UCLA Med Ctr-CA

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.

Harbor UCLA, USC, UCLA (if research fellow)

USC is trash

for rotating*

what do you mean by non-ivory tower programs... it's derm.

not op, but I strongly dislike this sentiment that some people have. As much as derm is competitive, there ARE ivory programs and non-ivory programs. Harvard, Yale, Penn, UCSF. An example of a non-ivory program: MCW. There will always be stratifications even in the most competitive of things, and these stratifications are always worth keeping in mind when you can only apply to 28 programs

ivory tower is a meaningless label, the earlier you learn that the better off you'll be

ivory tower is a meaningless label, the earlier you learn that the better off you'll be>>> yeah a ton of harvard/penn/ucsf grades end up going into private practice...

umm, yes ivory tower doesn't mean better training, but it is considered prestigious and harder to match. OP isn't asking about ivory tower programs, they're asking about non-ivory programs, so your "the earlier you learn" comment comes off as not helpful and condescending

this whole let's not talk about the T10 things is weird and comes off as gatekeepy. These programs exist and people will still be applying to them. Besides, I agree with the previous commenter, OP is asking about non-ivory tower/community programs. No need to step up on y'all's soapbox

When I rotated at Orange Park they had MD residents from UMiami and UCLA. But I know at least the UMiami grad rotated there and they seem to highly prefer their rotators.

Can someone elaborate on this "2-3" aways advice? Many times in the other spreadsheet people said to only do 2 due to the APD recommendations.. How enforced/risky is it to do 3?

ask your program leadership to see how much they care about following the rules. If you have no home program however, you can do 3 aways safely. But at a minimum do your 2 aways. I'm seeing people underapplying and ending up with 0-1 aways because they were too picky. And stop rotating at places you have no shot at (rotation mills, harvard/penn tier if you're a regular applicant)

How would you define a not regular applicant?

having just 260+ and RY alone doesn't make you a stand out candidate. these days you need an X factor (wow factor) like being an olympic athlete, MD-PhD published in lancet, started a company or non-profit, etc. it's a lot more competitive than people think and unfortunately people find this out too late.

I'm gonna throw up

Is there any danger in over-applying and then having to turn down programs? Does that disadvantage you in trying to get an interview there?

false you dont need wow factors you just need them to like you, programs pick people they like once basic competence is fulfilled as simple as that sounds

im just answering the original question, not saying that's what you need to match derm. You can match derm in general with a much more average app

each derm program is already oversaturated with increasing internal numbers, research fellows, away rotators, reapps, so getting an interview w/o an away is extremely hard unless you have killer scores. my two cents are to apply and do as many aways as you can, rather than burning any meager bridges you had to begin with by withdrawing from an away. worse case APD guidelines say applicants shouldn't be penalized for withdrawing from aways if they chose to "adhere to the guidelines of 2/3 aways"

APD trying to normalize and abnormal process. You follow the rules and do 2 aways while someone else does 5. Or you do 2 aways and someone else follows the rules with you but secretly has nepo connections with a guaranteed seat somewhere while you're stressing over not matching. Stop handicapping yourself to appease some socially inept out of touch group of nerds

each derm program is already oversaturated with increasing internal numbers, research fellows, away rotators, reapps, so getting an interview w/o an away is extremely hard unless you have killer scores. my two cents are to apply and do as many aways as you can, rather than worry about burning any meager bridges you had to begin with by withdrawing from an away. worse case APD guidelines say applicants shouldn't be penalized for withdrawing from aways if they chose to "adhere to the guidelines of 2/3 aways"

you right my b

I just want to say I didn't have any real problems with securing my aways because I asked my mentors in november if I could rotate the following year. Don't be afraid to ask people who can help you to help you early, because VSLO can be super unpredictable. I think the real race starts even before VSLO lol

Pick your aways carefully

word

I know there’s a list of rotation mills, but it’s also important to consider which programs primarily take their own RY fellows, doing an away rotation there and signaling them is a complete waste

How many aways should we have right now to feel comfortable and not an impending sense of doom

Has anyone heard back from UCLA

matched applicant this cycle here, completely agree with OP. apply aggressively and do as many aways as you can, even if that is 5 or 6 one-month long rotations. It will be exhuasting but Do them, they will yield interviews and while quality> quanitity it is also a numbers game and more interviews = more chances

As a final parting message from a matched re-applicant - the application cycle starts the moment VSLO opens. Right now is the key moment that will lay the foundation of your cycle. People may disagree with me, but I will personally advise anyone reading this to aggressively apply for aways right now. You need, at a minimum, to strive to get 2-3 aways. The more aways you get the better your chance at matching. Keep applying for aways, you may not always get your top choices but something is better than nothing. And use your mentors to help you get aways if you still aren't getting any despite applying to a good # of aways, or if you just want a specific away. Please please please listen to what I am saying to give yourself the best chance at matching.> second this as another matched applicant

Can someone elaborate on this "2-3" aways advice? Many times in the other spreadsheet people said to only do 2 due to the APD recommendations.. How enforced/risky is it to do 3?

