2018-2019 University of California - Davis

[gyngyn]

Prompts are same as last year's, but activity descriptions have been shortened to 500 characters instead of 750: You will have 30 calendar days to complete the secondary application from the day you received the Secondary Application request. The 30 calendar day deadline does not include the letters of recommendation.

Essay Questions Section
1. Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee.
2. Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California? (Yes or No)
3. If you answered 'yes' to having a connection to Northern or Central California, please explain below. If you answered 'no' type 'not applicable'.

Experiences Section
At UC Davis School of Medicine we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine. We realize that many applicants have identified key experiences in the main application. However, some do not and others identify less than 3. We apologize for any redundancy - feel free to reproduce the comments from your Primary application and expand on them as appropriate.

Some have reported the following Activities section instead of Experiences above:
Activities
Please list the activities you would like to be considered in your application to UC Davis. You may use your activities listed in your initial AMCAS application or select/add others that may be relevant to UC Davis. Please only list three.

Interview Feedback: University of California Davis School of Medicine

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[LukaDoncicLuk]

Good luck to everyone applying here. I'm hoping against hope to get some love from Davis because I grew up around the area. My stats are all over the place (3.3 525) but hoping to get least not get prescreened!

 

[aaronrodgers]

Hi guys! I got accepted to UC Davis in the previous 2017-2018 cycle and will be matriculating here going to be active as much as I can on this thread to help everyone out!

 

[premedthrowaway]

Hi guys! I got accepted to UC Davis in the previous 2017-2018 cycle and will be matriculating here going to be active as much as I can on this thread to help everyone out!

Will you be deferring your starting spot to DeShone Kizer while you fulfill your goal to be an MD?

 

[aaronrodgers]

Will you be deferring your starting spot to DeShone Kizer while you fulfill your goal to be an MD?

we don't talk about him (or Hundley for that matter)

 

[Dr.Lady123]

I know Davis pre-screens, do they do a holistic review pre-screen or just score scans? Also, when do they usually start sending secondaries?

 

[DameJulie]

I know Davis pre-screens, do they do a holistic review pre-screen or just score scans? Also, when do they usually start sending secondaries?

It's a mysterious holistic screen. Some say it's based on residency, some say it's based on EC. It's definitely not a sole number screen.

 

[tanbrucewayne]

Good luck to everyone! Hoping to get some NorCal love

 

[Dr.Lady123]

It's a mysterious holistic screen. Some say it's based on residency, some say it's based on EC. It's definitely not a sole number screen.

I'm an OOS applicant, but went here for undergrad...does that help at all??

 

[LukaDoncicLuk]

Do you have to be a current norcal resident to have "ties" to the region? I live in socal now because of where I went to undergrad but I grew up about an hour and half north of Davis so I hope that counts. I would also express an interest to remain and practice in the area after graduation.

 

[aaronrodgers]

Like all other UCs, Davis pre-screens before sending out secondaries. Getting a secondary is a very good affirmation of the quality of your primary application Yes, Davis does a holistic review!

You do NOT have to be from Northern California to get a secondary/interview/acceptance. I have absolutely no connections, having been in SoCal all my life, and I received an interview invite in October. That being said, attending UC Davis as an undergrad or being from NorCal will 100% help

 

[DameJulie]

I'm an OOS applicant, but went here for undergrad...does that help at all??

I am not sure if going to Davis as an undergrad helps to make you becoming an IS applicant. But, it has been known that Davis love their own undergraduate (who are mostly from CA).

 

[jtyoung1324]

Just got an email today about being under review and them asking not to send any additional information. Does this mean they don't want any letters of rec at all until they give a secondary invite?

 

[tanbrucewayne]

Just got an email today about being under review and them asking not to send any additional information. Does this mean they don't want any letters of rec at all until they give a secondary invite?

I got the same email and I don't think you should send the LORs until you hear back from them about the secondary...it is oddly worded though

 

[Dr.Lady123]

I got the same email and I don't think you should send the LORs until you hear back from them about the secondary...it is oddly worded though

I thought they receive the letters you submit through AMCAS?? Got the same email today

 

[SaraTonin_15]

It's a mysterious holistic screen. Some say it's based on residency, some say it's based on EC. It's definitely not a sole number screen.

I have a feeling it isn't too mysterious. From my conversations with other UCs the holistic screening process is a combination of a third-party algorithm that takes your MCAT, GPA, and (maybe) experiences to do the initial screening/ triaging. From there it is reviewed by a team of people (I actually believe that from the way the admission people sounded exhausted) and they send the secondaries in waves based on the screening triage. That's my take away from it anyway.

 

[modernnarwhal24]

IS and still no secondary, submitted app first day

 

[doc1994]

IS and still no secondary, submitted app first day

+1

 

[Dr.Lady123]

I don't think anyone has gotten a secondary yet, they do a pretty rigorous holistic screen before sending out secondaries from what I understand.

 

[wb100]

I'm attempting to pre-write my secondaries and I was wondering if people would bring up low GPA for UCD's first essay question "discuss any concerning elements in your app"

Is this not recommended?

 

[ltownson]

I'm attempting to pre-write my secondaries and I was wondering if people would bring up low GPA for UCD's first essay question "discuss any concerning elements in your app"

Is this not recommended?

Unless there's an adversity situation tied to it, then don't. They can see your low GPA without you drawing attention to it. Now, if you suffered from some illness or someone in the family did or had mental health issues or some other situation happened (whatever it may be), then I would talk about it and focus on how you have improved since then and how your application has shown that improvement.

