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Bruce D. Glassman, MD; Neil W. Boris, MD
Division of Dermatology; Department of Psychiatry Brown University Providence, RI 02912

Arch Dermatol. 1992;128(5):697.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

We read with great interest Shwayder's¹ well-crafted tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor concerning the personal statements submitted by dermatology applicants.

One of us has successfully completed the dermatology match, and the other has completed a more traditionally timed match in pediatrics and psychiatry. Together, we feel qualified to make some comments on the process as a whole.

The dermatology applicant is at a great disadvantage, given the timing of the match. While all other matches are completed by March, dermatology is the only specialty whose match occurs in October—well after medical school graduation.

Using Shwayder's checklist format, we would like to share some insight into why this ill-timed process might foster some of the personal statements Shwayder alludes to in his letter:

1. "Possible" reasons why the dermatology match takes place in October include:
   A. It gives the applicant the opportunity to create two half-baked, poorly
   

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