2009-2010 University of California - Irvine (UCI) Application Thread

[coloredcrayons]

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Decision Time: USC (Keck) or U C Irvine. Need the "student doctor" help!

1) take into consideration when class gets out each day (think about how much that affected your life as an undergrad each quarter/semester)

2) money, although you have the right to buy whatever education you want

3) flip a coin and see what you hope for right before it lands

4) whose students are happier?

 

[spyderefs]

Decision Time: USC (Keck) or U C Irvine. Need the "student doctor" help!

Go to USC's second look, i hear this is where they turn ppl over to the dark side. Btw, I'm on alternate at UCI and accepted at USC... I would love to have your dilemna.

 

[MiniMoo]

Go to USC's second look, i hear this is where they turn ppl over to the dark side. Btw, I'm on alternate at UCI and accepted at USC... I would love to have your dilemna.

Yeah I've heard rumors of potential students being treated to some very nice meals. At least you know where some of the $40k+ a year tuition is going. 😛

And I agree that you should attend the second look events if you're able to make it.

 

[Appless]

Decision Time: USC (Keck) or U C Irvine. Need the "student doctor" help!

Calbear makes many good points and i agree with most of them. If money were close (i.e 5k a year or so) or the same id go for USC. But if you are taking mostly loans at both places UCI wins by far. USC wont give you that much more then UCI to justify the cost. Besides cost, id really look at cost and cirriculum. They are pretty different in how the material is presented. UCI is much more traditional with no PBL and what seems to be a lot more independent study time.

 

[RySerr21]

Decision Time: USC (Keck) or U C Irvine. Need the "student doctor" help!

eh, there are minor differences between each school (and every school) that are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. What is NOT insignificant is the price difference. Unless you are one of the very few where money is not an issue (for whatever reason), it would be down right stupid to ignore.

If price is not an issue, then for sure its a tougher decision. Only you can decide where you will be happiest, and thats honestly the most important factor. Med schools is tough, why make it any more difficult than it has to be? You should surround yourselef in an environment that will you give you the best chance to thrive. Whatever your reasonings are it doesnt really matter (a preferrred curriculum, student body, location, etc), just as long as you know the school you choose has the things that will make you happy for the next 4 years. But these should be YOUR reasons, not the reasons of the people on a anonymous forum or news ranking. Do your research, go to second look days, talk to students/faculty/professors, etc. Whatever you gotta do to make one school stand out over the next.

 

[RySerr21]

Campus Vibe: Tie, both have a lot to offer. Seems like both place effort to mak socializing easy. Irvine felt more "college" like to me, while USC seemed a little more mature. Both also have a lot to get involved in.

should i be insulted? Naaa, haha. Probably a large part of that is that we are actually connected to the college campus, while USC is not, so we have the opportunity to be involved with the undergrads/undergrad atmospher. I think its awesome tho 😀

 

[CalBear2009]

should i be insulted? Naaa, haha. Probably a large part of that is that we are actually connected to the college campus, while USC is not, so we have the opportunity to be involved with the undergrads/undergrad atmospher. I think its awesome tho 😀

Haha you should not have been insulted at all lol. I liked that atmosphere way better. So awesome that you guys have so much fun. There were plenty of studentS who told me they had more fun in med school than undergrad.

 

[Wicky]

Just checked my voicemail and had that wonderful acceptance/congrats message from Dr. Peterson. Interviewed on Feb 22 and accepted 4/8.

 

[RySerr21]

Haha you should not have been insulted at all lol. I liked that atmosphere way better. So awesome that you guys have so much fun. There were plenty of studentS who told me they had more fun in med school than undergrad.

ill second that! At least for the first half of the year haha.

 

[MiniMoo]

Just checked my voicemail and had that wonderful acceptance/congrats message from Dr. Peterson. Interviewed on Feb 22 and accepted 4/8.

Hey congrats! I'm so glad things worked out for you too! 🙂

I just mailed my intent to register form this morning. Happy as a clam I am. Also, has anyone who RSVP'd for revisit day received a confirmation?

