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they are still sending out interview invites and interviews go through april. so you never know.
2009-2010 University of California - Irvine (UCI) Application Thread
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they are still sending out interview invites and interviews go through april. so you never know.
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Has anyone been accepted already? I just heard from them on Sat as I landed in Miami for another interview...I turned around and left, cancelled all my interviews that were remaining!!! My dream did come true!!!
So if anyone here is going to UCI too we should celebrate together some day🙂)))
So if anyone here is going to UCI too we should celebrate together some day🙂)))
lol grats!
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That's awesome, congrats! Hopefully I can experience the same euphoria in a few months, lol.
Also, I understand there is an informal dinner the night before the interview? Does this happen for all interview dates, and if so, anyone know how to get the information for it or how to rsvp?
you should get an email for it and where to rsvp before the interview.
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Wow!! 🙂 Congratulations! If I'm lucky enough to have good news from UCI in a few weeks, I'd be so downnn to go celebrate!
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could someone give me reasons I should consider UCI over UCSD? I really loved my interview day at UCI, and the students seemed really happy, but I also enjoyed SD and it seems like its got everything UCI has (except a new med ed building, but that is coming soon at SD) and a bit more prestige...
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Hey kierk,
As you know I interviewed at both (unfortunatly not the same outcome though). I thought both schools were AMAZING and it is definitely going to be a tough decision.
Curriculum: UCSD I personally think systems based is a better way to learn. Also can't go wrong with 2 years P/F, vs the 1 year at Irvine (or it might actually be 1 semester/quarter) Though UCI does have a HUGE break to study for USMLE, while UCSD has only a couple weeks.
Facilities: UCI Brand new hospital and med school building. Can't really go wrong with that. I feel like both schools see a similar patient population (a lot of well off patients, with other affiliate hospitals that see poorer, and more underserved patients)
Location: UCSD just edging UCI La Jolla is beautiful, and I think has one of the nicest beaches in California. Though it seems like there is more to do in Orange County, and there are very nice beaches there also. Both are sunny and warm most of the time.
Students: UCI I seemed to click WAY better with the students I met at UCI. It seems like UCI strives for diversity more that UCSD does. It seemed like the students at UCSD were trying to hard to convince me they were "chill", while I could tell the students at UCI were chill. Also it seemed like the UCI class was more unified also. This is all based on personal preferance, and you could have totally felt a different way. This was just my perception.
Basically this was gonna be a hard choice for me if I was accepted to both. Honestly I think they are very equal, but UCSD does have the prestige that is hard to turn away from. What is your gut feeling about where you would be more happy?
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Leaning towards UCSD, but UCI just had that unique vibe and I definitely liked the class unity thing so I'm resisting leaving it behind...
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whichever one you go to, please give me the other acceptance. from what i understand, they are transferable.
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I would probably choose UCSD over UCI. The location just really clinches it for me. La Jolla = paradise. Unfortunately UCSD seems to hate me. 🙁
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haha you got it, when I withdraw from whichever I will put a "ps. I relinquish my acceptance to MooseKing who will matriculate in my stead" on the letter.
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Anyone get an acceptance packet recently?
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Can't really go wrong here. Go with your gut. Altho i'd try not to let perceived "prestige" play too much of a role. Both are great schools and you will have equal opportunity to do well no matter where you choose. If you mess up your STEP I, it won't matter what school you went to. Likewise, if you rock your STEP I, it won't matter what school you went to. Especially not from within the UC system. Take in to consideration other things that DO have an impact on you....environment, curriculum, location, cost, etc etc. I dunno, that was my approach.
UCI is P/F the entire first year. We are looking to change this so that the current MS1s will have P/F for second year AND all classes following us will do the same. Its going to happen eventually, just a matter of when. IMO H/P/F and P/F shouldn't change anything. Study to learn the material the best way you can so that you internalize it and can apply it to patient care. When you start focusing on getting "honors" you start to study to get the best grade on the test and lose focus on understanding the material. Getting honors is not going to important in the selection process for most med students anyway unless you are trying derm or something similar.
