2014-2015 University of California - Davis Application Thread

[SilentSoldier]

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Good to know thanks. I just hope holistic review isn't a euphemism for "toss out those with low mcats". 😛

I can assure you that is not the case 😉

 

[mrh125]

I can assure you that is not the case 😉

awesome, Davis is one my dream med schools. I went there as an undergrad, loved it, and am really missing it now that I graduated. Btw we have very similar mcats 😛.

 

[mrh125]

btw I have a questions for anyone who goes to UC davis med school: could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at UC Davis medical school and would recommend to anyone? What opportunities at UC Davis really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?
How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research? What are some research opportunities you have explored?
Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at UC Davis and how that affected your education?

 

[uvrsol]

My amcas was verified a week ago...I'm waiting for mcat score released on july 8th..I'm almost done with UC davis secondary Qs.

I'm planing on adding this school on amcas after mcat releases. My question: when would the school send me secondary (hopefully I pass the screen)? How long does it take? any ideas? thx!!

 

[dr.0ne]

when putting in classes, if i took classes at a quarter system, do i put in 4 units or 2.7??

 

[dr.0ne]

Also, how do we list the AP credit grade? it's not allowing me to put in the AP exam score

 

[mrh125]

when putting in classes, if i took classes at a quarter system, do i put in 4 units or 2.7??

I'd just put it in terms of the quarter system units like 5 unit chem, 5 unit bio quarter etc . The AMCAS application has unit conversions if they need to know. I'm sure either way will be fine though 🙂.

 

[SpearmintGum]

Would it be appropriate to discuss being a re-applicant for the first prompt?

 

[ABC2014]

Can a bio lab course count towards the one-year bio requirement?

 

[Tom Ford]

Ah, SliderK beat me to it.

For the Activities section, do you upload the "evidence of accomplishment" as a file? Or is it just a text box? I was going to get a letter of rec for one of the volunteer activities I do that doesn't have pubs/awards/etc, but wouldn't it kind of kill confidentiality if I uploaded it myself?

 

[mrh125]

For the Activities section, do you upload the "evidence of accomplishment" as a file? Or is it just a text box? I was going to get a letter of rec for one of the volunteer activities I do that doesn't have pubs/awards/etc, but wouldn't it kind of kill confidentiality if I uploaded it myself?

text box.

 

[uvrsol]

wait i've a question: we've to reenter the activities and course work again with secondary? if yes, how redundant!!

 

[CCrown]

I just submitted my Secondary (and payed the $90 fee online) but the status says the fee hasn't been payed yet. Anyone else experience this?

 

[mrh125]

I just submitted my Secondary (and payed the $90 fee online) but the status says the fee hasn't been payed yet. Anyone else experience this?

Nope, I'd give a little bit of time to process but still email tech support. If you were given a receipt in your email definitely send that to tech support/admissions. 🙂

 

[mrh125]

wait i've a question: we've to reenter the activities and course work again with secondary? if yes, how redundant!!

yes, a lot of secondaries are that way. =/ I've gotten so used to do it i've basically memorized most of my courses which is going to be perfect. Just about how useful that will be if you have a meeting where you're expected to recite all your coursework for memory...assuming it ever happens 😛.

 

[uvrsol]

yes, a lot of secondaries are that way. =/ I've gotten so used to do it i've basically memorized most of my courses which is going to be perfect. Just about how useful that will be if you have a meeting where you're expected to recite all your coursework for memory...assuming it ever happens 😛.

for the activities, we have to copy paste from amcas?

 

[mrh125]

for the activities, we have to copy paste from amcas?

yea, you choose your three most influential experiences, so it's basically the same as "most meaningful work" from amcas. 3 experiences, why they're meaningful, mission accomplished.

 

[uvrsol]

for the activities, we have to copy paste from amcas?

.

 

[uvrsol]

yea, you choose your three most influential experiences, so it's basically the same as "most meaningful work" from amcas. 3 experiences, why they're meaningful, mission accomplished.

entering the whole coursework onto amcas was one of the most annoying things ever!! it's so stupid why we have to redo it!! ah!

