Baltimore, MD
Applicant sentiment — from 150 anonymous posts, 2017–2027
5.5 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Anonymous posters frequently discussed the Baltimore location, with several describing it as an area with a reputation for crime while others said this reputation is overstated. Some commenters debated where the program ranks relative to peers, with opinions ranging from mid-tier to more highly regarded, and several noted the absence of a Mohs fellowship as a drawback. A few posts described residents as personable.
AI-generated summary of opinions expressed in anonymous, unverified posts. It describes what posters wrote, not verified facts about this program. Based on these 150 posts · Updated Aug 2026 · Contest or respond to this entry · Takedown & right of reply
❌1. Honestly so hit or miss with the faculty. Some are incredibly kind and some are so bizarre. During the interview, one of the Mohs surgeons just went on bizarre tangents, asked random unrelated questions, and I heard she did this to others too (someone said she made them sing on the spot during the interview??). One of the other interviewers just straight up NRMP violationed and asked me explicitly where I did my aways, if I was considering my hometown/undergrad institution for residency and if I applied there, which was super awkward to navigate. PD seems nice but also a little awkward. Tons of faculty turnover the last few years.
❌2. Program is in a rebuild phase, having lost many faculty and mostly newer faculty.
💬1. Makes sense that chasing prestige means you have socially inept or egotistic folks, who can get away with poor behavior because of entitlement and name brand. It's our job to avoid paying it forward and chase out toxicity+1 > Lol Hopkins as a derm dpt doesnt live up to its undergrad/med school rep. They've also lost some of their top tier faculty and are sorta in a rebuild phase. Anyone chasing Hopkins for the undergrad rep is kinda hilarious
Page 3 of 13
what programs are super heavy on research?
< what if you're a DO that's heavy on research? Consnsus is MD programs like more research. DO programs like higher scores/academics. < then im cooked < CWRC/UH hospitals is DO friendly and research heavy
would you rather have all honors and 0 research, or 1-2 honors with 20+ pubs/research items??
Feel like it depends on all of the other factors of your application (Step score, mentors/letters, med school prestige, etc.) ofc having all honors and lots of research would be better than either so it's hard to compare those scenarios without looking at everything else
does med school prestige really matter if youre not planning on going to a t10 derm program? (in terms of MD applicants)
i'd rather have a well balanced app w some honors and some pubs, than all honors 0 pubs but thats me
med school prestige is factored more for certain programs (defintely lower on the list in terms of factors assessed), agree about having a more well-rounded app
>the neurotic 270+ step 2, all honors, 20+ research derm applicant is few and far between. Believe in yourself - not all applicants are perfect. theyre average :). Aim for as many honors as you feasibly can, handful of pubs, show people you're likeable. that'll take you farther than grades and research at the end of the day
personality and fit is huge
is a 270+ strong research applicant really few and far between lol it seems like this is not uncommon?
I've heard of quite a few people with these stats, I think it's also important to consider mentors and who you know since that can influence one's chances of matching
agreed, and connections from away rotations make a huge difference in terms of "networking" as well. the loudest ones are the ones that have the best stats, but dont get into your head about it! > more good thoughts like this please, maybe we're all just delusional
also want to say, I feel on reddit and these spreadsheets, we tend to see people on the extremes in terms of stats and research while the "average" students who match tend to not put a bunch of stuff here making it seem like applicants are extraordinary
connections
scores in 95% of cases, excluding the "top" programs which virtue signal about evaluating applicants holistically (looking at u UCSF). It's hilarious how they say they don't have cutoffs for board scores, but they magically end up matching residents with only the most insane stats >how do you know this info? They don't release stats publically, and UCSF seems to match many students who dont come from T5 programs.
Current R3/R4s come from: UCSD, UC Davis, UMich, UCSF, Hopkins, Emory, UCSF, Vandy, Northwestern, UCSF, Hopkins, UCSF, Penn. Idk seems pretty high ranking for programs (excluding the California bias)
You can also see what they tell their own students about required stats for matching (https://meded.ucsf.edu/student-services/specialty-information-and-advising#Dermatology), for example in their table "How important is each the following for admission to a competitive program?", where honors, AOA, and research are highly recommended
does med school prestige really matter if youre not planning on going to a t10 derm program? (in terms of MD applicants)
i'd rather have a well balanced app w some honors and some pubs, than all honors 0 pubs but thats me
med school prestige is factored more for certain programs (defintely lower on the list in terms of factors assessed), agree about having a more well-rounded app
personality and fit is huge
is a 270+ strong research applicant really few and far between lol it seems like this is not uncommon?
I've heard of quite a few people with these stats, I think it's also important to consider mentors and who you know since that can influence one's chances of matching
agreed, and connections from away rotations make a huge difference in terms of "networking" as well. the loudest ones are the ones that have the best stats, but dont get into your head about it! > more good thoughts like this please, maybe we're all just delusional
also want to say, I feel on reddit and these spreadsheets, we tend to see people on the extremes in terms of stats and research while the "average" students who match tend to not put a bunch of stuff here making it seem like applicants are extraordinary
scores in 95% of cases, excluding the "top" programs which virtue signal about evaluating applicants holistically (looking at u UCSF). It's hilarious how they say they don't have cutoffs for board scores, but they magically end up matching residents with only the most insane stats >how do you know this info? They don't release stats publically, and UCSF seems to match many students who dont come from T5 programs.
