1. what's a typical day like?
Classes start at 8 or 9 and end as early as 11 or sometimes on project/lab days you end at 4 or 5 with a gap in your schedule. If you go to pharmacy.ucsf.edu and click on current students and 'schedules', you can see what our schedules look like for the most part. They don't change the three times a week 8AM classes in Spring quarter 1st year even though it's pretty nuts to think that 122 students will show up to an 8AM class three times a week, but they try.
Lunch hour- take an elective or two per quarter early on so you're not taking electives later in your school year (you need at least 12 units of electives to graduate.)
2. do you have much time to work/extracurriculars?
I work only a few hours a month, though I know of people who work at Kaiser 13 hours/week during the school year. I could never do that, but there are plenty of people who do. There are a lot of people who are super involved and organize lots of events and health fairs and are active in student government. There are plenty of people who are not. It all depends on if you're interested in it, or if you just want to get home and spend time with friends/family instead.
3. any advice on housing, esp. experiences finding apts or rooms in houses?
DO not move in to Mission bay housing. craigslist.org is the best place to look, as well as emailing current students that you might know of and/or contacting each other early on in the summer (thru this forum, for example) with ideas of where to move to. Aldea Housing if you can get it, is great, it's right up the hill from campus (20 minute walk, 10 minute shuttle ride) and it's safe and quiet. Rumour has it though that they are raising rent, in which case just share a housing situation in the outer Sunset. you can share a 2 bedroom for $800-900 each, or less if you look around. Only warning, Sunset, outer sunset, richmond, inner richmond, haight districts are very foggy and cold usually. If you are looking for the sun, head to noe valley, mission, or portrero hill... though it might be more of a challenge to get to campus. Castro neighborhood is ideal b/c the N judah drops you off right there (near market and church street) and it's sunny there, too. metrorent.com is another place i've used to look for housing, but craigslist usually is the best place to look!!!
Oh, and did I mention do not move in to mission bay housing? Too far form campus, to isolated, too expensive, no sense of community, the shuttle takes forever, they are still building and construction is noisy, the ballpark noise from the concerts is a little odd, there is no parking and there is nowhere to go in the neighborhood on foot. it's like living on some isolated island.
4. atmosphere of classes?
All 122 of you will take the same classes every day for three years... so you'll get to know each other and hopefully work together. It all depends on the personality, leadership, and 'mood' of your class... we have a class of 122 who are really willing to help each other out, share study guides, work together, and though we all work really hard academically, i think we also have a group of people who really are dedicated to the profession of pharmacy, as well as to friendships and relationships- which is unique. The 'atmosphere' will really depend on the group of people you enter with i think.. the upperclasspeople really try to cultivate within you guys a feeling of comraderie and the spirit to work together (rather than compete viciously for no reason) and i think we've lived up to that, and then some.
Once again, do not move in to Mission bay Housing. I love how the housing office seems to allude to the idea that Mission bay is near UCSF. It's straight across town near the ballpark.
