2012-2013 University of California - Riverside Application Thread

[iamahippo]

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So... I'm still a bit confused on this bit. It's not REALLY double spots right? Since half are supposedly still reserved for Riverside students. So, if 200 Riverside students apply, they are fighting for 24 spots, and the 2500 other applicants are pretty much fighting for the other 26. At least, that is what it seems like people have been saying. Confusing...

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side you're on), you are correct with the numbers. It is good news for those applying from UCR (statistically) but makes the odds very low for anyone applying outside of UCR.

Now for a word of caution for you guys. I applied to UCR twice back when it was still the UCR/UCLA program, interviewed the first time, and was rejected pre-interview the second time. Please take the following with a grain of salt, especially if you're not particularly interested in pursuing primary care. These are just my opinions and how I look at the situation.

From a UCR standpoint, the maintained "good" odds of 200 applying for 24 can still be seen as a loss because now you lose the previous route to graduating from UCLA and using all of UCLA's resources to get you into a field other than primary care. At least in their first few years as a stand-alone school, UCR will pool all its resources to making sure everyone goes into primary care by training you guys in community health centers rather than a teaching hospital. It got most of its funding from the surrounding community which expects physicians to be poured back into primary care later on. So unless you want to go into primary care in the Inland Empire (with UCR's new plan), UCR might not be the best choice for you. This has nothing to do with the facilities; they're top notch. This has more to do with their mission statement and how serious they are about it.

I'm sure I am not alone in this disgruntlement; I am sure many undergrads who came to UCR did so with the hope of getting into the UCR/UCLA program, as I did. I turned down an undergrad acceptance to UCLA in favor of UCR for this reason.

The following (which some friends and I found to be alarming) is an excerpt from a recent article in the UCR Magazine: "If the students embrace fields like family medicine and pediatrics, and truly connect with residents of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, [Founding Dean] Olds and the founding faculty could be seen as visionaries. But if those same students end up practicing orthopedics, cardiology and plastic surgery in Newport Beach and San Diego, the school could be seen as a failure, Olds said."

So basically, if they graduate physicians who don't stay in the Inland Empire doing Primary Care, they will have "failed." How does that make you feel if you were interested in something else?

Clearly, the school's mission is extreme (which is good for them, if they are serious about their goal of addressing the primary care shortage in the IE). If any of you are interested in any specialties outside of primary care, especially competitive ones such as those they mentioned, take extra caution towards matriculating at UCR. If you end up going here, you will probably feel afraid to tell faculty your interests in specialties because you know they will hold a grudge against you. To them, you are making the school "fail" in its mission. For research opportunities, you will probably struggle to find faculty supportive of your goals, etc.

I am very happy, in retrospect, that they recognized during my interviews that I was not a good fit for their institution. As a result, I am now at a school that does embrace any and every field that students are interested in, and I have had many mentors guide me towards pursuing dermatology or plastic surgery. So if any of you have acceptances to places that are more welcoming to all interests, I implore you to explore them further, rather than grappling onto the attractive option of staying in Cali with a cheaper tuition. Of course, if this is your only acceptance, by all means, take it! To read the article in question, you can go to http://magazine.ucr.edu/2013/winter/ and it starts at page 10. I'm not trying to derail the school; I applaud it for making its intentions clear. If anything, my rant might help them produce more primary care physicians in the IE as a result of some of you dropping out, if your goals are anything like mine. Thanks for reading. I don't know why I decided to type all this out, but I hope it was useful. I encourage you guys to do more research on the subject so that you don't just get a one sided view (a.k.a. my view) on the whole thing.

 

[sinombre]

About 2500 students applied (UCR alums + non-UCR alums), ~700 received secondaries, 210 interviewed, 50 accepted (24 UCR alums + 26 non-UCR alums).

50 matriculate, they'll accept probably twice that number 🙂

 

[ratmd]

It's not a brand new school at all... They're used to having 200 applicants for 24 spots and now the applicant pool increased tenfold with the acceptance pool only doubling. I'm sorry about your outcome but if you did your research you shouldn't be too shocked.

Haha you're right. UCR wasn't on my radar at all since they didn't accept non UCR students in the past. I was rejected pre-secondary so it was not much of a surprise.

 

[cinamin]

About 2500 students applied (UCR alums + non-UCR alums), ~700 received secondaries, 210 interviewed, 50 accepted (24 UCR alums + 26 non-UCR alums).

how do you know this? just curious..

