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

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Juan Solo said:
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.
Click to expand...

Haha, thanks, Juan Solo. Now that you put it that way, it's completely clear to me what I should write about. 😳



Edit:
One idea: is teaching undergraduates (at a university) non-academic? My teaching/mentoring/tutoring activities have been important to me, but they're rather academic (in that I was teaching at an academic institution).

I think I'm down to teaching or travel, since research and volunteering have separate essay prompts.
 
Last edited:
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal?" Is this a trick question? lol
 
GreenMed said:
Haha, thanks, Juan Solo. Now that you put it that way, it's completely clear to me what I should write about. 😳



Edit:
One idea: is teaching undergraduates (at a university) non-academic? My teaching/mentoring/tutoring activities have been important to me, but they're rather academic (in that I was teaching at an academic institution).

I think I'm down to teaching or travel, since research and volunteering have separate essay prompts.
Click to expand...


I'm really having trouble with that question too. I mean, there are many things that have been meaningful in my life, but picking the "single most" important activity or event is daunting.
 
Juan Solo said:
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.
Click to expand...
would you say tutoring elementary school students is non-academic?
 
Okay, stupid question: If we graduated in May 2012, they do NOT want us to answer the gap year question. Is this correct?
 
"Has there been a gap greater than one year between achieving your baccalaureate degree, and/or consecutive degrees before applying to medical school? (yes or no). If yes, please explain."

This is the question I am referring to.
 
Has anyone received a secondary today or were all secondaries sent yesterday?
 
I turned in my primary on June 10, and I still did not receive it. I have friends who turned it in later than me who received it yesterday...lol
 
GreenMed said:
Haha, thanks, Juan Solo. Now that you put it that way, it's completely clear to me what I should write about. 😳



Edit:
One idea: is teaching undergraduates (at a university) non-academic? My teaching/mentoring/tutoring activities have been important to me, but they're rather academic (in that I was teaching at an academic institution).

I think I'm down to teaching or travel, since research and volunteering have separate essay prompts.
Click to expand...

Teaching/tutor is considered academic.
 
subtlepenguin said:
would you say tutoring elementary school students is non-academic?
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I would say that if you are a student or a teacher in a school or classroom setting then it is 99.9% of the time going to be considered academic.

Good Luck!
 
subtlepenguin said:
wait so research that i don't get credit for is also non-academic?
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Most people consider research to be academic. After all you are either a student in research or a professor in research at a university. Sounds pretty academic I think.
 
ijustwantsun said:
"Has there been a gap greater than one year between achieving your baccalaureate degree, and/or consecutive degrees before applying to medical school? (yes or no). If yes, please explain."

This is the question I am referring to.
Click to expand...

In your case I would say no.
 
guannaberry said:
I turned in my primary on June 10, and I still did not receive it. I have friends who turned it in later than me who received it yesterday...lol
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That doesn't necessarily mean much. It can just be the order in which the applications have been reviewed. I would hang in there for a bit.
 
Juan Solo said:
That doesn't necessarily mean much. It can just be the order in which the applications have been reviewed. I would hang in there for a bit.
Click to expand...

Juan, your a hell of a guy, you really are. But please....use MULTIQ lol
 
Does it matter if you write about things that are already discussed in your primary application and your personal statement? It is asking for the ONE most important....
 
Anyone else get charged the app fee twice(ish) after submitting? I'm showing an $85 charge and an $80 charge.
 
For the honor question, is it asking for specifically honors/awards/scholarships or can it be something you saw as an honor - like getting accepted to a competitive conference or something. I mean, I feel like writing about deans list/research grants/latin honors isn't that interesting...

I'm also having a really hard time with the first question. By non-academic do they mean an EC as was listed on your application? How far back can we go for this...
 
Juan Solo said:
Teaching/tutor is considered academic.
Click to expand...

Alas, I submitted my secondary last evening before receiving this feedback.

I understand that UCLA has thousands of applications to consider, so one well-written essay that does not answer the question prompt may be enough to put me on the "no" pile. I can only hope that the rest of my (non-cookie-cutter) application is intriguing enough that I'm offered an interview despite this error. I'd be happy to talk at more length in an interview setting about the non-academic activities I listed on my primary.

And now, to wait the months away until hearing from the school! May all the rest of you answer the question prompts exactly as desired!
 
LuciusVorenus said:
For the honor question, is it asking for specifically honors/awards/scholarships or can it be something you saw as an honor - like getting accepted to a competitive conference or something. I mean, I feel like writing about deans list/research grants/latin honors isn't that interesting...

I'm also having a really hard time with the first question. By non-academic do they mean an EC as was listed on your application? How far back can we go for this...
Click to expand...

I wrote about being nominated for a highly sought after leadership position at my institution.
 
Just submitted the secondary. Low chance considering they did not accept a single international student according to the recent USNEWS data, but worth a shot.
 
JmsD said:
Does it matter if you write about things that are already discussed in your primary application and your personal statement? It is asking for the ONE most important....
Click to expand...

No it doesn't matter. You can reiterate or elaborate on a topic that you may have previously mentioned in the primary or PS.
 
LuciusVorenus said:
For the honor question, is it asking for specifically honors/awards/scholarships or can it be something you saw as an honor - like getting accepted to a competitive conference or something. I mean, I feel like writing about deans list/research grants/latin honors isn't that interesting...

I'm also having a really hard time with the first question. By non-academic do they mean an EC as was listed on your application? How far back can we go for this...
Click to expand...