 

[Schwann]

Anyone know if there is going to be a lot of waitlist movement? If so, when?

 

[RasheedMD]

Anyone know if there is going to be a lot of waitlist movement? If so, when?

in the past, waitlist movement happens starting may...

 

[RySerr21]

Anyone know if there is going to be a lot of waitlist movement? If so, when?

2/3 of the class comes from the waitlist

 

[Schwann]

If we are hoping to get in off waitlist, should we wait to start looking for housing until early to late june?

 

[arestone]

2/3 of the class comes from the waitlist

Even if 2/3 come off the waitlist, that's only 60 people. 60 out of the 450 or so people on the alternate list ain't great odds. I'm on the wait list but I'm doubtful that I'll get in.

 

[RasheedMD]

Even if 2/3 come off the waitlist, that's only 60 people. 60 out of the 450 or so people on the alternate list ain't great odds. I'm on the wait list but I'm doubtful that I'll get in.

hmmm, the chances are better than that for sure. First, UCI interviews around 450-480ish and outright accepts around ~150, so that means around 300-350 are on the waitlist.
Also you have to account for some ppl withdrawing...
so the odds of coming off the waitlist are definitely not as bleak as arestone is presenting them to be...

 

[superira]

...

 

[tncekm]

hmmm, the chances are better than that for sure. First, UCI interviews around 450-480ish and outright accepts around ~150, so that means around 300-350 are on the waitlist.
Also you have to account for some ppl withdrawing...
so the odds of coming off the waitlist are definitely not as bleak as arestone is presenting them to be...

Does UCI send post-interview rejections, or is everyone waitlisted?

 

[spyderefs]

Fall 2008: 4652 applied, 499 interviewed, 265 were accepted, 104 enrolled
(source usnews)

I don't really know what to make of the data but I'll take a stab. Someone please correct me!

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1. First option is assuming 1/3 accepted, 1/3 rejected, 1/3 waitlist estimate post interview that people have said in this thread.

1/3 of 499 = ~ 167 people directly accepted and ~167 people waitlisted and ~167 people rejected. This means 98 people left to fill this accepted data pool!

265 accepted - 167 (# of people directly accepted) = 98 people left to fill the data of # accepted
The 98 I presume comes from the waitlist at this point, so 98/167 (# of people on waitlist) = .587

This implies AT LEAST 58.7% chance to get in from the waitlist without even considering those withdrawing their waitlists. Sounds too good to be true. If a number of people were to withdraw their waitlist position then 98 is divided by a lower number showing an even higher chance to be accepted post-WL. However, I now realize that those who withdraw their acceptances would give opportunities for people to come out of the waitlist, so this scenario can perhaps skew the data in showing a higher # of accepted. Therefore I can't make conclusions on concrete percentages based on the given numbers because of these conditions, but whatever, I'll entertain another scenario...

2. Second option is assuming 1/3 accepted and the rest are waitlisted.

265 accepted - 167 (# of people directly accepted) = 98 people left to fill the data of # accepted
98/332 = .295

That means 332 are waitlisted and 167 outright accepted. Without taking into account withdrawals, then this implies at least a 29.5% chance of getting in from the waitlist.
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Then again, I'm probably oversimplifying and realize that you can't calculate concrete percentages because of people withdrawing from either waitlist or accepted spots.

 

[Appless]

tHe problem with that spyder is that no one is rejected post interview everyone is waitlisted. Still though many withdraw from uci. Of all the ucs it has the lowest retention rate. So no worries for those on the wl. There's a goo chance you'll get in

 

[arestone]

Fall 2008: 4652 applied, 499 interviewed, 265 were accepted, 104 enrolled
(source usnews)

I don't really know what to make of the data but I'll take a stab. Someone please correct me!

---
1. First option is assuming 1/3 accepted, 1/3 rejected, 1/3 waitlist estimate post interview that people have said in this thread.