 

[theclem]

So interviews are over here?

 

[Juan Solo]

I thought they said that they were interviewing all through March but I could be mistaken.

 

[jaydar]

how do you know this? just curious..

The stats are spot on. They tell you at interview day.

I thought they said that they were interviewing all through March but I could be mistaken.

When I signed up for my interview, I only saw interview days open for the first two weeks, if I recall correctly.

Clearly, the school's mission is extreme (which is good for them, if they are serious about their goal of addressing the primary care shortage in the IE). If any of you are interested in any specialties outside of primary care, especially competitive ones such as those they mentioned, take extra caution towards matriculating at UCR.

I agree with this. They are very, very strongly into primary care and very much want their physicians to remain in the Inland Empire. My own personal mission can definitely fit this mold, which is why I think the application process went well for me. If you're definitely not into primary care or serving the underserved in the IE, this might not be the right program for you. For me, these are the exact reasons I loved the program.

It's worth noting, however, that Dean Schiller mentioned on interview day that what they want is physicians who will fill the physician shortage in the IE, in whatever specialty is currently experiencing a dearth. Currently, there's a shortage of surgeons, for example, so they are interested in graduating students who go into surgery as well.

 

[cinamin]

The stats are spot on. They tell you at interview day.


When I signed up for my interview, I only saw interview days open for the first two weeks, if I recall correctly.



I agree with this. They are very, very strongly into primary care and very much want their physicians to remain in the Inland Empire. My own personal mission can definitely fit this mold, which is why I think the application process went well for me. If you're definitely not into primary care or serving the underserved in the IE, this might not be the right program for you. For me, these are the exact reasons I loved the program.

It's worth noting, however, that Dean Schiller mentioned on interview day that what they want is physicians who will fill the physician shortage in the IE, in whatever specialty is currently experiencing a dearth. Currently, there's a shortage of surgeons, for example, so they are interested in graduating students who go into surgery as well.

cool - so I guess they will end up accepting 75-100+ when it's all said and done to get 50 in their class... Chances after getting an interview seem pretty good!!

Did you think the MMI was stressful at all? I know you can't go into details, but any general impression would be great.

 

[Aldadoc]

I agree with this. They are very, very strongly into primary care and very much want their physicians to remain in the Inland Empire. My own personal mission can definitely fit this mold, which is why I think the application process went well for me. If you're definitely not into primary care or serving the underserved in the IE, this might not be the right program for you. For me, these are the exact reasons I loved the program.

It's worth noting, however, that Dean Schiller mentioned on interview day that what they want is physicians who will fill the physician shortage in the IE, in whatever specialty is currently experiencing a dearth. Currently, there's a shortage of surgeons, for example, so they are interested in graduating students who go into surgery as well.

I am a current UCR undergraduate, and from the information I collected, their goal for this medical school is to get the medical students to go into one of five fields: internal/family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, OBGYN, and general psychiatry. This list makes sense since most people choose to specialize and as a result, the IE is very short on general practitioners. The genuine dedication they have for serving the IE is why this is my top choice. I really hope UCR shows me some love, I have been waiting for more than 2 months after my interview.

 

[iamahippo]

I am a current UCR undergraduate, and from the information I collected, their goal for this medical school is to get the medical students to go into one of five fields: internal/family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, OBGYN, and general psychiatry. This list makes sense since most people choose to specialize and as a result, the IE is very short on general practitioners. The genuine dedication they have for serving the IE is why this is my top choice. I really hope UCR shows me some love, I have been waiting for more than 2 months after my interview.

Thank you for adding to the discussion, guys. These are very good points that I did not point out. It is worth noting that the UCR Magazine I quoted failed to make this idea (that they want to get medical students in any of those 5 general fields in the IE) clear.

When they wrote "But if those same students end up practicing orthopedics, cardiology and plastic surgery in Newport Beach and San Diego, the school could be seen as a failure" in the article, it remains ambiguous (when purely pulling from the article and no other sources) whether they are hating on those particular fields or whether they are hating on the fact that those students migrate away from Riverside. I feel like it's a mix of both but they should have elaborated on that quote because later in the article, they interview two current UCR/UCLA med students, one of whom wants to go into orthopedic surgery, which is inconsistent on the journalist's part because it suggests the school has already "failed."

 

[Phaminem]

cool - so I guess they will end up accepting 75-100+ when it's all said and done to get 50 in their class... Chances after getting an interview seem pretty good!!

