2013-2014 University of California - Davis Application Thread

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Is anyone else confused on the letters of recommendation? Like you have to include some form that says you waive your right to see the letters? Is it true that if we just submit our letters through AMCAS then we don't have to worry about this waiver form?
 
How did you guys approach the "How will your family, community, academic, work or other life experiences enhance the UC Davis School of Medicine community?"

Discuss of your all of them (family, work, academics) or just pick one and go in depth?
 
ThinkDoc said:
How did you guys approach the "How will your family, community, academic, work or other life experiences enhance the UC Davis School of Medicine community?"

Discuss of your all of them (family, work, academics) or just pick one and go in depth?
Click to expand...

secondary received early this morning, man its definitely a long one that requires significant effort =/
 
1. Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee. 1500c
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What if we don't have any red flags? This sounds like a deal breaker essay.
 
wait im confused does davis only send secondaries to those people who have been verified by amcas?
 
For the question where they ask us to discuss anything on the app that we thing adcoms might be concerned with, do you think I should write about my first MCAT attempt (which was an abysmal 22). I brought my score up on my second attempt but I could address this poor performance and obviously not give excuses but say what I learned from it. Any thoughts on if I should do this?
 
rosaceae said:
For the question where they ask us to discuss anything on the app that we thing adcoms might be concerned with, do you think I should write about my first MCAT attempt (which was an abysmal 22). I brought my score up on my second attempt but I could address this poor performance and obviously not give excuses but say what I learned from it. Any thoughts on if I should do this?
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I would if I were you. That first MCAT is pretty low. If you have redeemed yourself with a good MCAT then you should be fine but I think they will be wondering why you scored so low in the first place.
 
You know how they ask what have u been doing since submitting? Do you think it would be ok to answer it in the form of a list? Also for those other questions specific to programs I know for some I am not applicable to apply, but I didn't even really know about those programs. Man gonna have to alot of reading on these things to decide if they fit me or not. I am confused about the rural program one, I would be interested in such a program but I don't think any of my experiences will count toward serving the undeserved, #tough secondary.
 
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also interested if it would be ok to pick just one? im thinking of going into depth regarding a specific life experience. Is this question really asking us how we are unique and what we can bring to the table?

ThinkDoc said:
How did you guys approach the "How will your family, community, academic, work or other life experiences enhance the UC Davis School of Medicine community?"

Discuss of your all of them (family, work, academics) or just pick one and go in depth?
Click to expand...
 
I got the secondary invitation email before the "Your application is under review" email from UCD. They're clearly screening really hard 😛
 
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I know question has been asked but if we have nothing to discuss for the first question do we simply leave it blank?
 
MCAT scores came in yesterday, received my secondary today!! Now to tackle this beast...

3.8 GPA, 31 MCAT, CA resident
 
Where they ask "What have you been doing since submitting your AMCAS application?" Did you guys just include any new experiences since you submitted or all of the things you are doing currently?
 
just making sure if Im doing these prerequsites right but do I just pick any class that satisfies the requirement? My grades are not strong in the beginning of college and I dont want them to make a decision on that...
 
i asked this question but didn't get an answer for question number 4 is it ok to answer it in the form of a list? anyone reapplying here have advice on how to answer that question.
 
Passed screen ... 37/3.74.
I'm so tempted to copy and paste my most meaningful experiences from AMCAS, but is this a big no-no?
 
Yeah you shouldn't do it. They will have your primary and your secondary when they review your application and they wouldn't want to see such a big repeat in what you wrote. I think you can talk about the same experiences but write about it in a slightly different way
 
So, I'm slightly confused about the credit hour conversions for course requirements. I'm at a semester school, so when they ask for units earned, should we convert from semester to quarter units? So instead of listing 3 units, I would list 4? Also, are people only listing the minimum requirements, or listing all biology/chem etc... courses completed? Thanks!
 
still waiting on this secondary,,,🙁
 
I'm working on these essays today 🙂

I haven't received the secondary yet (AMCAS isn't verified), but I'm hoping to receive and submit within a week or so. :luck:
 
planning on working on these tom. I knockec number 2 which in my opinion is the most difficult one. For number 4 do you think a list format would be ok? Also is the character limit with spaces?
 
medschoolmyname said:
planning on working on these tom. I knockec number 2 which in my opinion is the most difficult one. For number 4 do you think a list format would be ok? Also is the character limit with spaces?
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Yeah I think a list, paragraph, or bullet point format would all be fine...

I don't have the secondary yet but I believe the limits are all 1500 characters
 
Thanks bro I hope u do get a secondary, I haven't gotten one yet either. Since we both have around the same stats hope it work out for the both of us.🙂. When did u submit?

Entadus said:
Yeah I think a list, paragraph, or bullet point format would all be fine...

I don't have the secondary yet but I believe the limits are all 1500 characters
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Trying to decide if a secondary is even worth doing for this school...can anyone shed any light on my chances?

From California, 3.38 gpa, 34 MCAT, good ECs
 
medschoolmyname said:
planning on working on these tom. I knockec number 2 which in my opinion is the most difficult one. For number 4 do you think a list format would be ok? Also is the character limit with spaces?
Click to expand...

yes, space does count as a character.

I got through about half the questions so far! Good luck to everyone else!:luck: It definitely is a LONG one!!!
 
mttamgirl said:
So, I'm slightly confused about the credit hour conversions for course requirements. I'm at a semester school, so when they ask for units earned, should we convert from semester to quarter units? So instead of listing 3 units, I would list 4? Also, are people only listing the minimum requirements, or listing all biology/chem etc... courses completed? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sorry to repost this, but does anyone have any insight?
 
mttamgirl said:
Sorry to repost this, but does anyone have any insight?
Click to expand...