Newport Beach and surrounding areas are legit. Way cheaper too, and I'm a block from the beach.
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I've lived in both areas and Newport/Orange County just can't compare to La Jolla, downtown SD, and the Gaslamp Quarter. 🙂 There's just so much more to do. Both are very nice places to live, don't get me wrong, but if I had to choose just one it would be SD.
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haha, i think downtown SD is overrated. SD as a whole is where its at tho, i wont lie. Its where I grew up 🙂
we started class august 12th. orientation and white coat and all that stuff started like August 7th or something. i think you can expect it to be around the same time.
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I interviewed on Dec 14 and received a call from Dr. Peterson on Sat, Jan 23rd. I received the packet in less than a week (but I live 15 min away from UCI). I mean my husband received it, I'm out of country right now. SO I can't tell you what's in the packet. Although I asked them to send me inportant papers via email so I could sign and fax them back.
Good luck!
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Application Complete: Middle of august
Interview: Near the end of feb.
the next available date after feb, was mar. 8 i believe.
Interview: Near the end of feb.
the next available date after feb, was mar. 8 i believe.
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Thanks Angel! 🙂 Congratulations again. I guess now I just have to wait for status update/phone call/packet.
I guess we should hear something soon, Jan 7 interviewees? 🙂 Best of luck to everyone.
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Nope I lied. It's out. Waitlisted 🙁
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Wow they are still filling up their February dates? I scheduled my interview right before Christmas break and that's the date I got as well. 😛
congrats on your invite, there's still hope for me!
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Hey waitlist at UCI isn't that bad. You still have a good chance. I interviewed on the same day as u did, but still haven't heard back. Did you get a letter or was it status update?
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I know how you feel. I got waitlisted at UC Davis. I was sooo upset! But hang in there. At least it's not a rejection!
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Waitlists are done on the status page with no email. If yours is still blank thats very good news and it is very probable you have been accepted (but there have been exceptions to this). Good luck!
So I sent an appeal letter to admissions and outreach a few weeks back and my status page was immediately updated with a new item "appeal status: initiated". They also told me to keep an eye out for any changes in my status.
Right now I'm thinking about sending another letter of intent, but I want to know is there someone specific I should email it to, or should I stick with the admissions and outreach email address?
I'm really hoping they call me for an interview. UCI is such an amazing school.
Right now I'm thinking about sending another letter of intent, but I want to know is there someone specific I should email it to, or should I stick with the admissions and outreach email address?
I'm really hoping they call me for an interview. UCI is such an amazing school.
Which e-mail did you send your first letter to?
Yeah, that's the main e-mail. If you sent your previous letter to that e-mail and you got a response, I don't see why you shouldn't send your second letter to the same e-mail.
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I haven't interviewed at UCSD, but based what I saw at UCI, I doubt you can get friendlier faculty or students than those at UCI. I think that's the biggest thing the school has going for it over many others in the country. They also have some brand new facilities for their 1st and 2nd years, as well as a brand new med center. Keep in mind though, that while the med center is new, it's also 30 minutes away from where 1st and 2nd years are. I'd be a little bit worried about how this translates into early clinical experience. Also, most of the pre-clinical lectures won't be taught in the new building.
Well, I was wondering if there was someone in the admissions department I should email instead. I remember reading about a person who sent a letter to Gayle Pierce (I think) and he/she ended up getting interviewed and accepted.
They add it to your file and gayle and others see it in the end. Dont worry its just as effective. Also i called and they specifically told me do not send it to gail. Send it to medadmit and the committee (and dr. peterson) will consider it come time to take waitlist apps. Dont worry over this 🙂
thats fine. You people worry too much lol. It will get to the right person no matter who its addressed to 😛
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1) 15-20 min drive tops, from campus.
2) There is a clinic where you can shadow numerous specialities about a 30 second walk from the med campus (just down the steps from Tamkin where you interviewed).
