Does it matter when I interview at UCLA?

[kwanny]

I'm in a little dilemma here. I go back to school in the East on Jan 1st, and the earliest date I could schedule an interview at UCLA is Jan 8th. The thing is, I'm almost broke, and I don't have any other interview offers in cali. I asked them if it would be disadvantageous to interview in March during my spring break, and they told me it wouldn't matter when I interview. But everybody else (including my premed advisor and friends at UCLA med school) told me that I should try to interview as early as I could, and definitely not until March. I seriously don't know what to do here. Help me out, please. Here are the choices:

1. Don't wait for more interviews. Must interview in January.
2. Just wait till February and see if you get more interviews in cali, but must schedule one in February.
3. Interview before March only if you get more interviews in cali. Otherwise, March is fine.
4. It doesn't matter when you interview, so schedule all your cali interviews in March during your spring break.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[genome25]

i think that they set up an interview with you for a reason...because you are a good candidate. so they will review your interview and file seriously regardless of what date you take it. but since it is rolling, you may want to try to wait to schedule early feb? maybe you can call the other ca schools after new years? good luck and i am sooo jealous! but if money is tight, i personally would try early feb so you can get other ca schools too while in ca.

 

[kwanny]

bump.

Also, if you could briefly explain why, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

kwanny

 

[TheFlash]

Hey man, why don't you contact the other Cali schools and tell them about your tight money situation? They could be accomodating and coordinate their interviews with UCLA if you'll already be in the area but won't be able to make back again.

tf

 

[kokonut]

i don't think interviewing in early january vs. early february will make a difference to your application (or at least not much). i don't think you should wait until march, although i know there are still people who get in after interviewing that late.

the thing that makes the most sense to me, would be to schedule your interview for early february, and then start contacting all the other cali schools you're waiting from. if you give them a month's notice, they should be able to review your file within that period and hopefully schedule you in around the same time.

i tried to do the same thing with ucsf, ucla, and stanford. i was successful with ucsf and ucla (this was for around mid-november), and still have yet to hear from stanford, even after bugging them over and over =T

goodluck kwanny!
koko

 

[kwanny]

Originally posted by TheFlash
Hey man, why don't you contact the other Cali schools and tell them about your tight money situation? They could be accomodating and coordinate their interviews with UCLA if you'll already be in the area but won't be able to make back again.

Yeah, man. I already did. USC just flat out told me they couldn't take requests like that. Stanford people told me I should hear back in January, but I'm not keeping my hopes up. Among the UC's, I already interviewed at Davis, but the other three put me on hold. I called SD and irvine, and they told me something like, "wouln't the world be wonderful if we could do that to everybody," meaning they can't take that into consideration. As far as SF goes, they only take a few off the hold list to begin with, so I pretty much gave up on them too.

Tough luck, huh?

 

[kwanny]

Aight. I'll start bugging them then. Thanks, kokonut.

 

[Spitting Camel]

My thought is this: Why would they extend their interview season and interview more people if they were at a disadvantage. Why not stop interviewing now?? Well, they want to interview you. An interview is an interview. If they want you, they'll make roon for you!

 

[kwanny]

bump

 

[bell]

kwanny--you should go early. A friend of mine, who now goes to ucsd med, had this situation and they ran out of spots by the time he interviewed--I don't know how this happens (it sounded weird to me) but he was a strong applicant (3.8 and 39) with tons of EC, and they actually told him that they would love for him to apply the next year but earlier soooo...
good luck and congrats on the invite.

 

[CalBeE]

ALthough it's possible that it wouldn't matter when you interview, but at a rolling school like UCLA, acceptances are mailed out as early as Mid-January...I think the choice is clear unless you're heading to bankrupcy.

I remember 3 years ago, I have a mentor who was a first year med student at UCLA, and I tagged along when he gave a tour to two interviewees (It was in March or so). I think both of them commented that they got into 1 or 2 schools only at that time (And the schools were not names that I had heard of, as far as I remember). After they were gone, my mentor commented that they're probably not strong candidates and their chances may not be very high.

 

[kwanny]

Thank you all for posting.

I'm trying to get at least 20 votes. Would you guys vote, if you haven't already? Thanks.

kwanny

 

[exmike]

give it up already, you're going to Cornell.


However, if you're going to waste your time on a UCLA interview, you might as well go ASAP