 

[edyj]

I just submitted my Secondary (and payed the $90 fee online) but the status says the fee hasn't been payed yet. Anyone else experience this?

Same here. The site took about 2 hours to update that I had paid the fee. Might just need to wait a bit longer on it.

 

[Abstractions]

For the coursework section, are you guys listing every course you took that fulfills those requirements? Or just 3 quarters/2 semesters of each (e.g. I have like ~20 biology classes, but I think they just want the first 3 I took that fill the pre-req).

 

[mrh125]

For the coursework section, are you guys listing every course you took that fulfills those requirements? Or just 3 quarters/2 semesters of each (e.g. I have like ~20 biology classes, but I think they just want the first 3 I took that fill the pre-req).

just do the first 3, be easy on yourself.

 

[Abstractions]

just do the first 3, be easy on yourself.

What I thought, thanks.

 

[doctorgator]

I received this prompt this morning at PST midnight. IS student PS7/10BS/11V 28, does anyone thing the cutoff is at 30 or is it that I listed a second MCAT in August or the individual sections need to be above a threshold?:

The Admissions Committee will review your application after the scores from the August/September MCAT are released. At that time we will notify you by e-mail whether you are invited to submit secondary materials. Requests for secondary materials will be made through January. Applications will be reviewed in the order that the scores are received and processed through AMCAS. Thank you for your continued interest in our medical school.

 

[TheBigB]

Nevermind 🙂

Saw that it said to list the current date and mention in description

 

[Corvid]

I am pretty pleased that this year's secondary has 2 less essays to write.

How do you guys feel about character limit? I actually hate the idea of trying to fill in the characters. Especially for the second essay "what have you been doing since submitting your AMCAS application". I can literally answer this in one or two sentences. They aren't asking what I will be doing (I might plan to travel), just what I'm doing right now. I don't want to fluff it or add any useless info for the sake of characters. Will this be fine?

 

[Osteoth]

So for our what have we been doing essay, do we need to put the references in the box?

 

[Corvid]

So for our what have we been doing essay, do we need to put the references in the box?

I did

 

[manofmen]

hey guys i'm a reapplicant here. for the essay about what you've been doing since submitting, could you take the time to explain what you did last year and what you plan to do this additional year. i know the question asks since submitting primary. does anyone have experience with this?

 

[dancingbacon]

does anybody know what to write about q1? i can't really think of any elements of my application that would be concerning... i guess this box is for explaining any fluke on your application.

i do have a c+ on a research course but it's gonna be explained in my letter of rec from my school's premed committee. should i explain about that anyway?

 

[dancingbacon]

also a minor thing, but did you guys put mm/dd/yyyy for the courses? i have no clue what date my courses ended... but the example given lists them mm/yy.

 

[ABC2014]

.

 

[mrh125]

also a minor thing, but did you guys put mm/dd/yyyy for the courses? i have no clue what date my courses ended... but the example given lists them mm/yy.

I gave a rough approximation. I'm 100% sure it doesn't have to be totally accurate.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Should we still answer #5 ("Underserved communities...") if we are not interested in the Rural-PRIME program? I have a lot of experience working with underserved populations and genuinely want to keep doing so, but I'm not planning on joining that particular program.

What kind of things have you done?

 

[Tom Ford]

text box.

Thank you!!!

 

[Tom Ford]

Got AMCAS verified July 1 2pm, received secondary from UC Davis today, July 2 at 4am ET!! yahooooo definitely my "realistic" top choice 🙂

 

[dr.0ne]

8 required units = 2 semester classes = 4 quarter classes. I would just put 2 units per class. I don't think they care much about the units count, just that you have 2 semester or 4 quarter system classes for each subject.

For AP credit, your transcript should list the conversion of AP score to credit units granted by your institution.

Thanks for the responses dude. This really helps! 🙂

Just want to make a quick correction. This is from the secondary page

Current Admissions Course Prerequisites:
1/2 year = 1 semester = 2 quarters
1 year = 3 quarters = 2 semesters
Semester hours to quarter units conversion: semester hours X 1.5

 

[CCrown]

Same here. The site took about 2 hours to update that I had paid the fee. Might just need to wait a bit longer on it.

update: I also got an email about 2 hours later saying the Secondary was complete

 

[blackkrim]

What kind of things have you done?

