2010-2011 University of California - San Diego Application Thread

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ksmi117

ksmi117

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Reserved for prompt.

Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me (ksmi117) when the secondary is available.

:luck: with your application!
 
I recently heard from a reliable source that UCSD sends a secondary to anyone with both a GPA of 3.4 or above and a MCAT of 30 or above. However, they do sometimes make exceptions but I'm not sure how or why.
 
For countless years, the essay has been a prompt for an autobiographical statement. I don't remember the word limit, but it's pretty generous (longer than AMCAS statement if I recall).
 
lord_jeebus said:
For countless years, the essay has been a prompt for an autobiographical statement. I don't remember the word limit, but it's pretty generous (longer than AMCAS statement if I recall).
Click to expand...

What's the major difference between the secondary (autobiographical statement) versus the primary (personal statement) then?
 
muffyd said:
I recently heard from a reliable source that UCSD sends a secondary to anyone with both a GPA of 3.4 or above and a MCAT of 30 or above. However, they do sometimes make exceptions but I'm not sure how or why.
Click to expand...

I go to UCSD as an undergrad and spoke with the person in charge in the admissions office. He said that the only people who get automatic secondaries have "much better" stats than the current incoming class. Otherwise they look at every app and decide if a secondary is to be offered.
 
dragon529 said:
What's the major difference between the secondary (autobiographical statement) versus the primary (personal statement) then?
Click to expand...
You have to write about something that you didn't write about in the primary. It is usually around 7500 characters though I think years ago it was 10,000.
 
At this time last year, verifications of receipt of primaries and secondaries were already coming out....no one has heard anything?🙂
 
CougarMD said:
At this time last year, verifications of receipt of primaries and secondaries were already coming out....no one has heard anything?🙂
Click to expand...

nothing yet here. Submitted on 6/1.
 
dragon529 said:
What's the major difference between the secondary (autobiographical statement) versus the primary (personal statement) then?
Click to expand...

Ideally the primary should answer "why are you applying to medical school," and the secondary should answer "who are you?"
 
lord_jeebus said:
Ideally the primary should answer "why are you applying to medical school," and the secondary should answer "who are you?"
Click to expand...

that makes sense. It just kinda sucks that some stuff that addresses the secondary was used in my primary though I used it to say why I applied to medicine. DO you think its fine to have some overlap of events, as long as you use them to answer the respected questions?

I talked about some childhood thing with my parents, but I used it to say why I had an interest in underserved communities in my primary but for my secondary could I reopen the topic but instead talk about how the thing affected me as a person and how it helped me develop?
 
anyone get a secondary pending an MCAT score and is verified????

Thanks
 
Mute98 said:
that makes sense. It just kinda sucks that some stuff that addresses the secondary was used in my primary though I used it to say why I applied to medicine. DO you think its fine to have some overlap of events, as long as you use them to answer the respected questions?

I talked about some childhood thing with my parents, but I used it to say why I had an interest in underserved communities in my primary but for my secondary could I reopen the topic but instead talk about how the thing affected me as a person and how it helped me develop?
Click to expand...

I would avoid too much overlap, your interviewers are basically going to read both essays back to back.
 
The applicant status check for 2011 is up:

I logged in and it says that my application was received 07/06/2010. Looks like they might be sending emails soon.
 
Last edited:
When were you verified? Because I tried to log in but it's not working...
 
Last edited:
dude. i have ur amcas id#
 
yeah kip take that down-- whatever you linked to us shows your AMCAS ID.. do not let the wrong person see it!
 
QuesoAndFromage said:
yeah kip take that down-- whatever you linked to us shows your AMCAS ID.. do not let the wrong person see it!
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That's weird... when I clicked on it, it was blank. But still, I'd take it down just in case (apparently others can see the ID#).
 
bpost137 said:
That's weird... when I clicked on it, it was blank. But still, I'd take it down just in case (apparently others can see the ID#).
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its funny that I wouldve thought it was just a random string of numbers until the other poster pointed it out.

of course having just the AAMC ID won't get anyone very far but just in case-- also now an adcom or something may know who you are (though thats my premed paranoid side speaking)
 
Mine shows AMCAS received 7/6 too
 
QuesoAndFromage said:
its funny that I wouldve thought it was just a random string of numbers until the other poster pointed it out.

of course having just the AAMC ID won't get anyone very far but just in case-- also now an adcom or something may know who you are (though thats my premed paranoid side speaking)
Click to expand...

