Californian's and Acceptances!

[vyc]

people have said it before and i too happen to think that the UCs are slightly biased toward UC undergrads.

so it'd be interesting to see where you all went for undergrad.

i went out of state.
i applied to UCLA, UCSF, and UCSD.
i interviewed at UCSD and was placed on the acceptable pool.
but got rejected pre interview at the other two.

that sucks. i worked at a lab at UCLA's med school for 4 months, published as second author, and got a strong recommendation from the researcher there.

UC admissions escape me.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cambrian:
•This is what I don't understand about Cali schools. Every poster here has such competitive stats but many of you only get a few interviews at Cali schools. There are people who get interviews from Yale, Columbia, Cornell, WashU, etc and only get one interview from a Cali school. I still don't understand even though I've been through the process. Is it because Cali schools are super-selective due to the massive number of applicants applying every year?•••••

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[El Jefe]

From my own experience, I'd have to say that coming from a UC hasn't done squat to help me get into a UC. They have enough of a selection of applicants to care about more important things than that.

 

[MD/PhDApplicant]

After reading the entire thread, it's amazing to see the amazing numbers (i.e. GPA and MCAT). However, these numbers fail to show the "real" person. I hope everyone's letter of recommendations were stellar, since I know that letter of recommendations goes a long way in the admissions process.

May I ask, who wrote your letter of recommendations, in what capacity did you know him/her, duration, etc? This way, we can better understand the reasons behind low admittance in certain cases.

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by vyc:
• UC admissions escape me. •••••Me too! I was rejected by SF and LA and yet got into a lot of 'higher ranked' (as determined by US News and World Distort). It makes so little sense -- I wasn't even waitlisted or anything. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by MD/PhDApplicant:
• May I ask, who wrote your letter of recommendations, in what capacity did you know him/her, duration, etc? This way, we can better understand the reasons behind low admittance in certain cases.•••••My Letters&gt;

1. Physician I did research with and shadowed for close to two years -- also the co-director of orthopaedic surgery at Harbor/UCLA Medical Center
(I know this letter was good because he basically told me exactly what he would say)

2. Organic Prof. I TA'd for and knew pretty well (rec'd A/A in two semesters of orgo)

3. Bioinorganic Prof. / Undergrad Advisor whom I knew very well and whom invited me for dinner to her house a couple of times (had her for three semesters of classes and did well in all three)

4. Art History Prof. - GREAT prof. I had 7 classes with and who spent a great deal of time with outside of the classroom -- we are still close and email a lot.

5. My Capt. at the fire department I worked for as a FF/Paramedic for 3.5 years during my undergraduate -- very much a fatherly figure for me whom I knew very well

------------------------

So, I really don't think my letters could have hurt me, but then again, that's probably what most people think -- I thought they would be very strong, but I guess you never can tell. . .

 

[sorrento]

Originally posted by MD/PhDApplicant:
•This way, we can better understand the reasons behind low admittance in certain cases.•

You know, I think that some of the time, all the analysis in the world is not going to reveal a reason - at least not one that seems logical or fair. I, too, didn't get interviewed at some UCs, and yet got accepted to "higher ranked" schools. I got into research heavy schools and those oriented toward primary care - and got rejected from both types of places, too. I got into some places where I thought I interviewed poorly, and rejected/waitlisted at places I thought I interviewed well. As an applicant, and especially as a California applicant, it doesn't pay to agonize too much over the outcome. You will end up driving yourself crazy.

For the record, here are my stats:
applied to 27
did about 20 secondaries, abandoned the rest
15 interview invites, went to 11
6 acceptances: Wash U, UC Davis, Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, Pitt
4 waitlists: Stanford, UCLA, Mayo, Penn
1 post-interview rejection: Duke
3.92, 38-40Q (13-15, 10, 15)

good luck. tis the price we pay to live in the golden state.

 

[Keith]

--applied to a ton of schools (non-trad and was waiting on August MCAT scores)

--24 interview invites, attended 16

--7 acceptances so far. i withdrew from all but UCSF(i'm headed there in fall)

--as far as CA schools go,
Accepted at UCSF and UCSD
Rejected by USC, Stanford, and UCI post-secondary.
Rejected by UCLA post-interview
Still waiting to hear from UCD post-interview

3.94sci, 3.81cum, 11V,10P,12B,Q, CSUH undergrad.