I think that you are open to interpret the honor essay as you please. The honor doesn't necessarily have to be academic based.
 
What are research opportunities like at David Geffen, and do they let you take a year to focus on research?
 
WorfoSAUR said:
What are research opportunities like at David Geffen, and do they let you take a year to focus on research?
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Opportunities are endless for David Geffen medical students, not only at UCLA but also abroad and at other academic institutions. Taking a year off is allowed and supported by the school of medicine.
 
Submitted. I'll be ecstatic to even get an interview here!
 
Submitted today (8/8) :luck:

Anybody know if we should expect a "complete" email?
 
Entadus said:
Submitted today (8/8) :luck:

Anybody know if we should expect a "complete" email?
Click to expand...

Hmm. I think you get an email that says your secondary has been received but don't quote me on that.
 
guannaberry said:
I turned in my primary on June 10, and I still did not receive it. I have friends who turned it in later than me who received it yesterday...lol
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My friend and I both turned in our primary on June 10th, and still no secondary from UCLA. We both got secondaries at all the other UCs, too. I also have a friend who was verified almost a month after us receive this secondary.

Strange 😵
 
Corvid said:
My friend and I both turned in our primary on June 10th, and still no secondary from UCLA. We both got secondaries at all the other UCs, too. I also have a friend who was verified almost a month after us receive this secondary.

Strange 😵
Click to expand...

Gah, tell me about it. I was verified by June 14th and I still haven't gotten secondaries from UCLA, UCSF, UCSD, or UCR. I have gotten them and submitted from every other school I applied to. I'm loosing steam! :scared:
 
Last year a lot of people with 9's in verbal did not get secondaries. I think if you have below a 10, they look really carefully at your app+ecs.

Last year I had a 3.74/34 (but 9 in verbal) and did not get a secondary from UCLA even though I got one from all the other UCs
 
wow i had the same stats as you this year....**** LOL. i had a 9 in verbal, i dont htink i got it
 
nabilesmail said:
Last year a lot of people with 9's in verbal did not get secondaries. I think if you have below a 10, they look really carefully at your app+ecs.

Last year I had a 3.74/34 (but 9 in verbal) and did not get a secondary from UCLA even though I got one from all the other UCs
Click to expand...

Getting a 9 on the verbal section is not a cutoff to receive a secondary, interview or an acceptance from David Geffen.
 
does UCLA send out the secondaries in batches? .....if i haven't received a secondary yet, should I just be patient? Or have I just been screened out?
 
The scholarly project essay prompt mentions that we can talk about a field of study. Does this include an additional major? I'm wondering if I should write about my additional major in Psychology, or a research assistant position in a oncology lab (did not develop my own project). Any thoughts?
 
tiredofschool said:
does UCLA send out the secondaries in batches? .....if i haven't received a secondary yet, should I just be patient? Or have I just been screened out?
Click to expand...

Yes, the send them off in batches and the timing is not always correlative to the strength of you application. Be patient. Really patient.
 
mcdog said:
The scholarly project essay prompt mentions that we can talk about a field of study. Does this include an additional major? I'm wondering if I should write about my additional major in Psychology, or a research assistant position in a oncology lab (did not develop my own project). Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would go with which ever matters to you more. If you had to pick one, which would it be?
 
nabilesmail said:
Last year a lot of people with 9's in verbal did not get secondaries. I think if you have below a 10, they look really carefully at your app+ecs.

Last year I had a 3.74/34 (but 9 in verbal) and did not get a secondary from UCLA even though I got one from all the other UCs
Click to expand...

For anyone out there who is concerned about this post as it pertains to them, I would like to say that I got a 9 in verbal and got the secondary on the first day.

UCLA is well known for attracting a diverse student body from all kinds of personal, academic, and cultural backgrounds. A 9 in verbal shouldn't keep you out. Plus, UCLAs verbal average of matriculated students is one of the lowest for all UCs... So have hope! 🙂

Best,
C
 
nabilesmail said:
Last year a lot of people with 9's in verbal did not get secondaries. I think if you have below a 10, they look really carefully at your app+ecs.

Last year I had a 3.74/34 (but 9 in verbal) and did not get a secondary from UCLA even though I got one from all the other UCs
Click to expand...


Yikes. My friend has a 9 in verbal (35 overall) and I had a 9 in physical sciences (31 overall --my MCAT isn't very strong) this could explain things, possibly.


Juan Solo said:
Getting a 9 on the verbal section is not a cutoff to receive a secondary, interview or an acceptance from David Geffen.
Click to expand...

Really? This makes me feel better, then.

catzzz88 said:
For anyone out there who is concerned about this post as it pertains to them, I would like to say that I got a 9 in verbal and got the secondary on the first day.

UCLA is well known for attracting a diverse student body from all kinds of personal, academic, and cultural backgrounds. A 9 in verbal shouldn't keep you out. Plus, UCLAs verbal average of matriculated students is one of the lowest for all UCs... So have hope! 🙂

Best,
C
Click to expand...

This makes me feel better, too.
 
By no means is it a cutoff!!!! I'm just saying, last year, a few people with good MCATs/good gpas didnt get the secondary and we saw that we all had 9s in verbal, but certainly many people still got the sec!
 
nabilesmail said:
By no means is it a cutoff!!!! I'm just saying, last year, a few people with good MCATs/good gpas didnt get the secondary and we saw that we all had 9s in verbal, but certainly many people still got the sec!
Click to expand...

Proof: I have an 8 in VR and I received a secondary the other day. Myth dispelled. Lets cool it with the neuroticism people.
 
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