2009-2010 University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) Application Thread

[ApoK]

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man i can't wait to hear back from this awesome school!!

Same here! I hope to get some good news in a month or so...

 

[BowserMD]

Hello, don't want to be a downer for those waiting for that interview invite but got my little envelope in the mail on Friday, but was too sad to post until today🙁

post secondary, complete 9/28. I live close to the school, so was probably one of the first to get it out of this batch.

was hoping they would see past my GPA and let me show how I awesome I was in person...hehe.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Hello, don't want to be a downer for those waiting for that interview invite but got my little envelope in the mail on Friday, but was too sad to post until today🙁

post secondary, complete 9/28. I live close to the school, so was probably one of the first to get it out of this batch.

was hoping they would see past my GPA and let me show how I awesome I was in person...hehe.

Man, sorry to hear that. Your application looks good though, so I'm sure you'll find a school that would be happy to have you.

I was complete on that date as well. I also live close by. If you don't mind me asking, did your online status change before you received that in the mail?

 

[BowserMD]

Man, sorry to hear that. Your application looks good though, so I'm sure you'll find a school that would be happy to have you.

I was complete on that date as well. I also live close by. If you don't mind me asking, did your online status change before you received that in the mail?

Thanks 🙂

My status did not change before I received the mailing, I think I may have checked it on Wednesday or so of last week. The letter was dated Nov 4th if that is useful to know.

Hopefully there is better news for you 👍

 

[bringindafunk]

you could appeal if you wanted to, bowser

i mean i was rejected pre-secondary with the same hope they might see past my weaker gpa... they didn't. then i wrote the dean a letter explaining why i wanted to go to the school and that it was my top choice (which is legitimately true). included a bit of info on what i've been doing since i applied.

i figured might as well as do everything i can. that way i can sleep easier at night. just my two cents though...

 

[longhorn09]

you could appeal if you wanted to, bowser

i mean i was rejected pre-secondary with the same hope they might see past my weaker gpa... they didn't. then i wrote the dean a letter explaining why i wanted to go to the school and that it was my top choice (which is legitimately true). included a bit of info on what i've been doing since i applied.

i figured might as well as do everything i can. that way i can sleep easier at night. just my two cents though...

They won't give a damn on that.

 

[sewcurious]

They won't give a damn on that.

Considering that they mention the process of appealling specifically on the website (where many others do not), I'm not sure you are in any position to make that judgement

 

[mirrorpair]

I thought I heard of a few cases (on this forum) of people who appealed their secondary and eventually got accepted. I get the impression that an initial review is done by only a few people and it is possible that the collective of adcoms may have a different evaluation; UCSF at least is aware that this can happen and it is in your favor.

It's worth a shot--just make a really strong argument and let things go from there.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

I thought I heard of a few cases (on this forum) of people who appealed their secondary and eventually got accepted. I get the impression that an initial review is done by only a few people and it is possible that the collective of adcoms may have a different evaluation; UCSF at least is aware that this can happen and it is in your favor.

It's worth a shot--just make a really strong argument and let things go from there.

At any rate, it's not like one has much to lose by appealing..

 

[BowserMD]

you could appeal if you wanted to, bowser

i mean i was rejected pre-secondary with the same hope they might see past my weaker gpa... they didn't. then i wrote the dean a letter explaining why i wanted to go to the school and that it was my top choice (which is legitimately true). included a bit of info on what i've been doing since i applied.

i figured might as well as do everything i can. that way i can sleep easier at night. just my two cents though...

Thanks for the advice everyone...will probably get started on that appeal letter today.

Bringindafunk, hopefully our letters will let us get to the next step.

I refuse to change the UCSF status on my md apps until I get an interview or March comes along😛

 

[echidna]

Anybody on here sent an update letter/LOI after being complete? I have a new full-time research job at UCSF and an abstract in submission and thought it couldn't hurt to let them know. If so, who do I address the letter to? Dean Wofsy or the admissions committee? I'd also like to point out reasons why I'd be a good fit for their school, something we weren't able to convey in the secondary.

I was complete 10/15 and it seems like most people who received invites got them within 2-3 weeks of their completion date, so I wouldn't be surprised if a letter is on its way. I'm wondering if I should wait and see and appeal if necessary or give it a shot now.

