2009-2010 UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program

[alanmore]

did Anybody, Anywhere hear Anything recently??

Oh snap, page 3! I will today!

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Everything on my body that can be crossed is crossed right now

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[brahmabull786]

does the link for the perspective students work for you guys? For me it says no record found.

Also is the recruitment April 10th or 16th? The email said 10th but the attachment says 16th. I m guessin UCLA is the 10th and ours is 16th?

 

[CALLR001]

The link worked for me. Today is the last day to RSVP for the ucla recruitment day. You need access to the student checklist to do that. The ucla recruitment day is the 10th and the ucr one is the 16th.

 

[brahmabull786]

I hope those who havent heard get their letters in the mail today

This waiting process is more horrible than the mcat itself.

 

[new09]

does the link for the perspective students work for you guys? For me it says no record found.

Also is the recruitment April 10th or 16th? The email said 10th but the attachment says 16th. I m guessin UCLA is the 10th and ours is 16th?

Yes, CallR001 is right about the two dates above. For the ucr recruitment day on the 16th, I believe you have to call or email Margie by April 9th to RSVP.

 

[medicineluva]

Did any of you receive any information regarding financial aid yet?

Through the online portal for prospective students all the "financial aid" link says is that it is through UCR, but other than that I have not received anything yet (I have already submitted FAFSA). However, other schools have already been mailing me stuff regarding loans, etc. So i was just wondering why UCR hasn't sent anything in the mail yet?

 

[JennJenn]

When I interviewed in March I was told all that stuff would be given during orientation by Margie. You can call and ask or just wait until the 16th to find out that info.


Congrats

Did any of you receive any information regarding financial aid yet?

Through the online portal for prospective students all the "financial aid" link says is that it is through UCR, but other than that I have not received anything yet (I have already submitted FAFSA). However, other schools have already been mailing me stuff regarding loans, etc. So i was just wondering why UCR hasn't sent anything in the mail yet?

 

[JennJenn]

Hey guys I called Margie on Friday and this is what she told me:

1. All the acceptances were not sent out
2. There were still spots left -- didn't ask how many nor did I ask if that meant "waitlist"spots or actual seats for the class.
3. UCLA was still "searching"
4. She does not know when we will get to know

I have no idea what the "searching" means and for my sanity's sake I decided to let that go.

Take what you want from it, since orientation is on the 16th and you must RSVP by the 9th I'm guessing all 24 will be sent out this week. Good Luck to all!!!


Oh and she won't be in this whole week! and I've never talked to anyone else in Biomed so I do not know how helpful they are.

 

[alanmore]

Hey guys I called Margie on Friday and this is what she told me:

1. All the acceptances were not sent out
2. There were still spots left -- didn't ask how many nor did I ask if that meant "waitlist"spots or actual seats for the class.
3. UCLA was still "searching"
4. She does not know when we will get to know

I have no idea what the "searching" means and for my sanity's sake I decided to let that go.

Take what you want from it, since orientation is on the 16th and you must RSVP by the 9th I'm guessing all 24 will be sent out this week. Good Luck to all!!!


Oh and she won't be in this whole week! and I've never talked to anyone else in Biomed so I do not know how helpful they are.

You called her too?? I should have waited for your post haha I ended up calling Biomed AND Geffin admissions. The consensus: patience, grasshopper. grr.

You know what would suck? If UCLA decided that the remaining pool of applicants isnt worthy and left the class as is, e.g. 18/24.

On the bright side Caribbean schools are still accepting applications.

Yay.

 

[alanmore]

My spider senses tells me if we make it to page 4 good news will come in the mail by Wednesday.

 

[brahmabull786]

haha well looks like we need 40 more posts!

yeh I recently talked to biomed staff and they specifically said to not call the april 16th day as orientation since not all spots have been filled.

Maybe there is still hope for sdners

 

[JennJenn]

You know what would suck? If UCLA decided that the remaining pool of applicants isnt worthy and left the class as is, e.g. 18/24.

Yay.

