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. 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.
❌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.
❌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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clarification re: UCSF: they require scores to be in before rank lists due in feb right? So can still take step 2 pretty much anytime before end of dec?
even though that's what the website says, they don't care about CS
Because it's Pass/Fail
Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
I believe according to their website, they have to have Step 2 CK scores before they rank people, not necessarily before being selected for an interview. It's an institutional UCSF policy which applies to all their residency programs. So if you don't have a Step 2 CK score by the time they start doing their list, then you won't be ranked.