INTERVIEWED AT UCLA? this is your thread!

[zer0el]

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thanks for the support guys. =) altho i'm bummed at not even getting on the waitlist, i'm still very fortunate to have several good schools to choose from.

i'd rate my interview between avg. and good. he was a nice guy, but i couldn't really get a sense of how i was doing. i don't know, maybe i said something that offended him, altho i doubt it. this was my first post-interview rejection, so it kinda suprised me (even tho i know ucla employs this tactic more than other schools).

 

[Moskeeto]

Originally posted by Trix
Wow, I wondered why you hadn't posted to the thread in a couple of days. Sorry about all of the mishaps. It sounds as if the actual interview portions of the day actually went quite well, but interviewing is stresssful enough without all of the extenuating drama you had. Especially sorry you missed Stephen Hawking, but it is really nice that your grandfather got to see him.

And... if it makes you feel better, I dumped a cup of coffee on my suit at UCSF, only it was before the interview. I felt like piglet the entire day.

Good luck on your UCD interview! When is it?

aaahh, that sucks Trix, i'd be really ticked if I had coffee all over me, but I guess it didn't hurt you any, I'll have to try it at UCD and see if I have any luck. my interview is 4/15.

 

[Moskeeto]

Oh and also, the results of the 2003 great hamster race are in with the off campus hamsters having a commanding lead.

Both dropped in the mail on Thurs, 3/28,
off campus received: Mon, 3/31
on campus mail received: Thurs, 4/3; postmarked: 4/1

so the off campus was delivered, with a Sunday involved, before the Campus mail was even postmarked.

 

[Trix]

Originally posted by Moskeeto
aaahh, that sucks Trix, i'd be really ticked if I had coffee all over me, but I guess it didn't hurt you any, I'll have to try it at UCD and see if I have any luck. my interview is 4/15.

OK, so about a week to practice a "no food spilling" strategy until your interview at UCD....and, you shouldn't have any travel mishaps since you won't be flying etc. Looking good, Looking good!!

So, things on the job front for the hubbie are not looking good. Very, very quiet in the market....and we have to make a decision soon. 😕

 

[cipher]

Has anyone who's interviewed in late-februrary or later heard back yet? I interviewed on 2/25 and I'm desperate to hear something.

 

[Trix]

Very strange, but someone from UCLA just called me at WORK to find out if I was planning on withdrawing or not.....don't know quite what to think of that since they received my "I will be coming letter" a couple of weeks ago???

Perhaps the conspiracy theory about admissions offices surfing SDN are true, and they have figured out who "Trix" is.

 

[Moskeeto]

That IS strange Trix. 😱 Is this common? I can't imagine getting that call, let alone at work. 😕 Kind of puts you on the spot.

well on the bright side, if they weren't sure you were Trix before, now they can be pretty certain due to your post, 😀. now you have to type something totally random to throw them off, like me, I have a fake birthday listed on my profile, they'll never catch me, bwahahaha.....

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

sounds unprofessional

 

[dpy]

I received a phone call as well and while he didn't ask me if I was going to withdraw, he did ask where UCLA ranked amongst my choices. He was very nice...talking with me for almost an hour answering all of my questions (I had tons of them!).

So was the phone call only about whether you're going to withdraw or was it a phone call to see if they could answer your questions so you can decide which school to go to?

 

[Arginine]

I'm joining this thread a little late because I had pretty much given up on hearing from UCLA until I got a surprise interview request in late March--just had my interview on 4/7. I wonder if all these strange phone calls spring from UCLA trying to figure out how many more interviews/acceptances to hand out?? My student interviewer told me they still have decisions to make on some applicants who interviewed in January !😱

It was not clear to me whether I was interviewing for a real spot, or simply for the waiting list; it was also unclear whether I would get a decision before the magical date of May 15. Moskeeto, I know you had your interview recently (sorry you had such a rough day!)--did they tell you anything more definitive?

 

[eunice]

Originally posted by Arginine
My student interviewer told me they still have decisions to make on some applicants who interviewed in January !😱

of course, there are those few unfortunate souls, like me, who STILL haven't heard anything since early November !!
i'm not bitter.. no really.. 🙄

oh well... i guess it all comes with the territory of med school apps.. but I gotta say UCLA is probably the WORST!

good luck to you all~.
i gotta stop posting on this thread! haha... whenever I check here, I get all antsy about UCLA...

hopefully, the next time i post, it'll be to tell you guys that I got in! But that's just wishful thinking...

 

[Trix]

Originally posted by dpy
I received a phone call as well and while he didn't ask me if I was going to withdraw, he did ask where UCLA ranked amongst my choices. He was very nice...talking with me for almost an hour answering all of my questions (I had tons of them!).

So was the phone call only about whether you're going to withdraw or was it a phone call to see if they could answer your questions so you can decide which school to go to?

