2025-2026 UCLA (Geffen)

Started by chilly_md
BU Medical Sciences
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dalvulan said:
They invite till march? Did they say anything about update letters?
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They definitely accept pre-II update letters. A quote from an additional email I received from them:
"I hope you are doing well. Yes, we are still conducting interviews as part of the rolling process, so interviews are ongoing from August to March (timeline). You did the right thing, as it is always best to go to the source, as forums may not always be reliable sources."
 
does UCLA seem to be focusing more on GPA/MCAT for this year final admissions decisions? Most As on admit seem to be like 517+, anyone below that?

Also does preview matter? I heard its looked at post-II, but kinda bombed it. Any admits have lower preview score?
 
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fakeeagle said:
Do you know if you have scholarships for M2- M4 as well?
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Sorry, late response. At minimum, you keep the financial aid package that you got offered on acceptance (barring big federal changes). I've had my financial aid bumped up through the years with new scholarships that you unlock during MS3 and MS4 years.
 
JPace24 said:
I stopped by their office yesterday, they let me know their timeline is through March for interviews. Just wanted to let everyone know.
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That's their official answer. The office doesn't know what goes on behind the scenes because they're not on the admissions committee. Not a single person reported an II after December the last 3-4 cycles.
 
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If there are any active DGSOM students here, can you speak to what the commuting process is like for you for pre-clinical and clinical parts of the program? My impression is there is a wide net of locations for rotations, which is both wonderful and impressive. I am curious how much time people are typically spending commuting and how realistic it is to do some of this via bike or public transit. I recognize starting location will play a factor.
 
Hey all, how can I go about writing an update letter without begging for an A? All of my drafts have ended in essentially “please I lysm”

this is my only II and also my top choice and I’m losing the plot over here waiting 😭 if I got accepted I would 1000% go but I know they don’t want LOIs
 
research-girlie said:
Hey all, how can I go about writing an update letter without begging for an A? All of my drafts have ended in essentially “please I lysm”

this is my only II and also my top choice and I’m losing the plot over here waiting 😭 if I got accepted I would 1000% go but I know they don’t want LOIs
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I think only maybe if we are waitlisted it would be good to send the LOI?
 
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To share with prospective applicants, their admissions and outreach offices are hosting webinars beginning today.

Pre-Med | UCLA Medical School

Our pre med and post baccalaureate programs are designed to prepare promising students for professional training and careers in medicine.
medschool.ucla.edu medschool.ucla.edu

January 13: Mission-aligned admissions and you
January 14: Virtual office hours
January 26: Mock MMI
February 6: PREview and DGSOM
 
tired-1 said:
If there are any active DGSOM students here, can you speak to what the commuting process is like for you for pre-clinical and clinical parts of the program? My impression is there is a wide net of locations for rotations, which is both wonderful and impressive. I am curious how much time people are typically spending commuting and how realistic it is to do some of this via bike or public transit. I recognize starting location will play a factor.
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Good question. Large majority of folks will be commuting via car during clerkship year. Assuming that you live in West LA near campus, the sites that are reasonable to consider bike, public transit, or Uber imo are Santa Monica, Reagan, and the VA. Cedars is iffy. I wouldn't for Kaiser Sunset. Not very reasonable for Olive View and Harbor. Keep in mind that public transit isn't always the most reliable, and you might want to consider something reliable during clerkships when you have patients waiting to be seen and residents/attendings waiting to round with you.

In terms of time spent on commute, it's largely dependent on that day's traffic situation. Olive View is sorta nice cause you're driving against traffic both ways so it's 35-40min ish. Harbor coming back in the afternoon/evening is slightly horrific imo. Even at your "closer" sites in Santa Monica and Cedars, bad luck with traffic in the evening can easily make your commute up to 30-45min (most of the time more like 20ish minutes).

I will say that if minimizing commute is something you want to do, you have an opportunity to prioritize that when you're ranking sites in our clerkship lottery during before MS2 year. I know multiple classmates that only did rotations in Santa Monica, Reagan, and the VA. The large majority of us will be scattered throughout LA however.
 
Morningnight said:
Don't know if interview invites are still going out, but interviews are still happening rn.
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Are interviews running til mid or late January here? Totally get if you can't say exactly if you're involved with admissions etc!

Any idea of the post II rate at DGSOM (mostly curious specifically for trad MD), or anything regarding the financial/loans/BBB situation? Thanks!

Also, if you're close to the end of your time at DGSOM, are you happy with your choice of school, and feel supported in the match/deciding a specialty?
 
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Morningnight said:
Good question. Large majority of folks will be commuting via car during clerkship year. Assuming that you live in West LA near campus, the sites that are reasonable to consider bike, public transit, or Uber imo are Santa Monica, Reagan, and the VA. Cedars is iffy. I wouldn't for Kaiser Sunset. Not very reasonable for Olive View and Harbor. Keep in mind that public transit isn't always the most reliable, and you might want to consider something reliable during clerkships when you have patients waiting to be seen and residents/attendings waiting to round with you.

In terms of time spent on commute, it's largely dependent on that day's traffic situation. Olive View is sorta nice cause you're driving against traffic both ways so it's 35-40min ish. Harbor coming back in the afternoon/evening is slightly horrific imo. Even at your "closer" sites in Santa Monica and Cedars, bad luck with traffic in the evening can easily make your commute up to 30-45min (most of the time more like 20ish minutes).

I will say that if minimizing commute is something you want to do, you have an opportunity to prioritize that when you're ranking sites in our clerkship lottery during before MS2 year. I know multiple classmates that only did rotations in Santa Monica, Reagan, and the VA. The large majority of us will be scattered throughout LA however.
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I want to thank you for taking the time to write this up, its super helpful. I hear you about the importance of ensuring we are at sites in a timely manner to prevent delays for patients, other students, and residents/attendings. Time to start saving up for a car!
 
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The main update is that if you did not apply for a pathway during your initial secondary app you can apply now (Due 2/13). I think the main takeaways were that the pathways are very competitive (the Urban Health pathway only has 8-10 people per cohort for example). I went to the global health breakout room and they really emphasized that the pathway is meant for someone who wants global health to be a cornerstone of their career and that if your more so just looking for international experience the global health concentration, not pathway, might be better for you as i still allows for the potential to travel abroad but isn't as intensive/focused
 
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