2013-2014 University of California - Los Angeles (Geffen) Application Thread

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Mmhmm said:
Hey I just got an email today saying this

"We have been notified by the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) that you have designated the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as one of your choice schools.

Our Admissions Committee will be conducting the preliminary review of all our applicants through the month of January. Any additional information such as supplemental information, transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc. will be requested after initial review. David Geffen School of Medicine will only accept letters of recommendation via AMCAS."

Does that mean theres no secondary?!?!??
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That means wait and you will hear from them if you are to receive a secondary and such.
 
Mmhmm said:
Thanks Juan Solo

Dang...well it was hopefull thinking!
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No worries. I don't think secondaries are being sent out yet. You gotta be patient with David Geffen but it's worth it.
 
Got a "primary received" email today, hopefully this means secondaries will be handed out soon?
 
We are pleased to inform you that your application to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has been selected for further review.

I will update with the essays as soon as I figure out how to find them on the website...
 
Just received the secondary invite... where the hell is the actual secondary?
 
psswrd said:
I can't find the secondary either!!! Anyone figure it out?
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As far as I can tell, you are supposed to click on the "Applicant Status" page and it should show up there. I'm guessing maybe they haven't activated it yet?
 
Commence mass emailing assault of the inept admissions office.
 
Also got a secondary invite. Was about to post about how to actually open it, but it seems like others have beaten me to it :laugh:
 
Hmm.

My friend who has very similar stats to me, just got a secondary from UCLA. The thing is, he was verified not even 2 weeks ago. I was verified on 6/10 😵. I wonder if they they review primary applications in order. Did I get tossed for some reason? Or am I worrying over nothing? (Hopefully the latter)

I've received and submitted secondaries for all the UC schools except for UCLA (no II's -- or rejections -- yet *crossing my fingers*).

If it's not too much trouble, could you guys post when you were verified?
 
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psswrd said:
This is what I am guessing. Has anyone called/emailed?
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Haha, I hope someone else has. I don't want to call because I'm sure everyone else is too. They also said they don't even review applications until October, so I'm not in a super rush.
 
Hey Everybody,

I just received an e-mail from UCLA indicating that I have "been selected for further review" and that I should proceed with my application by filling out the "Supplemental Information Form."

I can't seem to find this form anywhere! I clicked on the "Status" tab of the "Prospective Student" page and logged in, but it's not there.

Any idea where I can find the supplemental app?

Thanks!

-Bill R.

Edit: Nevermind! Looks like everyone else is having this problem as well. Whoever is the first to figure it out - please keep the rest of us posted! Thanks!
 
Link just showed up on the status page for me. Good luck all!
 
Just got it! Which batch are we? I kinda lost hope for a while haha
 
Dang, more questions than I was hoping for haha. At least they're all only 800 characters though... good luck, everybody!
 
How important is it to be able to speak Spanish?
 
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WorfoSAUR said:
How important is it to be able to speak Spanish?
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I imagine they view the skill favorably; there are tons of Spanish speakers in Los Angeles. I highly doubt you would be disqualified for NOT speaking Spanish, but there's no doubt that it helps your application (I imagine it as a tie-breaker for similar applicants). At the very least, I'd try to convey that you're willing to learn and/or improve your Spanish; being able to speak the language, even if your skills are limited, is a huge help in that region.

Obviously, this is mainly just speculation and what I've gathered from hearsay, advisors, etc. I'd be curious to hear what people from adcoms have to say about the situation.
 
Royal2000H said:
Prompt?
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800 characters for each:

  1. Describe involvement in the ONE most important non-academic activity that has been important in your life?
  2. What has been the ONE most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated?
  3. What has been the ONE most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful?
  4. What is the ONE most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important?
  5. What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor.
  6. Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth.
  7. List major paid work experience during (or since) college. Give dates, description, approximate hours worked (list the most recent first).
  8. If there is any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application, then check the box labeled 'Hardship' and briefly explain why you are indicating a hardship. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors.
  9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal?

There's also one asking you to explain what you've done if you've taken more than 1 year off from school 😀
 
milkandcereal said:
I imagine they view the skill favorably; there are tons of Spanish speakers in Los Angeles. I highly doubt you would be disqualified for NOT speaking Spanish, but there's no doubt that it helps your application (I imagine it as a tie-breaker for similar applicants). At the very least, I'd try to convey that you're willing to learn and/or improve your Spanish; being able to speak the language, even if your skills are limited, is a huge help in that region.

Obviously, this is mainly just speculation and what I've gathered from hearsay, advisors, etc. I'd be curious to hear what people from adcoms have to say about the situation.
Click to expand...

👍 Beat me to the response. In general, the more languages you know enough to communicate in, the more favorable it looks on your part. But yes, Spanish fluency, especially in California is a huge plus compared to say...Wisconsin. 😛
 
I also got the secondary this afternoon!! 😍
 
Jennyfishy said:
👍 Beat me to the response. In general, the more languages you know enough to communicate in, the more favorable it looks on your part. But yes, Spanish fluency, especially in California is a huge plus compared to say...Wisconsin. 😛
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AWWWW YEAHHHHH. Self taught in Spanish, Russian, and Norwegian. Learning conversational Arabic this summer.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
How bad is it if you cannot answer some of these questions? For example if you lack any leadership, entrepreneurial, or creative experience would it be better to leave it blank than try to spin one of your scientific research projects into fitting into this experience?