Did you think the MMI was stressful at all? I know you can't go into details, but any general impression would be great.

I had never tried an MMI before in my life and after the interview, I decided that I did not like MMI's at all. I think I like the standard interviews 1-on-1 much better, but that could be just me. Some advice would be to keep calm! Since it is an MMI, sometimes you feel like you aren't compatible with some interviewers while you hit it out of the ball park with others. If you come across an interviewer who you can't develop a rapport with, don't let it phase you and bum you out for the rest of the interview. I think everybody actually has this feeling. So hold your head up high and keep going hard after that! Other than that, good luck! I think it's very possible to hit it out of the ball park with everybody though 🙂

Anyhow, I was wondering if anybody is in the same boat as me. I interviewed in January and I'm still anxiously waiting for a response everyday. I check the mail everyday, and I really don't mean to sound overconfident, but I just think that I am a really qualified candidate! And I'm super interested in going to UCR, and I thought I showed that. I keep telling myself that somebody must be stalking my mailbox and trolling me and taking my mail, but apparently they're supposed to e-mail/call you a few days after? And I haven't gotten that. 🙁

 

[cinamin]

I had never tried an MMI before in my life and after the interview, I decided that I did not like MMI's at all. I think I like the standard interviews 1-on-1 much better, but that could be just me. Some advice would be to keep calm! Since it is an MMI, sometimes you feel like you aren't compatible with some interviewers while you hit it out of the ball park with others. If you come across an interviewer who you can't develop a rapport with, don't let it phase you and bum you out for the rest of the interview. I think everybody actually has this feeling. So hold your head up high and keep going hard after that! Other than that, good luck! I think it's very possible to hit it out of the ball park with everybody though 🙂

Anyhow, I was wondering if anybody is in the same boat as me. I interviewed in January and I'm still anxiously waiting for a response everyday. I check the mail everyday, and I really don't mean to sound overconfident, but I just think that I am a really qualified candidate! And I'm super interested in going to UCR, and I thought I showed that. I keep telling myself that somebody must be stalking my mailbox and trolling me and taking my mail, but apparently they're supposed to e-mail/call you a few days after? And I haven't gotten that. 🙁

Thank you for the tips with MMI. I've never had one before either so I'm a wee bit nervous/curious about the whole process, though I've read plenty of articles and such online.

Good luck to you!

 

[Aldadoc]

Anyhow, I was wondering if anybody is in the same boat as me. I interviewed in January and I'm still anxiously waiting for a response everyday. I check the mail everyday, and I really don't mean to sound overconfident, but I just think that I am a really qualified candidate! And I'm super interested in going to UCR, and I thought I showed that. I keep telling myself that somebody must be stalking my mailbox and trolling me and taking my mail, but apparently they're supposed to e-mail/call you a few days after? And I haven't gotten that. 🙁

I interviewed the very first day and I still haven't heard anything. I completely understand your anxiety, but try to relax. This is their first year with so many applicants, they are probably really backed up. They really put a lot of time into reading your application to make sure they pick the best possible class. If anything, be happy that you have not received a rejection yet, it probably means they are putting serious thought into your application. During the interview, they told us to expect something in early March. If that is true, we should be hearing back pretty soon.

 

[jaydar]

cool - so I guess they will end up accepting 75-100+ when it's all said and done to get 50 in their class... Chances after getting an interview seem pretty good!!

Did you think the MMI was stressful at all? I know you can't go into details, but any general impression would be great.

I actually loved, loved the format! To be completely honest, I'm an extrovert, and I think unfortunately this interview format caters especially to extroverts. On the other hand, if you're really passionate, and you have a story, you'll have no problems. I had such a great time during the interview (unexpectedly) because I met so many great people, both interviewers and interviewees, and I had so many interesting conversations.

My advice would be to just relax. Really. The night before the interview, I went to dinner with friends, and the next morning, I made myself a nice breakfast. I came into interview day feeling friendly, relaxed, and confident, and I really think that's the best preparation you can do for a format like MMI. Good luck to everyone who has interviews coming up!

 

[jaydar]

I am a current UCR undergraduate, and from the information I collected, their goal for this medical school is to get the medical students to go into one of five fields: internal/family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, OBGYN, and general psychiatry. This list makes sense since most people choose to specialize and as a result, the IE is very short on general practitioners. The genuine dedication they have for serving the IE is why this is my top choice. I really hope UCR shows me some love, I have been waiting for more than 2 months after my interview.