ask your program leadership to see how much they care about following the rules. If you have no home program however, you can do 3 aways safely. But at a minimum do your 2 aways. I'm seeing people underapplying and ending up with 0-1 aways because they were too picky. And stop rotating at places you have no shot at (rotation mills, harvard/penn tier if you're a regular applicant)

matched applicant this cycle here, completely agree with OP. apply aggressively and do as many aways as you can, even if that is 5 or 6 one-month long rotations. It will be exhuasting but Do them, they will yield interviews and while quality> quanitity it is also a numbers game and more interviews = more chances

How would you define a not regular applicant?

having just 260+ and RY alone doesn't make you a stand out candidate. these days you need an X factor (wow factor) like being an olympic athlete, MD-PhD published in lancet, started a company or non-profit, etc. it's a lot more competitive than people think and unfortunately people find this out too late.

false you dont need wow factors you just need them to like you, programs pick people they like once basic competence is fulfilled as simple as that sounds

im just answering the original question, not saying that's what you need to match derm. You can match derm in general with a much more average app

you right my b

I'm gonna throw up

Is there any danger in over-applying and then having to turn down programs? Does that disadvantage you in trying to get an interview there?

each derm program is already oversaturated with increasing internal numbers, research fellows, away rotators, reapps, so getting an interview w/o an away is extremely hard unless you have killer scores. my two cents are to apply and do as many aways as you can, rather than worry about burning any meager bridges you had to begin with by withdrawing from an away. worse case APD guidelines say applicants shouldn't be penalized for withdrawing from aways if they chose to "adhere to the guidelines of 2/3 aways"

I just want to say I didn't have any real problems with securing my aways because I asked my mentors in november if I could rotate the following year. Don't be afraid to ask people who can help you to help you early, because VSLO can be super unpredictable. I think the real race starts even before VSLO lol

Pick your aways carefully

word

I know there’s a list of rotation mills, but it’s also important to consider which programs primarily take their own RY fellows, doing an away rotation there and signaling them is a complete waste

How many aways should we have right now to feel comfortable and not an impending sense of doom

Has anyone heard back from UCLA

this made me lol but same

third this 100000x

agree with the prior comment- for every "adhere to APD guidelines" comment there is a response comment saying "they are just guidelines, i did not follow" etc.

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

Clinical Research Opportunity for dermatology applicants! For those who are heading into a gap year, I wanted to share about a clinical research opportunity as a research fellow/sub-investigator in a Southern California community research site and busy dermatology office. Research fellow gains exposure to clinical trials for various dermatologic diseases including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. Includes exposure to clinical dermatology, dermatologic surgery, and dermatopathology as well. Full-time, paid position (40 hrs/week). MD and intern year experience preferred but not required. 1-year position is available to start July 2026! If interested, please contact with CV to Dr. Howard Sofen at hsofen@ucla.edu.

might be bc since they only take their own research years its less reciprocal for other schools to take them

they literally matched 1 person to Harvard and 1 person to UCLA outside of the 2 students at Sinai. not sure what this person is talking about

i mean if cost of living is a major decider for you then yes

it's rough

UCLA and kaiser residents make 100k+ with housing stipend, more than enough to live in LA

UC Davis!

why?> More protected time/chill than others, more personalized mentorship, less commuting between sites

don't listen to this wild advice 😂😂😂 southern Cali >>>>>> Sacramento

lol yeah this is an odd take unless you have fam/connections out in sacramento.

this is 100% someone trying to get you to rank the LA programs lower lmao. UC davis def does not have more 'protected time' and does have quite a bit commuting between sites?

yea Davis and Sac sucks ass

do you want to live in LA or Chicago

EIther. NW might be a smidge stronger but either is good

look at previous mohs match lists to compare both schools' histories with matching too! always helpful

not OP but you could expand on why? UConn has better Mohs matches (UCLA, UF, etc.) although not sure if this is because there is more Mohs interest over there... interested to hear your thoughts

Mohs matches are not indicative of how good a program is. There are also people from UConn in prior years who went unmatched in Mohs

family? where are you from originally? priorities? vibes at tge two programs are very different

from the west coast (most family from there), both programs have mohs fellowship now, honestly just looking for good training and want to be a solid derm, may want to pursue mohs in the future - could you expand on vibes at the places and which you would rank higher?

As an away rotator at UConn, I can say that Dr. Feng (Mohs) had said he prefers to take people NOT from UConn internally as it's better to have more variety in trains of thought or w/e. Not sure if that will sway you. Otherwise, Wayne has more SOC, community family vibes between residents and faculty. UConn is semi-similar but there is an air of heirarchy there especially as an rotator...

Wayne state has also not historically taken their own for Mohs...

wayne state for diversity of training

yes? i got email a few weeks back i think

did it have the interviewer names/times? I got the zoom link for the interview but no details

no im in same boat maybe there will be more info at social?

great school with great residents! I'll be ranking them high!!

there were a couple interactions that had me legitimately laughing like quoting them to my friends afterwards. culture is great (from what I saw) and it seems that USC faculty have a knack of finding a great group of applicants personality-wise. seemed to vibe well with most. Harvard and USC are very good at picking cool people.

my classmate interviewed there and said it was all women applicants

facts

slayyyyy queens

where is a program to ensure I only have male applicants/residents?