2008-2009 UCLA Secondary Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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pntgrd said:
UCLA gives no preference for CA residency.
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Not saying you guys are wrong, but how can a "university of California" not give preference to in-state applicants? Am I mistaken in believing it is a state owned public school? Thanks for the clarification!
 
Davnport said:
Not saying you guys are wrong, but how can a "university of California" not give preference to in-state applicants? Am I mistaken in believing it is a state owned public school? Thanks for the clarification!
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You're not mistaken in that UC is a public university system, but the above posters are correct that UCLA does state (on their website I believe) that they give no preference to in-state.
 
It is a state school and therefore they charge residents less tuition, but their admission standards are the same for in and out of state.
 
I think the LOR requirements are stated on the secondary. Really not sure on that one. Worst case, you can call admissions.

Do any of you with your secondary and LORs in, still have the message on your status screen saying, "Your online forms are due on..."?
 
SN2ed said:
I think the LOR requirements are stated on the secondary. Really not sure on that one. Worst case, you can call admissions.

Do any of you with your secondary and LORs in, still have the message on your status screen saying, "Your online forms are due on..."?
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yep. i do.
 
Hey, regarding UCLA's screening - is it purely numbers based, or do they actually read the applications and decide?

I'm happy to have gotten one, but since they eliminate about 45% of applicants pre-secondary, I'm very curious to know.
:shrug:

thanks!
 
Hm. I got verified on July 21st and UCLA still hasn't given me word that they've received my AMCAS yet....And their Applicant Status page is blank.
 
Hi,

Has anyone received a secondary from UCLA since their 7/29 batch? What is taking UCLA so long to send out a second batch?

Thanks
 
I got the email saying UCLA received my secondary on 8/6. I checked the status right then and of course saw no request for a secondary. I checked a few days ago and I did receive the secondary...but the funny thing is it says 8/6 for "date of action" for request of the secondary, too!
 
Is it normal that on my status application page ... everything is empty? I know for UCI, which I haven't received a secondary request yet that it says Pending, but not for UCLA
 
floja2 said:
Is it normal that on my status application page ... everything is empty? I know for UCI, which I haven't received a secondary request yet that it says Pending, but not for UCLA
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Have you received any kind of notification from UCLA? I haven't gotten any sort of receipt notification from UCLA and all my boxes are blank as well...
 
nina7123 said:
Have you received any kind of notification from UCLA? I haven't gotten any sort of receipt notification from UCLA and all my boxes are blank as well...
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Hm, only notification I received was that my app had been received. I guess I won't worry then.
 
HaveHope said:
I got the email saying UCLA received my secondary on 8/6. I checked the status right then and of course saw no request for a secondary. I checked a few days ago and I did receive the secondary...but the funny thing is it says 8/6 for "date of action" for request of the secondary, too!
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Wait, I'm not exactly sure what you're saying. Are you saying they received your primary on 8/6, you checked your status page, saw nothing, but then when you checked a few days ago saw that they had requested a secondary that was dated 8/6?

Hmm, makes me think maybe I was screened out =( They received my primary on 8/2 and still nothing.
 
cookiegurl said:
Wait, I'm not exactly sure what you're saying. Are you saying they received your primary on 8/6, you checked your status page, saw nothing, but then when you checked a few days ago saw that they had requested a secondary that was dated 8/6?

Hmm, makes me think maybe I was screened out =( They received my primary on 8/2 and still nothing.
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Nooo! That's not long enough. If it has been 2+ months and you still haven't received a secondary...than it's possible that you've been screened. But give it some time before you give up hope.
 
chessknt87 said:
So CA really only has 4 state schools that actually act like state schools vs texas which has 6. CA is so awesome.
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Actually SF does not give in state preference either.
 
funkydrmonkey said:
Actually SF does not give in state preference either.
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Careful with saying that though.

80% of UCSF students are still Californians, 92% for UCSD, 88% for UCLA, 97% for UCI, 98% for UC Davis.

