2018-2019 University of California - Los Angeles (Geffen)

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teriyakibeef said:
Congrats on your acceptance and receiving the Geffen! An incredible accomplishment!

Thanks for sharing your LizzyM, hope you don't mind answering a few questions!
Did you work during college? I noticed that UCLA's secondary has room specifically for work experience, which I definitely took advantage of since I worked throughout college. Also, what was your assessment of your interview performance?
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I think Laix probably has incredibly unique ECs AND is really good at writing. that is my guess.
I worked nearly full time for 2 years of college as a full time student and it hasn't helped much
I have the same LizzyM as both of you, and also ORM CA resident, and nothing but silence from UCLA so far--although I applied PRIME, so I suppose I still need to be passed over to MD only soon. So maybe there is a small chance I could still get an II
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teriyakibeef said:
Congrats on your acceptance and receiving the Geffen! An incredible accomplishment!

Thanks for sharing your LizzyM, hope you don't mind answering a few questions!
Did you work during college? I noticed that UCLA's secondary has room specifically for work experience, which I definitely took advantage of since I worked throughout college. Also, what was your assessment of your interview performance?
Click to expand...

Throwaway21234567 said:
I think Laix probably has incredibly unique ECs AND is really good at writing. that is my guess.
I worked nearly full time for 2 years of college as a full time student and it hasn't helped much
I have the same LizzyM as both of you, and also ORM CA resident, and nothing but silence from UCLA so far--although I applied PRIME, so I suppose I still need to be passed over to MD only soon. So maybe there is a small chance I could still get an II
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I have been working since 9th grade, and still working while getting a Master.
During undergrad I worked 36 hours per week in first year and 1 quarter in the second year before I get the Cali residency, then I worked 20-24 hours per week.
I think I did good on the MMI, but one can never judge one's performance. Same for traditional. But my bottom line for an interview is to always smile and stay confident(in both physical gesture and tone). I will tell you though, when we the interviewees introduced ourselves and literally 90% of the room came from Ivy, JHK, or big names I was really nervous inside, but I never showed it.
I can't really describe what my top EC is but I would say it's very unique and I poured my heart and soul into it.
English was my second language so I don't think I am a good writer lol
 
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Laix said:
That's what I meant, You get the email then you get the call on the same date
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No. Haha. Mine was on a completely different date. Like 2 weeks later.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
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So it seems like only those who got the Geffen scholarships get a direct call from the dean?

Can anyone confirm this?
 
What is UCLA's new GPA/MCAT cutoff?
 
For those of you who got the geffen call, did the number come from a Santa Monica caller ID or Los Angeles caller ID?
 
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puahate said:
What is UCLA's new GPA/MCAT cutoff?
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I'm not totally sure about this, but I've heard it's 514 - is this for next cycle? Also, if this is actually true, it seem crazy to have such a huge shift considering that's their median MCAT on their website. They've been one of the top programs that has been very forgiving of numbers, so I was surprised when I saw this.

hermioneweasley111 said:
For those of you who got the geffen call, did the number come from a Santa Monica caller ID or Los Angeles caller ID?
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I'm pretty sure it's LA. I also got the Santa Monica call and I jumped in my chair before I picked up, and it was a spam caller. I can't explain the rollercoaster of emotions I felt in those couple of seconds.
 
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I just got a similar call a few minutes ago and I’ve been sweating buckets ever since. I really need to go a few weeks without my phone or I’m going to get a heart attack ffs
 
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I am over the moon at receiving an II from UCLA just now.
I was rejected from the MD/PHD program two weeks ago and transferred over to the MD-only. Didn't think I had a chance, but here it is.
 
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MD II right now!!! Rejected from PRIME and transferred to MD-only, grateful for this chance :horns:
Complete 8/29, LM 70 IS
 
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Congrats! Omg I thought they were done. >< Do you mind sharing what dates are available?
 
IIRC the rest of the interviews are for people referred from MD/PhD or PRIME
 
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ays0110 said:
I am over the moon at receiving an II from UCLA just now.
I was rejected from the MD/PHD program two weeks ago and transferred over to the MD-only. Didn't think I had a chance, but here it is.
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this is_a foreground said:
MD II right now!!! Rejected from PRIME and transferred to MD-only, grateful for this chance :horns:
Complete 8/29, LM 70 IS
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it seems like the dream is still alive for the PRIME and MSTP reject gang
 
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Anyone think there will be more calls today? Or do we think UCLA is finished with acceptance calls for the year?
 
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PRIME applicant, just got the shift to MD only. Completed 10/11.

