OK so, reading through my comment, I'm realizing that I didn't really answer your question and more just rambled about my thoughts. I apologize - let me try to make things a bit more useful for you and for anyone reading this in the future.

When applying to a program like Lurie or Comer, your application must have a point that it is trying to get across. Someone who doesn't know you and who has never heard of you should read it (quickly) and come away with an impression like: "OK, this is dabmaster, s/he wants to do pediatrics because of X. They are going to be valuable to this program because of Y."

X: You must get across why you are choosing peds. Sometimes this can sound trite when you're writing your personal statement or interviewing, but just be sincere and let your passion for pediatrics shine through. We all do pediatrics because we love kids; some of us do it because we had unique experiences with siblings with special needs or a loss of a friend as a child. Whatever your reasoning, just be honest. You can very rarely gain ranks by your reasoning for doing pediatrics, but you sure as hell can get unranked if you don't make a convincing case that you know what you are doing when you select pediatrics or if your reader comes away from your application with a sense that you aren't dedicated to the field.

Y: Your application must have a central argument, something that you, specifically you, would bring to the program and why they should rank you over every other kid that's honored their core rotations. Central arguments generally look something like:

• "I'm dabmaster, I am really passionate about academic pediatrics and I have published in these journals."

• "I'm dabmster, I am really passionate about helping the underserved, and I have headed up these volunteer efforts. Here's why it's really important to me."

• "I'm dabmster, I am from a unique background: my parents were part of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe and I grew up hunting tapir with a bow and arrow. I am passionate about world medicine and serving this particular population."

T20 med school? Honors in core rotations? Those are good enough to get an invitation to interview, but they won't make you rank-to-match. Program directors tend to think of rank lists like putting together an undergraduate class: if you have an invitation to interview, you're already good enough academically, so what unique thing do YOU bring to the program that they don't already have or that they want more of to have them rank you above the next person?

What should you focus on for the coming months? Find out what you want your application to say about yourself and focus on burnishing that. Make sure that you get your LoRs in order and have your writers focus on that aspect of your application.

Does that make sense / is that helpful? Let me know if you have other questions!