UC Davis just opened dates on ERAS, did send email from ERAS so was notified which was nice
UC Davis Med Ctr-CA
UC DavisSacramento, CA
- NRMP
- 1046080A0
- ACGME
- 0800521101
Applicant sentiment — from 75 anonymous posts, 2017–2027
4.8 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Anonymous posters frequently discussed the interview process, describing rolling invites, trickles, waitlists, and rejections, as well as requests to swap interview or dermpathology rotation dates. Some posts described research and fellowship opportunities positively, while others expressed mixed or critical views of specific fellowship experiences.
AI-generated summary of opinions expressed in anonymous, unverified posts. It describes what posters wrote, not verified facts about this program. Based on these 75 posts · Updated Aug 2026 · Contest or respond to this entry · Takedown & right of reply
Fame & Shame
2025–2026 Derm
1 entry💬1. Very good culture, attendings and residents seemed very happy during interview. PD seems to advocate for residents. Not as much to do in Sac but very nice surrounding areas to visit (Napa!)
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Page 4 of 6
What are the thoughts on UC Davis compared to other CA programs? x3
UC Davis x6
Anyone get post interview communication from UC Davis? I sent a LOI and didn't get a response.
Anyone driving from Sacramento to San Jose next week 01/22 after the UC Davis interview?
yes, I will! please text me.—> what is your #?
For UC Davis, did anyone actually hear from a current resident like they said in the email? <yes, I did. Don't think you're missing out on anything. They just asked if I had any questions or anything.
no
x1, are you just assuming we didn't miss anything important?
nope
send a DM to @thevibrantmed on istgram
Did anyone interview at UC Davis last week? What was the interview day like?
2 groups of students - one group interviewing, one tour with residents/powerpoint about the program; interview is 8 rooms with 1-2 faculty each (most 2 though), each with one standard question, 10 min each <thank you. Mostly behavioral questions or general? << how can one question take up 10min?
What is your favorite color and why?
that wasn't a question, that was a troll lol, IDK i don't feel comfortable sharing their questions sorry!
Does anyone have insight on UCLA?
heard it used to be great, but there have been some turnover with faculty (many leaving to USC, which is now considered a better program by some)> they have very little info on the website<anyone have any idea when the interview day will end?
email said around 1 oh please, I just hate the lies some times. USC as a health system was recently on probation. They are not jumping from UCLA in droves to USC.
this is actually not true - several faculty have been poached from UCLA to USC (in "droves") <yes, including USC's current PD and head Mohs surgeon.
before or after probation issues? Also 2 people don't constitute 'droves'
some after, some before. probation issues had nothing to do with the derm department. there are more than those 2.
either you have a UCLA invite and not a USC invite, or you haven't spent much time with both depts...
you don't have to believe me, look up their faculty list and see for yourself
☕☕☕
um, UCLA has like 8 more faculty than USC
quality, not quantity honey
<not a top CA program <There are many solid CA programs and UCLA is included in that. I know someone who ranked UCLA over UCSF & Stanford partially for locations reasons, but they did not feel like they were sacrificing quality of education. <Great location, but still not a top program compared to every others in CA. <true
not true
Stanford & UCSF are on another level, then UCSD, then UC-davis, UCLA & USC
would consider lower tier program. Not a department (it's a division under medicine) so there is limited upside for improvements. Location is amazing though if you want to be in SoCal x4 .
