Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Improving Student Outcomes with an Adaptable Molecular Cloning Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience
Published on: November 15, 2024
The effect of academic "misrepresentation" on residency match outcomes
Emanual Maverakis1, Chin-Shang Li, Ali Alikhan
1Department of Dermatology, University of California Davis, Sacramento, USA.
Purpose:
Studies have uniformly demonstrated misrepresentation of accomplishments by applicants to residency programs; yet it is unknown whether such applicants have a competitive advantage in the MATCH. Herein we identify the factors that influence an applicant's successful selection to a competitive residency.
Method:
Comparative study of 317 dermatology residency applicants during the 2007 application season.
Main Outcome Measure:
successful matching of an applicant into a U.S. dermatology residency.
Results:
Factors positively associated with matching in univariate analysis included age (p=0.023); membership, Alpha Omega Alpha honors society (p=0.007); medical school research rank (p=0.013); USMLE scores (p<0.001); and number of unpublished manuscripts (p<0.001). Factors not associated with matching included the number of published manuscripts (p=0.460) and the combined impact factor of all published manuscripts (p=0.490). Multivariate analysis revealed that the USMLE Step 1 score (p=0.001), medical school research rank (p=0.040), and total number of unpublished manuscripts (p=0.046) were significantly associated matching in dermatology. Male gender trended towards but did not reach significance (p=0.054).
Conclusions:
Applicants that list multiple unpublished manuscripts have a significant competitive advantage in matching into a dermatology residency, even if these manuscripts remain unpublished.
Related Concept Videos
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Mismatch Repair
Reliability and Validity
Regression Toward the Mean
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
The Representativeness Heuristic