2009-2010 University of California - San Diego (UCSD) Application Thread

[FluffyRabbit]

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Systems approach + P/F first two years + in general less lecture time

That's fantastic! Do they tell you more about this at the interviews? Thanks for the information. I imagine I'm not the only one who's excited about this. Now I want to get into UCSD even more.

It really does sound like a change I would like. 😀 Is this on the website at all? I can't seem find it. If not, could any current students share more details about it?

Another question for current students: Is there a formal summer research program or do students usually just go find themselves a lab, and is a stipend available for living expenses? Thanks a lot!

 

[ajne]

It really does sound like a change I would like. 😀 Is this on the website at all? I can't seem find it. If not, could any current students share more details about it?

Another question for current students: Is there a formal summer research program or do students usually just go find themselves a lab, and is a stipend available for living expenses? Thanks a lot!

Here's a document I found from March 2009 detailing the plans for the new curriculum:
http://meded.ucsd.edu/assets/5/File/Integrated_Scientific_Curriculum-March2009.pdf

I don't think there's a formal summer research program per se (outside of MSTP), but it is exceedingly common for students to do funded summer research (something like 50 first years per year). They also have support for doing a year or two "out" for research, and facilitate funding for that as well. Check out this link for some info:
http://meded.ucsd.edu/adpst/sum_research_ms.cfm

 

[oze]

sooooo....

anyone have any luck getting off pre-interview holds?

eh eh?

oh come on semi-hometown school!

 

[msgrizzly]

did anyone stay with a student? the link to the list of student hosts i got seems to be broken. could anyone post it please??!!!

thanks!

 

[CalBear2009]

Did anyone get a hold of Brian yet? I called, but got voicemail.

 

[CalBear2009]

Got a hold of him, waitlist. Super bummed, but can't really do anything about it. Along with my UCD rejection, this day is awesome. Ok I'm done venting, Good luck to everyone waiting to hear.

 

[JasonE]

Got a hold of him, waitlist. Super bummed, but can't really do anything about it. Along with my UCD rejection, this day is awesome. Ok I'm done venting, Good luck to everyone waiting to hear.

sorry man. you still have some nice acceptances there. it'll work out. i got a lot of friends who are busting ass just to get into one uc

 

[dermda]

Got a hold of him, waitlist. Super bummed, but can't really do anything about it. Along with my UCD rejection, this day is awesome. Ok I'm done venting, Good luck to everyone waiting to hear.

sorry to hear about your waitlist. I just got rejected from UCD today too. I think they send the emails in batches then

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Here's a document I found from March 2009 detailing the plans for the new curriculum:
http://meded.ucsd.edu/assets/5/File/Integrated_Scientific_Curriculum-March2009.pdf

I don't think there's a formal summer research program per se (outside of MSTP), but it is exceedingly common for students to do funded summer research (something like 50 first years per year). They also have support for doing a year or two "out" for research, and facilitate funding for that as well. Check out this link for some info:
http://meded.ucsd.edu/adpst/sum_research_ms.cfm

Thanks! In either case, will students need to be awarded one of these fellowships to do their research, or can they also just work informally with a mentor who pays their stipend? The external HHMI/NIH/Doris Duke fellowships are likely to be quite competitive, but what about the other programs?

Also, what are the opportunities for taking undergrad classes for fun or enrichment like?

 

[confusedchild]

...

 

[LAman10]

anyone know how much waitlist movement there is?

 

[dermda]

anyone know how much waitlist movement there is?

dean Kelly said they accept about 40-80 people off the waitlist

 

[PowerButton]

I'm in. Still shocked and awed.

 

[ajne]

Thanks! In either case, will students need to be awarded one of these fellowships to do their research, or can they also just work informally with a mentor who pays their stipend? The external HHMI/NIH/Doris Duke fellowships are likely to be quite competitive, but what about the other programs?

Also, what are the opportunities for taking undergrad classes for fun or enrichment like?

You can definitely work informally with a mentor who has funding to pay for you. I haven't gone through this process yet so I don't know all the details, but the message has definitely been that everyone who wants to do research is able to. (Also lots of opportunity for rotations abroad)

The handbook says you can take general campus courses for elective credit - I'm not sure if there are limits to the content of the courses or anything like that. Honestly I think it would be kind of a hassle because the undergrads are on a slightly different schedule. The regular med school electives are also super interesting(http://meded-portal.ucsd.edu/electives/bulletin/index.cfm ), as well as understanding of our schedules (no elective classes during med student finals).

 

[whambo]

did people who got put in the acceptable hold pool find out via an email?

 

[BerlinDude]

Does anyone know when (what day)/how often the admissions committee meets?

 

[dermda]

does anyone know if UCSD accepts updates via email attachments or via postmail?

 

[elementals]

Anyone know rough timeline between completion and interview offer/rejection? I was complete 11/17 and no word yet... *jitters*

 

[bobsmith]

Does anyone know when (what day)/how often the admissions committee meets?