Would not say low tier. Would pick it above most of the 100+ programs, but not top tier/upper
In order: Stanford/USCF, UCSD, UC-Davis, UCLA, USC, UC-Irvine, Loma Linda/UCLA-Harbor, Kaiser Permanente, Opti West (Newport)
UCLA and UC Davis are not above USC
This one line represents the horrible sabotage that is going to plague every question about california programs this season
This whole thread is ridiculous. Pick whichever CA program suits you the best. Derm reputations are mostly based on how long the program has been around and how much research money they have. Remember that matching at a "top tier derm program" may be seen as > matching to other programs, but they're >>>>>>>>> not matching. Regardless, you'll be the envy of every other non-derm doctor
Thoughts about Davis vs. Northwestern? I know that Northwestern is a top program, but I'm having a tough time deciding between the two. (Hey, thanks for the great suggestions to the right! Feeling much better about my decision)
Northwestern. It's a better program in every aspect, and Chicago is a way better place to live than Sacramento, if you are okay with snow
Obviously northwestern is an objectively much better proram. The only way I could see picking Davis is if youre almost certain you want to stay in CA long term or if you have zero interest in academics and dont want to deal with all the extra pressure to publish youd probably experience at NW
Could I ask a similar question about USC vs Northwestern?
Northwestern. It is a fantastic program. USC is fantastic too, but Northwestern has way better opporunities in almost anything you can think of. Only thing USC has over Northwestern is weather. << well, that and nicer faculty
Northwestern is a top 15 program. Davis and USC are both not top 30
what about people interested in Mohs? Per comments in the older spreadsheet, even the PD admitted that NW is not the best training site for people interested in going into Mohs
USC's big-name Mohs surgeon left recently to be Chair elsewhere
Derm programs are ranked into the 30s?
if you ended up picking northwestern, i will start praying to the trickle gods
Davis trickle again. 1/15 only date available
All these trickles and I'm still parched over here. x2 Congrats OP!
trickle meeeeeee x1000000
Davis trickle
< Awesome! x2 <thanks!
Should get more trickle.. I just released interview spot
why are the 1/8 and 1/15 interview dates so popular? SO many schools with conflicting dates on those days that i would have LOVED to go to but was forced to choose :( there has to be a better system for this
the system is trickle, gimme dem invites! but seriously i dont know why schools do this, i guess its their way of filtering out even more candidates...<<i guess but then they miss out on some really great applicants that might have gone there. for example, i literally couldnt choose between two schools on those dates, so i just went with the more convenient flight option. Not because i liked one school more than the other....who knows if i would have been a better fit for the other school
man i feel for you, im not saying its right or anything.
I feel for UConn and Maryland internals/rotators. Only given 1 date << can you imagine if you rotated at both, and then had to pick between invites at JHU, UCSF, Northwestern, UC-Davis, UMiami, Mayo-AZ?<<that was me, i had to pick between ucsf, northwestern, mayo AZ, Davis, and hopkins <goals x3
i would love to have those problems
I hate the overlap especially since I have had to pick even though I only have 5 invites. However, with people going to 15+ or 20+ interviews, I'm glad they do this to force a little trickle. << problem is for some of us we already got rejected from these programs, so even if the spots are now open...it won't be to us :(
As someone with far more rejections than invites, we have to accept that those were not for us.
UC Davis Interview x6
internal or external?
external 0 ties to west coast, surprised
method of contact? <Eras
How many people does UC Davis interview? ~50
Northwestern. It's a better program in every aspect, and Chicago is a way better place to live than Sacramento, if you are okay with snow
Obviously northwestern is an objectively much better proram. The only way I could see picking Davis is if youre almost certain you want to stay in CA long term or if you have zero interest in academics and dont want to deal with all the extra pressure to publish youd probably experience at NW
Could I ask a similar question about USC vs Northwestern?
Northwestern. It is a fantastic program. USC is fantastic too, but Northwestern has way better opporunities in almost anything you can think of. Only thing USC has over Northwestern is weather. << well, that and nicer faculty
Northwestern is a top 15 program. Davis and USC are both not top 30
what about people interested in Mohs? Per comments in the older spreadsheet, even the PD admitted that NW is not the best training site for people interested in going into Mohs
USC's big-name Mohs surgeon left recently to be Chair elsewhere
Derm programs are ranked into the 30s?
if you ended up picking northwestern, i will start praying to the trickle gods
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
I will be driving down to SF after if that will help you out! > I might take you up on that! Thank you!