1/3 of 499 = ~ 167 people directly accepted and ~167 people waitlisted and ~167 people rejected. This means 98 people left to fill this accepted data pool! Obviously people will withdraw (the data on what the rate is I couldn't find), so there are going to be MORE people called from the waitlist.

This implies AT LEAST 58.7% chance to get in from the waitlist without even considering those wtihdrawing their acceptances or waitlists. Sounds too good to be true.

2. Second option is assuming 1/3 accepted and the rest are waitlisted.

That means 332 are waitlisted and 167 outright accepted. Without taking into account withdrawals, then this implies at least a 29.5% chance of getting in after withdrawals.
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Then again, I'm probably oversimplifying.

Good breakdown. Like Elijah said, I don't remember seeing anyone being rejected post interview here. So let's assume 332 are waitlisted. Two thirds of 104 students is roughly 70. So 70 out of 332 is 21.1%, not too bad.

^ total guesses by the way.

 

[spyderefs]

The # I forgot to look at earlier was people matriculating. I understand that classes should be kept around a certain size, and so people are taken off waitlist based on how close the class is to that size around May 15.

Back to the data, assuming 1/3 accepted post interview and 2/3 watilisted...

# of people accepted after last interview day = 167
# of people waitlisted after last interview day = 332
# of people matriculating = 104

One one extreme, if no one withdraws before the first day of classes, then no one from the waitlist will get off and the class is overenrolled (ie 167 matriculating instead of a targeted 104). The other extreme of course is if everyone accepted withdraws on May 15, and 104 people from the waitlist can get accepted (to fill the class). This is 104/332 = 31% assuming that no one waitlisted withdraws. Most likely people in the waitlist pile will withdraw throughout the summer, so this # should probably be higher*.

The way it is looking then is that we have a 0-31*% chance post-waitlist depending on how many people withdraw

 

[Zaynecarrick]

Another alternate list for me....

 

[RySerr21]

Unless you REALLY mess up the interview day, as in do something extremely inappropriate or offensive or illegal, no one is rejected post interview.

 

[Appless]

Hey ryserr when do most people take step one, when does the second yr at uci end, and how much time do the uci students get to study for step 1/break before M3?. I know in the past you have said uci students get a long break compared to most schools, do you think this greatly helps for step 1? A few students ive talked to said anything more then 4 weeks is just overkill...if that is so, can you just use the rest of the time for break/something else?

 

[tncekm]

A few students ive talked to said anything more then 4 weeks is just overkill...if that is so, can you just use the rest of the time for break/something else?

People like to show off. I see many people on these forums putting 10+ week study plans together--and they tend to do well. Take everything you hear from medical students with a grain of salt.

 

[MiniMoo]

Hey ryserr when do most people take step one, when does the second yr at uci end, and how much time do the uci students get to study for step 1/break before M3?. I know in the past you have said uci students get a long break compared to most schools, do you think this greatly helps for step 1? A few students ive talked to said anything more then 4 weeks is just overkill...if that is so, can you just use the rest of the time for break/something else?

From Ryserr's previous posts, UCI students get over 2 months to study. Classes end by mid-March and there's a shelf exam around then, but the entire time after that can be used to study for Step I. Most take their Step I at the end of May or in June. I've talked to students who say they take ~5 weeks to study and have enough free time left over to take a nice 2-3 week vacation.

Edit: I actually do have a question for Ryserr about MS2's taking shelf exams though -- I thought shelf exams were taken at the end of clinical clerkships?

 

[mexicochangedme]

does anyone know when prime decisions will be made? i'm anxious.

 

[MiniMoo]

People like to show off. I see many people on these forums putting 10+ week study plans together--and they tend to do well. Take everything you hear from medical students with a grain of salt.

I think 10+ weeks is a bit overkill if you are committing full-time hours to prepping for Step I. Granted, I haven't started med school yet, so I have no first hand experience on what it's like, but I don't think I'd have the stamina for 2.5 months of straight hardcore studying. I'm thinking those students probably attend schools that don't give as much time off so the extended schedules are to accommodate balancing studying with school work.

