2014-2015 University of California - San Francisco Application Thread

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I reeeaaalllllyyyy like this image.
"Another long day slapping primaries," he says to his wife as he settles into his Lazyboy Tank after work.
"Were any of them particularly slappable?" she asks, sitting beside him with a glass of brine.
"A few were really satisfying to slap," he says. "But there was one, a real disaster, that I was making sure to avoid when the tip of my tentacle accidentally brushed it. Blueharbor, I think the name was."
"Everybody makes mistakes. Here, have some brine," she replies, and they watch a rerun of a seahorse ballet together.
Somehow I relate slap to fap... 🤐
 
I just got a secondary too today and was verified way before June 27th. I had already given up hope.

Maybe they send secondaries later to those they believe are more likely to go bananas due to a lack of a secondary. At least I feel like that is what they did to me lol
 
I just got a secondary too today and was verified way before June 27th. I had already given up hope.

Maybe they send secondaries later to those they believe are more likely to go bananas due to a lack of a secondary. At least I feel like that is what they did to me lol


stats?
 
Yes, they are definitely doing a very holistic review, which is why receiving a secondary from them is all the more special 🙂

Also, for those of you who did answer the optional question/are planning on answering it, what kinds of things will you talk about?
 
No secondary still 🙁

Verified 6/5. 3.83 GPA, 35 MCAT

Any other OOS in a similar situation?

Right there with ya buddy! OOS, 3.8, 37. I can't complain, I've been having a great cycle so far...still holding out hope to get their secondary though!
 
Right there with ya buddy! OOS, 3.8, 37. I can't complain, I've been having a great cycle so far...still holding out hope to get their secondary though!

That gives me hope it isn't my OOS MCAT holding me back! Thanks tenniseagle92. Here's to hoping we get a couple emails soon.
 
Yes, they are definitely doing a very holistic review, which is why receiving a secondary from them is all the more special 🙂

Also, for those of you who did answer the optional question/are planning on answering it, what kinds of things will you talk about?

I talked about what I've been doing post-graduation and used it as an area to update my application. The consensus here seems to be not to put a Why UCSF essay. If you started any new volunteer activities since Junish, it's probably an excellent time to put that in.
 
Hey everyone, I'm working on the secondary and I'm wondering if anyone had an opinion as to whether or not it would be appropriate to insert a little "why I would love to go to UCSF, in particular"?
 
This is probably a dumb question, but if we apply for JMP and don't get in, can we still get accepted for the regular MD program? Like the two have no bearing on each other, right?

Also, for those of you who still haven't received secondaries, I have a feeling the octopus will be slapping more primaries soon. Hang in there and have faith in the magical octopus!
 
This is probably a dumb question, but if we apply for JMP and don't get in, can we still get accepted for the regular MD program? Like the two have no bearing on each other, right?

Also, for those of you who still haven't received secondaries, I have a feeling the octopus will be slapping more primaries soon. Hang in there and have faith in the magical octopus!
Yes I believe they are separate.
 
Been verified a while ago, but wondering if it would be worthwhile to add UCSF with a 3.8/33, OOS, reapplicant, disadvantaged, non-URM, 1-2 years off from being traditional. My friend with a 3.7 or 3.8 gpa and 40 MCAT interviewed at a couple UCs but didn't get in to any of them last cycle and basically said applying to UCs as OOS is a waste a money. Any success stories here with my kind of stats? :/
 
Been verified a while ago, but wondering if it would be worthwhile to add UCSF with a 3.8/33, OOS, reapplicant, disadvantaged, non-URM, 1-2 years off from being traditional. My friend with a 3.7 or 3.8 gpa and 40 MCAT interviewed at a couple UCs but didn't get in to any of them last cycle and basically said applying to UCs as OOS is a waste a money. Any success stories here with my kind of stats? :/
If you have $36 to spare, why not? 😀
 
When do pre-secondary rejections come out?
 
Just to re-iterate (since it's buried in the thread n0w): From our apparent observations; UCSF's secondary screen is truly holistic and not solely based off of A) Verification Date, B) Numeric Metrics, C) State of Residence, or D) Any other "quantifiable" attribute.
 
Just to re-iterate (since it's buried in the thread n0w): From our apparent observations; UCSF's secondary screen is truly holistic and not solely based off of A) Verification Date, B) Numeric Metrics, C) State of Residence, or D) Any other "quantifiable" attribute.

Idk why people are still obsessed with stats! This has been so apparent from this thread that UCSF has not been prioritizing stats in how they send secondaries.
 
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Idk why people are still obsessed with stats! This has been so apparent from this thread that UCSF has not been prioritizing stats in how they send secondaries.
Not sure the obsessiveness is necessarily HOW they send them but IF they'll send them. But regardless of UCSF reviews, much of the entire process is stats obsessive and resume comparatives.

And not sure why a person contributing on a forum for med school applicants would question why there is obsession when the whole forum is basically an obsession in and of itself! 🙂
 
Not sure the obsessiveness is necessarily HOW they send them but IF they'll send them. But regardless of UCSF reviews, much of the entire process is stats obsessive and resume comparatives.