 

[TheFreak]

Anybody on here sent an update letter/LOI after being complete? I have a new full-time research job at UCSF and an abstract in submission and thought it couldn't hurt to let them know. If so, who do I address the letter to? Dean Wofsy or the admissions committee? I'd also like to point out reasons why I'd be a good fit for their school, something we weren't able to convey in the secondary.

I was complete 10/15 and it seems like most people who received invites got them within 2-3 weeks of their completion date, so I wouldn't be surprised if a letter is on its way. I'm wondering if I should wait and see and appeal if necessary or give it a shot now.

good question. im in a similar situation and was actually wondering the same thing.

 

[Ariodant]

Anybody on here sent an update letter/LOI after being complete? I have a new full-time research job at UCSF and an abstract in submission and thought it couldn't hurt to let them know. If so, who do I address the letter to? Dean Wofsy or the admissions committee? I'd also like to point out reasons why I'd be a good fit for their school, something we weren't able to convey in the secondary.

I was complete 10/15 and it seems like most people who received invites got them within 2-3 weeks of their completion date, so I wouldn't be surprised if a letter is on its way. I'm wondering if I should wait and see and appeal if necessary or give it a shot now.

Either way is fine. The office will put it into your file, and I doubt the adcom reading it cares whom it's addressed to.

 

[s2thindi]

.

 

[s2thindi]

OH MY! I just got their secondary-- I'm so stocked. I was pretty sure I'd be screened out =)

AMCAS received 9/2/09.

 

[s2thindi]

Does anybody know their numbers in terms of who gets, screened out, secondaries and who gets invites etc? 21 pages is a lot of digging...

 

[OneMCATAway]

Does anybody know their numbers in terms of who gets, screened out, secondaries and who gets invites etc? 21 pages is a lot of digging...

i remember reading 1/3 get a secondary and out of that 1/2 get an interview and 1/2 of those get accepted.. im not so sure about the second 1/2 if anybody knows for sure plz confirm 🙂

 

[itsalovestory]

i remember reading 1/3 get a secondary and out of that 1/2 get an interview and 1/2 of those get accepted.. im not so sure about the second 1/2 if anybody knows for sure plz confirm 🙂

50% of all interviewed people will eventually get accepted. Right out of the interview, 1/3 get rejected, 1/3 accepted, and 1/3 waitlist. People obviously drop off the waitlist as time goes on, and the ultimate numbers come out to 50% accepted post-interview, 50% rejected. (I'm guessing those who drop off the waitlist get counted in the rejection number... though they're technically not rejected per se.)

 

[casillas]

i do not know the exact numbers but i know the following are pretty close...

primaries received 6000
secondaries given 2000
interview invites 500
accepted 250
matriculated 176

 

[CalBear2009]

FINALLY complete here. I can finally say that all of my applications are officially complete! Anybody know how far along they are into interviews. The last couple people who posted here about getting invites did not put when they were interviewing.

 

[pharaoh88]

FINALLY complete here. I can finally say that all of my applications are officially complete! Anybody know how far along they are into interviews. The last couple people who posted here about getting invites did not put when they were interviewing.

Yay!! I would like to know this too, as I just sent in my secondary yesterday.

 

[mooooo]

FINALLY complete here. I can finally say that all of my applications are officially complete! Anybody know how far along they are into interviews. The last couple people who posted here about getting invites did not put when they were interviewing.

I got the invite on 10/27, and dates were available for 11/10 and later(through December or maybe January). I scheduled for early Dec.

 

[premedoenophile]

i do not know the exact numbers but i know the following are pretty close...

primaries received 6000
secondaries given 2000
interview invites 500
accepted 250
matriculated 176

I was told that the school gives ~1500 secondaries (so 1/4 get secondaries). There are 500 interview invites (so 1/3 of the secondaries) and I don't think 250 are accepted off the bat - rather, interviewees have a roughly 1/2 chance of eventually being accepted straightaway or off the waitlist (ie a phone call in July).

Good luck to all...

 

[Question123]

Does anyone have any deep insight what is the determining factor between who gets secondaries and who gets invites? Seems odd given they don't have essays...

 

[echidna]

I'm guessing letters? Or maybe just a closer read of your application...

