Any OOSers get an interview at UCSF?

[OncDoc19]

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Hi all,
I'm a 2008 cycle applicant applying for an MD/PhD in history of medicine. I have spoken with the director of the grad program at UCSF and am very interested in the program and in the medical school. I was just wondering what people's experiances were with getting interviews OOS at UCSF (or UCLA - also have history MD/PhD)? I have heard that the OOS thing isn't such a big deal for MD/PhD, but do you think it still plays a factor in california because of the large population or is UCSF just that impossible to get in to?

Thanks!

 

[SpeakLittleB]

ucsf is the only uc that is not biased (or very slight bias) towards california applicants.

ucla is biased, but you don't need to get into the medical school before mstp consideration (unlike ucsf). so it's ok since you go through an mstp-specific process.

i'm oos with no connection to california whatsoever and got into both schools.

 

[OncDoc19]

i'm oos with no connection to california whatsoever and got into both schools.

Wow impressive! Do you have any advice you could give me to make myself more attractive to these schools?

 

[Mr. Tee]

ucsf is the only uc that is not biased (or very slight bias) towards california applicants.

ucla is biased, but you don't need to get into the medical school before mstp consideration (unlike ucsf). so it's ok since you go through an mstp-specific process.

i'm oos with no connection to california whatsoever and got into both schools.

Actually, UCLA is unbiased http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/mstp/faqs.htm

whereas UCSF is biased because you have to get a secondary from the MD side of things first.

 

[OncDoc19]

Actually, UCLA is unbiased http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/mstp/faqs.htm

whereas UCSF is biased because you have to get a secondary from the MD side of things first.

Do you know what their screening process is for secondaries?

 

[Mr. Tee]

Do you know what their screening process is for secondaries?

What do you mean exactly?

They just look at your whole record and give more secondaries to CA residents because of the bias. At the interview stage, the bias is removed.

 

[OncDoc19]

What do you mean exactly?

They just look at your whole record and give more secondaries to CA residents because of the bias. At the interview stage, the bias is removed.

Well I know some schools give them based only on stats and some look harder at your app. I would assume the bar for getting an OOS secondary is set higher, but does anyone have an idea of what they look for?

 

[SpeakLittleB]

ucsf is the only uc that is not biased (or very slight bias) towards california applicants.

ucla is biased, but you don't need to get into the medical school before mstp consideration (unlike ucsf). so it's ok since you go through an mstp-specific process.

i'm oos with no connection to california whatsoever and got into both schools.

sorry, i should clarify.

For UCSF, you need to get into the medical school before the MSTP considers you. Good thing is that the medical school at UCSF is not truly biased toward CA applicants (or VERY slightly so) as told to us interviewees by the admissions director.

For UCLA, you do NOT need to get into the medical school first, so the MSTP process is unbiased. However, the medical school only is very biased toward CA residents. Good thing you don't need to go through them.

Anyway, so i was trying to say circuitously, everything is good 🙂

 

[SeventhSon]

sorry, i should clarify.

For UCSF, you need to get into the medical school before the MSTP considers you. Good thing is that the medical school at UCSF is not truly biased toward CA applicants (or VERY slightly so) as told to us interviewees by the admissions director.

For UCLA, you do NOT need to get into the medical school first, so the MSTP process is unbiased. However, the medical school only is very biased toward CA residents. Good thing you don't need to go through them.

Anyway, so i was trying to say circuitously, everything is good 🙂

UCSF is biased towards in state applicants. Wofsy (sp?) even said so when I interviewed there. An above poster was correct is saying the bias is removed once you get an interview.

 

[SpeakLittleB]

UCSF is biased towards in state applicants. Wofsy (sp?) even said so when I interviewed there. An above poster was correct is saying the bias is removed once you get an interview.

Oh really? hm i can't remember who did our introductions. i could have sworn that they told us that they weren't biased but that it ends up being a mainly CA class simply due to personal factors that cause applicants to choose the school. well i suppose the OP can ask around to figure out what degree of bias actually exists. gl!

 

[Celeritus]

Oh really? hm i can't remember who did our introductions. i could have sworn that they told us that they weren't biased but that it ends up being a mainly CA class simply due to personal factors that cause applicants to choose the school. well i suppose the OP can ask around to figure out what degree of bias actually exists. gl!

They most definitely prefentially recruit CA residents -- you only need look at the admission statistics to corroborate this. From my recollection, most of this screening occurs during the secondary- and interview-granting steps; e.g., once you are invited to interview, everyone is on equal footing, regardless of their state residency (this is coincident with their policy of conducting blind, closed-folder interviews). In these regards, you're both right in some capacity, I believe.

Of course, like you, this is ultimately based on my experiences and discussions with Wofsy and others. It would serve this discussion well to review the MSAR data on secondary/interview/admissions for in vs. out of state applicants. In any case, don't let whatever the odds are deter you from applying. OOS applicants do get in; be one of them!

 

[OncDoc19]

They most definitely prefentially recruit CA residents -- you only need look at the admission statistics to corroborate this. From my recollection, most of this screening occurs during the secondary- and interview-granting steps; e.g., once you are invited to interview, everyone is on equal footing, regardless of their state residency (this is coincident with their policy of conducting blind, closed-folder interviews). In these regards, you're both right in some capacity, I believe.

Of course, like you, this is ultimately based on my experiences and discussions with Wofsy and others. It would serve this discussion well to review the MSAR data on secondary/interview/admissions for in vs. out of state applicants. In any case, don't let whatever the odds are deter you from applying. OOS applicants do get in; be one of them!

Does anyone have their MSAR handy? I don't have the latest copy.

I will definately be applying to UCSF regardless of the odds because they have the program I am interested in. The purpose of this thread was mainly to find out what other OOSers experiances were with getting interviews at UCSF and too see what advice people could give me about maing myself as attractive as possible to UCSF in order to get an interview. I think that I interview pretty well as I've never been turned down for anything I have interviewed for (crosses fingers for this kind of luck during applications 🙂). Of course an acceptance is the ultimate goal, but for now the most important thing is getting an interview!