If you're talking about meeting for post-interview decisions, I think they said on my interview day that they meet every two weeks (and they just had their last one this past Monday). Brian told us that if you want to know if you're going to be up for consideration (i.e., if your interviewers have turned in their reports on you), you can call him and he'll let you know whether you should be hearing after the next committee meets. He even went out of his way to emphasize that he definitely wouldn't be annoyed if you called.

Anyone know rough timeline between completion and interview offer/rejection? I was complete 11/17 and no word yet... *jitters*

I was complete in early September and got an invite about two weeks later, but other people who were complete in September just found out a few weeks ago so it's hard to say.

 

[chickensandwich]

I was complete in early September and got an invite about two weeks later, but other people who were complete in September just found out a few weeks ago so it's hard to say.

if i was complete early-mid sept and still haven't heard back about an invite or a hold, you think it's ok to call them and check on the status of my app? i hate the idea of doing it but i feel like i've been skipped over!

 

[BerlinDude]

Anyone know rough timeline between completion and interview offer/rejection? I was complete 11/17 and no word yet... *jitters*

Do you mean your secondary application was complete?

It can take two months before you hear back. That said, they will send you an e-mail and update your status page either way. So, no news is no news.

 

[BerlinDude]

If you're talking about meeting for post-interview decisions, I think they said on my interview day that they meet every two weeks (and they just had their last one this past Monday). Brian told us that if you want to know if you're going to be up for consideration (i.e., if your interviewers have turned in their reports on you), you can call him and he'll let you know whether you should be hearing after the next committee meets. He even went out of his way to emphasize that he definitely wouldn't be annoyed if you called.



I was complete in early September and got an invite about two weeks later, but other people who were complete in September just found out a few weeks ago so it's hard to say.

You mean 8 days ago? So the next one would be this coming Monday, right?

 

[bobsmith]

.

 

[Contrarian]

do they send you an email with their decision? or do they just call the accepted people and the waitlisted just find out if they call brian?

 

[bobsmith]

do they send you an email with their decision? or do they just call the accepted people and the waitlisted just find out if they call brian?

Acceptees get a call and then an email the next day with enrollment info. At my interview, Brian said he would email out waitlisted people with the "Acceptable pool" email on Tuesday (so based on the schedule, he should have done it yesterday). If you haven't heard anything, my guess is Brian either hasn't sent out the email or you weren't reviewed on Monday. You could call him to find out for sure, though

 

[Contrarian]

Acceptees get a call and then an email the next day with enrollment info. At my interview, Brian said he would email out waitlisted people with the "Acceptable pool" email on Tuesday (so based on the schedule, he should have done it yesterday). If you haven't heard anything, my guess is Brian either hasn't sent out the email or you weren't reviewed on Monday. You could call him to find out for sure, though

yeah, I don't think I was supposed to be up for review this Monday, I'm just trying to figure out what to expect in a couple weeks.

also, do you know if they reject anyone post-interview? or do all the non-acceptees fall into the acceptable pool? if so, would the rejected get an email too?

Thanks for the info.

 

[bobsmith]

also, do you know if they reject anyone post-interview? or do all the non-acceptees fall into the acceptable pool? if so, would the rejected get an email too?

After the interview, no rejections -- just "accepted" or "acceptable pool"

 

[Contrarian]

After the interview, no rejections -- just "accepted" or "acceptable pool"

got it, thanks.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Thanks ajne! There are two interviews here? Are they both by faculty and open file?

 

[bobsmith]

Thanks ajne! There are two interviews here? Are they both by faculty and open file?

Yep, both by faculty and both completely open file. Mine had both read my file pretty in-depth and had a good idea of who I was. Good luck!

 

[ColonelTigh]

Just want to say Brian is awesome and I have never seen anyone so nice and dedicated to helping us paranoid pre-meds out. He really really goes the extra mile, he is the best...

 

[Stormchica2]

Does anyone know how people get off the "hold for interview" list or is it just something that you have to wait out? Maybe an application update would help..?

 

[MDmaybe]

does anyone know if UCSD accepts updates via email attachments or via postmail?

Just send my update letter as an email attachment. I got a response from the admissions office saying it would be added to my file.

 

[dermda]

Just send my update letter as an email attachment. I got a response from the admissions office saying it would be added to my file.

thanks for your input! did you address it to the admissions committee or to Dean Kelly?

 

[LAman10]

Does acceptable pool = pretty much rejection? Really bummed out... thought my interviews went really well... someone previously said that roughly 40-80 are accepted from the acceptable pool... I'm assuming they only send immediate acceptances to enough people to fill their class (150 ish) and then fill the rest from the acceptable pool after people drop out.. is this correct? Or is it pretty much a longshot at this point? this was one of my top choices so i'm really hoping for the best

 

[Contrarian]

Does acceptable pool = pretty much rejection? Really bummed out... thought my interviews went really well... someone previously said that roughly 40-80 are accepted from the acceptable pool... I'm assuming they only send immediate acceptances to enough people to fill their class (150 ish) and then fill the rest from the acceptable pool after people drop out.. is this correct? Or is it pretty much a longshot at this point? this was one of my top choices so i'm really hoping for the best

I doubt they only send out enough acceptances to fill their class since they said total acceptances come out to around 300 (roughly 50% of interviewed candidates) after waitlist movement. If the waitlist only accounts for 40-80 seats, they probably overshoot by a bit (I would guess in the 200-250 range).

