The following answers were provided by two UCSF Dermatology chief residents. The information
provided does not necessarily represent UCSF residency program policy, priority, or our interview
process.
BEFORE INTERVIEW DAY
1. How did you get the interview dates you wanted/needed?
a. Each program usually has 1 or 2 interview dates so you have to respond quickly in order to get
the date that you want.
2. Was your flight ever delayed, and how did you deal with it?
a. No, but use Southwest because you can cancel flights up to 10 minutes before flight take off and
you are refunded 100% with a credit that can be used towards future purchases/flights. Also, since
checked baggage is free on Southwest that means the overhead spaces are rarely full meaning you
won’t ever be forced to check your carry on luggage. Checking luggage slows you down and there is
a risk of lost luggage.
3. Any packing tips / things we should bring in our suitcase?
a. Make a list. You can get a handheld steamer or wrinkle spray since most places don’t have
dependable irons. Also, bring 2-3 different shirts to wear with your suit. Wearing the same suit is
completely okay. Make sure to bring outfits for the night before events, which is typically business
casual/ casual.
4. Should we go to the night-before social events with current residents? How important is this and
can any of us realistically make it if we have a packed interview schedule?
 The night before is where you can get the real information and is often more helpful since the
interview day is incredibly fast paced. You should try your best to attend these events;
however, if you cannot make it it will not affect your application.
 At these events, residents will often tell you interview questions and advice for your interview.
Don’t ask them outright to tell you what some questions may be but instead try the following
approach:
o What’s the interview like tomorrow? Any suggestions or advice?
5.
What are some major differences between programs that we should be aware of?
 Ask about the curriculum – are there faculty or resident run didactics?
o ask them what is your curriculum, how often do you have lectures?
daily/weekly/monthly?
 Ask about range of specialties represented by faculty
 Size of faculty
 Where have graduating residents gone?
 Are they only based in 1 site, or different sites
6.
Did you call or have someone call for you if you didn't get an interview at a program you wanted
to? How did you go about this? Who did you contact?
 There are phone calls constantly happening between programs. If you have a unique geography
you would be serious about due to family or some tie that is not apparent on your application,
it's worth preemptively contacting the program to make it known. You can simply contact the
program coordinator by email.
o If programs don’t expect you to have a connection, then it's worth letting them know
 Contact them potentially now (in early October)
o Ex: I think you have an outstanding program, and I'm serious about geography because
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Don’t ever underestimate the program coordinator they can be incredibly helpful and have a lot
of sway.
If you have somebody call on your behalf, be choosy about when you ask that person and don’t
ask to make multiple phone calls – it's a lot to ask.
You can customize some personal statements w a 3 sentence paragraph saying your connection
or interest in the program.
How did programs contact you to schedule interviews? Do programs offer more interview spots
than are available? How did you sign up for interview dates? Is there a strategy?
Some programs call, some message through ERAS and some send an email. If you do not
respond promptly there is a chance that you will either not receive the date you need or you
may not be able to interview at all.
Is there somewhere to find out boards pass rates? Is this something that programs will talk
about?
Don’t worry about it. Pass rate is 98%
Focus more on what is curriculum to get you to pass boards.
What do you think is the best resource to prepare for interviews (eg SDN questions?)
Random google pages
Have a few responses that could be the answer to a lot of different questions if played right.
o Creativity, leadership, challenging situation – you can probably think of a scenario that
answers all of those questions
o Some programs will have you solve things or ask you to teach them something
There are a lot of scenarios – tell me about a time when you were in a conflict, memorable pt,
step up as a leader, unethical, conflict resolution
Have an answer to "tell me about yourself".
o Judge if your interviewer wants a long or short version
How many programs would you recommend interviewing at?
 According to recent NRMP match data, 10 interviews (contiguously ranked programs)
corresponds to ~90% chance in a successful match.
 With that said, it is recommended to go on as many as possible.
What are prelim interviews like, and how should we prepare?
Usually only 2 interviews, 20-25 min each
Pay attention to interns and residents to get a feel for the program.