Why would it matter if adcom people knew you were on this site. Unless you posted offensive material on some parts of the forum.
 
manraj76 said:
Why would it matter if adcom people knew you were on this site. Unless you posted offensive material on some parts of the forum.
Click to expand...

I just think its better to retain anonymity in case something gets misconstrued, as non-verbal communication seems to be a lot. In most cases (99/100) you are right, it does not matter, but there could be the small chance it does.
 
QuesoAndFromage said:
you guys think screening will actually take 6-8 weeks?
Click to expand...

No, I think they just said that so they can get as much time as they want with each application. They will probably start sending out secondaries soon.
 
Just got a secondary invite! I'm super excited 🙂
 
MDub1 said:
Just got a secondary invite! I'm super excited 🙂
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Same. Got the email for the invite, but the link to the secondary is unavailable for the secondary on my status update. Is yours working?
 
Just got an invite too! I'm OOS, non-URM, and have a 28S MCAT on my first attempt (retaking tomorrow) -- I guess the screen isn't too tough? So excited!
 
Kip said:
Same. Got the email for the invite, but the link to the secondary is unavailable for the secondary on my status update. Is yours working?
Click to expand...

I'm having the same problem right now.
 
Kip said:
Same. Got the email for the invite, but the link to the secondary is unavailable for the secondary on my status update. Is yours working?
Click to expand...

Got the secondary invite - link doesn't appear to be working yet.
 
Ditto to the problem everyone is having with accessing the app..hopefully it's not an autobio..please no! lol
 
same problem as everyone else.. i hope its just that the status site is having trouble rather than them accidentally sending a mass email haha
 
QuesoAndFromage said:
same problem as everyone else.. i hope its just that the status site is having trouble rather than them accidentally sending a mass email haha
Click to expand...

That never even crossed my mind until you mentioned it! holy moly..could be the case lol.
 
Their first email (the one that said you had access) said to wait until close of business today. It's 1 pm in CA right now.

"At the close of business today, you will be able to track the status of your application on our website"
 
The Mull said:
Their first email (the one that said you had access) said to wait until close of business today. It's 1 pm in CA right now.

"At the close of business today, you will be able to track the status of your application on our website"
Click to expand...

good point. Im hoping to get this soon! and this gives me that much more motivation to hurry up with my NYU app..

Ive been fearing this secondary in particular.. an autobiographical essay seems like A LOT
 
The App button is there now and I can access the secondary...time to write an autobiography
 
i can access too..

the autobiography still irks me though.. What if I talked about my most major obstacles in my personal statement? I can give one of my obstacles a different spin, but I dont really know..

also: PRIME admission is separate from the regular MD right?
 
pleasantly surprised i got an invite
 
This app is such a beast. When they say don't repeat your primary, is it okay if we still include similar obstacles mentioned in the primary, but in a different way?
 
eight sat up said:
This app is such a beast. When they say don't repeat your primary, is it okay if we still include similar obstacles mentioned in the primary, but in a different way?
Click to expand...

haha thats what Im trying to ask too.. itd be REALLY hard otherwise, but I can give some situations a different twist even though it will still be pretty tough..

even the activities section is brutal.. think we can just use our amcas stuff?

either way, UCSD is a top choice for me. Love the school and city
 
Extra points for writing it in third person.
 
No e-mail for me yet. Hopefully they send them out in batches. I'm still keepin' the faith!
 
"Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years. You should focus on major life experiences and influences up to your entry into college."

So are we not to include college experiences in this essay? Most of my experiences that motivated me to pursue medicine occurred in college.
 
wrathofgod64 said:
"Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years. You should focus on major life experiences and influences up to your entry into college."

So are we not to include college experiences in this essay? Most of my experiences that motivated me to pursue medicine occurred in college.
Click to expand...

Ya, based on the prompt, PLEASE do NOT write about college lol...only go up to secondary school! I say that in the nicest way possible, because I don't want you to get screwed over!

This is going to be a toughie...at least it was cut down from 7K characters to 4.8K..(compared to last year)...*phew*
 
Anyone know how many secondary invites they send out?

Luckily I didn't mention any of my childhood/high school experiences in my personal statement, so I can fit those in here. Still, I'm not looking forward to this essay.
 
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