2011-2012 University of California - Los Angeles Application Thread

[kexy]

Stop making me even more bummed I'm on the WL!

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[Med1988]

Wow not bad at all... A bit low in general surgery but that really depends on how many were actually aiming for that, but overall very impressive!

 

[zawuman]

Where are you guys sending update letters and/or letters of interest? The general SOM email?

 

[uclabruins2011]

Where are you guys sending update letters and/or letters of interest? The general SOM email?

yeah send it to the email. too bad they dont care about letters unless theyre a major update though...when i called thats pretty much what they said.

 

[Kiting]

So is second look weekend exclusively for those already accepted? I would love to go and learn more about the school in the event I am accepted (granted they have only realistically given out 50% of their acceptances)...

 

[sam500]

To Current First Years:

Did you ever really use your diagnostic or neurology sets?

Are there any books that are more necessary than others for class (ie. some professors insist on their own texts)?

I'm budgeting moving expenses with projected costs for the first few months of school.

 

[Bruinmarcher]

Yes diagnostic sets and stethoscopes are required. I recommend an anatomy atlas (I use Netters, but which ever one you feel comfortable with is fine). All textbooks listed on the syllabus are in the biomed library on 2 hour reserve, so if you feel you are missing out, you can check it out for 2 hours and see if it's necessary to warrant buying your own copy. Costanzo's Physiology is an absolute must. I would say I spent around $900-1000 in equipment and books for first year.

 

[Saragam]

To Current First Years:

Did you ever really use your diagnostic or neurology sets?

Are there any books that are more necessary than others for class (ie. some professors insist on their own texts)?

I'm budgeting moving expenses with projected costs for the first few months of school.

Yes diagnostic sets and stethoscopes are required. I recommend an anatomy atlas (I use Netters, but which ever one you feel comfortable with is fine). All textbooks listed on the syllabus are in the biomed library on 2 hour reserve, so if you feel you are missing out, you can check it out for 2 hours and see if it's necessary to warrant buying your own copy. Costanzo's Physiology is an absolute must. I would say I spent around $900-1000 in equipment and books for first year.

Is a list of these required texts/materials available somewhere?

 

[sam500]

Is a list of these required texts/materials available somewhere?

I think it's coming later on the accepted student checklist. (as well as the health information we have to send, diagnostic set sales, computer sales, etc...).

I just need to work out my finances well in advance.

 

[sam500]

Yes diagnostic sets and stethoscopes are required. I recommend an anatomy atlas (I use Netters, but which ever one you feel comfortable with is fine). All textbooks listed on the syllabus are in the biomed library on 2 hour reserve, so if you feel you are missing out, you can check it out for 2 hours and see if it's necessary to warrant buying your own copy. Costanzo's Physiology is an absolute must. I would say I spent around $900-1000 in equipment and books for first year.

Cheers mate!

When I was interviewing I noticed someone was publishing some Geffen-specific Anki flashcard decks online.

You wouldn't know who this awesome person was would you?

 

[Saragam]

I think it's coming later on the accepted student checklist. (as well as the health information we have to send, diagnostic set sales, computer sales, etc...).

I just need to work out my finances well in advance.

Cool, thanks.

About computers, does anyone know if we have to buy them through the school (like Case Western) in order to get certain programs or setup? My laptop died a few weeks back and I already got a new one since I needed it for school/work anyway.

 

[Kiting]

so is second look weekend exclusively for those already accepted? I would love to go and learn more about the school in the event i am accepted (granted they have only realistically given out 50% of their acceptances)...

.

 

[sam500]

Cool, thanks.

About computers, does anyone know if we have to buy them through the school (like Case Western) in order to get certain programs or setup? My laptop died a few weeks back and I already got a new one since I needed it for school/work anyway.

You don't have to go through their store as outlined here:

http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/offices/mscomp/requirement/shopping.cfm

Their more general computer policy is here:

http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/offices/mscomp/requirement/default.cfm

Having spoken to several students, their practical computer policy is buy what you want if you want it.

Personally, I'm waiting for the Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks to come out in a couple months. I would wait till October for Windows 8, but I'm just not that patient.

 

[sam500]

So is second look weekend exclusively for those already accepted? I would love to go and learn more about the school in the event I am accepted (granted they have only realistically given out 50% of their acceptances)...

As far as I know, it's by invitation. But if you're really keen, I'd give admissions a call and ask if you can attend as well. I'm sure it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[Med1988]

Does anyone know the dress code for the recruitment day?

 

[sam500]

Does anyone know the dress code for the recruitment day?

No. I don't. And I don't know about hosting either. hmmmm.

 

[x83ix]

Can a med student clarify the grading scheme at UCLA? Is it straight P/F the first two years, or are there Honors/High Pass/Pass/Low Pass, etc.? If so, how does UCLA differentiate the class? Are there grades during the clinical years?