As an aside, they took out the weird "congratulations" part of the email of of y'all were complaining about before lol
 
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this is_a foreground said:
MD II right now!!! Rejected from PRIME and transferred to MD-only, grateful for this chance :horns:
Complete 8/29, LM 70 IS
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When we’re you transferred to MD only? I just got transferred today. Still hoping hey are offering interviews.
 
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nekoatsume said:
PRIME applicant, just got the shift to MD only. Completed 10/11.

As an aside, they took out the weird "congratulations" part of the email of of y'all were complaining about before lol
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+1 as well. complete 8/26 Kinda expected this! I didn't know they preferred someone with connections to CA. Had I known, I would've applied MD only.
 
nekoatsume said:
PRIME applicant, just got the shift to MD only. Completed 10/11.

As an aside, they took out the weird "congratulations" part of the email of of y'all were complaining about before lol
Click to expand...
Got transferred to MD only as well. Email addressed from PRIME-LA. Does this mean we are no longer considered for both PRIME programs? Westwood and Drew?
 
husk said:
When we’re you transferred to MD only? I just got transferred today. Still hoping hey are offering interviews.
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I got transferred a month ago. My interview is scheduled for late Jan, and I've seen from past years' threads that UCLA has scheduled interviews until March. Best of luck, friend :xf:
 
I am applying in 2019 and I like UCLA but i am just not sure if it is worth it to apply here.
 
puahate said:
I am applying in 2019 and I like UCLA but i am just not sure if it is worth it to apply here.
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If you really like it, it is worth it! Are there specific concerns that you have? Or is your thought that it may be too competitive? I would never have expected an II from here in a million years, and honestly I was mostly encouraged to apply because I'm IS. You can see my stats below; they're nothing special, but for some reason I'm heading to LA in January for an interview. I think the one thing I learned from this cycle is that everything is just one big surprise!
th
 
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burb said:
If you really like it, it is worth it! Are there specific concerns that you have? Or is your thought that it may be too competitive? I would never have expected an II from here in a million years, and honestly I was mostly encouraged to apply because I'm IS. You can see my stats below; they're nothing special, but for some reason I'm heading to LA in January for an interview. I think the one thing I learned from this cycle is that everything is just one big surprise!
th
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Ill give it a shot then. IDK because I see IS people not getting secondaries with great stats and ECs. Then I see people like @Laix getting scholarships. I am OOS too so the bar is probably even higher for me. I am just in a toss up. I DO want to go to UCLA but is it even worth it to send in the primary. I keep on hearing about this "cut-off" but I dont know what it is and MSAR does not really help with showing the cutoffs since I think theu pool UCLA/Drew applicants in as well.
 
puahate said:
Ill give it a shot then. IDK because I see IS people not getting secondaries with great stats and ECs. Then I see people like @Laix getting scholarships. I am OOS too so the bar is probably even higher for me. I am just in a toss up. I DO want to go to UCLA but is it even worth it to send in the primary. I keep on hearing about this "cut-off" but I dont know what it is and MSAR does not really help with showing the cutoffs since I think theu pool UCLA/Drew applicants in as well.
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Hmmm, yeah there are a lot of factors to consider when applying. I also hear you on your concern about the new cut-off--I also do not know much about that so it brings in a new unknown. Honestly, I know this sounds cheesy, but your application will be unique to you so I would be cautious about extrapolating from other folks on SDN, especially given that this is only a small portion of the entire applicant pool. If you have an advisor, I might discuss these pros and cons with them so that they can hopefully give you slightly more objective info about your chances. Seriously though, if you like this school I would go for it (even if the chances are low!). I would have always regretted not applying, even if I end up getting rejected.
 
puahate said:
Ill give it a shot then. IDK because I see IS people not getting secondaries with great stats and ECs. Then I see people like @Laix getting scholarships. I am OOS too so the bar is probably even higher for me. I am just in a toss up. I DO want to go to UCLA but is it even worth it to send in the primary. I keep on hearing about this "cut-off" but I dont know what it is and MSAR does not really help with showing the cutoffs since I think theu pool UCLA/Drew applicants in as well.
Click to expand...

My stat is not spectacular at all(Besides having 99th and 100th percentile on B/B and C/P). In fact, I was screen out of 10 schools before even getting their secondary. However, I made it to UCLA with Geffen. This only means that UCLA is truly holistic, that they take your journey, origin, background, status, struggles into consideration when they look at your stat and ECs. I will have to proudly say that I have poured a lot of my college life into developing my personality and self-growth throughout college in the form of ECs and that I have faced chronic life struggles. I think UCLA is impressed by my resilience and ability to hold on to science despite all the challenges. At least, it's the only reason I can think of.
 