That would suck, but thanks for voicing my worse fear!! haahaa. I've tried not to think about that but I did and it just pissed me off! But I don't think they are allowed to leave the count as 18/24, because of funding issues. How'd ya know there were already 18 acceptances given out?

haha well looks like we need 40 more posts!

yeh I recently talked to biomed staff and they specifically said to not call the april 16th day as orientation since not all spots have been filled.

Maybe there is still hope for sdners

Thanks Brahmabull! I hope so too.

 

[alanmore]

That would suck, but thanks for voicing my worse fear!! haahaa. I've tried not to think about that but I did and it just pissed me off! But I don't think they are allowed to leave the count as 18/24, because of funding issues. How'd ya know there were already 18 acceptances given out?

heh I dont...thats why i edited i.e. to e.g. : P

glad to see i'm not the only sleepless fella up tonight

 

[FireTop]

ahh!! i cant stop thinking about haider!! hopefully we all hear soon. best of luck to all of us here on sdn!

hi jenn haha

 

[Frogmanmike14]

hey haider how about hooking me up with a sweet birthday present this wednesday and letting me in!

 

[new09]

Good luck to those still waiting. It's not over yet, so continue hoping for the best.

 

[Mohammedical]

everyone is so supportive on this thread, I bet if we all make it we'll have a pretty tite class!

 

[FireTop]

yeah good lookin out Mohammedical. i hope we all get in together...we can have a SDN PBL group or somethin haha!

good luck everyone! any day now we will be hearing!

 

[John E Walker]

I called the office and they said decisions are rolling...so, If someone who interviewed after me has heard, does that mean I'm rejected??

 

[cancerschmancer]

Has anyone heard of anyone getting an acceptance letter this past week? Dayna said they were still looking for people. But that's all I got. I feel like something is going on that it's taking this long to fill the class....

 

[JennJenn]

I called this week and got the same answers as everyone else from Dayna. It's rolling admissions and there are still spots..

I called the office and they said decisions are rolling...so, If someone who interviewed after me has heard, does that mean I'm rejected??

I don't think so, someone who interviewed in January got in last week with the other round..so, there's still hope! But I dunno I'm confused too but let's just stay positive.

Has anyone heard of anyone getting an acceptance letter this past week? Dayna said they were still looking for people. But that's all I got. I feel like something is going on that it's taking this long to fill the class....

Yes, when I talked to Margie last week she said it was something going on with UCLA. the "searching" thing not sure what that means though..
I'm with you on it being very strange that the class isn't full yet. Margie told me the procedure would be the same as last year. For last year by the end of March all 24 seats were given out...
Dayna wouldn't let me know if more were going out this week and just kept saying "We don't know, It's rolling admissions and all schools do things differently.." But she did tell me that some acceptances weren't sent out yet... soo...yaa...

I don't know what's going on, so lets try not to kill ourselves over the confusion! Good Luck!!

I may have over-killed with the smilies but but there are sooo many!


BTW. Happy Belated Birthday Frogman.

 

[brahmabull786]

anybody get a letter? or is the next adcomm meeting this wed?

 

[Mohammedical]

I didn't get a letter...patiently waiting...hopefully it's not in vain

 

[SillyMonkey]

Any updates?

No letter for me either . I really want to call, but lost my voice.. sad... so i'm hoping someone else called?

Happy belated bday to you, Frogmanmike . Good luck to all of us still waiting!

 

[alanmore]

Just got the waitlist email

: (

 

[SillyMonkey]

Bad news in my inbox. Just want to let you guys know that I guess they've made their final decisions

Good luck to the rest of us who haven't been axed It's been a great journey with all of you

 

[alanmore]

Bad news in my inbox. Just want to let you guys know that I guess they've made their final decisions

Good luck to the rest of us who haven't been axed It's been a great journey with all of you

by bad do you mean a rejection or hold status? though i guess at this point theres no real difference

 

[cancerschmancer]

does "on hold/active" mean wait list in Haider terms? Has anyone gotten an actual rejection letter?

 

[SillyMonkey]

aww, well, i guess i was on hold last year, and completely rejected this year. So you still have some hope in waiting! Good luck with the rest of the process guys!

