick a med school on this.Your plans may change quickly,besides some people match into Derm going to med schools that have no Derm program at all.