My god, by reading your emails, you'd think we're all playing musical intstruments on the way to class, parading around in evening gowns or throwing sporting goods everywhere. I hate to break your "UCSF is elitist" bubble, but not everyone here was a former astronaut, had a bizillion dollar dot-com, or spent 10 years in the Peace corps while single-handedly curing a major disease or epidemic. In all, the students are really nice people who do not go flaunting any "unsusual abilities" they may have -- granted, they're all very smart, but you have to be "smart" to get into med school (usually) in the first place. I think the distinction you should realize with UCSF is that it likes people with EXPERIENCES - whatever they may be - that have made them unique individuals who have the capacity (with a little molding and education) to become exceptional physicians. My only "unique" attribute (I think) is that I was a health care consultant for a couple of years before coming to UCSF - I definitely have not been to the moon or won the U.S. Open. My MCATs were sub-par for UCSF and nationally for accepted students for that matter, I am not a minority, my GPA was high and I had done research. But, those "stats" mean nothing -- UCSF wants INDIVIDUALS as you all have noted strenously. Just keep in mind that an individual does not have to be an anomoly (e.g., an over-achieving superstar) in some specific facet of life to get in to UCSF. Good luck to all, and feel free to b_tch me out for defending my school and classmates. Take care,
-- Becky
