Concerning UC-Boulder....

[reba95]

Dear any interested and/or informed persons...

My fiance and I just recently solidified our decision to move to Colorado after our wedding this coming August, and I'll be attending UC-Boulder to finish up my double degree (post-bac) in MCDBiology and Psychology (She and I have been oscillating between Colorado and Oregon....I was also accepted to continue my work at U. of Oregon....it has not been an easy decision). I was wondering if any of you SDNer's have attended this school and/or this program, and could give me your likes/dislikes about the degree or either department. (I performed a search--just for you A. Caveman --but only found one thread remotely related). Unfortunately, rumor has it that UCHSC is biased against UC-Boulder grads?? Anyone have any insight or first hand knowledge on that?? I had planned on applying to UCHSC, when the time came, but if I'm going to take myself out of the "crapshoot" right from the start then I may have to re-evaluate this. Also, do any alumni/current students have any idea how UC-Boulder grads fare with other medical schools around the country? Any and all insights would be greatly appreciated......either via post or PM. Thank you in advance,

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[colorado_1]

well, all i can tell you is that i did well at c.u. boulder mcdb/biochem and did have a tough time getting into uchsc (i got waitlisted a couple of times and never got in) but i did get into other schools out of state and currently go to suny buffalo (where there is another student from c.u. boulder). i don't know for sure they're biased against c.u. grads, they were just biased against me basically getting into a suny school as an out-of-stater is next to impossible, but i got in here and didn't get in to my state school (uchsc) where i even had connections as i had worked there at the med school as a researcher so go figure . . . my advice is to go to oregon but that's because i am biased against uchsc. c.u. boulder mcdb program is very solid and gives you tons of opportunity to research.
hope this helps.

 

[Angeliqua]

The MCDB department at CU Boulder is great, I think you made a great choice. I graduated from CU (MCDB) last spring and will be applying for admission to UCHSC for Fall '03. I have not heard that the med school is biased against CU undergraduates, in fact, I had many classmates that were accepted to the program with no problem. However, I would also be interested in knowing about the trend of CU graduates being accepted to UCHSC. I highly reccomend taking some of the graduate-level seminar courses in the MCDB dept. Also, if you get a chance, take Behavioral Neuroscience in the PSYC dept. Hope this helps.

 

[reba95]

Thank you both for your replies..

colorado_1: Congratulations on getting in SUNY Buffalo as it appears as no small feat! I will ultimately apply to UCHSC when the time comes, as it is in-state and apparently primary care oriented. However, I have already made plain to my fiance that if I get into Oregon for medical school, then we're going, as it is really her overwhelming preference (for good reasons) to go to Colorado for employment. I am glad to hear that you're aware of people getting into out of state schools with a degree from UC-Boulder. I realize that it is more how well you do than where you go (in undergrad) that will make you or break you, so to speak. As frogger2 noted, can you think of classes in MCDB that it would be prudent to take for med school, or ones that you found enjoyable? Specifically, did you petition to take any courses outside MCDB curriculum, and what were they. I'll be getting the minor in Biochemistry, and I believe that the second semester of that is considered an elective. Please correct me if I am wrong. An of course, do you know any one who applied/matriculated to Oregon Health. Thank you..

frogger2: Thank you for your reply. I will be taking the Behavioral Neuroscience course (along with many others such as Pharmacology, Clinical, etc...) as the second degree. One of my reasons for choosing UC-Boulder is the strength/breadth of their Psych Department (I'm ultimately interested in doing Psychiatry/Neurology). Thank you for your recommendation. Also, I'm glad to hear that you are aware of many people matriculating from Boulder to UCHSC. Have you seen any patterns/characteristics of those accepted, such as GPA's and MCAT scores, age, experiences.....basically any rumors or observations concerning the "type" of student they like to admit. All I've basically read is that they don't like to admit people on their first attempt!!! But that can't be altogether true
Also, I'll pose the same question to you as colorado_1: Can you recommend any elective courses to take which would be beneficial for medical school or that are just interesting or have good teachers?

Again, thank you both for your replies. This is the first chance I've been able to have a dialogue with people who aren't associated with the school as an advisor.....

 

[colorado_1]

okay reba, here's the if i had it to do all over again advice about mcdb.
the courses prepaired me well for med school. i also did the biochem minor. the mcdb core classes will be enough to prepare you for enzymes/molecular bio stuff in med school. as for biochem, the mechanisms of the reactions won't be a big deal in med school, but DO commit to memory EVERY reaction in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, nitrogen cycle etc. basically, we got all of metabolism (like your whole 1st biochem semester + a little from second semester at c.u.) in two weeks. At least make sure you know glycolysis and crebs cycle BY HEART.

Here's the best advice though. Believe me, cu's mcdb/biochem program will be enough to prepare you for med school style lectures. but . . . TAKE HUMAN ANATOMY. Yes, it will suck. it will be hard, but it'll still be about a tenth as hard as med school gross. i wish i had taken human anat. before med school. i did take comparative vert. anatomy with dr. henkin, and it was interesting, but it didn't prepare me for gross human anatomy. i would just worry about taking the mcdb required courses + the 2 semesters of biochem + human anatomy. the other piece of good advice is take the e.p.o.b. genetics lecture (you still need to take the mcdb genetics lab since e.p.o.b. genetics doesn't have a lab). e.p.o.b. genetics presents more of the topics you'll see on the mcat plus is less mechanisitic and gives you a better feel for things like genetic drift and population genetics which are huge concerns in medicine/medical school style genetics.
phew! hope i helped.

then, if you do get an interview at uchsc, you could find a way to get ahold of me again. i did interview there multiple times (of course i wasn't that great at interviewing there as i never did get in) but i can let you in on their interviewing style (which was way different than i found in the rest of the country) and maybe i could give you some insight into how to beat the interviews there (a task i was never able to do!)

as for stories of acceptance, well, i have 2 good friends who are 2nd years now at uchsc, both got in on their 3rd try. i knew one girl who got in 1st try (age 22) but she had nearly a 4.0 (somewhere around 3.98 or something) and yes that makes a difference as my 3.88 didn't get me in. i took the mcat twice and had a 32 and then a 31. i think maybe a 33+ would have pushed me over the edge.

overall, every story is different there. for everyone that gets in 1st try i can tell you stories about people like myself (or a friend from high school who didn't get in after 3 tries and now is a second year at tufts).

and as for my case i think they were prob. correct in not picking me. i just don't think the type of medicine and practice i beleive in matches up well with their program.

 

[Angeliqua]

reba
check your PM!