 

[matthew0126]

Well... one obvious reason the UC's are so tough to get in are just because they are so damn high in demand. Not to even mention the 3 ranked ones, which most people I know would take over any out of state school (with possible exceptions of Harvard and JHU), but consider UCI and UCD. There are so many premeds that end up with one UC acceptance at irvine or davis and then a bunch of acceptances at ivy's and east coasters... and they end up picking irvine or davis. heh. No surprise then that it's ridiculously difficult to get in.

 

[matthew0126]

Hey vyc, to tell you the truth, this is the first time I've heard that. On the other hand, I've heard so many people complain on SDN about how the UC's bias against UC-students. Simply because they want a more diversified student body.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by vyc:
•people have said it before and i too happen to think that the UCs are slightly biased toward UC undergrads.

so it'd be interesting to see where you all went for undergrad.

i went out of state.
i applied to UCLA, UCSF, and UCSD.
i interviewed at UCSD and was placed on the acceptable pool.
but got rejected pre interview at the other two.

that sucks. i worked at a lab at UCLA's med school for 4 months, published as second author, and got a strong recommendation from the researcher there.

UC admissions escape me.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cambrian:
•This is what I don't understand about Cali schools. Every poster here has such competitive stats but many of you only get a few interviews at Cali schools. There are people who get interviews from Yale, Columbia, Cornell, WashU, etc and only get one interview from a Cali school. I still don't understand even though I've been through the process. Is it because Cali schools are super-selective due to the massive number of applicants applying every year?••••••••••

 

[vyc]

fair enough.
i think you will find people of both opinions.
i just happen to REALLY strongly believe in mine.

just like private schools take care of their own, UCs do the same. i can't necessarily say i blame them. it just sucks being punished for going out of state for college, when clearly i'm a californian at heart and will definitely settle down there once i'm done with all my training.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by matthew0126:
•Hey vyc, to tell you the truth, this is the first time I've heard that. On the other hand, I've heard so many people complain on SDN about how the UC's bias against UC-students. Simply because they want a more diversified student body.
•••••

 

[Street Philosopher]

i think i've just soiled my pants looking at all these stats.

 

[Rhiana]

Alright, I have to join this thread
Applied 20(was waiting on Aug MCAT, improved from 9,7,9 R to 12, 9, 10 Q)
Secondaries completed: 10
Interviews:3( one I never went to)
Accepted: 1 UCLA
Waitlist: UCSF
Gpa 3.3 BA Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, BA Marine Biology( both from UC Santa Cruz) AA Chemistry(Evergreen Valley College)

 

[EMTgirl]

all of you guys have amazing stats! i now know why ALL the UCs rejected me. anyone who gets accepted to any UC should feel very privileged...the rest of us will just have to hope we get back to cali after we pay the big bucks for private school in another state.
as for me, representing the not-so-academic candidate :
attended private undergrad in CA
GPA: 3.6
MCAT: 27Q
great letters of rec, strong personal statement, 2 years as EMT/ER tech, lots of leadership in college, post-bacc courses, everything.
rejected from all UCs pre-interview.
interviewed at loyola in december, was accepted within 2 weeks, and withdrew from all others except USC, where i was also rejected. i don't have enough money to fly to all those other schools and loyola was my first choice after the UCs. so chicago, here i come! good luck to all other californians seeking acceptance for 2003!

 

[yodi]

For anyone who applied to UC's last year, did anyone get into 3 (or more) UC's? Cuz I thought I read somewhere in SDN the rumor that the UC system grants a max. of 2 acceptances to the same applicant--anyone want to debunk that?

Thanks --

 

[souljah1]

i know someone who got into all five.

 

[Deuce 007 MD]

Reading these stats I realize I have no chance in hell of staying in state. UC sucks a$$. Like I said before people with early UC acceptances should go to an Ivy school or top 10 school, so us loosers on hold for interview can take your UC spot.

 

[UCSBMed1]

Yeah, there numbers are pretty good. Kinda discouraging, but you have to have hope. Remember, for every 3.97 35+ student, there are some with 3.5, 30 MCAT scores.


We all have a shot!

 

[LoneCoyote]

Wow, thanks for pulling that one back up. Those are some pretty amazing numbers overall. It makes me realize just how important the MCAT is going to be... well back to the books for me....