 

[uclabruins2011]

can all the out of staters who will never attend dgsom please withdraw? waitlist needs to move.

 

[Bruinmarcher]

Can a med student clarify the grading scheme at UCLA? Is it straight P/F the first two years, or are there Honors/High Pass/Pass/Low Pass, etc.? If so, how does UCLA differentiate the class? Are there grades during the clinical years?

First 2 years are straight up pass/fail. We even say that it should be "pass now/pass later" because if you fail, you just have to take the final over in the summer. Passing is usually 70% but can dip to 65% depending on the block. There is such thing as a marginal pass which is if you get 70-74%, but it doesn't show up on your transcript is only to monitor your progress if that becomes a trend. There is no internal ranking, and honestly the first two years is all about preparing you for you clinical years which will separate you. Trust me, if you are a residency director, you have the Step1 as the bench mark for the first two years, and then you have what you actually did in a doctor-patient setting in 3rd year. This is what really matters in the grand scheme of things.

In 3rd/4th year it becomes Pass/Fail/Letter of Distinction. LOD is based off your performance on tests and in the clinic. No matter what "grade" you receive for each rotation, your attending will write an evaluation of you for your deans letter. It is these evals that give the residency programs the best idea of your capabilities.

UCLA's recent match was 95% to their top 3, and an average of 92% over the last 4 years. People who come here do well, so that is not a problem.

 

[dmercer]

I don't think any school is officially notified as to the percent of students who match to their "top three". That stat might be based on what students say, but it's not official and not necessarily accurate.

Years ago that data used to be provided to Schools by the NRMP. It isn't provided any longer.

 

[LightHouse123]

My friends,

The time has come for me to bow out of the running for a spot at UCLA. My wife and I have looked at everything and we have decided that although UCLA was our first choice, the level of uncertainty of the ucla admission process, in addition to other pertinent factors makes the University of Michigan a better choice for us. (although it will be crazy cold...yikes! But Michigan will also be fantastic choice nonetheless!)

As such, I wish all of you good luck and hope you get accepted into one of the best school around----UCLA.

Hopefully, if I was ever to get an acceptance, another spot will be open for one of you wonderful people.

I would love to meet you guys at UCLA when we match come Residency time!! (fingers crossed)

Until then, Ciao and the very best of wishes.

Sincerely,
LightHouse.

 

[uclabruins2011]

My friends,

The time has come for me to bow out of the running for a spot at UCLA. My wife and I have looked at everything and we have decided that although UCLA was our first choice, the level of uncertainty of the ucla admission process, in addition to other pertinent factors makes the University of Michigan a better choice for us. (although it will be crazy cold...yikes! But Michigan will also be fantastic choice nonetheless!)

As such, I wish all of you good luck and hope you get accepted into one of the best school around----UCLA.

Hopefully, if I was ever to get an acceptance, another spot will be open for one of you wonderful people.

I would love to meet you guys at UCLA when we match come Residency time!! (fingers crossed)

Until then, Ciao and the very best of wishes.

Sincerely,
LightHouse.

Thanks a lot, I hope you set an example for others who have been accepted at prestigious schools, but hog up space on waitlists just for the fun of it. I wish there were more people just as considerate as you, who don't wait until the last minute to withdraw. For the sake of us on the waitlist, please, anyone who is accepted or even on the waitlist at DGSOM and is not completely sure they will attend, it would be courteous of you to withdraw. Anyone who cooperates can rest knowing that they did a great act for others.

 

[Person X]

Thanks a lot, I hope you set an example for others who have been accepted at prestigious schools, but hog up space on waitlists just for the fun of it. I wish there were more people just as considerate as you, who don't wait until the last minute to withdraw. For the sake of us on the waitlist, please, anyone who is accepted or even on the waitlist at DGSOM and is not completely sure they will attend, it would be courteous of you to withdraw. Anyone who cooperates can rest knowing that they did a great act for others.

I to be honest find your post quite offensive. While there might be some people who like to collect acceptances, many of us are still waiting on financial aid packages to be able to make a decision. I agree with Lighthouse that the administration at UCLA has been quite slow in responding to students and "the level of uncertainty of the ucla admission process". We are supposed to make a decision by May 15 and yet many schools have not even given out the financial aid packages or awarded scholarships. I also understand that many people make their decision to go to medical school without any worries about finances, but some of us do have to worry. Just as a thought...

 

[uclabruins2011]

I to be honest find your post quite offensive. While there might be some people who like to collect acceptances, many of us are still waiting on financial aid packages to be able to make a decision. I agree with Lighthouse that the administration at UCLA has been quite slow in responding to students and "the level of uncertainty of the ucla admission process". We are supposed to make a decision by May 15 and yet many schools have not even given out the financial aid packages or awarded scholarships. I also understand that many people make their decision to go to medical school without any worries about finances, but some of us do have to worry. Just as a thought...