You don't need to convert anything just list the classes as matched on the transcript. Even though that conversion guide is there, they don't say anything about converting units when entering coursework.

Also, I listed the minimum requirements. I feel as if Davis was curious of all my upper division science coursework I took, they could simply refer to my AMCAS application.
 
Hey all,

I submitted my secondary about a week ago, and the letters of recommendation status is still marked as unreceived. Does anyone else have this problem?

(I submitted 5 individual letters through the AMCAS Letter Service, they were verified on AMCAS long before I submitted any secondaries).

Thanks!
 
Corvid said:
Hey all,

I submitted my secondary about a week ago, and the letters of recommendation status is still marked as unreceived. Does anyone else have this problem?

(I submitted 5 individual letters through the AMCAS Letter Service, they were verified on AMCAS long before I submitted any secondaries).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

same issue with me
 
When I applied last year, I ran into an issue when my letters of rec status didn't change several weeks after all of my other schools had received my letters and my secondary was already submitted. I ended up having to send an email to them through the online portal and the admissions people were really nice about getting that resolved. I got an II shortly after that 🙂.

My recommendation is to follow up with them if you believe they have had a reasonable amount of time to receive and process your letters (I would personally say two weeks after submitting secondary, but that's just me). I think this would be one of busier times of the year for them.
 
This is a long secondary 🙁

regarding " Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee."

What are we supposed to discuss if we have no criminal record / red flag type of elements in our application?

what qualifies as "concerning" lol. I really dont know what to discuss here.
leave blank?
 
Spikedsoymilk said:
When I applied last year, I ran into an issue when my letters of rec status didn't change several weeks after all of my other schools had received my letters and my secondary was already submitted. I ended up having to send an email to them through the online portal and the admissions people were really nice about getting that resolved. I got an II shortly after that 🙂.

My recommendation is to follow up with them if you believe they have had a reasonable amount of time to receive and process your letters (I would personally say two weeks after submitting secondary, but that's just me). I think this would be one of busier times of the year for them.
Click to expand...

I read on the FAQ that if you submitted individual letters, you should send the a message on their message system to give them the names of each letter writer. I did that around Friday last week. So hopefully they're just busy and will update the letter status in a reasonable amount of time.
 
1cor1311 said:
This is a long secondary 🙁

regarding " Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee."

What are we supposed to discuss if we have no criminal record / red flag type of elements in our application?

what qualifies as "concerning" lol. I really dont know what to discuss here.
leave blank?
Click to expand...

Fail any courses? DUI's? No clinical experience? 14 Withdraws? Haven't finished your pre-reqs? Took the MCAT 3 times? You're 72 years old?

You don't have to write anything if you don't want to.
 
Entadus said:
Fail any courses? DUI's? No clinical experience? 14 Withdraws? Haven't finished your pre-reqs? Took the MCAT 3 times? You're 72 years old?

You don't have to write anything if you don't want to.
Click to expand...

Ya nothing you described applies to me lol. Took the MCAT once only,
Took a gap year for clinical exposure which is now pretty solid... lol

in response to essays # 5,6,7,8,9, is anyone planning on addressing any of these?
 
1cor1311 said:
Ya nothing you described applies to me lol. Took the MCAT once only,
Took a gap year for clinical exposure which is now pretty solid... lol

in response to essays # 5,6,7,8,9, is anyone planning on addressing any of these?
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I don't think I'll be answering those questions. There are plenty of seats for normal MD-only applicants, right? I'm not particularly interested in rural medicine and the San Joaquin valley...
 
I am not a CA resident (used to live here until junior high, but not eligible for residency). Does UC Davis have any preference for CA residents?
Also, my parent used to work at UC Davis medical center 10 years ago (not anymore). Would this be worth mentioning in the application?
 
sugarmouse said:
I am not a CA resident (used to live here until junior high, but not eligible for residency). Does UC Davis have any preference for CA residents?
Also, my parent used to work at UC Davis medical center 10 years ago (not anymore). Would this be worth mentioning in the application?
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Here's what they posted on their FAQ page:

Does UC Davis School of Medicine admit out-of-state and international students?

All applications will be considered for admission. As a State assisted public institution preference for admission is given to residents from the State of California (U.S. citizens and persons having permanent resident status).
 
My first CA secondary! 😀😀

Essay #1 is giving me trouble, however.
 
Secondary received!! :zip:

EDIT: Verified 7/8, CA resident, Re-applicant
 
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EDIT: Wrong school, sorry! I'm losing my miiiinnndddd.
 
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How is UCD with URMs? Anyone know? I really want to go here. It's my #1, but MCAT is a little low - 29.
 
Corvid said:
I read on the FAQ that if you submitted individual letters, you should send the a message on their message system to give them the names of each letter writer. I did that around Friday last week. So hopefully they're just busy and will update the letter status in a reasonable amount of time.
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with individual letters being marked "not received." I completeed the secondary on July 3rd. I just sent a message through their message system as well. Hopefully the problem will be resolved. I will probably give them a call next week if nothing occurs.
 
Just to clarify, do we get 750 characters to describe all three activities or for each activity?

thanks!
 
Also, called admissions today. They are having I.T. problems getting the letter of recs. I was told to go ahead and submit secondary without them which i am doing now.
 
Valyria said:
How is UCD with URMs? Anyone know? I really want to go here. It's my #1, but MCAT is a little low - 29.
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Great from what I hear. My friend who was URM had a 28 on her MCAT got into UCD and just got matched in a neurosurgery residency. Good luck!! You got it ; )
 
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hart024 said:
Great from what I hear. My friend who was URM had a 28 on her MCAT got into UCD and just got matched in a neurosurgery residence. Good luck!! You got it ; )
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Thanks so much!! That gives me hope!! 🙂
 
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