 

[alanmore]

the way they defined hold/active is exactly what a waitlist is. i wonder why they just didnt call it that.

thanks to everyone that pooled together their info! much appreciated, and good luck all...and do post again if you get in!

 

[alanmore]

I'm sorry to hear SillyMonkey...

If it makes you feel any better this is my THIRD waitlist from Haider, and officially my 8th one (!!).

i'm starting to think i might have pissed off someone very important.

 

[SillyMonkey]

Oh that's so nice of you. Thank you! It's your time this year! Please keep me posted! You can do it!

 

[canincidis]

Hey UCR graduates, who's applying during the 2009-2010 cycle? Only 24 spots left.

hey i have a couple questions. is it really hard to make the thomas haider program (do you have to be the top of your class to get accepted to this program.)

if you do not get accepted to this program do you still have a good chance to make great medical schools?

thank you

 

[canincidis]

hey i have a couple questions. is it really hard to make the thomas haider program (do you have to be the top of your class to get accepted to this program.)

if you do not get accepted to this program do you still have a good chance to make great medical schools?

thank you

 

[hotchik]

hey i have a couple questions. is it really hard to make the thomas haider program (do you have to be the top of your class to get accepted to this program.)

if you do not get accepted to this program do you still have a good chance to make great medical schools?

thank you

you don't HAVE to be top of ur class to get accepted, I know a few people who have average GPA's that got in, and a few others with near 4.0's who DONT get in. I think its all about being different, and how u would fit in with the class of 24 (what can you contribute that will make the class better). I hear alot of people saying that ur GPA and MCAT only get you the interview, while your experiences get you the acceptance.

As for a good chance at other great medical schools, idk too much. But what I hear from the counselor of the Medical & Health careers program at UCR said that in the past, a majority of the accepted students to haider only had that 1 acceptance, or the haider acceptance was the best school they got. This makes sense, cuz only about 2 people give up their seats every year (meaning either haider is their only school they got accepted, or haider was the BEST school they got accepted at).

Regardless, do ur best in academics, but don't slack in activities n experiences.

 

[johnincidis]

What would be some good activities?
Also, if a student from UCR does not get accepted to Thomas Haider Program does he/she has a great chance to make some other great medical schools?

Last question, do you think there is an advantage for a student who goes to UCSD over a UCR student to get to a medical school

 

[johnincidis]

What would be some good activities?
Also, if a student from UCR does not get accepted to Thomas Haider Program does he/she has a great chance to make some other great medical schools?

Last question, do you think there is an advantage for a student who goes to UCSD over a UCR student to get to a medical school

 

[johnincidis]

you don't HAVE to be top of ur class to get accepted, I know a few people who have average GPA's that got in, and a few others with near 4.0's who DONT get in. I think its all about being different, and how u would fit in with the class of 24 (what can you contribute that will make the class better). I hear alot of people saying that ur GPA and MCAT only get you the interview, while your experiences get you the acceptance.

As for a good chance at other great medical schools, idk too much. But what I hear from the counselor of the Medical & Health careers program at UCR said that in the past, a majority of the accepted students to haider only had that 1 acceptance, or the haider acceptance was the best school they got. This makes sense, cuz only about 2 people give up their seats every year (meaning either haider is their only school they got accepted, or haider was the BEST school they got accepted at).

Regardless, do ur best in academics, but don't slack in activities n experiences.

What would be some good activities?
Also, if a student from UCR does not get accepted to Thomas Haider Program does he/she has a great chance to make some other great medical schools?

Last question, do you think there is an advantage for a student who goes to UCSD over a UCR student to get to a medical school

 

[hotchik]

What would be some good activities?
Also, if a student from UCR does not get accepted to Thomas Haider Program does he/she has a great chance to make some other great medical schools?

Last question, do you think there is an advantage for a student who goes to UCSD over a UCR student to get to a medical school

good activities that I got from the interviews that I've been through are, but not limited to:

clinical volunteering, research, community service (ie church stuff, homless shelter, etc), and leadership (ie through clubs and organizations).