 

[CalBear2009]

I got the invite on 10/27, and dates were available for 11/10 and later(through December or maybe January). I scheduled for early Dec.

Cool! It gives me hope that they are not toatally booked for interviews yet.

 

[TheFreak]

anyone have any luck sending in updates post-secondary at this point?

 

[lunchbox_tragedy]

My secondary was just complete, and I emailed them asking if I could send in a few updates before I'm considered for an interview. They do allow this, but they chastised me for sending it as an email attachment...I think they prefer it by mail, and if by email it has to be in the text/body of the email, not as an attachment.

 

[shemarty]

i do not know the exact numbers but i know the following are pretty close...

primaries received 6000
secondaries given 2000
interview invites 500
accepted 250
matriculated 176

Where did "176" come from?

I was told that the school gives ~1500 secondaries (so 1/4 get secondaries). There are 500 interview invites (so 1/3 of the secondaries) and I don't think 250 are accepted off the bat - rather, interviewees have a roughly 1/2 chance of eventually being accepted straightaway or off the waitlist (ie a phone call in July).

Yes, this is about right.

~6000 primaries received
~1500 secondary invites
~500 interview invites
~250 ultimately accepted (including off the WL)

My class has 149 students. There are 16 more if you include JMP.

Cool! It gives me hope that they are not totally booked for interviews yet.

I'm coordinating the student hosting program, and I've only gotten requests up through the first week of December. UCSF interviews till the end of Feb so they're obviously not done inviting 🙂


I have no insight about how they screen who to give secondaries to or who to invite for interviews. I'm sure it's a mix of numbers and other life experiences. It might also be a little random, depending on who reads the file.

 

[echidna]

My secondary was just complete, and I emailed them asking if I could send in a few updates before I'm considered for an interview. They do allow this, but they chastised me for sending it as an email attachment...I think they prefer it by mail, and if by email it has to be in the text/body of the email, not as an attachment.

Yeah I called and asked and the woman I spoke to told me to snail mail an update letter. All the other schools I asked wanted a pdf.

 

[premedoenophile]

My secondary was just complete, and I emailed them asking if I could send in a few updates before I'm considered for an interview. They do allow this, but they chastised me for sending it as an email attachment...I think they prefer it by mail, and if by email it has to be in the text/body of the email, not as an attachment.

Always send PDFs...not specifically to UCSF, to all schools
K2pdf is a free converting (Word-->PDF) website

http://www.k2pdf.com/convert.html

 

[FutureScaresMe]

Always send PDFs...not specifically to UCSF, to all schools
K2pdf is a free converting (Word-->PDF) website

http://www.k2pdf.com/convert.html

AHh, so most schools prefer PDF attachments for updates?

 

[itsalovestory]

AHh, so most schools prefer PDF attachments for updates?

I've sent PDFs for most schools, but I had one school reply back to me saying they couldn't read the format of the attachment. I don't remember which one it was, but it definitely wasn't UCSF.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

I've been complete for six weeks and still haven't heard anything yet - has anyone who received an invite actually waited this long, or is the snail mail rejection coming any day now? It seems most invites tend to come 2 - 3 weeks after the completion... 🙁

 

[lunchbox_tragedy]

Always send PDFs...not specifically to UCSF, to all schools
K2pdf is a free converting (Word-->PDF) website

http://www.k2pdf.com/convert.html

I did in fact send them a PDF -- I use PDFConverter, similar free software. They may just be paranoid about viruses, though, or they may not like to print things on their own dime. The slowness of their app process suggests they're not as electronically organized as some other schools.

 

[mooooo]

I've been complete for six weeks and still haven't heard anything yet - has anyone who received an invite actually waited this long, or is the snail mail rejection coming any day now? It seems most invites tend to come 2 - 3 weeks after the completion... 🙁

mine was a little over 4 weeks, and I would guess that as time goes on, there becomes more of a backlog, so don't give up hope yet!

 

[Jolt21]

Anyone know when decisions start going out? I forgot what they said, but i remember it was before the end of the year.

And in regards to updates, you fill out a form on your interview day with any updates. EC or academic.

 

[sewcurious]

Anyone been interview/invited to invterview with the PRIME program? I know it doesn't happen on the same day as the normal interview, I was just wondering how they contacted you and if you have to go back to SF for a second interview.