UCLA won't give you a scholarship on top of the 5k everyone gets, its going to cost more this year to attend, and it truly was not my intention to offend.

What I was referring to is the phenomenon that occurs every year, where some people (inconsiderate, selfish people) decide to withdraw from UCLA in July (i swear to god this has happened before, and I know two UCLA alumni who were accepted in mid july off the waitlist, long after they had moved out of state for other med schools).

 

[Slev]

x

 

[Slev]

x

 

[sam500]

Thanks a lot, I hope you set an example for others who have been accepted at prestigious schools, but hog up space on waitlists just for the fun of it. I wish there were more people just as considerate as you, who don't wait until the last minute to withdraw. For the sake of us on the waitlist, please, anyone who is accepted or even on the waitlist at DGSOM and is not completely sure they will attend, it would be courteous of you to withdraw. Anyone who cooperates can rest knowing that they did a great act for others.

Certainly there are more tactful ways to put this.

I would encourage those accepted to take their time to make the right decision rather than feel pressured by others and rush it. There's nothing wrong with waiting to decide until May 15th. Everyone who is going to be offered a spot, will be offered a spot sooner or later.

 

[Person X]

That's just not true. I've been in contact with the financial aid office and there *are* additional merit scholarships to be had that have not been awarded yet. They're still in the process of determining who to award them to.

Thank you, Slev.

 

[sam500]

UCLA won't give you a scholarship on top of the 5k everyone gets, its going to cost more this year to attend, and it truly was not my intention to offend.

What I was referring to is the phenomenon that occurs every year, where some people (inconsiderate, selfish people) decide to withdraw from UCLA in July (i swear to god this has happened before, and I know two UCLA alumni who were accepted in mid july off the waitlist, long after they had moved out of state for other med schools).

The majority of the movement in late July stems from people deferring or choosing not to go to medical school. There is a spider effect that carries on from these drop-outs. It is not from people offered spots pre-May 15th.

 

[uclabruins2011]

The majority of the movement in late July stems from people deferring or choosing not to go to medical school. There is a spider effect that carries on from these drop-outs. It is not from people offered spots pre-May 15th.

Thats interesting. One would think that people who have the ability to get into DGSOM would be sure about whether or not they want to attend medical school in the first place. Im not saying I agree or disagree though, since I haven't seen those particular statistics for DGSOM yet.

 

[Slev]

x

 

[sam500]

Thats interesting. One would think that people who have the ability to get into DGSOM would be sure about whether or not they want to attend medical school in the first place. Im not saying I agree or disagree though, since I haven't seen those particular statistics for DGSOM yet.

It doesn't have to be from DGSOM.

Imagine someone who's admitted to Harvard has a family emergency and can't attend school. Or decides they want to go to grad school instead. Or decides medicine is just not for them. They bow out and another is offered their place. Say that other is intending on going to DGSOM and they decide they want the Harvard name instead. Now a DGSOM spot opens up and offered to another person who's been accepted to a different school. Who knows how long the chain can go on. But it ends when someone is offered a spot who hasn't been accepted from any school yet.

Most of the waitlist movement occurs in May 15th - June 15th range I imagine. After that things probably settle unless events as those outline above occur.

Mind you, this is all my speculation.

 

[sam500]

I think no matter what the school is, there is always going to be some amount of people that either have a big life event that prevents them from going or when it finally comes time to commit, decide that medicine isn't right for them.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

How do you like the Transformer Prime? Is the keyboard worth it? I'm debating on waiting for the 700t or getting an Ivy Bridge Ultrabook when they come out. Suggestions?

 

[Person X]

it doesn't have to be from dgsom.

Imagine someone who's admitted to harvard has a family emergency and can't attend school. Or decides they want to go to grad school instead. Or decides medicine is just not for them. They bow out and another is offered their place. Say that other is intending on going to dgsom and they decide they want the harvard name instead. Now a dgsom spot opens up and offered to another person who's been accepted to a different school. Who knows how long the chain can go on. But it ends when someone is offered a spot who hasn't been accepted from any school yet.

Most of the waitlist movement occurs in may 15th - june 15th range i imagine. After that things probably settle unless events as those outline above occur.

Mind you, this is all my speculation.

+1

 

[kexy]

Thanks a lot, I hope you set an example for others who have been accepted at prestigious schools, but hog up space on waitlists just for the fun of it. I wish there were more people just as considerate as you, who don't wait until the last minute to withdraw. For the sake of us on the waitlist, please, anyone who is accepted or even on the waitlist at DGSOM and is not completely sure they will attend, it would be courteous of you to withdraw. Anyone who cooperates can rest knowing that they did a great act for others.