3) You don't need to go the med center to get clinical experience. You can do it wherever you want. We have student run free clinics in Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, and in Mexico. You can email a physician whenever you want and ask them to shadow and it will happen. Your pre clinical experince is largely in your control. In first year, you will also be assigned a preceptor who will shadow/work with on a monthly basis. And lastly, your clinical foundations class, which will be in the new med ed building with all of the brand new simulators, is on an (almost) weekly basis and provides you with the resources you need to learn how to take a history and perform a physical exam.
You are correct that the general lectures will not be in the new building, but thats pretty insignificant sense most of your classmates will stop going to class anyway b/c its a waste of time.
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Yeah, that sounds pretty good and does make up for some of those issues. Still, the distance of the med center is the one big (and only?) thing I'm not thrilled about.
A couple questions, if you get the chance RySerr:
Why do you say going to class is a waste of time?
Do a lot of people do research?
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Also interested Ry
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Most people don't do research during the school year, but there a few (the crazy ones 😉). Its just a matter of what is important to you. How much are your realistically going to put in to research a week? 10 hours? 15 hours? Are you going to be able to make a decent contribution to that research with the hours that you put in? And most importantly, is that what you want to be doing with your free time? If you are doing a substantial amount of resaerch during the school year - thats it. You do research, and you study. For me (and most others), we'd just rather take that free time and do something more enjoyable. Same goes for why people dont work. You could work that 10 hours a week or whatever, but really how much are you actually gonna be making? is it worth it? Probably not. Just better to take out loans and enjoy your free time. That being said, a lot of people do research over the summmer between 1st and 2nd year. Whether its b/c research is their passion or they feel pressure to do research to be competitive for a certain field. For me, Im not going to be doing research over summer either. So its whatever it is that you wanna do. There are definitely ample opportunites to get involved with research - both basic science type stuff and more clinical stuff. If its your passion, go for it.
In terms of class, there are going to be people that attend every lecture no matter what, there are going to be people that attend lectures by professors that they hear are good through word of mouth, and then there are people (like me) who just dont go to lecture period regardless of who is teaching it. Theres no right or wrong way to do it and you will find what way works for you. The way i will describe is what works for me, so keep that in mind.
Now I started off the school year going to most lectures, and pretty much every one does. But for me, I found that I didnt really pay attention that well. Im either online checking email or kind of day dreaming. I found that I got irritated with the questions that students asked (people ask some ridiculous questions that are not at all relevant to lecture). I found that for the most part I was unhappy with the presentation of the lecture -they either lectured way to slowly and i was anxious/bored or they went way to fast and I was lost (keep in mind this is just my opinion. and its not even necessarily a reflection of the school as it is my own pickiness, haha.). So how do I solve that? I stop going to class. Its possible to do this in med school b/c they give you all the resources that you need. The professors give you their powerpoints before hand, they give you a set of notes that they themselves have made (these notes are broken down by lecture so you konw exactly what is being covered when), you might have a supplemental textbook you read or a textbook they recommend, all lectures are recorded with link to powerpoint, etc etc. With all of these resources, I can read the material at the speed that I want. I can't complain, b/c I'm in control. If i know a topic well from undergrad or something, I spend less time on it. If i don't konw it at all, I spend a lot of time on it. You know what I mean? And if there is really something that I just can't grasp - I flip to the time of lecture that is covering what I'm reading and i listen to that 3 minutes of lecture in hope that they might explain it in a way that I understand. So you can see how, at least for me, there is no need to go to school and sit in lecture. And my schedule for the day is already made up for me. I just read in my books the subjects that are being covered in lecture. If for the day there is 2 hours of genetics and 2 hours of physio - i'll read the corresponding subjects. Sometimes itll take me less time to go through that material and sometimes it will take me more time
