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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If I get an interview at UCSF there is a good chance I can match there, right? My thought is that most top students who interview there probably go for the Ivy league names and will likely interview at Ivy league programs. Does UCSF being a state school make it less desirable than the other top schools? I would really really really love to match here for proximity to family. < you sure thats why you want UCSF?
Change my mind: NYU is clearly the #1 program. UCSF/Penn are distant 2nd & 3rd < NYU is the dream!!! x2
do most programs compare applicants from the same school when deciding who to interview? < yes some programs give committee members a stack of applicants from the same 2-3 schools < what if only 2 people are applying from a school, do they both have a shot? or will they pick one to interview? < 2 may not be too many to invite from a school depending on what track theyre applying for and how many interviews they send out (ucsf only sends out like 20 or something ridiculous like that), but programs aren't going to interview a ton of people from the same school unless they offer a lot of interviews in the first place
Following up on below, do we have to send in step 2 before rank? I know UCSF requires it but any others? And is it looked down upon if we don't? <required for ranking but that just means take it by like mid-January!
I'm trying to distract myself with crazy scenarios for my interviews lol so please just entertain this. Do people actually know anyone who has turned down Harvard for another T5 like Penn, NYU, UCSF, Stanford? Not anecdotal but actually know this to be true? <know somebody who interviewed at almost all of these and chose another program over Harvard, they felt like it was a better fit< unsure if this is confirmed or not but I think that chick who matched UCSF and is active on twitter picked it over these schools listed.< why are you assuming this? lol < I can confirm this is true from a trustworthy source < so i'm an applicant this year but from a top school and talking to those who matched last year, apparently harvard has a "reputation" for working residents super hard and not really having the best camraderie when you compare it to like ucsf < it is also just overrated. every time that comes up, someone here acts like because it is harvard we can't call it out. it is just not that great compared to others you listed< the hero we don't deserve!
Are there any programs that said a signal is effectively useless for them in their webinars? I know UCSF mentioned they weren't really looking at it but was wondering any other ones that might be a waste to signal < someone on here mentioned the top 5, some east coast top 5 program apparently said they are only using signals this year for research purposes
do derm programs require step 2 to match? i know a few do (ucsf), but is there a list of others?
what are peoples "dream" program? Ill go first--UCSF x4 < NYU is wild < NYU :) x5 < matching lol x3
is this ucsf mentorship thing only for urm students? < or low ses students < what is this mentorship?
speaking on diversity, which programs are the most "diverse" or really value diversity? < ucsf, nyu, gwu, and duke have really stood out. < howard is trying to take more non urm residents according to their chair as the demographics of dc changes
What programs have a lot of scut work?< i've heard NYU does < heard BU<what is considered "scut" work? < covering attendings' inboxes excessively, doing prior auths for every patient needing it (as opposed to doing some for educational purposes) < any program with resident clinics will have prior auths and a bit more workload, you don't have to cover attending inboxes at NYU though< true! And NYU has a lot of resident clinics which is why the training is good (ie you aren't 'shadowing' attendings) <like other people said, at NYU the clinics are resident run, meaning they have their own patients, and they are not under the attending, so it makes sense why they have to manage their own inboxes and do prior auths for their OWN patients. If it were attending clinics it would be a different story. < I heard UCSF has lots of work due to patient volume, like residents are there super late daily. I also don't think volume of work makes you a better physician, like the firehouse idea like water is good and all but not if you're getting more than you can drink
Is it even worth it to give a token to places like Penn, UCSF, NYU, Harvard?
What are the top 5 programs for derm? Harvard, Penn, NYU, UCSF < Yea those programs seems to be the usual consensus < I feel like these are all overrated. < how can they be overrated if they are literally the best programs in the country< I think of these 4 NYU is probably the best and Harvard probably the weakest. x4 < Seems like NYU=UCSF>Penn>Harvard from the websites and what I've heard on the topical podcast but I don't think I will get interviews at any of these lmfao < which episode talks about program rankings?< OP here. There is no episode that has rankings. I was speaking to my own research looking at their curriculums and schedules. I brought up the Topical podcast because there is an episode that talks about the weaknesses at Harvard Combined which seemed to make the training a little weaker than the others mentioned, but what do I really know? < I think it comes down to geographic preferences and career goals between these programs. They all have their strengths and their weaknesses, but train amazing dermatologists.
