<my understanding is that clinically there's virtually no appreciable difference; the top 5 have large faculty #s with lots of diverse research and may have the edge for impact/gearing for a career in academics. <--- There's really no difference between a Top 10 program and a Top 100 program. Academics is not particularly competitive - you're typically taking a salary cut for more work - and 80% of academic dermatologists don't do any significant research, so the argument that you need to be at a research-intensive residency program for a typical academic career isn't really applicable to most people. This is why I stress for people to choose the program they like they most based on faculty, location, culture, opportunities specific to your career goals. <-- I disagree. Academics at respectable institutions (read: ivies, stanford, UCSF, etc.) are extremely competitive, as well are fellowships. The statement that there is not difference between top 10 vs. top 100 is downright hilarious

only difference is that people not at the top 5 are the only ones that ask that question