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Laix said:
My stat is not spectacular at all(Besides having 99th and 100th percentile on B/B and C/P). In fact, I was screen out of 10 schools before even getting their secondary. However, I made it to UCLA with Geffen. This only means that UCLA is truly holistic, that they take your journey, origin, background, status, struggles into consideration when they look at your stat and ECs. I will have to proudly say that I have poured a lot of my college life into developing my personality and self-growth throughout college in the form of ECs and that I have faced chronic life struggles. I think UCLA is impressed by my resilience and ability to hold on to science despite all the challenges. At least, it's the only reason I can think of.
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UCLA is the least stat hungry school in the top 10. Just look at the MCAT and GPA ranges on the MSAR. They are truly holistic while other schools just claim to be.
 
wesleysnipes said:
UCLA is the least stat hungry school in the top 10. Just look at the MCAT and GPA ranges on the MSAR. They are truly holistic while other schools just claim to be.
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They are very holistic, but the MSAR ranges don't give the full picture. If I'm not mistaken, both PRIME and Drew stats are included in the MSAR. Also, I heard that UCLA is going to have a 514 MCAT cutoff soon? I don't know for certain, but that's what I've heard.
 
I submitted around 9/20 and am figuring out when I would receive an II. Anyone who completed around the same time received II already?
 
As a resident on the west coast, I have a few med student friends at UCLA, and I just want to counter the misconception posted above that UCLA is holistic. In past years, yes UCLA was holistic and was committed to building a diverse class. Recently, not as much.

UCLA has changed their admissions over this past year to focus heavily on stats at the expense of diversity. They have instituted a new hard cutoff in terms of GPA and MCAT that is in fact fairly high.

This can lead to many disadvantaged applicants being screened out, who in years past would have gotten a fair chance. The school might advertise diversity, but their standard MD program has become much, much less diverse than virtually any other top school in the country (at least in terms of racial/ethnic diversity and URM numbers). They get their racial/ethnic diversity solely from the drew and prime programs. Their published stats are very misleading and may not even be entirely accurate. Many students are frustrated about this change in philosophy by the school and this deception of applicants.

My advice to people considering ucla (or really any medical school) is to talk to students who actually study there and who are not directly associated with admissions. That will give you a better idea of what the school is really like.
 
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rball said:
As a west-coast resident, I have a few med student friends at UCLA, and I just want to counter the misconception posted above that UCLA is holistic. In past years, yes UCLA was holistic and was committed to building a diverse class. Recently, not as much.

UCLA has changed their admissions over this past year to focus heavily on stats at the expense of diversity. They have instituted a new hard cutoff in terms of GPA and MCAT that is in fact fairly high.

This can lead to many disadvantaged applicants being screened out, who in years past would have gotten a fair chance. The school might advertise diversity, but their standard MD program has become much, much less diverse than virtually any other top school in the country (at least in terms of racial/ethnic diversity and URM numbers). They get their racial/ethnic diversity solely from the drew and prime programs. Their published stats are very misleading and may not even be entirely accurate. Many students are frustrated about this change in philosophy by the school and this deception of applicants.

My advice to people considering ucla (or really any medical school) is to talk to students who actually study there and who are not directly associated with admissions. That will give you a better idea of what the school is really like.
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what are the MCAT/GPA cutoffs?
 
rball said:
As a west-coast resident, I have a few med student friends at UCLA, and I just want to counter the misconception posted above that UCLA is holistic. In past years, yes UCLA was holistic and was committed to building a diverse class. Recently, not as much.

UCLA has changed their admissions over this past year to focus heavily on stats at the expense of diversity. They have instituted a new hard cutoff in terms of GPA and MCAT that is in fact fairly high.

This can lead to many disadvantaged applicants being screened out, who in years past would have gotten a fair chance. The school might advertise diversity, but their standard MD program has become much, much less diverse than virtually any other top school in the country (at least in terms of racial/ethnic diversity and URM numbers). They get their racial/ethnic diversity solely from the drew and prime programs. Their published stats are very misleading and may not even be entirely accurate. Many students are frustrated about this change in philosophy by the school and this deception of applicants.

My advice to people considering ucla (or really any medical school) is to talk to students who actually study there and who are not directly associated with admissions. That will give you a better idea of what the school is really like.
Click to expand...


I will have to counter this with my own experience. I don't think "having friends who are UCLA" is a valid source for anything. If anything the tone of this post feels a bit like coming from a rejected student. Just my two cents, n of 1.
 
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