M3 here curious if people did not rank Stanford and UCSF highly causing them both to go far down their lists (they both matched IMGs). Is that normal?< UCSF is considered the best program in the country by many. They can do whatever they want and rank who they want. Stanford is Stanford, pretty sure they are in the same boat as UCSF and don't match far down their lists. UCSF also interviews like 20 people. That is a different level of elite. x2 <also being an IMG does not mean they are a bad candidate, some of them have already been derms in other countries for years, with tons of research in us, and/or phd's. they probably are/were better than other candidates x4< yea the IMGs the T10s match are always insane candidates x2
the fact that this M3 is insulting IMG's who earned a spot at stanford and UCSF is literally insane. IMG's have to work way harder to get a spot and an IMG who is able to match anywhere in derm let alone a top program is way more qualified than you, I guarantee it. x1 << The M3 person is also missing that the UCSF candidate did an entire UCSF pediatrics residency... and is now doing a 2nd residency< The UCSF resident has the following credentials: MD, PhD, peds residency in France, Peds derm fellowship in France, Peds Residency at UCSF THEN matched at UCSF derm with these impressive credentials and TBH probably the most qualified/impressive person they matched this cycle (this is saying a lot since their match list is baller). What do you have M3?
Stanford resident is editor-in-chief of a journal and did research at Oxford and Stanford! So impressive!!!!
< these M3s are on another level. Get an interview at one of these programs and let us know your thoughts then. x 12< lol this is prolly the same person from a few rows down who was trying to know which T5 offered best "clinical training"
I unfortunately matched at Stanford instead of UCSF. Will I be a horrible clinician as a result?/s
yes, no sarcasm
Patient: I think I have warts, what do you think doctor? Doctor: IDK I went to stanford <LOLLL x2 Imagine some people actually ranking one of the CA schools above the PA, NY, or God forbid MA school!
is this a joke or do people actually only rank Penn and Harvard for being ivy league schools over UCSF and Stanford?
do derm programs forbid their residents from doing a residency at a TY? Is that a thing?
they can't
they frown upon it, but no they can't stop you
most derm programs don't even frown upon it. My T25 derm program actively encouraged me to do a TY.
I am sure you are at a good program, but there is no such thing as a T25 as there are no respected rankings that are so granular. There is the T5ish, then an additional 5-10 places that people call "T10" because they are just barely outside the t5, but people debate how they compare to one another. That's it, don't quantify. Congrats on the match! Sounds like an awesome program
Of course there are top ~25 programs, and I guarantee that the one I matched into is one of them, based on discussions with "T5" mentors and placement of residents who come from my new program.< someone salty they arent in a t25
Not salty at all. Matched a "T5 vs T10," I just think using these b.s. rankings outside of Penn, NYU, Harvard, UCSF is dumb
< lurking M3 here. Are NYU and UCSF actually better than Harvard and Stanford?
no. Any of these 4 as well as many more academic programs will set you up for any career you want. x2< I want to know which one of these has the best clinical training, or is Penn better than all 4?
splitting hairs< I would say NYU and UCSF are a tad strongger clinically because of the time spent at the VA and County hospitals = more autonomy but all will set you up nicely. Harvard doesn't have a real continuity clinic so docks some quality there but Stanford is the weakest of all 4.
M3, why don't you apply to them and see where (if any) you are offered interviews before splitting microscopic hairs. X2 There is no difference between these programs, and many more, in terms of what you can do after residency. None.
this is not true. Within top 4, there is a pretty clear pecking order
Spoken like a true med student. You will not be limited in your career by attending any of the top ~25 academic derm residencies.
upenn is the best program on the east coast, ucsf on the west coast< THANK YOU!
< You guys are missing my point. I wanted to know if NYU and UCSF have better clinical training than Harvard and Stanford. Not if they will equally set me up for a career. Is Harvard the best program? Why is this so hard to answer?
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imagine thinking UCSF/Stanford matched an IMG because they couldn't find anyone else haha x1000001