50% sounds like great odds...until you realize who your competition is.

 

[CalBear2009]

Does acceptable pool = pretty much rejection? Really bummed out... thought my interviews went really well... someone previously said that roughly 40-80 are accepted from the acceptable pool... I'm assuming they only send immediate acceptances to enough people to fill their class (150 ish) and then fill the rest from the acceptable pool after people drop out.. is this correct? Or is it pretty much a longshot at this point? this was one of my top choices so i'm really hoping for the best

Yeah man I feel the same way, I thought things went well. I wouldn't dwell to much, cuz it will drive you nuts. Just send an update letter in a couple months and wish for the best. Things will work out. Here is to good things working out for the both of us! You never know what can happen.

 

[LAman10]

I doubt they only send out enough acceptances to fill their class since they said total acceptances come out to around 300 (roughly 50% of interviewed candidates) after waitlist movement. If the waitlist only accounts for 40-80 seats, they probably overshoot by a bit (I would guess in the 200-250 range).

50% sounds like great odds...until you realize who your competition is.

well actually i guess this is better because that means ~300 people have been placed on the waitlist and 40-80 will be taken from that... that's like 15-25% or something, which is not bad at all!

 

[Contrarian]

well actually i guess this is better because that means ~300 people have been placed on the waitlist and 40-80 will be taken from that... that's like 15-25% or something, which is not bad at all!

yeah, hopefully people on the waitlist lose interest, or are accepted at other schools. I hope everyone here is accepted at UCSF or something for that matter. free up some slots please.

 

[drareg]

this thread is not getting much love these days huh .... for those of you that got accepted .. congrats .. after you sent your forms in did you get any sort of confirmation? thanks

 

[confusedchild]

...

 

[drareg]

Hey..how long did it take for you to get your packet at home?

it took about 4 days to get to my CA address

 

[PowerButton]

well actually i guess this is better because that means ~300 people have been placed on the waitlist and 40-80 will be taken from that... that's like 15-25% or something, which is not bad at all!

I recall that last year, just before May 15, there were some 200 offers of admission out. After that date I think it dropped just under the class size of.. 125 ish? I was told there was not as much waitlist movement last year so it seems pretty variable.

The acceptable pool people do get reviewed again though, and I think cuts are made throughout that process. But essentially you can't really figure out where in the pool you are unless Brian somehow drops a subtle hint.

I was on that waitlist pretty much til the end; people do get in off it, but since you have no idea where you stand, it's impossible to make any predictions about the probability of getting in. But good luck to you guys, I hope you guys get other acceptances to take your mind off this! Otherwise it'll be an agonizing, long time til May.

Thanks ajne! There are two interviews here? Are they both by faculty and open file?

I had one faculty, one student, and many others on my interview day had this as well. I did have two faculty last time around though. They are both open file.

 

[JasonE]

how does the interview selection work? if they review your app and don't want to interview you, do you get placed on hold/rejected immediately? or can you be in limbo for a long time?

 

[killakam10]

So i got an interview invite on 10/8 for 1/26. After reading this thread it seems as if a lot of people have already been offered spots. Does anyone know how many spots have been offered at this point? I'm so happy about the interview but I'm worried that by the time I interview I'll be interviewing for a spot on the waitlist...

 

[lord_jeebus]

So i got an interview invite on 10/8 for 1/26. After reading this thread it seems as if a lot of people have already been offered spots. Does anyone know how many spots have been offered at this point? I'm so happy about the interview but I'm worried that by the time I interview I'll be interviewing for a spot on the waitlist...

I can't reveal a whole lot about the process, but there is no interviewing for just a waitlist spot at UCSD; if you would have been good enough for an acceptance after an October interview, you are good enough for an acceptance after a May interview.

 

[Athos]

My current status is that I'm on hold for possible interview later on. Does anyone know how many people from this list get interviewed?

 

[Reggieray2k]

Argh, interview in 2 days and its supposed to rain...in San Diego???

I know I'm going to step in a big puddle and get my nice pants ruined.

 

[BlueElmo]

how does the interview selection work? if they review your app and don't want to interview you, do you get placed on hold/rejected immediately? or can you be in limbo for a long time?

I am in the hold limbo since like July or August. So yeah, it sucks but I'm assuming it's rejection or something for me.

 

[JasonE]

I am in the hold limbo since like July or August. So yeah, it sucks but I'm assuming it's rejection or something for me.

so you're on hold? or still waiting for some kind of decision?