Most Derm programs will want you to complete a rigorous/academic/challenging prelim year.
INTERVIEW DAY
1.
What is the interview day like?
 6-10 interviews, 15 min each with 1-3 interviewers per room
 They want you to meet all faculty and vice versa
 Breakfast, intro to the day/program, flowchart of which rooms to go to
 What book you last read – or maybe 2 – remember the title and author – remember they ask
every single person that question
 Some common questions/topics:
o Healthcare policy
o Last book you read
o Ethical situations/dilemmas
o Tell me something you regret, mistakes, failures that you learned from
o If you were not in medicine, what other career path would you choose
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Remember to be kind to everyone while on your interview (coordinator, co-applicants, faculty,
residents)
 Interview day – just talk to people and don’t be totally by yourself. Be friendly thoughtful and
kind
2.
How should we handle behavioral interview questions? (Describe at time when you saw or were
a part of something unethical)
 Have scenarios
 Talk about real situations with family and friends ahead of time so that you can be passionate
about it when you need to discuss it in your interview
 Tell patient stories
3.
What questions should we have for the programs?
 Look on their websites and look at faculty and their interests/research topics
o If you have particular interest – take notes in a notebook
 Have residents give you breakdown on who's who on faculty.
 Ask about curriculum, have a sense of the sites but ask how is resident time distributed if not
available on the website
 What the graduating class are all doing now
o See if some of them stayed – that’s a good sign
 Ask how does mentoring work, is there a mentoring program that’s already set up,
 Ask very specific things about that program
4.
What are some pitfalls you have seen, either personally on your interview trail or you have seen
as a resident at UCSF?
 Don’t drink too much at the evening dinners.
 If you are applying into something else as well, be careful about sharing this information as it
might suggest a lack of commitment to dermatology.
 Similarly, being interested in cosmetics is not always as welcome or supported at many
academic programs
 Remember to be tactful-it is not appropriate to discuss other places you are interviewing at,
even if you’re speaking to other applicants.
 Ask that residents home life are – what do you do outside of work?
5.
What did you bring on the interview day? Purse? Portfolio? Copy of CV or application?
 Copy of CV / application just for yourself so you can go over it in preparation.
 Bring pen, mints, advil, tide pen, charger for phone
 No need to bring copy of publications.
6.
Did you ask or do you know if it was okay to ask about housing stipends?
 Ask residents, don’t ask faculty
o Ex: Do you find the city affordable? If your rent affordable / salary?
o Ex: What housing is available?
7.
What are some good questions to ask the residents to get a better sense of the program?
 If there is anything you should change in your program what would you change?
o Be careful about asking faculty this.
AFTER INTERVIEW DAY
1.
Should we send thank you cards? Who do we send them to? Mail or email?
 Some programs explicitly say not to send thank you cards. Sending them is an individual decision
and it is unclear how helpful they are. If you do choose to send them you can decide to send
them to the program coordinators or a particular interviewer that you felt you hit it off with.
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Either paper mail or email is appropriate, again a personal decision.
If they explicitly said NO thank you cards, then there is no need to send them as they likely
won’t even read them
How do you handle the post-interview calls they give you, if they call you?
These calls typically come in February. You should be enthusiastic about the phone call however
do NOT say you are ranking a program first if you aren’t. Programs talk to each other and they
will know if you’ve said this to multiple programs.
Do not change your rank list based on these phone calls.
How did you rank your programs?
Choose where you want to go and rank in that order.
Think about your interaction with residents
Some programs abuse the call system – they tell you they will rank you as a way to ensure all
spots are filled; however, these calls are not binding and it doesn’t mean they will rank you
highly enough to match.
RANK EVERY INTERVIEW YOU DID unless you truly would rather apply again instead of going to a
program you hated
When do you tell a program they are your "number 1" how exactly should you do this?
After all of your interviews, speak with your mentor and together you can figure out the best
way to email the program coordinator.
OVERALL/MISC
1.
What are the keys to success / the most important thing in your mind?
 Stay positive, don’t complain about anything, walk fresh faced into interview as if everything
went brilliantly
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