 

[kalpit210]

Congrats!!

I RSVP'd yesterday -- haven't gotten a confirmation yet.

 

[tncekm]

I think 10+ weeks is a bit overkill if you are committing full-time hours to prepping for Step I. Granted, I haven't started med school yet, so I have no first hand experience on what it's like, but I don't think I'd have the stamina for 2.5 months of straight hardcore studying. I'm thinking those students probably attend schools that don't give as much time off so the extended schedules are to accommodate balancing studying with school work.

Well, just consider that you'll be learning information 4-5x faster than undergrad and that you're competing against the smartest group of kids in the nation. Then reconsider how long two months is.

And, this is coming from a guy whose diagnostic MCAT scores were good enough to get into med school...

I'd say med school isn't as hard as I thought it'd be, but it's still hard enough not to take lightly.

Note: I, too, haven't taken step 1 yet. LOL. But, I feel I've got a good idea of what might be on the test after Step 1 and having taken some shelf exams.

 

[MiniMoo]

Well, just consider that you'll be learning information 4-5x faster than undergrad and that you're competing against the smartest group of kids in the nation. Then reconsider how long two months is.

And, this is coming from a guy whose diagnostic MCAT scores were good enough to get into med school...

I'd say med school isn't as hard as I thought it'd be, but it's still hard enough not to take lightly.

Note: I, too, haven't taken step 1 yet. LOL. But, I feel I've got a good idea of what might be on the test after Step 1 and having taken some shelf exams.

While I haven't taken Step I, I have taken state pharmacy licensing exams where I basically had to review 3 years worth of material and put in a significant amount of study time - 8 hours/day for 7.5 weeks straight. Could I have forced myself to study longer? Sure. But at some point you're going to get diminishing returns for the amount of work you're putting in. There is a saturation point - the brain is like a sponge where you try to soak up as much as you can, but there is a limit. There is also burn out.

 

[MiniMoo]

Congrats!!

I RSVP'd yesterday -- haven't gotten a confirmation yet.

Thanks! Hmm, I RSVP'd last week and have yet to hear anything either.

 

[RySerr21]

Hey ryserr when do most people take step one, when does the second yr at uci end, and how much time do the uci students get to study for step 1/break before M3?. I know in the past you have said uci students get a long break compared to most schools, do you think this greatly helps for step 1? A few students ive talked to said anything more then 4 weeks is just overkill...if that is so, can you just use the rest of the time for break/something else?

most take at the end of May. Yes, I think the study time greatly helps test scores at UCI. I also think a great thing helps is that we have a a Kaplan course taught on our campus. That started last week I think and its basically from 8 to 5 every day. You can take it whenever youd like, so if you are ready after 4 weeks of studying then take the test. Personally, 4 weeks does not sound like much time at all. But everyone is different. If you are ready to take it then you can take and it and then have that down time to vacation!

From Ryserr's previous posts, UCI students get over 2 months to study. Classes end by mid-March and there's a shelf exam around then, but the entire time after that can be used to study for Step I. Most take their Step I at the end of May or in June. I've talked to students who say they take ~5 weeks to study and have enough free time left over to take a nice 2-3 week vacation.

Edit: I actually do have a question for Ryserr about MS2's taking shelf exams though -- I thought shelf exams were taken at the end of clinical clerkships?

MS2s and MS1s take shelf exams. During the first year you'll take a shelf exam for physiology and a shelf exam for Histology. We actually just got our scores back for physio and we did significantly better than the average for the nation. In second year, youll take a shelf exam for microbiology, pathology, adn pharmacology.

There are shelves that you take during 3rd/4th year after certain rotations (maybe all rotations?). I dont know the details about 3rd year scheduling, but not every school offers shelf exams (that goes for all the years of school too). I'm pretty sure UCI does considering that we have them through the first two years too.

