San Francisco, CA
Applicant sentiment — from 150 anonymous posts, 2016–2027
5.5 / 10
What anonymous posters said
Anonymous posters frequently discussed the interview process, including timing of invite calls, rejections, and Step 2 score requirements before rank lists. Several commenters described the program as highly regarded for clinical training and subspecialty exposure, though opinions on workload and culture varied, with some calling it demanding and others disputing negative characterizations. Multiple posts noted few internal candidates remain for residency and suggested California ties may be helpful in admissions.
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. Elitist (to no one's surprise), and many faculty give preferential treatment to rotating medical students from more prestigious schools. As much as they emphasize being socially attuned and progressive, at the end of the day, they're just another ivory tower institution masquerading as a social justice warrior.
❌1. You don't actually HAVE to be a former pediatrician to apply for this and be considered. Wish I knew this earlier, I would have applied.
❌2. Interviewer made disparaging comments about where I went to school
💬1. It does say on their website "preferred but not required;" I wonder if they've taken applicants w/o previous peds residency. > guess we will find out soon > this is the first year of the track and it seemed like everybody was an MS4 during the interview +1
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OMG my first waitlist lollll not sure how I felt x7! Omg waitlisted at Mayo, why does that feel kinda good even though I know I will never get off that waitlist lol < well, I suppose it is easier than getting it from UCSF < looks like half the people were waitlisted, half rejected. Not sure htat make me feel better about the odds
hopkins interviews 45 for 7 spots? good odds then huh? < relatively, yeah, and at a super strong program too! Not like UCSF's odds though (~20 for 6-8) < How do we know how many Hopkins is interviewing? Also UCSF interviews 26 for clinical spots, and then another 10 for research < RE says hopkins interviews 60+ < their website says 45< you guys make up so much data. UCSF's website legitametly says 22-24 clinical track interviews and 8-10 physician scientist interviews so 34 max
How many internals did Harvard/Penn/UCSF invite to interview? < lol < penn interviews all internals, so ~10. I think UCSF also interviews all internals
How many people do each of the top schools interview? Harvard - 44 overall UCSF - 26 clinical, 8-10 research Stanford - 44 overall Yale - 48 overall Penn - ?? overall NYU - 46 overall
did anyone else not hear anything from ucsf today? wonder what this means
Did anyone else think they were a UCSF trickle earlier today?? Cuz I did! < how many people are on the waitlist? << what makes u think there was a trickle? < people got a small secound round of waitlist spots< i can't imagine anyone would be dumb enough to drop a UCSF interview.
hoping ucsf magically adds IV spots so i can get off the waitlist < sameeeee so hard
hey guys, what are the ucsf interview times? Trying to plan for if I get off the waitlist (as if anyone declines UCSF lol) < Jan 12, 19 but I think everyone confirmed < I was wondering if they gave you the times? The dates conflict with NW and UC Davis < it's basically all day PST
Like this post if you got a ucsf waitlist email
anybody know if top programs interview fewer people / if less prestigious programs interview more people to have a higher chance of filling their spots? just curious < not necessarily, i have interviews from some top programs but get passed over from all mid/low tiers.. < not what i was asking. i meant do top programs generally have very few interviews like UCSF cause they know they'll be ranked highly but lower tier programs have to interview more people? this would probably have to be the case since otherwise all programs would be interviewing the same handful of people < i think top programs are fighting for ppl w other top programs, so they still interview 40-50 ppl < so sounds like top programs compete for the same "top" applicants and lower tier programs compete for other applicants. guess that would make sense, though it would be exclusionary and is probably why the whole holistic review thing is a thing
Is there a waitlist for U Miami or UCSF or should I expect a rejection email if I didn't hear back?
Out of curiosity, did anyone get a T5 (Harvard, NYU, UPenn, UCSF, Stanford) get ii without signalling them?
Is UCSF done extending invites?
So only one person with the UCSF invite? < they do it by phone < fml, what happens if you can't answer lol < they said they were going to send an email anyway, so it'll probably just go to voicemail! < GOT A CALL FROM UCSF!!!! <What letter are they at? Give us a range < they called like 10:45 AM EST and i'm mid-alphabet.
Good luck everyone! I would give anything for a UCSF interview invite tomorrow. Ugh. < I am praying for NYU!!
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