So doesn't give as much in state preference doesn't mean there isn't a pretty strong one. 😉 All of my out of state schools are 50%+ out of staters...
 
Raryn said:
Careful with saying that though.

80% of UCSF students are still Californians, 92% for UCSD, 88% for UCLA, 97% for UCI, 98% for UC Davis.

So doesn't give as much in state preference doesn't mean there isn't a pretty strong one. 😉 All of my out of state schools are 50%+ out of staters...
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I know. I just said that there is no in state preference. Just like LA, most of the Students will be from CA though...
 
funkydrmonkey said:
Actually SF does not give in state preference either.
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From the UCSF website FAQ page:

"Does UCSF School of Medicine give preference to California residents?

Yes. The Committee on Admissions gives preference to California residents"
 
cookiegurl said:
Wait, I'm not exactly sure what you're saying. Are you saying they received your primary on 8/6, you checked your status page, saw nothing, but then when you checked a few days ago saw that they had requested a secondary that was dated 8/6?

Hmm, makes me think maybe I was screened out =( They received my primary on 8/2 and still nothing.
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Exactly. Weird, huh?

Don't give up hope. No news can still be good news. It's not that late! Keep checking (and do so regardless of whether you get more emails from them. I didn't get an email saying I got a secondary, but lo and behold it's there when I log in).
 
funkydrmonkey said:
I know. I just said that there is no in state preference. Just like LA, most of the Students will be from CA though...
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The IS acceptees are probably more likely to attend than the OOS acceptees. There's probably also a higher volume of IS applicants, so theres a higher number accepted and ultimately matriculating.

I think if you're OOS and UCLA is your top choice and you're a competitive applicant, then they're not going to turn you away simply because you're OOS.
 
Can someone just confirm if the UCLA MD secondary for this year is the same as last year? It would be helpful if someone could post the questions for the secondary and the character limit. Thanks.
 
misohornay said:
Can someone just confirm if the UCLA MD secondary for this year is the same as last year? It would be helpful if someone could post the questions for the secondary and the character limit. Thanks.
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Already posted, by Shemarty, early in this thread. Theres 8-10 questions (depending on your circumstances), 800 characters apiece.
 
How many secondaries do schools require, I know it might vary but give me an
estimate?
 
Raryn said:
One each.

As in, each school requires one secondary. Essaywise, they're all different, ranging from no essays, to 10 short essays, to one ginormous essay, and everything in between.
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So your saying a secondary is subdivided into mini essays or a giant essay, right? If this is true, does that mean their are a varying number of topics?
 
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tesfawMD said:
So your saying a secondary is subdivided into mini essays or a giant essay, right? If this is true, does that mean their are a varying number of topics?
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Every school asks different topics. UCLA, the subject of this thread wants up to 10 short (800 characters=a short paragraph) essays. UCSD wants a 4 page single spaced monster of an autobiography. A school like Duke requires 6 relatively large essays.

It varies.
 
Raryn said:
Every school asks different topics. UCLA, the subject of this thread wants up to 10 short (800 characters=a short paragraph) essays. UCSD wants a 4 page single spaced monster of an autobiography. A school like Duke requires 6 relatively large essays.

It varies.
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How much time do you have to complete the secondaries?
 
disorder said:
so basically they give it to every in state applicant, pretty much. 😛
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I'm Canadian and even I got one...I thought I had no shot in hell with California schools but I've gotten a few already.

Does anybody think its bad to discuss a work position for the non-academic activity question? One of my jobs that I worked at for several years is medically related and has had considerable influence over my choices, however, I don't know if they're looking for anything related to medicine...should I discuss something entirely different and not related to medicine for this?
 
SpanishFly said:
I'm Canadian and even I got one...I thought I had no shot in hell with California schools but I've gotten a few already.