Here is a list of all she shelf exams offered that youd take during the first two years. If you click around youll also see the shelves offered for the rotations. http://www.nbme.org/programs-servic...t-examinations/basic-science-disciplines.html

I think 10+ weeks is a bit overkill if you are committing full-time hours to prepping for Step I. Granted, I haven't started med school yet, so I have no first hand experience on what it's like, but I don't think I'd have the stamina for 2.5 months of straight hardcore studying. I'm thinking those students probably attend schools that don't give as much time off so the extended schedules are to accommodate balancing studying with school work.

from everything Ive heard and seen, it is a beast of a test. I'll probably end up burning out at some point but I dont know if there is ever 'enough' time to know everything. Better to be given more time than you need becuase you can alway sjust take it whenever you want.

 

[MiniMoo]

MS2s and MS1s take shelf exams. During the first year you'll take a shelf exam for physiology and a shelf exam for Histology. We actually just got our scores back for physio and we did significantly better than the average for the nation. In second year, youll take a shelf exam for microbiology, pathology, adn pharmacology.

There are shelves that you take during 3rd/4th year after certain rotations (maybe all rotations?). I dont know the details about 3rd year scheduling, but not every school offers shelf exams (that goes for all the years of school too). I'm pretty sure UCI does considering that we have them through the first two years too.

Here is a list of all she shelf exams offered that youd take during the first two years. If you click around youll also see the shelves offered for the rotations. http://www.nbme.org/programs-servic...t-examinations/basic-science-disciplines.html

Thanks. That clears things up.

from everything Ive heard and seen, it is a beast of a test. I'll probably end up burning out at some point but I dont know if there is ever 'enough' time to know everything. Better to be given more time than you need becuase you can alway sjust take it whenever you want.

Oh I'm by no means saying that 5 weeks will be an adequate amount of time for everyone. Just that it really is absolutely impossible to know everything given the amount of information so you're going to hit that saturation/burn out point eventually. Everyone is going to have to say F it and just take the bloody exam, because nobody is going to be or feel 100% prepared. And dude, posting on SDN at 4:51am? Hardcore. 🙂

Question for those that intend to matriculate: Do you get a status change to reflect receipt of your Intent to Register? If so, how long after you mailed it did it change?

 

[RySerr21]

Thanks. That clears things up.



Oh I'm by no means saying that 5 weeks will be an adequate amount of time for everyone. Just that it really is absolutely impossible to know everything given the amount of information so you're going to hit that saturation/burn out point eventually. Everyone is going to have to say F it and just take the bloody exam, because nobody is going to be or feel 100% prepared. And dude, posting on SDN at 4:51am? Hardcore. 🙂

Question for those that intend to matriculate: Do you get a status change to reflect receipt of your Intent to Register? If so, how long after you mailed it did it change?

Haha, my roomie and I have an irregular schedule. Go to bed really early, wake up really early. Way more productive in the wee hours of the morning than the evening/night. Its working out well so far. But the first thing I do when i wake up is check my email, the new york times, and if i havent checked in a while, SDN.

You are exactly right about the saturation point for the boards. You'll feel that way plenty of times throughout med school too. Somehow you always manage to get it done tho, haha.

 

[ab2989]

hey guys, congrats to everyone who got it and GL to those on the WL!! 👍

so my brother just got the phone call (he interviewed 3/17) and i am so happy and excited for him! 😀

i wanted to get him some UCI SOM gear, but they don't have any available on their bookstore website. does anybody know where i can order some?

also, do you know if UCI students get stethoscopes from the school or have to buy their own? would this be a gift you guys would want from your sister?

any other ideas welcome! thanks!

 

[MiniMoo]

hey guys, congrats to everyone who got it and GL to those on the WL!! 👍

so my brother just got the phone call (he interviewed 3/17) and i am so happy and excited for him! 😀

i wanted to get him some UCI SOM gear, but they don't have any available on their bookstore website. does anybody know where i can order some?

also, do you know if UCI students get stethoscopes from the school or have to buy their own? would this be a gift you guys would want from your sister?

any other ideas welcome! thanks!

