San Diego, CA
Applicant sentiment — from 131 anonymous posts, 2017–2027
4.5 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Several posts describe UCSD as strongly research-focused, with some commenters saying clinical training and faculty warmth take a back seat to research output. A number of posts mention a perceived preference for applicants from highly ranked or Ivy League institutions. Multiple posts highlight San Diego's location as a major draw, while some note the program is highly competitive to get an interview and question its diversity of clinical offerings.
AI-generated summary of opinions expressed in anonymous, unverified posts. It describes what posters wrote, not verified facts about this program. Based on these 131 posts · Updated Aug 2026 · Contest or respond to this entry · Takedown & right of reply
✅1. great benefits that cover egg freezing
❌1. Chair is obsessed with medical school brand name, loves talking about how many Harvards he gets in a year
✅1. great benefits that cover egg freezing
❌1. Chair is obsessed with medical school brand name, loves talking about how many Harvards he gets in a year
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this is a super dumb question but why is UCSD not on ERAS i just noticed i did not apply but categorical UCSD IM just sent rejections today lol so was reminded
Another side note but is anyone else blown away by how competitive academic IM spots are? Sheesh, and I thought derm was bad
top-ranked academic IM spots are super competitive!
I want to match UC San Diego so badly. I know beggars can't be choosers with derm being so competitive but it would be my dream. Shouting to the ether
You should apply to all the UCs and pray. Look at the match lists from last year. There's someone from UCSF at every program basically. Here I am with my app like :((((((.
Yes I applied to them all! Staying hopeful.
Is UCLA or UCI or UCSD better for cosmetics?
ucsd
ucla or uci for sure
UCI has very strong cosmetics
uci!!
If you're looking at the UCs, would also mention Davis. Get significant cosmetic exposure.
Anyone know why UCSD only graduated 4 residents this year? Their class was originally 5, just wondering if the program tends to kick residents out?
i dont think any program 'tends' to kick out residents, but it does happen. If you look at prior spreadsheets other programs have done it too.
Anyone know why only graduated 4 residents this year? Their class was originally 5, just wondering if the program tends to kick residents out?
i dont think any program 'tends' to kick out residents, but it does happen. If you look at prior spreadsheets other programs have done it too.
sometimes ppl have personal things/family hardships come up and delay. not unheard of
Would someone want my UCSD 9/28-10/25? Looking for either september or november. Text me at 929-251-4708
Anyone who did an away at UCSD last year, how was your experience?
Any thoughts between UCSD and Henry-Ford as programs?
Thoughts on UCSD? Seems the previous spreadsheet had a lot of fame/shame or why didnt rank higher comments deleted.
Fantastic program in an ideal location. People anonymously rag on it likely to get others to rank it lower. Amazing benefits and strong UC union (make 90-100k). Great work/life balance. They do get a lot of NIH research funding hence the research reputation, but there is only one required research project for residents. Previous comments recommended doing the gen derm away instead of peds derm
the research rep also comes from them matching a lot of MD PhDs but it seems like that trend is going away based of this years list and prior
How do you know who they matchd this year?
list is up. Last year they matched seemingly research heavy people though (one of them only had basic science pubs, no clinical research whatsoever!!)
What about UCLA?
my school (MD OOS) has an affilitation disagreement with them so we can't even rotate there
googling everyone who matched this year to figure out the secret sauce
What are the chillest programs in liberal cities? (bonus points if they have decent cosmetic training) I dont care about prestige/research but think i am a decently competitive applicant
UCSF
Desireable location is literally impossible to define. Some people will call Texas desireable. Others New York. Only you can evaluate.
edited to clarify
from what ive heard cornell is chillest in nyc
Yale (small city but liberal)
UCSF> lmfao chill and ucsf do not go together
University of Minnesota :)
What about UCSD? Seems chill and San Diego is amazing
UCSD?
stanford not in a city, but close to SF and definitely chill
UT Austin! (Not a lot of cosmetic training tho)
I posted on here about how I was sad I didnt match at UCSD and responses were being nice and helpful to read and now someone else crashed out and deleted it thanks a bunch others could have benefitted from the advice shared about not matching at your dream program.
you will be great no matter what! It is UCSD's loss !!
I think I responded to that one. I'll bring it back and lock it I'll put it right below yours.
was it this one? https://www.medmatchforum.com/2026/3432
to that point mentioned, UCSD does seem to like matching certain kind of people or institutions...
to that point mentioned, UCSD does seem to like matching certain kind of people or institutions... < That's it! I'll paste and lock here on this spreadsheet too in the row below. < DONE
I am really heartbroken I didnt match UCSD and I need to vent that into the ether < Don't feel bad. UCSD tends to recruit residents based on what those residents can do for them to get a bigger name. < so painful to not match at a place where you envision yourself < Totally understand. Some of this stuff is "knowing the tea" which you only find out later as a Derm resident. Often it's a function of the faculty at a particular derm program or a chairman. It's ok to feel a little bad because the power dynamic between derm clinical faculty interviewing and you is very much tilted towards them. Don't take it personally. It's not something in your hands to control.
sending virtual hugs
so to summarize, if the rumor mill is true, at least some ppl get calls from ucsf, harvard, yale, ucsd, usc, penn?
I don't think this is true. The PD at Penn is VERY clear they DO NOT do post II communication. he feels very strongly about it
same with UCSF's PD..> the whole thing strikes me as BS especially with the earlier link to an article with a paid mentoring service
I know people who got rtm calls from penn pd
sure buddy
I heard people who got Pen was for tracks and not by PD
100% serious that I know schools that do post-ii communications/rtm calls when they tell everyone that they are hellbent on no post-ii communication. Just beacuse a PD says it does not mean they won't do it experiencing this gave me trust issues tbh lol
PD's will do anything to get the best of the best, RTM calls happen because programs are selfish
well at least i know i'm not the best of the best yeee
I matched at one of the programs listed above, no RTM call. This rtm thing was absolute bs
How many people got calls from UCSD??
I did 2/18 phone call from the chiefs
doxxing yourself huh
I am the PD of UCSD and I know who this applicant is. NRMP has been notified of this individual and they have been banned from our program now. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
why would a PD ban someone for saying they got a post-ii communication lol
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
lmfao
Harvard does not do RTM calls they are very strict about comms with applicants and try to be fair to everyone across the board
good to know we love to see it
You others ranking UCSD better present yourselves.
why
???
People are breaking at the seams in this thread lol
the obsession with UCSD is kinda out of hand like i have only seen negative things about attitudes in the program yet some of you are losing your minds over this program like why
at the end you'll be a dermatologist, even if you go to UCSD. However, it seems they only care about research and clinical training may be lacking. I am going to residency to become a clinician, not a researcher...
Because beaches with hot chicks. Why else would anybody apply for dermatology at UCSD!?!
beaches with hot guys
Yessss King ;)
Am I really the only person ranking UC San Diego as number 1?? Nope
at BEST, you can roughly extrapolate survey results as a distribution for all applicants ranking, n=3 is def not all applicants but you can try to extrapolate distribution from there lol >def not, not every derm applicant uses this sheet, and the vast majority that do don't comment
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
"As of 09/24/2026, this program is no longer accepting applications for the ERAS 2027 season. If you applied before this date, the program will be able to access your application."