From the secondary application for UCLA they say "Please only provide information you believe is important. It is not necessary or required to supply information in all sections.". But I am a bit worried about leaving anything blank. Because I do not want them to say "Oh you didnt have leadership" and such to rule me out despite my accomplishments elsewhere.
 
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Jennyfishy said:
800 characters for each:

  1. Describe involvement in the ONE most important non-academic activity that has been important in your life?
  2. What has been the ONE most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated?
  3. What has been the ONE most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful?
  4. What is the ONE most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important?
  5. What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor.
  6. Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth.
  7. List major paid work experience during (or since) college. Give dates, description, approximate hours worked (list the most recent first).
  8. If there is any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application, then check the box labeled 'Hardship' and briefly explain why you are indicating a hardship. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors.
  9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal?

There's also one asking you to explain what you've done if you've taken more than 1 year off from school 😀
Click to expand...

Hmm. It would appear that UC Riverside and UCLA have a very, very similar secondary. UCLA's character limits are lower, however.
 
Received this secondary.

Good to see that UCR took after its mother ^_^
 
Received secondary this afternoon too! My first choice, so this is exciting 😍

From their website (last year's numbers):
7,027 applicants
~3,000 secondaries
~700 interviews

Anyone know the number of acceptances/matriculants?
 
YankeeBean said:
AWWWW YEAHHHHH. Self taught in Spanish, Russian, and Norwegian. Learning conversational Arabic this summer.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Nice! What approaches/methods did you use to self-teach?

I'm thinking of self-teaching (while I look for formal programs) some commonly used languages in the area I live in (want to master my Vietnamese, learn Hmong, possibly Tagalog and Chinese at some point in my life, haha!)

I heard Norwegian is surprisingly easy to learn!
 
Jennyfishy said:
Nice! What approaches/methods did you use to self-teach?

I'm thinking of self-teaching (while I look for formal programs) some commonly used languages in the area I live in (want to master my Vietnamese, learn Hmong, possibly Tagalog and Chinese at some point in my life, haha!)
Click to expand...

I used pimsleur for all 3, but I also used livemocha for Spanish and Norwegian. I also met a lot of Russians in college, which helped with practicing my accents and such, and a surprising number of swedes in NYC.

Jennyfishy said:
I heard Norwegian is surprisingly easy to learn!
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Haha, nooooo it was tough.
 
Is it a "late" application if I submit tomorrow?
 
YankeeBean said:
I used pimsleur for all 3, but I also used livemocha for Spanish and Norwegian. I also met a lot of Russians in college, which helped with practicing my accents and such, and a surprising number of swedes in NYC.



Haha, nooooo it was tough.
Click to expand...


Ooh, I'll look into livemocha for Norwegian. I've never heard of pimsleur though, thanks!

In my study abroad program, I have classes with a few Norwegians, and they insisted that once you learned the fundamentals, the conjugations were more intuitive than Spanish :laugh:

I guess I'll find out in the upcoming weeks 😀
 
Secondary received and submitted! One of my top picks for sure. Also, in case anyone else has the issue I was having, hard returns (ie space between lines) count against your character count but don't show up in the provided counter. Example, the counter said 796 characters, but when I tried to save it told me I was over the limit. Figured out that this was the reason.

Anyway, now comes the long wait, good luck everyone!
 
balambfishie said:
Received secondary this afternoon too! My first choice, so this is exciting 😍

From their website (last year's numbers):
7,027 applicants
~3,000 secondaries
~700 interviews

Anyone know the number of acceptances/matriculants?
Click to expand...

Acceptances, no. Matriculants, 179.
 
Also thanks to that member who posted the prompt for the secondary! Happy writing everyone!
 
How are the rest of you interpreting the first essay prompt, which asks for the ONE most important non-academic activity in which you've been involved?

If it was asking "what activities do you do outside of school," I'd be comfortable coming up with a list, but none of them is a standout single-most important activity. I could also answer with paid research experience, but that's kind of academic.

If any of you are comfortable naming what you talked about for this one (or even just what sorts of activities count as non-academic), I'd appreciate it.
 
Have any of you received the PRIME app? I just got the Drew one.. Do you guys know if they screen?
 
Lexipi said:
Have any of you received the PRIME app? I just got the Drew one.. Do you guys know if they screen?
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Almost positive Drew and Prime screen, as does Geffen and MSTP.
 
GreenMed said:
How are the rest of you interpreting the first essay prompt, which asks for the ONE most important non-academic activity in which you've been involved?

If it was asking "what activities do you do outside of school," I'd be comfortable coming up with a list, but none of them is a standout single-most important activity. I could also answer with paid research experience, but that's kind of academic.

If any of you are comfortable naming what you talked about for this one (or even just what sorts of activities count as non-academic), I'd appreciate it.
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Just answer the question prompt as it is described. Make sure that is non-academic and make sure that it is the most important to you and why.
 
So annoyed that I can't submit until I've completed the disadvantaged information section; it is like a BEAST and I don't even know if my parents have information on their finances this accurate and comprehensive. UGHHHH. #noshotatUCLAbecausewontgetreviewedbeforeeveryonewith4.0and42sinceIwillbesubmittinglate
 
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