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

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Oh my god, I just got the letter! ACCEPTED!!!

David Geffen Medical Scholarship!!!!!

I am beyond words right now. This is literally the most amazing opportunity that I have ever had... So many people have helped and supported me along the way.

I have been shaking and crying for the past two hours... Calling friends and family in between sobs of joy.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would even be considered for this scholarship.

-GPA: 3.67
-MCAT: 27 (2012), 33 (2013)
-Disadvantaged Non-Traditional Applicant
-Strong research, multiple publications, hospice volunteer, genuine and unmistakable passion for science and medicine
-Interested in translational medicine

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA: here I come, I am all yours! Holy cow I am ecstatic. What a journey this has been for me!
 
Oh my god, I just got the letter! ACCEPTED!!!

David Geffen Medical Scholarship!!!!!

I am beyond words right now. This is literally the most amazing opportunity that I have ever had... So many people have helped and supported me along the way.

I have been shaking and crying for the past two hours... Calling friends and family in between sobs of joy.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would even be considered for this scholarship.

-GPA: 3.67
-MCAT: 27 (2012), 33 (2013)
-Disadvantaged Non-Traditional Applicant
-Strong research, multiple publications, hospice volunteer, genuine and unmistakable passion for science and medicine
-Interested in translational medicine

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA: here I come, I am all yours! Holy cow I am ecstatic. What a journey this has been for me!

Congratulations!
 
Oh my god, I just got the letter! ACCEPTED!!!

David Geffen Medical Scholarship!!!!!

I am beyond words right now. This is literally the most amazing opportunity that I have ever had... So many people have helped and supported me along the way.

I have been shaking and crying for the past two hours... Calling friends and family in between sobs of joy.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would even be considered for this scholarship.

-GPA: 3.67
-MCAT: 27 (2012), 33 (2013)
-Disadvantaged Non-Traditional Applicant
-Strong research, multiple publications, hospice volunteer, genuine and unmistakable passion for science and medicine
-Interested in translational medicine

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA: here I come, I am all yours! Holy cow I am ecstatic. What a journey this has been for me!

Congratulations!
Just to clarify, they already told you that you got a full ride scholarship?!?
 
Yes, not online, but it is in the letter I got in the mail!
Nice! Where do you live? Is it near LA? Because I didn't get my letter yet but I'm waaay east of LA. That's AWESOME that they tell applicants right away though!
 
And now, just when I thought my heart could finally rest after I learned I got into UCLA, its starts flipping out again in anticipation for this letter.
Gettin dat scholarship would be da SHIIEET! Still though, I'm just happy that so many of us got in already. Hope there's tons more good news from UCLA for SDNers in the coming weeks!!
 
Yes, not online, but it is in the letter I got in the mail!
Does it say in your letter how to accept their acceptance? Because I don't see how to do it online.Also, did your status check interface changed?
Thank you
 
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Oh my god, I just got the letter! ACCEPTED!!!

David Geffen Medical Scholarship!!!!!

I am beyond words right now. This is literally the most amazing opportunity that I have ever had... So many people have helped and supported me along the way.

I have been shaking and crying for the past two hours... Calling friends and family in between sobs of joy.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would even be considered for this scholarship.

-GPA: 3.67
-MCAT: 27 (2012), 33 (2013)
-Disadvantaged Non-Traditional Applicant
-Strong research, multiple publications, hospice volunteer, genuine and unmistakable passion for science and medicine
-Interested in translational medicine

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA: here I come, I am all yours! Holy cow I am ecstatic. What a journey this has been for me!

Congrats! That's amazing!! Just a quick observation... I'm probably being overly neurotic here, but I couldn't help but notice from our earlier discussions in this thread that your letter was sent a day before everyone else (2/12 instead of 2/13). Wonder if that's an indication? Haha sorry if I'm being a neurotic premed.
 
Hi all, I totally understand the neuroticism! I have no idea about whether the letter date has affected anything at all, I am as much in shock about this as any of you will be if/when you receive the same honor... just keep hopes high and wait for your letter. What I can tell you is that my online info has not changed except that is says letter sent 2/12/14. Although, the postmark on the letter is 12/14/13.... so I am sure they had a huge group to send that they went through slowly. I am, in fact, near UCLA, I live in Los Angeles! So, please be patient and wait for your letter! My website literally says nothing, so if you see simply that a letter has been sent, think positive thoughts and just wait! Personally, I was checking my mail every 30 minutes!!!!