And not sure why a person contributing on a forum for med school applicants would question why there is obsession when the whole forum is basically an obsession in and of itself! 🙂

Because people often neglect to ask things like if you had research, what type of undergrad you went to, etc,..if you look at MSAR one can clearly see what numbers students have at UCSF. There is a range and most will fall In there. The difference between someone having a 35 or a 33 is going to be minimal. If you just look at this thread where ppl posted numbers. Most fall within ucsf range. People keep asking what peoples stats are as if somehow magically getting a number will grant them a secondary too. There are people with 29s on the mcat that got secondaries and those with 37s. I just don't see how getting anyone's stats are going to help people individually.

But you are right. Being on this forum is a complete obsession 🙂 I guess I was just shocked that people were still asking these same questions several pages in...
 
Because people often neglect to ask things like if you had research, what type of undergrad you went to, etc,..if you look at MSAR one can clearly see what numbers students have at UCSF. There is a range and most will fall In there. The difference between someone having a 35 or a 33 is going to be minimal. If you just look at this thread where ppl posted numbers. Most fall within ucsf range. People keep asking what peoples stats are as if somehow magically getting a number will grant them a secondary too. There are people with 29s on the mcat that got secondaries and those with 37s. I just don't see how getting anyone's stats are going to help people individually.

But you are right. Being on this forum is a complete obsession 🙂 I guess I was just shocked that people were still asking these same questions several pages in...

yeah I have a lot of research, so that's prob what got me a secondary
 
But you are right. Being on this forum is a complete obsession 🙂 I guess I was just shocked that people were still asking these same questions several pages in...

When you get to 7/8 pages in and you're basically scrolling to catch up, individual details are sometimes missed. So here's a question: What's considered a lot of research? Because some is dubious as far as I can see, and some - especially when published - is more noteworthy. I think the same can be said for clinical, especially if you were spending your summers doing research and on-campus opportunities are less than larger campuses in big cities. Still… it's all a crap shoot after a while and being obsessive is surely one way to pass the time. Not a good way, mind you, but a way nonetheless.
 
When you get to 7/8 pages in and you're basically scrolling to catch up, individual details are sometimes missed. So here's a question: What's considered a lot of research? Because some is dubious as far as I can see, and some - especially when published - is more noteworthy. I think the same can be said for clinical, especially if you were spending your summers doing research and on-campus opportunities are less than larger campuses in big cities. Still… it's all a crap shoot after a while and being obsessive is surely one way to pass the time. Not a good way, mind you, but a way nonetheless.

For me, I have a masters and 3+ years of translational research
 
For me, I have a masters and 3+ years of translational research
yeah... see? That's a lot of research (and a very different profile/resume being offered vs even a high stat direct admit or even having a singular gap year following graduation).
 
Just to chime in, I'm 3.9c 3.89s with an unbalanced 31 MCAT and very little research. Only three months in a summer program. However, I did just start a research position at UCSF medical school, although I doubt that had much bearing on my getting a secondary. IS.
 
so, is it still the case many people have received no communication from UCSF expect for a secondary invite? I was verified mid July and never got a "primary received" email.

thanks...
 
so, is it still the case many people have received no communication from UCSF expect for a secondary invite? I was verified mid July and never got a "primary received" email.

thanks...

Well, some of us lucky folks haven't even gotten a secondary, saying nothing of a primary received email.
 
Well, some of us lucky folks haven't even gotten a secondary, saying nothing of a primary received email.
oh no, I haven't gotten a secondary... just seeing if others haven't received any communication from UCSF (even after a few weeks). if its common I'm not concerned, if everyone else has received some sort of initial contact from UCSF then I need to see if there has been some sort of issue...
 
oh no, I haven't gotten a secondary... just seeing if others haven't received any communication from UCSF (even after a few weeks). if its common I'm not concerned, if everyone else has received some sort of initial contact from UCSF then I need to see if there has been some sort of issue...


I never got any verification they received my primary, from my understanding they just email the secondary. So don't be too worried!
 
oh no, I haven't gotten a secondary... just seeing if others haven't received any communication from UCSF (even after a few weeks). if its common I'm not concerned, if everyone else has received some sort of initial contact from UCSF then I need to see if there has been some sort of issue...

The consensus of this thread is that UCSF is not sending out "primary received" emails. If you get a secondary from them the first email UCSF should sen you is a secondary invite.
 
Anyone know whether or not applying to MSTP affects chances of getting the secondary? For example, I think UCLA screens for MD applicants but does not for MSTP applicants. On the UCSF website I think it says that they screen for MSTP as well, but I'm wondering if it is also ~20% invited for secondary.
 
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Anyone know whether or not applying to MSTP affects chances of getting the secondary? For example, I think UCLA screens for MD applicants but does not for MSTP applicants. On the UCSF website I think it says that they screen for MSTP as well, but I'm wondering if it is also ~20% invited for secondary.

Per their website

AMCAS applications indicating MSTP: 558
Secondary applications: 285
Interviewed: 61
Accepted: 12

285/558 = ~51% given secondaries
 
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