Another reason I say lecture is a waste of time, is the bottom line is that when you look at your core notes and your textbooks and what not, you just need to know EVERYTHING in them. Literally know as much as you possibly can. Its that simple. For the most part, theres nothing that they will say in lecture that is not already said in their core notes or whatever textbook you are reading. So why do I need someone to tell me what I can read on my own? At a pace that I prefer? I dunno if that makes any sense. But this is especially useful in a school that is P/F. And you might say - well how do you know what the professor emphasizes or what he/she thinks is important and/or will be on the exam? For one, youll just kinda figure it out what stuff is more important or what the professor wants you to know (you are always safe with just assuming you need to know everything, unless otherwise specificed). But to answer that question, for me, I could care less what the professor 'emphasizes' or what my score is on an exam is. What I care about most is having a solid understanding of the subjects that I'm studying, and I can get that from the resources that I trust and have been passed down to me. Hopefully, if the lecturer is good, there will be quite a bit of overlap between what is being taught in lecture and what I am reading. So say, for example, I'm studying GI physiology. I have a textbook that I use that I know is a great resource (based on word of mouth from upper classmen and my own experience). I konw if I study this chapter and I know its contents well that I will have a solid grasp of GI physiology. Thats what is most important. It doesn't matter if the professor uses the textbook or not. It doesnt matter what the professor emphasizes in class. GI physiology is GI physiology. It doesnt matter what textbook or resources you use to learn it. I know that if I learn GI physiology well, I will be able to pass the test no problem AND I will also have a solid understand of the subject, which is what is absolutely most important. Now, I may not get a 95% on the test because I might miss some of the questions that were emphasized in lecture here and there, but those points don't matter. My foundation of knowledge for the subject is still there and thats what will help me practice better medicine in the future.
So yea, thats why I say lecture is a waste of time. Haha, sorry for the long winded answer.
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Any current students able to comment about 3rd and 4th year clerkships? I was specifically wondering if there were electives available during 3rd year? Any sub-Is? How much time is allotted during 4th year to go on interviews and study for Step 2? Are away rotations able to be arranged?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
did anyone else submit their fafsa to uci yet and get an email saying like
"Dear X, The UC Irvine Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships would like to alert you that your 2010-11 financial aid application has been selected for verification. You must submit additional information so we can verify the information you reported on your FAFSA."
What sorta confuses me is that im not even accepted so why are they asking for verification, taxes, and all the other forms. Im still on the waitlist 🙁. All the forms are due by May 3rd but yet i dont think id even come off the waitlist till at least may 15th if it even happened right?
"Dear X, The UC Irvine Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships would like to alert you that your 2010-11 financial aid application has been selected for verification. You must submit additional information so we can verify the information you reported on your FAFSA."
What sorta confuses me is that im not even accepted so why are they asking for verification, taxes, and all the other forms. Im still on the waitlist 🙁. All the forms are due by May 3rd but yet i dont think id even come off the waitlist till at least may 15th if it even happened right?
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i got the email too. i haven't interviewed yet, so it's definitely not an indication of your admissions status. most schools allow you to submit your financial aid information as early as possible so that if in the case you do get accepted, you're financial aid package isn't influenced by when you got accepted (the later you complete your financial aid, the less you are eligible for - schools run out of money to give students)
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Doesnt appear to be any elective time in 3rd year, its all 4th year (im reading the student handbook). Yes, away rotations are available and encouraged (the 20 weeks of elective time can be done away from UCI). I know they are going through some curriculum changes for 3rd/4th year in an attempt to give more time for interviews or something durding 4th year, so what I have below is likely to be modified somewhat. Hopefully a 3rd/4th year can comment on it.
3rd Year
* will start off with Clinical Foundations III, which is a one month course providing instructional orientation on principles needed in the 3rd year clerkships.
* Ambulatory medicine (4 weeks), inpatient medicine (8), family (4), OGBYN (8), Peds (8), Psych (6), Surgery (8)
* if my math is right thats 50 weeks, and im pretty sure they give 2 weeks of vacation after the psych rotation, but i think was one of the major changes in the curriculum in that they are getting rid of those two weeks and adding them to 4th year somehow. Not sure exactly.
4th year
* Emergency medicine (2), Intensive Care (4), Neurology (4), Radiology (2), substance abuse (2), electives (20)
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OK, thanks. That was pretty informative.
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I like the idea of the month long clinical foundations 3 course before rotations, which basically sounds like a rotations prep course. Other schools it kind of seems you're just thrown into the fire come third year.
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