Those are probably the basic and most common activities that make up a strong med school app...anything else extra that makes you stand out is a plus.

If a student doesn't get accepted to the UCR/UCLA thomas haider program i don't really know if he/she will have a good chance at other top medical schools. I can't really give a definitive YES/NO answer, because it depends on alot of things.

Advantage of going to UCSD is probably the prestige (which sometimes makes a difference in the med school application). I wouldn't really know, cuz i go to UCR and haven't been to any other school. But my guess is that if you had to choose between UCSD or UCR it really depends on u. If you are shooting for a top 5 medical school then definitely go to UCSD. If you are shooting for UCLA, go to UCR. But before choosing UCR, remind u that the bridge to UCLA will probably only last a few more years until UCR opens their own med school. (but even tho they will open up their med school, they will still have the haider program such that they reserve 24 seats for UCR students to go to UCR med school).

 

[brahmabull786]

go to the school where u think u will be happy... there is no school that will give u a better chance of getting accepted to med unless its the IVYs --- b/c they are inbreeders.

UCSD will not give u any advantage over UCR ... you will be taking the same BS undergrad courses at each school where prof. dont give a crap about u. Thats why med schools have the MCAT so it puts everyone on the same field.

I didnt want to go to UCSD b/c it was too isolated and thousands of people are the competitive premed types whom I am not a fan of. UCR has its shortcomings also but at the end its your own preference.

I know people from UCR who have been accepted to the cleveland clinic, hopkins, UCSF and the like.

 

[johnincidis]

how about the major that you take? is bio major too much of a common major that everyone else does. also is business major with some additional science courses will be better or more noticeable for medical schools? In other words, does a student has an advantage when he/she takes business major with science courses?

go to the school where u think u will be happy... there is no school that will give u a better chance of getting accepted to med unless its the IVYs --- b/c they are inbreeders.

UCSD will not give u any advantage over UCR ... you will be taking the same BS undergrad courses at each school where prof. dont give a crap about u. Thats why med schools have the MCAT so it puts everyone on the same field.

I didnt want to go to UCSD b/c it was too isolated and thousands of people are the competitive premed types whom I am not a fan of. UCR has its shortcomings also but at the end its your own preference.

I know people from UCR who have been accepted to the cleveland clinic, hopkins, UCSF and the like.

 

[johnincidis]

good activities that I got from the interviews that I've been through are, but not limited to:

clinical volunteering, research, community service (ie church stuff, homless shelter, etc), and leadership (ie through clubs and organizations).

Those are probably the basic and most common activities that make up a strong med school app...anything else extra that makes you stand out is a plus.

If a student doesn't get accepted to the UCR/UCLA thomas haider program i don't really know if he/she will have a good chance at other top medical schools. I can't really give a definitive YES/NO answer, because it depends on alot of things.

Advantage of going to UCSD is probably the prestige (which sometimes makes a difference in the med school application). I wouldn't really know, cuz i go to UCR and haven't been to any other school. But my guess is that if you had to choose between UCSD or UCR it really depends on u. If you are shooting for a top 5 medical school then definitely go to UCSD. If you are shooting for UCLA, go to UCR. But before choosing UCR, remind u that the bridge to UCLA will probably only last a few more years until UCR opens their own med school. (but even tho they will open up their med school, they will still have the haider program such that they reserve 24 seats for UCR students to go to UCR med school).

how about the major that you take? is bio major too much of a common major that everyone else does. also is business major with some additional science courses will be better or more noticeable for medical schools? In other words, does a student has an advantage when he/she takes business major with science courses?

 

[brahmabull786]

how about the major that you take? is bio major too much of a common major that everyone else does. also is business major with some additional science courses will be better or more noticeable for medical schools? In other words, does a student has an advantage when he/she takes business major with science courses?

no there is no advantage for gaining admissions. The upper div science courses that you will take as a bio major will help a bit for the mcat and a bit when u start med. For example, biochem, neuroscience, genetics these courses help for mcat but if u are a business major u can just study these from the review books and u will b fine. As far as for med, the little advantage u might have as a bio major over someone in business will last only for the first few weeks of med b/c the first block is usually a review of all the sciences, and then everyone is on the same playing field.