Does anybody think its bad to discuss a work position for the non-academic activity question? One of my jobs that I worked at for several years is medically related and has had considerable influence over my choices, however, I don't know if they're looking for anything related to medicine...should I discuss something entirely different and not related to medicine for this?
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By non-academic, they mean anything you want, like hobbies or work to make you less one-dimensional.
 
pntgrd said:
Because the thread is about the UCLA secondary. You are posting very basic general questions about what a secondary is.
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In the time it took you to be a dick, you could've just answered the original question with a "depends on the school," or "as short as 2 weeks, as long as several months." Not every question needs its own thread to clutter up the main page.
 
JackInTheBox said:
In the time it took you to be a dick, you could've just answered the original question with a "depends on the school," or "as short as 2 weeks, as long as several months." Not every question needs its own thread to clutter up the main page.
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He asked questions 3 different times. I wouldn't have cared about 1 time. He would get more answers and not clutter this thread if he went to the main page.
 
pntgrd said:
Because the thread is about the UCLA secondary. You are posting very basic general questions about what a secondary is.
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Where would I find general questions the secondary?
 
shemarty said:
The IS acceptees are probably more likely to attend than the OOS acceptees. There's probably also a higher volume of IS applicants, so theres a higher number accepted and ultimately matriculating.

I think if you're OOS and UCLA is your top choice and you're a competitive applicant, then they're not going to turn you away simply because you're OOS.
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Hey Shemarty,
I see that you have your status at UCLA as "complete" on your MDapps - did you get an complete email, or is your complete date when they received your letters from the status page?
Thanks!
 
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copingmethods said:
Hey Shemarty,
I see that you have your status at UCLA as "complete" on your MDapps - did you get an complete email, or is your complete date when they received your letters from the status page?
Thanks!
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The date they received my letters.
 
I'm not sure if this was asked before (I just read through the thread and didn't really see anything related):
Is it bad to write about something you did in high schools, especially if it is an award (no awards in college :-( )?

Also, if you write about something for the problem question, is it bad to also list it in one sentence for the optional hardship question?

Thanks
 
saa09 said:
I'm not sure if this was asked before (I just read through the thread and didn't really see anything related):
Is it bad to write about something you did in high schools, especially if it is an award (no awards in college :-( )?
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Unless it's a very impressive award, avoid writing about something from high school. It's better to leave it blank than to BS the essay. Keep in mind, everyone, that you don't have to fill out every single essay.
 
saa09 said:
I'm not sure if this was asked before (I just read through the thread and didn't really see anything related):
Is it bad to write about something you did in high schools, especially if it is an award (no awards in college :-( )?

Also, if you write about something for the problem question, is it bad to also list it in one sentence for the optional hardship question?

Thanks
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I called and asked that question because I won a regional writing contest in high school that meant a lot to me... but the person on the phone told me to stick to college. If you haven't won an award, were you selected for something? A research fellowship, honor, or highly selective job? I think that would satisfy the requirements of the question.
 
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

This question is holding up my submission of this app. I have no idea what to put!!?!?! Am I supposed to put some personal goals in there, stick just to professional stuff? How specific does the answer need to be in terms of what kind of medicine I want to pursue, etc. Any help on this?
 
does ucla have to receive your LORs, before they screen your application? Or is it solely based on the primary application?
 
gopens67 said:
does ucla have to receive your LORs, before they screen your application? Or is it solely based on the primary application?
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Screen for a secondary? The LORs are part of the secondary, so the screening for secondaries is solely based on the primary.

(If you meant for interviews, then yes, they have to receive your LORs)
 
Ah finally complete. They just received my letters today and updated accordingly.

For how many of you is UCLA your top choice? It is for me, that's for sure. I am an LA baby for life - born, raised, and probably will die in LA.

I wouldn't mind a USC acceptance either, but it's hard to beat that instate tuition.
 
enjoydrywax said:
Ah finally complete. They just received my letters today and updated accordingly.

For how many of you is UCLA your top choice? It is for me, that's for sure. I am an LA baby for life - born, raised, and probably will die in LA.

I wouldn't mind a USC acceptance either, but it's hard to beat that instate tuition.
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UCLA is tied w/ UCSF for my top choice 😱
 
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