Please feel free to ask any questions as I understand any concerns or "neuroticisms" ... remember, I was in your shoes less than 24 hours ago. For best results, PM me so that I get a message to my email and can respond ASAP! I will try to answer any questions ASAP!

Good luck to all!
 
Hi all, I totally understand the neuroticism! I have no idea about whether the letter date has affected anything at all, I am as much in shock about this as any of you will be if/when you receive the same honor... just keep hopes high and wait for your letter. What I can tell you is that my online info has not changed except that is says letter sent 2/12/14. Although, the postmark on the letter is 12/14/13.... so I am sure they had a huge group to send that they went through slowly. I am, in fact, near UCLA, I live in Los Angeles! So, please be patient and wait for your letter! My website literally says nothing, so if you see simply that a letter has been sent, think positive thoughts and just wait! Personally, I was checking my mail every 30 minutes!!!!

Please feel free to ask any questions as I understand any concerns or "neuroticisms" ... remember, I was in your shoes less than 24 hours ago. For best results, PM me so that I get a message to my email and can respond ASAP! I will try to answer any questions ASAP!

Good luck to all!


Congrats!! May I ask when you interviewed?
 
Hi all, I totally understand the neuroticism! I have no idea about whether the letter date has affected anything at all, I am as much in shock about this as any of you will be if/when you receive the same honor... just keep hopes high and wait for your letter. What I can tell you is that my online info has not changed except that is says letter sent 2/12/14. Although, the postmark on the letter is 12/14/13.... so I am sure they had a huge group to send that they went through slowly. I am, in fact, near UCLA, I live in Los Angeles! So, please be patient and wait for your letter! My website literally says nothing, so if you see simply that a letter has been sent, think positive thoughts and just wait! Personally, I was checking my mail every 30 minutes!!!!

Please feel free to ask any questions as I understand any concerns or "neuroticisms" ... remember, I was in your shoes less than 24 hours ago. For best results, PM me so that I get a message to my email and can respond ASAP! I will try to answer any questions ASAP!

Good luck to all!

Congrats on the scholarship!!!

Does anyone know much about who UCLA is targeting with the Geffen Scholarships in general? Which aspects of the application do they focus on when awarding merit aid?
 
Congrats on the scholarship!!!

Does anyone know much about who UCLA is targeting with the Geffen Scholarships in general? Which aspects of the application do they focus on when awarding merit aid?

From what I understand, Geffen has an executive committee that selects scholarship recipients. I believe that they review the applications holistically and select the ones that they believe to be the "brightest and most talented" (not the most specific criteria, but you can read a bit more about it here: http://dgsom.healthsciences.ucla.edu/dgsom/pages/geffenscholarship#question9DivShow). I'd imagine that they consider everything: academic credentials (mcat, GPA), extracurriculars, research exp, interview scores, letters of rec, etc.
 
So will acceptances be trickling out from here on out?
 
Just got the letter notifying me of my acceptance and a David Geffen Medical Scholarship! This makes things very interesting...
Indeed & Congrats!- That will be hard choosing between UCSF, Wash U., Vandy, Northwestern, & Dartmouth unless the UCLA scholarship is a full free ride. Mind providing your stats?
 
Indeed & Congrats!- That will be hard choosing between UCSF, Wash U., Vandy, Northwestern, & Dartmouth unless the UCLA scholarship is a full free ride. Mind providing your stats?

I believe the DG Scholarships are full ride (meaning tuition + living costs). They are easily the best scholarship in the country from what I've heard of. A few other schools do full tuition, but I don't know of any that do a full ride.
 
Got the official acceptance letter today and with a $10,000 for tuition assistance.It also says that they are still reviewing all files for their merit-based scholarship!
Question: to hold my place in class I have to send them a letter of acceptance. What is the format of that letter? Is it like letter of interest?Thank you for your help
 
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I'm away from home and spending a lot of time wondering what's in that acceptance letter from Geffen. I won't find out until after I return!
 
Sorry if this has been answered, but does anyone know when I could expect the afternoon session of the interview day to end? I saw that someone posted the answer for the morning session, but mine will be starting at 11:45 am.

Thanks!
 
Sorry if this has been answered, but does anyone know when I could expect the afternoon session of the interview day to end? I saw that someone posted the answer for the morning session, but mine will be starting at 11:45 am.

