Here's my 2 cents...
I had a 2+ hour interview with Dr. Fulco, who chairs one of the admissions committees... he went over the entire admissions process ad nauseum... about 45 minutes before we even got into the formal interview...
He told me that UCLA makes all decisions based on a merit/point system. Interviewers are given a 4-5 page evaluation form that they complete for each interviewee...
In it, they have to assess how the interviewee stacks up in a variety of areas... I can't remember the exact names, even though Dr. Fulco showed me the sheet, which he had already filled in from my AMCAS before I even interviewed... I remember, it assesses your desire to go into primary care, the breadth of your research experience, commitment to bettering humanity.... things like that...
These forms, as well as your application and letters, are then reviewed in a subcommittee... I think I remember him saying there are 4, but I can't exactly remember...
At the committee, each member awards a certain number of points, in a closed ballot manner. These are then tallied and this gives you your overall score. He said that student members of the committee are able to award points. He also mentioned a complex way of calculating outliers in the votes. He mentioned that most members of the committee tend to vote consistently with the other members, and if one member votes significantly higher or lower than the others, then those values are corrected somehow...
He said the reason it takes so long to hear from UCLA, is because they have to amass a certain number of ranked applicants. He said you are LITERALLY sitting in a computer with your score from the committee, and they accept those applicants with some minimum cutoff score. He said in mid-January, they will start letting in the applicants with the highest scores.
He said that once your committee score is determined, there is nothing you can do to appeal the decision. He said that if you are denied an interview, an appeal is possible, but not if you are denied admission.
He said the wait list follows the ranked scores as well. He mentioned that once you are ranked, it does no good to send updates on coursework/activities, or even letters of interest/intent, because this will not influence your numerical score.
He was VERY informative and thorough... I felt like I was on the freakin' committee by the time he finished... THEN the interview began...
What a charming man... I hope he talks the committee into scoring me high, because I'd love to continue my medical education at UCLA.
Best of luck to everyone who is waiting to hear from UCLA, and I hope this information was helpful...