 

[aaronrodgers]

I'm attempting to pre-write my secondaries and I was wondering if people would bring up low GPA for UCD's first essay question "discuss any concerning elements in your app"

Is this not recommended?

It depends on the context surrounding your low GPA. You don't want to come off as making excuses. Like the poster above me said, if you had an adversity to overcome such as homeless that explains the low GPA, then it is very reasonable to write about this.

 

[djsbaseball2014]

@aaronrodgers what about a family divorce and subsequent parent coming out as LGBTQ the summer prior to starting college as context for my slow first year GPA wise and explaining how i dealt with the information and overcame it

 

[aaronrodgers]

@aaronrodgers what about a family divorce and subsequent parent coming out as LGBTQ the summer prior to starting college as context for my slow first year GPA wise and explaining how i dealt with the information and overcame it

One of the qualities that medical schools want to see in applicants is resiliency. Medical students are around the age where many will experience personal tragedies such as a family death for the first time in their lives. Schools want to know that you are capable of handling these personal issues that are likely to come. Personally, I think that using this question to demonstrate resiliency is a smart use of the secondary essay (but only do so if it actually applies). In regards to your specific situation, I would say that whether or not it is appropriate to share is up to how you present the issue. Make sure that you are humble about your flaws and I would mention especially about how you eventually got a better grade by doing/being x, y, and z. I'm really glad to hear that you were able to do well after such life-changing events, keep on fighting the good fight!

 

[sfs2468]

@aaronrodgers what about a family divorce and subsequent parent coming out as LGBTQ the summer prior to starting college as context for my slow first year GPA wise and explaining how i dealt with the information and overcame it

Wow, same thing happened to me! Just wrote about this exact scenario for another secondary lol.

 

[premedthrowaway]

Secondary received! pls give me norcal love

 

[premedthrowaway]

when were u verified?

Submitted Day 1, verified day 3 or 4

 

[premedthrowaway]

@gyngyn Prompts are same as last year's, but activity descriptions have been shortened to 500 characters instead of 750.

 

[Jogquinas]

Could someone who has received the secondary please post the prompt?

 

[Kiwi95]

Could someone who has received the secondary please post the prompt?

@gyngyn Prompts are same as last year's, but activity descriptions have been shortened to 500 characters instead of 750.

 

[ltownson]

OOS with LizzyScore of 71 and good ECs. Haven’t received a secondary yet. Should I be worried?

 

[tanbrucewayne]

OOS with LizzyScore of 71 and good ECs. Haven’t received a secondary yet. Should I be worried?

Nope, IS with similar stats and haven't received one either

 

[Wahkoon]

OOS with LizzyScore of 71 and good ECs. Haven’t received a secondary yet. Should I be worried?

I would be worried as an OOS in general. But it’s too early to tell anything. I’m regional with similar stats and no secondary.

 

[Gearheadgtr]

OOS with LizzyScore of 71 and good ECs. Haven’t received a secondary yet. Should I be worried?

UC Davis doesn't accept OOS people without any major ties to Northern California. According to the MSAR only 1% of OOS got an interview.

 

[Wahkoon]

UC Davis doesn't accept OOS people without any major ties to Northern California. According to the MSAR only 1% of OOS got an interview.

To really put this is context:
IS interview rates are about 10% vs 1% OOS
OOS made up 30% of applications, but only made up 3% of the entering class

Ie, Davis loves California and NorCal specifically

 

[B4y 4RE4 N4Tiv3]

I feel sometype of way they excluded Oakland from the norcal classification only like san joaquin area

 

[Gearheadgtr]

I feel sometype of way they excluded Oakland from the norcal classification only like san joaquin area

Oaktown reporting in. What up

 

[B4y 4RE4 N4Tiv3]

Oaktown reporting in. What upView attachment 237467

aaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeee!

 

[Dr.Lady123]

Anyone OOS receive a secondary yet?

 

[yogidoc19]

I feel sometype of way they excluded Oakland from the norcal classification only like san joaquin area

Is there some list where the school classifies what they consider norcal??

 

[B4y 4RE4 N4Tiv3]

Is there some list where the school classifies what they consider norcal??

Its stated in their different tracks.

 

[illmaatic]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

 

[stargrrrl]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

Plenty, probably most, people haven't received secondaries from UC Davis yet (myself included!). They only started sending them recently so I'm sure you will get one soon. Try to stay patient in the mean time , I'm sure you have plenty of other secondaries to work on. Also, Davis is a great school and at this point, it would be unwise to consider anywhere a "safety school"....even with your LizzyM. Try to stay humble and take a chill pill my friend good luck with everything!

 

[deleted939001]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

lol

 

[wesleysnipes]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

Bruh...

 

[Wahkoon]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

:troll:

 

[ancora imparo]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

You got one from UCLA....?

 

[premedthrowaway]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

Douche alert lol.

 

[aaronrodgers]

There's no such thing as a safety school, especially in the UC system where all the schools are highly sought after. Be patient! It is only still July!!!!

 

[CardioEnthusio15]

tell me why this school hasn't sent me a secondary when all the other uc's did (except ucsf which i didn't apply to). irvine and san diego sent me theres very early too, at the beginning of the month

LizzyM 74, i graduated from berkeley (berkeley students are accepted to davis more than other school) and i was born and raised in northern california. like wtf this school was my last choice and ironically i just added it as a safety school in case literally every other school rejected me because i thought it was my best shot lol.

Mr. Trump, is that you?