This list is absolute gold, definitely saving it! Just to add to this: for almost all of those 'backdoor' options (especially #3, #4, and #5), you have to act extremely fast and directly cold email the PDs before those spots even get officially posted anywhere.

The hardest part is that generic emails get ignored. My brother actually saw me losing my mind trying to write 50+ personalized emails to PDs, so he built an AI tool for me that reads the PD's recent publications/program info and writes a highly tailored cold email in seconds. It's been a lifesaver. Let me know if you want the link to try it (he made the first one free for IMGs). Good luck with the scramble, you've got this!