Good points. I bet this is very likely, though on interview day, they did point out that they're not expecting their graduates to go only into primary care fields, and the dean just used general surgery as an example of an area of need in the IE. It did sound like they had a bit more flexibility than those 5 fields, but then again, they were trying to win us over, so who knows? The overall impression for me was, if there aren't enough of a certain type of doctor in the Inland Empire, they were more than happy to graduate some of those.

 

[Aldadoc]

Good points. I bet this is very likely, though on interview day, they did point out that they're not expecting their graduates to go only into primary care fields, and the dean just used general surgery as an example of an area of need in the IE. It did sound like they had a bit more flexibility than those 5 fields, but then again, they were trying to win us over, so who knows? The overall impression for me was, if there aren't enough of a certain type of doctor in the Inland Empire, they were more than happy to graduate some of those.

Ya, I got the same impression as well. I think, but don't quote me, that the five areas of medicine I listed are the areas of medicine that the Inland Empire has a large shortage of. However, I think, like you said, that they would be happy to graduate any type of doctor that the Inland Empire really needs.

 

[deleted260867]

how do you know this? just curious..

It was stated during the interview sessions.

 

[WhatWho]

Recruitment day is April 10. Sadly, I can't attend because I have prior obligations 🙁

 

[msdaisy]

I interviewed the very first day and I still haven't heard anything. I completely understand your anxiety, but try to relax. This is their first year with so many applicants, they are probably really backed up. They really put a lot of time into reading your application to make sure they pick the best possible class. If anything, be happy that you have not received a rejection yet, it probably means they are putting serious thought into your application. During the interview, they told us to expect something in early March. If that is true, we should be hearing back pretty soon.

Has anyone heard back (with an acceptance) several weeks after they expected to hear back (i.e., a month after interview date)? I'm just wondering if the delay really means that they are still reviewing my application or if I've been filed into the "waitlist" pile?

("waitlist"= at interview day, they said that basically everyone who interviewed is on a ranked waitlist and they will send out acceptances off the top of the list. So if you hear back immediately, I guess you can assume you were very highly ranked.)

Also, I'm just curious if anyone decided against riverside after they interviewed (and why)...

 

[boobear]

I got my acceptance letter today. I interviewed 1/26. In state
Good luck to everyone who is still patiently waiting. 🙂

 

[dweji16]

I got my acceptance letter today. I interviewed 1/26. In state
Good luck to everyone who is still patiently waiting. 🙂

A big congrats!! Are you a UCR alum as well?

 

[msdaisy]

I got my acceptance letter today. I interviewed 1/26. In state
Good luck to everyone who is still patiently waiting. 🙂

This gives me hope! Congrats! Are you UCR grad? Nontrad?

 

[boobear]

I am not a UCR alumni. I graduated a few years ago and have experience working full time for the past year or so.

 

[CLG]

I got my acceptance letter today. I interviewed 1/26. In state
Good luck to everyone who is still patiently waiting. 🙂

Congrats! And did you only hear via mail, or did they send you an email and/or update your online profile as well?

Do you plan on attending??

 

[msdaisy]

Has anyone else called or emailed the admissions office and gotten through? For the last two weeks, they haven't been very responsive.

 

[msdaisy]

Anyone else received any news recently?

 

[snaq]

Haven't heard anything but I did call in and talk to them, I think yesterday. Was the same thing they told me the last time I called, nothing new on my app and to be patient.
Has anyone else heard from them? And does anyone know/have a guesstimate of how many people have been accepted and how many seats remain? (I know how unlikely this is hahah)
Also, anyone know when the last interviews are?

 

[Red18]

Haven't heard anything but I did call in and talk to them, I think yesterday. Was the same thing they told me the last time I called, nothing new on my app and to be patient.
Has anyone else heard from them? And does anyone know/have a guesstimate of how many people have been accepted and how many seats remain? (I know how unlikely this is hahah)
Also, anyone know when the last interviews are?

I'm pretty sure the last interviews were on the 16th, but don't quote me on that.

 

[foreignman]

Yup! I interviewed on 3/16/13 and they said they interview 216 and we were the last group,

 

[snaq]

Yup! I interviewed on 3/16/13 and they said they interview 216 and we were the last group,

Did they give you guys a time frame of when you'll know if you're accepted or not?

 

[Red18]

Did they give you guys a time frame of when you'll know if you're accepted or not?