.

The cutoff is not 30 MCAT. They might have one around 25-27 (which I think is around the average across all MCAT examinees). I also don't think they have a subscore minimum threshold, although most people hold the view that VR is the only section that is forgiven... You should have a solid score in BS and PS sections.

.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Without getting too specific, I've volunteered in a few non-medical programs that help low-income people (e.g. food insecurity, legal aid, literacy, etc.). Also, the hospitals I volunteered at served a large population of disadvantaged patients and I enjoyed working with them.

Rural-PRIME sounds neat, but I'm a city person and want to work with urban disadvantaged populations. Unfortunately, I can't see myself ever living in a rural area long-term.




Thanks for you previous responses; you've been very helpful throughout this thread. What would be a solid score for PS/BS at UCD? I received a 9 on PS, but a high overall score, and I've been worried that this sub-10 score will hold me back.

Shoot. I don't have anything like that. Maybe I should still use my volunteering for the program that gives free surgery to disadvantaged kids because its the only thing I have for that question...

 

[blackkrim]

Shoot. I don't have anything like that. Maybe I should still use my volunteering for the program that gives free surgery to disadvantaged kids because its the only thing I have for that question...

That sounds like a great program--nothing to sneeze at!

 

[space pizza]

This seems like a silly question, I think I'm missing something obvious. I finished all the required components of the secondary application, and have paid the fee- but am not sure how to actually submit it. Help please?

 

[shadowhamster01]

Question- can any course that was classified as biology/ chem/ physics on the primary be listed for the course prerequisites section? I was a bio major and would be chuffed to list two of my upper div courses rather than my two semesters of general bio (better grades in the former).

 

[hoihaie]

Question- can any course that was classified as biology/ chem/ physics on the primary be listed for the course prerequisites section? I was a bio major and would be chuffed to list two of my upper div courses rather than my two semesters of general bio (better grades in the former).

does it matter? they see your grade for both of them anyways

 

[Tom Ford]

This seems like a silly question, I think I'm missing something obvious. I finished all the required components of the secondary application, and have paid the fee- but am not sure how to actually submit it. Help please?

Did you figure it out? On the top, there's a tab that says "Submit your Application"

 

[khrisskhoras]

does anyone know what grade and date of completion we put in for AP credits on the secondary? I got credit, but no grade for AP.

 

[pandoodle]

So I really don't have any interest in the tailored clinical tracks.... I simply don't wanna restrict/commit myself to a medical career path without exploring all options first. I mentioned in the "Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee" prompt that I am interested in primary care and in serving urban/rural underserved communities, but I just don't want to commit myself to one of the condensed programs.... This shouldn't hurt me right? All the essays except the first two are blank so I am hesitant to send it in...

 

[AndyQC]

So I really don't have any interest in the tailored clinical tracks.... I simply don't wanna restrict/commit myself to a medical career path without exploring all options first. I mentioned in the "Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee" prompt that I am interested in primary care and in serving urban/rural underserved communities, but I just don't want to commit myself to one of the condensed programs.... This shouldn't hurt me right? All the essays except the first two are blank so I am hesitant to send it in...

All of mine besides the first two are blank as well. Should be fine. If you're not interested in the other programs, there's no reason to answer the questions.

 

[SilentSoldier]

All of mine besides the first two are blank as well. Should be fine. If you're not interested in the other programs, there's no reason to answer the questions.

This, don't be scared that you didn't fill out the essays for the other programs. If you're not interested in them, then you're not interested in them. It has no bearing on your status on getting an interview/acceptance if you apply to the special programs or not.

 

[shadowhamster01]

does it matter? they see your grade for both of them anyways

I realize that they see all of your grades but I'm assuming they either consciously or subconsciously take special note of the prereq course grades since they will be seeing them twice, and in the case of the secondary they won't be in the context of the entire transcript. Mostly I'm concerned because one of my chem grades is the worst grade on my transcript (B-) and I don't want that to leave a bad impression, so I'm trying to situate it with other prereqs in which I had As. Maybe I'm over thinking this though haha