 

[shemarty]

Anyone know when decisions start going out? I forgot what they said, but i remember it was before the end of the year.

And in regards to updates, you fill out a form on your interview day with any updates. EC or academic.

I *think* the first committee meeting is in mid-Dec and the first batch of decisions are sent out via snail mail in late-Dec.

Yes, you fill out that form on interview day, but I think the discussion on this thread is about writing an actual update letter after the interview day.

 

[shemarty]

Anyone been interview/invited to invterview with the PRIME program? I know it doesn't happen on the same day as the normal interview, I was just wondering how they contacted you and if you have to go back to SF for a second interview.

Last year the PRIME applicants interviewed on the same day as the regular applicants. I'm not sure what they're doing this year. For some reason I think they might interview you on a regular day and then if you're accepted to the regular UCSF program, they'll consider you for PRIME. But I'm not 100% sure about how this works.

You do *not* have to go back to SF for a 2nd interview.

 

[itsalovestory]

I *think* the first committee meeting is in mid-Dec and the first batch of decisions are sent out via snail mail in late-Dec.

Yes, you fill out that form on interview day, but I think the discussion on this thread is about writing an actual update letter after the interview day.

I think we were told the first meeting is on December 15th. Shemarty, any idea when that means letters will be mailed?

 

[chickensandwich]

I think we were told the first meeting is on December 15th. Shemarty, any idea when that means letters will be mailed?

i don't have my papers with me at work, but i think they said the 20th.

 

[itsalovestory]

i don't have my papers with me at work, but i think they said the 20th.

I remember that from their blue sheet too, but it was an estimate for every month. I believe Dec 20th is a Sunday..

 

[FutureScaresMe]

I remember that from their blue sheet too, but it was an estimate for every month. I believe Dec 20th is a Sunday..

I guess Christmas this year will either be a great one or a very depressing one.

 

[lunchbox_tragedy]

Yes, you fill out that form on interview day, but I think the discussion on this thread is about writing an actual update letter after the interview day.

Er...actually I sent updates in the hope that in would increase my chances of getting an interview! I haven't stepped foot in CA yet.

 

[shemarty]

Anyone been interview/invited to invterview with the PRIME program? I know it doesn't happen on the same day as the normal interview, I was just wondering how they contacted you and if you have to go back to SF for a second interview.

Er...actually I sent updates in the hope that in would increase my chances of getting an interview! I haven't stepped foot in CA yet.

Oh, okay. Well in that case the interview-day-form doesn't apply to you, either. I was only skimming the posts about the update letter so I probably missed most details. I thought the debate was about how to go about sending one?

Anyway, nevermind about that 😕



You know what else is great about UCSF (and other public schools)? We get Veteran's Day off! 😀

 

[Skan]

Did anybody with a ~3.4 cGPA receive an interview yet? Also when did you apply(primary)?

Thanks!

 

[premad]

Last year the PRIME applicants interviewed on the same day as the regular applicants. I'm not sure what they're doing this year. For some reason I think they might interview you on a regular day and then if you're accepted to the regular UCSF program, they'll consider you for PRIME. But I'm not 100% sure about how this works.

You do *not* have to go back to SF for a 2nd interview.

I interviewed at UCSF late last month, and got a message from PRIME around that time saying that they'd be interviewing at a later, either in person or by phone, depending upon your location. Haven't hear anything since, though.

 

[bannie22]

I DEMAND MY REJECTION LETTER. I DEMAND THE LITTLE BIT OF HUMANITY I DESERVE FOR APPLYING. I DEMAND THAT I PAID 30 DOLLARS TO APPLY, and IF I AM TO BE REJECTED, I WANT CORRESPONDENCE. I WANT TO BE TOLD I AM REJECTED. EMAIL OR MAIL. SEND IT ALRIGHT?

THE LITTLE BIT OF HUMANITY WONT HURT RIGHT?


alright im done my rant.
=P thanks guys.

ive been rejected online with the "correspondence shud have been mailed to you" for at least a month now, and i still havent received the letter. i at least want that... ya know =)


fine UCSF. hate on me!!!

 

[shemarty]

The "Class Play" was last night. It's a series of spoofy skits and videos that the MS2s put together 🙂

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3QIW9iVh8I[/YOUTUBE]