Thanks!
~4:45pm is when mine ended
 
I believe the DG Scholarships are full ride (meaning tuition + living costs). They are easily the best scholarship in the country from what I've heard of. A few other schools do full tuition, but I don't know of any that do a full ride.

I agree.
 
Got the official acceptance letter today and with a $10,000 for tuition assistance.It also says that they are still reviewing all files for their merit-based scholarship!
Question: to hold my place in class I have to send them a letter of acceptance. What is the format of that letter? Is it like letter of interest?Thank you for your help

Congrats on the acceptance. Basically, if I remember correctly from last year, is you just send then an email saying thank you for the acceptance but that you are still considering other schools. Since it's before May 15th you can kind of just hold onto without anything formally sent.
 
Congrats on the acceptance. Basically, if I remember correctly from last year, is you just send then an email saying thank you for the acceptance but that you are still considering other schools. Since it's before May 15th you can kind of just hold onto without anything formally sent.
Thank you!
 
Question for those sitting on the adcomm.... Is Geffen planning on handing out scholarships with admissions offers this yr? Not that I think I have a shot, haha. Just curious 🙂
Just saw this-- the adcom is trying to get scholarship offers to go out with admissions decisions this year, at least for the Geffen Scholarships.

Congrats to everyone who was accepted, especially to those who received the Geffen Scholarships! Don't really want to give away my identity on here but if anyone has any questions about the Geffen scholarships or UCLA in general, please feel free to PM me since I don't check this thread that often.
 
Got the official acceptance letter today and with a $10,000 for tuition assistance.It also says that they are still reviewing all files for their merit-based scholarship!
Question: to hold my place in class I have to send them a letter of acceptance. What is the format of that letter? Is it like letter of interest?Thank you for your help

Just a simple letter saying "please hold my spot in the class of 2018" was fine last year. I see Juan sent his via email, I sent mine via snail mail so it looks like it doesn't matter. Congrats 🙂
 
Got the official letter today. Apparently I did not receive the Geffen scholarship which, to be honest, was a bit of a downer. But I did get a 10k scholarship! (I'm not sure if its per year or just one time. If the latter, then that wont help a whole lot for my OOS tuition in the long run). I'm hoping that the mention of further review for merit scholarships blesses me with a bit more assistance. I really don't wanna have to turn down this incredible offer because of money...
 
Still haven't heard anything, interviewed mid November :/ I wonder if people accepted later in the cycle have as much of a chance at getting the Geffen scholarship as those have already been accepted.....probably not
 
I sent in an last-ditch update letter a few days ago, got the automatic confirmation, and then today I got an actual reply that just said "Thank You!"

Thanks for the insight. The bold part of your answer is what I'm trying to assess; my thoughts are in line with your reasoning, but figured I'd field it here just in case. I have it all written up and ready to submit, so I'll defer to your wisdom. Again thanks for the help.

Just as a last ditch effort, does anyone know which email I should send a pre-interview update letter to? I've heard they don't always reply to [email protected]

Anyone? @Juan Solo ?
 
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Just as a last ditch effort, does anyone know which email I should send a pre-interview update letter to? I've heard they don't always reply to [email protected]

Anyone? @Juan Solo ?

That is the email that I used last year. I don't want to say that they can be selective about responding to their emails but if they see it's from an accepted student vs. an inquiring applicant then I would expect them to definitely respond if they don't then maybe send in something via snail mail.
 
That is the email that I used last year. I don't want to say that they can be selective about responding to their emails but if they see it's from an accepted student vs. an inquiring applicant then I would expect them to definitely respond if they don't then maybe send in something via snail mail.
[email protected]

I've sent all my updates to this address and have always gotten a response, even if it took a little bit of time (up to a week)

Thanks!
 
Hmm should we expect acceptances trickling out every week or so? It feels like a lot of people was accepted on SDN on the first batch.
 
Congrats to everyone accepted! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Also, there's a rule that the people who got the full ride scholarship are required to buy everybody in the third year class breakfast burritos from Jose Bernstein's every Wednesday. Check the school website, I'm pretty sure it's on there.
 
For those of you still hanging on for interview invites, I was offered an invite a few days ago after being complete way back in August. Perhaps they're re-reviewing early files for the last few interview dates.

If you don't mind me asking, when were the interview dates available?
 
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