Pick the major u think u r interested in. The pre reqs for med are the same, bio, phys, chem, ochem. If u like business, major in it. If u like philosophy major in that. I have heard people in humanities do better on mcats b/c they are used to readin a lot of stuff n that helps a lot for the horrible test.

Overall, dont worry about the things that will give u adv/disadvantage of gettin into med. Biomed at UCR stopped the 7 year direct med program so people in other majors could apply. Dont pick a major or do things in college b/c u think they will help u get into med school. The ADCOM sees hundreds of apps each year and they have seen it all. So b different n do things u enjoy n enjoy college... Dont volunteer somewhere b/c everyone is doin it (CCE) even though it makes u miserable... i didnt n i know others who didnt and they have gotten into med schools.

Focus on learning the material instead of being the typical premed n tryin to always make yourself appeal to the adcomm. b.c there is no ideal applicant. Med schools actually like diversity and want people who branch out.

 

[hotchik]

however, in my opinion, there may be some benefits for majoring in biology vs philosophy. There is alot of information in the upper division science courses that you would useful to know for the MCAT or for just general knowledge in the biomedical research field. Sure you can learn this stuff on ur own (i.e. thru MCAT review material). But, if you have to learn it, why not get credit for it at the same time by taking a class? its like killing 2 birds with one stone. On the other hand, lets learn the meaning of life in an upper division philosophy course thats REQUIRED for graduation...yea that's interesting stuff...but you could have used that time to learn about the latest breakthrough in gene therapy or to relax.

idk, this is my opinion, which is why i decided on being a bio major. i didn't want to waste time with other subjects that i had no interest in. I wanted to be efficient such that everything i do/study has a purpose towards my goal of being a doctor. Learning about the meaning of life doesn't serve any benefit to me. It doesn't help me get a good MCAT score. its just interesting to know.

I'm just the type of person that wanted to keep the "interesting to know" stuff as least as possible hahaha

EDIT: after re-reading my post, i just realized that what I wrote is kinda suggesting that i was taking the easy way out, which does NOT LOOK GOOD ON MED APPS!!! so possibly just double major then?

 

[johnincidis]

however, in my opinion, there may be some benefits for majoring in biology vs philosophy. There is alot of information in the upper division science courses that you would useful to know for the MCAT or for just general knowledge in the biomedical research field. Sure you can learn this stuff on ur own (i.e. thru MCAT review material). But, if you have to learn it, why not get credit for it at the same time by taking a class? its like killing 2 birds with one stone. On the other hand, lets learn the meaning of life in an upper division philosophy course thats REQUIRED for graduation...yea that's interesting stuff...but you could have used that time to learn about the latest breakthrough in gene therapy or to relax.

idk, this is my opinion, which is why i decided on being a bio major. i didn't want to waste time with other subjects that i had no interest in. I wanted to be efficient such that everything i do/study has a purpose towards my goal of being a doctor. Learning about the meaning of life doesn't serve any benefit to me. It doesn't help me get a good MCAT score. its just interesting to know.

I'm just the type of person that wanted to keep the "interesting to know" stuff as least as possible hahaha

EDIT: after re-reading my post, i just realized that what I wrote is kinda suggesting that i was taking the easy way out, which does NOT LOOK GOOD ON MED APPS!!! so possibly just double major then?

well i have heard from other people that when u do double major you don't have any free time. u r always occupied.

i know this questions is kind of a personal preference, but is it better to take bio or biochem as far as the difficulty?

 

[johnincidis]

well i have heard from other people that when u do double major you don't have any free time. u r always occupied.

i know this questions is kind of a personal preference, but is it better to take bio or biochem as far as the difficulty?

also is it better to join a more prestigious school like ucsd than joining to a mediocre school like ucr as far as having more possible opportunities to go to a med school

 

[hotchik]

well i have heard from other people that when u do double major you don't have any free time. u r always occupied.

i know this questions is kind of a personal preference, but is it better to take bio or biochem as far as the difficulty?

yea but if you double major and get a 4.0 that does look quiet impressive to an adcom vs. if you only take one major. Isn't impressing med schools your goal?

