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UC San Francisco-CA
UCSFSan Francisco, CA
← All programs443 posts
- Website
- www.dermatology.ucsf.edu/
- NRMP
- 1062080R0 / 1062080A0
- ACGME
- 0800521019
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
Match termssan franciscosan francisco dermuc san franciscoucsf
Fame & Shame
2025–2026 Derm
4 entries❌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
By match cycle
Related programs
Also discussed alongside
Stanford Health Care-CA· 118 threadsMass General Brigham-MA· 116 threadsHosp of the Univ of PA (Dermatology/3 yr)· 107 threadsNYU Grossman School Of Medicine-NY· 76 threadsUC San Diego Med Ctr-CA· 30 threadsYale-New Haven Hosp-CT· 30 threadsJohns Hopkins Hosp-MD· 24 threadsNorthwestern McGaw/NMH/VA-IL· 22 threads
Page 4 of 30
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thoughts on stanford?
overall fair, rly liked it
Feb 21
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research questions felt aggressive (not a 2) but overall ok otherwise, didn't go up or down on my list
Feb 21
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agree the research questions in the chief room were aggro
Feb 21
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where were they in your ranking?
Feb 21
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my top 5. despite people throwing shade on here in terms of "prestige" i think most people consider the program to be a great balance of reputation and work/life balance. but they are notably weaker in cosmetics and possibly surgery compared to other "t5s"
Feb 21
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thoughts on Stanford vs UCSF?
Feb 21
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that's really interesting bc I didn't get much research questions, also not 2
Feb 21
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looks like the stanford v ucsf cell was deleted
Feb 21
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so sad it seemed like a good post
Feb 21
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so sad it seemed like a good post
Mar 7
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How do UCSF RY fellows fare in the match?
overall from what i've heard match well but typically not at ucsf
Feb 21
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whats the UCSF interview day schedule like?
normal nothing crazy
Feb 21
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how many rooms?
Feb 21
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7
Feb 21
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Has anyone heard from UCSF on their interview day schedule??
oop nvm just got the email (2:24 PM CST)> what's the schedule like?
Feb 21
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so many people keep saying Harvard is suboptimal training because more inpatient time and more call... do we have facts/stats on this? what are the inpatient consult time and call responsibilities, objectively speaking?
Yes the Harvard program probably has more inpatient time compared to other programs, but it amounts to 16 weeks (4 months) of inpatient consult time and call across MGH, Brigham, BI. People are just exaggerating the inpatient time, likely to dissuade others from ranking highly/#1
Feb 21
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they have up to 6 months more inpatient time than similarly ranked programs
Feb 21
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they do not scribe or cover attending inbox! program really tries to minimize admin (also no prior auths). inpatient and call can be tough, but residents seem happy with the balance because many blocks have great hours and alternate with inpatient. I believe it is 12 weeks of call?
Feb 21
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according to Harvard's recruitment handbook, there is 6 to 8 months of inpatient and 12 weeks of call (not including 2 months at boston children's which is both inpt/outpt)
Feb 21
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how does this compare with Penn (since everyone is always putting these two up against each other for #1 rank)?
Feb 21
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lol anyone else w/ Harvard interview who literally isn't even a top applicant (no Penn/Stanford/Hopkins/UCSF) it feels so weird
Feb 21
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By comparison, UCSF has 2 months of inpatient (one in PGY2, one in PGY3)
Feb 21
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they have up to 6 months more inpatient time than similarly ranked programs
Mar 7
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according to Harvard's recruitment handbook, there is 6 to 8 months of inpatient and 12 weeks of call (not including 2 months at boston children's which is both inpt/outpt)
Mar 7
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how does this compare with Penn (since everyone is always putting these two up against each other for #1 rank)?
Mar 7
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lol anyone else w/ Harvard interview who literally isn't even a top applicant (no Penn/Stanford/Hopkins/UCSF) it feels so weird
Mar 7
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why is UCSF so great? i think cost of living in the city alone should be a huge negative here
there's a huge cohort of Californians who want to match close to home, if you're from NorCal it's pretty much Stanford or UCSF
Feb 21
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Pros of living in California outweigh the costs
Feb 21
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also PGY-2 salary is 100k and that's not including education / travel stipend, relocation reimbursement or monthly meal stipend
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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seems like a lot of programs aren't sending rejections compared to last year, probably ghosting us but would be nice to get the rejection so I don't have any false hope
UCSF please :(
Feb 21
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hoping for an interview as a christmas gift from someone who cancels/reschedules>
Feb 21
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We should get a bunch after 1/1/26 (per APD guidelines)
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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Thoughts on UCSD as a program?