Current R3/R4s come from: UCSD, UC Davis, UMich, UCSF, Hopkins, Emory, UCSF, Vandy, Northwestern, UCSF, Hopkins, UCSF, Penn. Idk seems pretty high ranking for programs (excluding the California bias)
You can also see what they tell their own students about required stats for matching (https://meded.ucsf.edu/student-services/specialty-information-and-advising#Dermatology), for example in their table "How important is each the following for admission to a competitive program?", where honors, AOA, and research are highly recommended
Is it just me or do Hopkins students not match all that well compared to other peer schools?
bro they went 10/13 this year at crazy institutions. yeah their derm deparment is weaker but they matched incredibly well. also hopkins r
Two people in T5s, two more in T10s...pretty solid if u ask me
Also, people have higher priorities than matching at the “top” programs. Who wants to go to Harvard work-horse and live in miserable Boston
Bruh, in what world is UCSF, Northwestern, UCSD, NYU, Southwestern not impressive. I also think it’s impressive that everyone was able to match at other institutions besides Hopkins. It’s prob more impressive than say, CWRU where a bunch of internals stayed
Plus being able to match at some of these CA / NYC programs without aways, crackedd
Lmao Hopkins really catching strays this cycle
bro they went 10/12 this year at crazy institutions. yeah their derm deparment is weaker but they matched incredibly well. also hopkins r
Agreed, some folks want to prioritize happiness
prestige and there's nothing wrong with that. Also matching 10 people from a single institution is a huge accomplishment.
Agree, CWRU tends to just match their internals
Hopkins as a med school is very good so the name prob carries despite the derm dpt being not as strong >Also, people have higher priorities than matching at the “top” programs. Who wants to go to Harvard work-horse and live in miserable Boston
Agreed, some folks want to prioritize happiness over prestige and there's nothing wrong with that. Also matching 10 people from a single institution is a huge accomplishment.
some ppl like boston tho
Ah yes hopkins deleting any info about them, as per usual
Bring it back plz
It was mostly positive toward Hopkins, idk why they would be the ones to delete it
what is the tea about them
there's no tea, it was actually just a bunch of people defending Hopkins. idk why someone was so pressed to delete it
[COPIED FROM PRIOR VERS] Is it just me or do Hopkins students not match all that well compared to other peer schools?
bro they went 10/12 this year at crazy institutions. yeah their derm deparment is weaker but they matched incredibly well. also hopkins r
Two people in T5s, two more in T10s...pretty solid if u ask me
Hopkins as a med school is very good so the name prob carries despite the derm dpt being not as strong >Also, people have higher priorities than matching at the “top” programs. Who wants to go to Harvard work-horse and live in miserable Boston
Agreed, some folks want to prioritize happiness over prestige and there's nothing wrong with that. Also matching 10 people from a single institution is a huge accomplishment.
some ppl like boston tho
[COPIED FROM PRIOR VERS] Bruh, in what world is UCSF, Northwestern, UCSD, NYU, Southwestern not impressive. I also think it’s impressive that everyone was able to match at other institutions besides Hopkins. It’s prob more impressive than say, CWRU where a bunch of internals stayed
Agree, CWRU tends to just match their internals
Plus being able to match at some of these CA / NYC programs without aways, crackedd
Hopping on the comment below, how did hopkins do this year? i was told 15 internal candidates
10 different matches from hopkins
Hopping on the comment below, how did hopkins do this year? i was told 15 internal candidates >11-12 applicants, but some are external RYs
10 different matches from hopkins
12 home students, 10 matched derm
Could this negatively impact Hopkins Derm Dept? https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/johns-hopkins-federal-funding-foreign-aid-cut-ca841d31?st=ez25Au
Emory vs Duke vs Hopkins a few of us would like to know
Fr tho is there an issue with faculty investment in res education at Hopkins
Can someone please help me decide last minute ranking between Wash U, Henry Ford, and Hopkins? TY!!!
How many spots does Hopkins have this year - 7 or 8?
Anyone gone on any in person interviews?
no but can we make a list of the interviews that we know will be in person?
Hopkins, Yale, Mayo, Louisville Maryland, Tulane, USC, LSU, University of Florida Gainesville, kaiser LA, Univ Miami>these are exactly the programs i would have guessed would have in person interviews
what does that mean lol
I thought in person was just better for vibe check
programs want to be sure you can handle their patient populations and cities
what does it mean to "handle" a patient population...
yeah I dont know what you are saying is true, this is essentially every major city, wytalkin bout
for programs that have already released interviews today per others here, is that the only release time? AKA if you didnt get an invite for Hopkins already this morning, are you cooked for that program? also curious for programs that only have one release date (assuming they do not participate in coordinated release dates) do we just assume they are not sending any other invites?
Hopkins
- the best programs have a county hospital (complex path w/limited resources), academic hospital (speciality clinics), and VA (great gen derm + surg training). - Residencies that are primarily resident run clinics = workhorse program, lots of admin work. < Some programs value autonomy in residents, but actually are the opposite of workhorse - staffing sometimes is just extra work lol - Residencies that are only attending run clinics = poor autonomy. You want a mix of both resident and attending clinics. - Ask on your interview days how the residents feel about admin/scutwork responsibility, some programs are terrible at this and it can affect your QOL/training (Hopkins). -- current hopkins resident here, this is not an issue anymore. used to have to do PA's, now our clinical work is mainly in the form of notes and we now have AI scribes to automate that for the most part too. - Cosmetics training is cherry on top and some programs are really good at this. - The top programs are universally known but don't discredit other programs, and you can gauge residents and their schools to assess competitiveness of a residency program
I don't understand the tier list. So does the tier list mean that UTSW/Mayo are more competitive than Columbia/Hopkins and harder to match to? People would rank UTSW/Mayo that high?
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
Penn, Hopkins, Harvard, UCSF, Stanford, Duke, Mich, Northwestern, basically the top tier academic institutions