Biochem is probably harder, since there's more rote memorization (i.e. structure of cholestrol, pathways). I was orgininally a biochem major, but then switched to biology. 2 reasons: first, I saw the rote memorization a waste of time, never in my life would I need to know how to draw the hydrogen bonds between nucleic acid bases, but if i ever do, i can easily look it up. Second, biology major at UCR gives you more flexibility in the upper division classes, thus I could choose the classes that interest me, rather, in biochem there are certain required division courses to take in order to graduate.

however, then, doesn't it mean that it might look better to ad com's if you get a 4.0 in biochemistry vs. 4.0 in biology? Another benefit of biochemistry is that when doing biomedical research, a lot of techniques learned in the biochem classes are actually being used in the lab.

 

[hotchik]

also is it better to join a more prestigious school like ucsd than joining to a mediocre school like ucr as far as having more possible opportunities to go to a med school

yea much better to get a 4.0 at UCSD vs. a 4.0 at UCR. but mind you that it'll probably be harder to get a 4.0 at UCSD than UCR due to the harder competition. However, I would believe getting a 3.99 at UCR trumps getting a 3.7 at UCSD. Basically go to the HIGHEST ranking school that your confident that you can be in the top 1% of the class. Which at UCR is around the top 8 of 800 students in ur class.

I say, go to UCSD if your goal is to get into any school in the US. Go to UCR if you goal is to go to UCLA.

Since ur asking this question i'm assuming ur probably a high school or transfer student? Keep in mind that the bridge to UCLA will end in 2012 or 2013 when the UCR medical school opens up, but the reservation of 24 seats will still remain. This means, probably this upcoming application cycle or the next is the last class that will be going to UCLA. So i'd say if you will be applying to start med school by 2013 go to UCR so you can go to UCLA. however, if you won't finish ur stuff by then, go to UCSD so u can open up ur opportunities to other schools. (but then again, the UCR med school will probably be pretty badass as well). if you're content with going to UCR med school, then go to UCR regardless of what happens.

hope this helps!

EDIT: maybe i'm not the best person to be taking advice from since I did not get into the haider program this year lol...maybe one of the accepted students can give this guy some advice?

 

[johnincidis]

yea much better to get a 4.0 at UCSD vs. a 4.0 at UCR. but mind you that it'll probably be harder to get a 4.0 at UCSD than UCR due to the harder competition. However, I would believe getting a 3.99 at UCR trumps getting a 3.7 at UCSD. Basically go to the HIGHEST ranking school that your confident that you can be in the top 1% of the class. Which at UCR is around the top 8 of 800 students in ur class.

I say, go to UCSD if your goal is to get into any school in the US. Go to UCR if you goal is to go to UCLA.

Since ur asking this question i'm assuming ur probably a high school or transfer student? Keep in mind that the bridge to UCLA will end in 2012 or 2013 when the UCR medical school opens up, but the reservation of 24 seats will still remain. This means, probably this upcoming application cycle or the next is the last class that will be going to UCLA. So i'd say if you will be applying to start med school by 2013 go to UCR so you can go to UCLA. however, if you won't finish ur stuff by then, go to UCSD so u can open up ur opportunities to other schools. (but then again, the UCR med school will probably be pretty badass as well). if you're content with going to UCR med school, then go to UCR regardless of what happens.

hope this helps!

EDIT: maybe i'm not the best person to be taking advice from since I did not get into the haider program this year lol...maybe one of the accepted students can give this guy some advice?

well thanks for ur help, btw u said their is still 24 seats available, which med schol are those seats available for? So ur sayin that their is no more of going to ucla directly from ucr?


my last question how do you think the ucr med school will turn out?

 

[johnincidis]

Accepted today! Got the letter in the mail just now. I wish everyone else who's waiting the best of luck.

i have a quick question im a junior in high school. i have heard that students at ucr will not get useful from the thomas haider program anymore? is it true?
also what major did u take?