Do you live near UCI campus? If so, your best bet would be to head to their bookstore to buy some gear. My sister, who goes there as an undergrad, says they keep a lot of their SOM stuff kind of out of the way on the lower floor where they sell textbooks and things. The selection on their website doesn't seem to be as good.

Personally, I wouldn't want a stethoscope. Seems a little cliche to me. Does your brother drink coffee? If so, a nice Keurig machine would probably get a ton of use through med school. 😀 I absolutely love mine (check out www.keurig.com). That or a huge gift card to Starbucks or Coffee Bean. For more ideas, there have been some recent threads posted in Pre-Allo that deal with good gifts to give to people heading off to med school. Try doing a search. And congrats to your brother!

 

[MiniMoo]

I did a really quick search. Here are a couple threads I found:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=700960&highlight=good+gift+ideas+med+school

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=197515&highlight=good+gift+ideas+med+school

 

[RySerr21]

hey guys, congrats to everyone who got it and GL to those on the WL!! 👍

so my brother just got the phone call (he interviewed 3/17) and i am so happy and excited for him! 😀

i wanted to get him some UCI SOM gear, but they don't have any available on their bookstore website. does anybody know where i can order some?

also, do you know if UCI students get stethoscopes from the school or have to buy their own? would this be a gift you guys would want from your sister?

any other ideas welcome! thanks!

Yea the online store sucks. Youve pretty much gotta go to the bookstore to get anything cool. They did just recently expand their selection and have some sweet shirts/sweatshirts and stuff.

In terms of a stethoscope, some people did come with them as gifts from family/friends. At the beginning of the year, Littman will be at the school offering a 'special deal' to the students if you buy them at that time. I think they are like 150 bucks or something. Maybe cheaper. Theres no need to get it now, but if you wanted to it would be a nice gift (and would save him so dough). I am cheap as heck, so I didnt buy a stethoscope with the rest of my class, haha. I try not to buy things unless I until they are absolutely necessary (they tell you to buy a lot **** you never use). I used this 15 dollar one that was given to me in undergrad. I finally had to get another one cuz I started going to the hospital and the scope I was using was gold....hahaha. It was really fun to use in the class but I felt uncomfortable wearing it around real doctors and patients.

 

[JJMrK]

Decision Time: USC (Keck) or U C Irvine. Need the "student doctor" help!

UCI just because of the money.

 

[ab2989]

thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

 

[chickensandwich]

fin aid awards are out. wasn't expecting it to be great, but i was hoping. 🙁

 

[dermda]

fin aid awards are out. wasn't expecting it to be great, but i was hoping. 🙁

i second this

 

[JJMrK]

How much did tuition go up?

 

[Appless]

i second this

unfortunately UCI has like no aid to give anyone lol 🙁...do you know much about their need based ryserr? Or is that basically zip. Im on the WL but it says my package wont be ready till like june...i wish it was sooner so i knew

 

[RySerr21]

How much did tuition go up?

it went up what you'd expect on a year to year basis. A few percent maybe... Nothing crazy like they are trying to do for undergrads.

Elijah - i dunno much except that youve got to be in some SERIOUS need....like extremely economically disadvantaged.

 

[Appless]

it went up what you'd expect on a year to year basis. A few percent maybe... Nothing crazy like they are trying to do for undergrads.

Elijah - i dunno much except that youve got to be in some SERIOUS need....like extremely economically disadvantaged.

Any idea what constitutes extreme economic disadvantage? If not np just curious. I'd say I probably fall in that category but idk

 

[OGMD]

unfortunately UCI has like no aid to give anyone lol 🙁...do you know much about their need based ryserr? Or is that basically zip. Im on the WL but it says my package wont be ready till like june...i wish it was sooner so i knew

maybe this is a stupid question, but can you submit financial aid forms when you haven't been accepted? I'm waitlisted too.

 

[Appless]

maybe this is a stupid question, but can you submit financial aid forms when you haven't been accepted? I'm waitlisted too.

Yea you can and you have to actually if you want funding. The due dates are before may 15 th you'll notice. Make sure you fill it out now🙂