> Very strong basic science research, probably one of the most research heavy programs in CA other than UCSF, lacking in SOC
Feb 21
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how is the cultlure? between residents and attendings and residents amongst themselves? seems like they aren't the most cohesive group
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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how is the cultlure? between residents and attendings and residents amongst themselves? seems like they aren't the most cohesive group
Mar 7
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What do ppl talk abt during online socials? Got my first derm one tmrw idk what to expect, and apparently the faculty will also be there
> at ours they did 3 breakout rooms with different years of residents, we rotated between the rooms and usually introduced ourselves and then it was an open Q and A - super chill!
Feb 21
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is this UCSF
Feb 21
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sometimes they'll do little icebreakers or games! It's very chill
Feb 21
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OP: why's faculty there thoooi
Feb 21
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haha idk if that will make this less chill, maybe they're hip faculty lol
Feb 21
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some of the new grad attendings on my rotations have been some of the coolest ppl I've ever met, so chill and fun to be around
Feb 21
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is this UCSF
Mar 7
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sometimes they'll do little icebreakers or games! It's very chill
Mar 7
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OP: why's faculty there thoooi
Mar 7
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haha idk if that will make this less chill, maybe they're hip faculty lol
Mar 7
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some of the new grad attendings on my rotations have been some of the coolest ppl I've ever met, so chill and fun to be around
Mar 7
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What programs are volume madhouses that give residents the most autonomy / early independence?
no
Feb 21
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yes
Feb 21
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inside you there are two wolves
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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UCSF 100%< NYU < most community programs are known for having better volume than academic but have less or no specialty clinics
Feb 21
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UTMB gives very early autonomy
Feb 21
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Wake Forest is crazy high volume with lots of autonomy.
Feb 21
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Lol this is absolutely not true; WF has their PGY3 derms presenting all their cases to their attendings like a med student. Saw a senior last year beg to sneak an extra excision
Feb 21
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yes
Mar 7
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inside you there are two wolves
Mar 7
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UTMB gives very early autonomy
Mar 7
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Lol this is absolutely not true; WF has their PGY3 derms presenting all their cases to their attendings like a med student. Saw a senior last year beg to sneak an extra excision
Mar 7
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anyone have any info on St. Mary's UCSF prelim, both interview and the program itself/schedule?
POOP
Feb 21
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Why is Hopkins derm program relatively less stronger than their peer institutes like Harvard, UCSF, Penn? Never really understood why this is the case
Hopkins derm is fine and great education - splitting hairs at this point tbh.
Feb 21
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Rankings are basically equivalent to research funding amounts so they probably have less derm research relative to the others
Feb 21
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how are the research opportunities for hopkins med students?
Feb 21
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Shhhh no one let them in on the Hopkins and Baltimore charm, keep out the competition < < Hopkins is a gem
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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Can someone answer UCSF vs Stanford derm aside from prestige please? What's overall quality of life like based on hours and where you live
mbn
Feb 21
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brother theres maybe fewer than 10 ppl that can explain this difference for you >agree you need to reach out to residents instead of a spreadsheet of anons if you want reliable answers
Feb 21
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Should I reach out to residents for questions after interview day (vs before)?
Feb 21
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before may help you in your interview but idk. I also think after makes more sense in terms of making a rank list depending on what the interview was like (aka maybe the social/interview will give you more answers)
Feb 21
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POOP
Feb 21
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before may help you in your interview but idk. I also think after makes more sense in terms of making a rank list depending on what the interview was like (aka maybe the social/interview will give you more answers)
Mar 7
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Anyone schedule Vandy yet?
yes now its open
Feb 21
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get it while it's hot> it wasn't as bad as I thought lol
Feb 21
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UCSF release was more brutal! Lol
Feb 21
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Some posts are shown because their comments mention this program.
depends on goals but i would definitely rank ucla last and you cant really go wrong with either UCSF or Columbia