People who are completely sure they will not attend should withdraw. People who are not completely sure they will attend should take all the time available to them (til May 15) to make a decision they are happy with. -An eager person on the waitlist

 

[dbeast]

uclabruins2011, I know being on a waitlist is the pinnacle of all suckiness, but please don't spread false information about financial aid...

 

[rogerthis]

I think it's safe to say that uclabruins2011 qualifies as this year's thread troll with a condescending undertone (including misinformation) in the majority of his posts. So just be aware and let's refrain from feeding this troll.

 

[WongoBongo]

And people got on me when I called him a tool a few pages back...

 

[d2damaxx]

i just received my financial aid estimate and i got a $15k scholarship on top of the $5k one so there are for sure need-based scholarships out there i can assure you

 

[Slev]

x

 

[sam500]

i just received my financial aid estimate and i got a $15k scholarship on top of the $5k one so there are for sure need-based scholarships out there i can assure you

You are a lucky chap/lass. Congrats!

 

[sam500]

And people got on me when I called him a tool a few pages back...

Name-calling is never professional. Treat your peers as well as you would your patients.

Everyone has their own social dysfunctions. If you think someone is being disruptive, there are better ways to communicate that.

Maybe they're autistic, maybe they're just immature, but if you want to "improve" someones behavior, insults rarely work.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

quoting Sam500:
"It doesn't have to be from DGSOM.

Imagine someone who's admitted to Harvard has a family emergency and can't attend school. Or decides they want to go to grad school instead. Or decides medicine is just not for them. They bow out and another is offered their place. Say that other is intending on going to DGSOM and they decide they want the Harvard name instead. Now a DGSOM spot opens up and offered to another person who's been accepted to a different school. Who knows how long the chain can go on. But it ends when someone is offered a spot who hasn't been accepted from any school yet.

Most of the waitlist movement occurs in May 15th - June 15th range I imagine. After that things probably settle unless events as those outline above occur.

Mind you, this is all my speculation."

Pretty legit speculation. The Domino effect. The last domino is the lucky one.

 

[rika13]

For people saying they are on the waitlist, did you get any official contact saying you are on the waitlist or are you assuming if you interviewed and did not get an acceptance your waitlisted?

 

[rogerthis]

People with no decision yet aren't necessarily on the waitlist. There's still a chance that a post-interview rejection can occur by the end of May which did happen last year. Since no one has reported a post-interview rejection as of yet, I think it's just under review until a decision is made for acceptance, waitlist (up until the first day of school), or rejection. We'll find out as soon as we see the status change from blank to sent but so far only the accepted students have reported the status change to "sent".

 

[sam500]

Does anyone want to explore LA Sunday or Monday after Recruitment Day? My return flight doesn't leave until Tuesday mid-day.

Any suggestions on what I should explore if I only have a few days there?

 

[kexy]

Does anyone want to explore LA Sunday or Monday after Recruitment Day? My return flight doesn't leave until Tuesday mid-day.

Any suggestions on what I should explore if I only have a few days there?

Hmmm. If you're into art, check out LACMA, the Getty (especially if it's a clear day, awesome views), or the Norton Simon in Pasadena.

If you're into food, I think Papa Cristo's is the best Greek food I've ever had, and it's a really authentic/awesome hole in the wall place. Philippe's in downtown is rumored to have invented the French Dip sandwich, and has a really cool old-fashioned feel.

If you're into touristy junk, check out Hollywood Blvd (it gets annoying fast though), the La Brea tar pits, or the 3rd St. Promenade/the pier in Santa Monica.

If you're into celeb spotting and/or incredibly over-priced shopping, check out Robertson Blvd (right by Cedars-Sinai).

If the weather is nice, it's awesome to hike up to the Hollywood sign.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

can all the out of staters who will never attend dgsom please withdraw? waitlist needs to move.

Better luck next year.

 

[sam500]

Hmmm. If you're into art, check out LACMA, the Getty (especially if it's a clear day, awesome views), or the Norton Simon in Pasadena.

If you're into food, I think Papa Cristo's is the best Greek food I've ever had, and it's a really authentic/awesome hole in the wall place. Philippe's in downtown is rumored to have invented the French Dip sandwich, and has a really cool old-fashioned feel.

If you're into touristy junk, check out Hollywood Blvd (it gets annoying fast though), the La Brea tar pits, or the 3rd St. Promenade/the pier in Santa Monica.

If you're into celeb spotting and/or incredibly over-priced shopping, check out Robertson Blvd (right by Cedars-Sinai).

If the weather is nice, it's awesome to hike up to the Hollywood sign.

La Brea Tar Pits and a Hollywood Sign hike sounds perfect. Thanks.

 

[uclabruins2011]

Better luck next year.

Are you illiterate or just a *******?