They told us that they would be meeting again in a few weeks (so this weekend, I guess) and that we wouldn't hear anything before that. It seemed to me that the earliest my group would hear anything was about three weeks after our interview. They also said that everyone who isn't accepted outright will essentially be on the "waitlist," but no waitlist statuses are sent out and no rejections until the very end. I hope that helps answer your question.

 

[kcporsche]

Does anyone know if they are receptive to post interview LOI's/grade updates?

 

[msdaisy]

Does anyone know if they are receptive to post interview LOI's/grade updates?

Receptive. Send it to Margie Castillo.

 

[msdaisy]

Yup! I interviewed on 3/16/13 and they said they interview 216 and we were the last group,

Does anyone know what percentage of those interviewed are UCR-grads? As non-UCR grad, I'm hoping it's proportional to UCR students in incoming class (~50%)...

 

[sinombre]

Does anyone know what percentage of those interviewed are UCR-grads? As non-UCR grad, I'm hoping it's proportional to UCR students in incoming class (~50%)...

Not sure, but none of the people on my interview day were UCR grads.

 

[Juan Solo]

Yeah, I think there were only one or two that were UCR grads on my interview day, not many at all.

 

[snaq]

Yeah, I think there were only one or two that were UCR grads on my interview day, not many at all.

Yeah I think one or two during my interview. But they said that they're accepting at most 24 UCR so maybe it'll be less?

 

[greenmac3099]

A class facebook page has been created for those who've been admitted and planning to attend.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/360584787381073/

Good luck to all of you who are waiting for a response, hang in there!

 

[dweji16]

A class facebook page has been created for those who've been admitted and planning to attend.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/360584787381073/

Good luck to all of you who are waiting for a response, hang in there!

Wait is killing me......

So as of now it seems all 6 people in the FB page are from UC Riverside. I guess they really are favoring their own grads...

 

[cinamin]

Wait is killing me......

So as of now it seems all 6 people in the FB page are from UC Riverside. I guess they really are favoring their own grads...

Be patient grasshopper... surely more have been accepted and just haven't chosen to join the group. They are accepting 100 outright and they are meeting tonight about the last interview group. They said they are giving out acceptances VERY SLOWLY so likely waitlist won't be finalized til mid to late April.

 

[DocLakers]

Has anyone been accepted from the Feb 23 interview group? I'm curious what the average time frame has been for those who have been accepted to hear back.

 

[deleted438534]

Interviewed January 26th,

Acceptance today via email!

Good luck to everyone still in the process!

 

[polishgravy]

Interviewed 1/5, non-UCR alum, acceptance today via e-mail as well!

Good luck everyone!

 

[Juan Solo]

Interviewed January 26th,

Acceptance today via email!

Good luck to everyone still in the process!

Congrats!!

Interviewed 1/5, non-UCR alum, acceptance today via e-mail as well!

Good luck everyone!

Congrats to you too!!

If you both feel like joing the UCR SOM Facebook group well then here is the link,

https://www.facebook.com/groups/360584787381073/

 

[foreignman]

For those who were accepted this week, have you guys received the actual packet yet? Also, have you gotten any information regarding second look?

Thanks

 

[polishgravy]

No packet in the mail yet. They did send some information about "second look"/open house via e-mail. It's on April 10 in Riverside. I think you have to RSVP with Margie by April 5.

 

[foreignman]

That's odd. I got accepted on Tuesday but did not get any emails about second look.

 

[cinamin]

No packet in the mail yet. They did send some information about "second look"/open house via e-mail. It's on April 10 in Riverside. I think you have to RSVP with Margie by April 5.

sooo basically if not accepted by April 5th, this would mean WL or rejection correct?

 

[Idioteque75]

Interviewed 2/2 and still anxiously awaiting for another wave of acceptances

I'm thinking by 4/5 they'll have given out at least 50 acceptances, but I'm wondering if the additional acceptances will have been given out by then as well? (to account for people who withdraw)

 

[cinamin]

Interviewed 2/2 and still anxiously awaiting for another wave of acceptances

I'm thinking by 4/5 they'll have given out at least 50 acceptances, but I'm wondering if the additional acceptances will have been given out by then as well? (to account for people who withdraw)

On my interview day, the dean said they would give out 100 outright acceptances, so I assume by April 5th, they will hand out 100 to give those candidates the opportunity to go to second look. I think if we do not hear by then, it is reasonable to assume a status of WL or rejection.