At least I don't feel so singled out anymore. A woman called and was rather short. I was only asked "Are you planning on withdrawing your application?" I told her that I had not made any final decisions yet, but that I had withdrawn from all the schools I applied to with the exception of two. She said ok , thank you and goodbye be fore I could even respond...but that was probably more out of shock I guess.

 

[Moskeeto]

Originally posted by Arginine
Moskeeto, I know you had your interview recently (sorry you had such a rough day!)--did they tell you anything more definitive?

I couldn't get much out of them. I brought up waitlists with the lady in the admissions office, but all I got out of her was the "unranked" (really the high priority) waitlist and the hold (no chance in hell) waitlist options, nothing about if we were interviewing for an acceptance or waitlist. Also, I overheard someone say he was done interviewing students for the year, so I was guessing they were almost done with interviews, buy my interviewer told me he thought they went on for much longer. He also said to expect a very long wait to get my rejection, well he didn't say rejection, but I know what he was thinking. Good luck to everyone that is waiting, christ, november was a LONG time ago.

 

[palm tree]

I'm also waiting for a decision since my early December interview. I wonder how many out there haven't heard a peep from UCLA yet... It seems like a bunch of waitlists were mailed out, and so far I only heard of one rejection (sorry!). Waiting can be so draining!

 

[Poddes]

Do letters of interest and intent do any good at UCLA?

 

[bakaFOB]

hey guys,
Just wanna share my frustrations with cali schools in general... seems like cali schools are next to impossible to get in for out-of-state residents. for example, here's my story:

gpa: 3.8, science gpa:3.85
Mcat:39
undergrad school: #4 ranked
one published paper, some volunteering/patient contact experiences


result:
accepted: washu, upenn, duke, columbia, NWU, baylor
waitlisted: stanford, UCSF

UCLA letter sent 4/10... dun think it's gonna be good sicne i interviewed in jan. I really wanna be in cali for personal reaons. but looks like it's not gonna work out. i know i still have great choices (withdrawn from all but 2), but just disappointed i can't be where i wanna be for the next 8 years (i'm doing mstp).

 

[Trix]

bakaFOB

Don't give up on cali yet if you really want to be here! I have no idea how the mstp waitlists differ from the md lists, but if you can wait until 6/1 it may just happen.

And, I wouldn't count UCLA out yet...they are about due for sending out some more acceptances. 🙂

 

[dpy]

so did anyone go to the 2nd visit weekend thing? how was it?

 

[scifi]

i went...

we had an overview of the school and a thorough intro to the curriculum including a problem based learning session and description of the new organ based block scheduling.

the welcome address (which i missed the first 15 minutes of) was about ucla, the new hospital that's being built, how ucla's hospital is ranked the best west of the mississippi (?), top 10 reasons to come to ucla, faculty reputation, etc.

the curriculum is going to be divided into blocks for next year, first block being an overview of basic science, second being respiratory, third or fourth being neuro/psych, etc... each block will focus on an organ system and includes pharm, physio, histology, etc. instead of separating these subjects as done traditionally. there will be a max of 10 hours of lecture per week (2 each day), 2 pbl sessions/week, plus tues, weds, thurs there are labs (2-3hours?) and a doctoring course (which we also sat in on that day). i'm not sure how student schedules are now but this means more free time to do independent study. if anyone has sat in on a pbl session, you probably have a good idea of how the session is structured and how students are assigned to research a specific aspect of the case being addressed.

we had a nice luncheon at the student lounge and listened to a few students talk about their experiences in the residency match, sat in on a doctoring sessions where a volunteer interviewed a patient (actor). then there were tables set up with first years to answer questions about the student organization they represented.

i got the feeling at my interview as well as at second look day that the faculty try to stay very in tune with student needs, they are willing to make changes when student opinion indicates need for change, etc. overall the day made me more excited about starting school in the fall. 😀

what did y'all think?

 

[mystic_b]

nice report, scifi. how many people would you estimate were there for the event? just wondering if it's possible to extrapolate to any extent how many peeps they've accepted so far, for those of us still waiting for any post-interview word.

 

[scifi]

as for # of people.... maybe 60-70?? i don't think everyone who got in went to the event, however. i know of at least one person who decided not to go b/c of expensive airfare.

i tried to do a little surveying myself to see if people were set on their decisions. a good number of people were pretty sure they were going to ucla. however, i did meet some peeps who were still deciding and even a few who were leaning more towards another school. one person was choosing between LA, SF, and harvard (lucky bastard) 😉

 

[dpy]

thanks for the info scifi! I really wished I could've gone, but didn't want to spend the couple hundred bucks to go, especially since I've visited the school numerous times before already.

again..thanks for the summary and good luck to all those waiting!

 

[Miss Dr.]

bump

any UCLA updates? when does their waitlist traditionally start moving? one lady in the admissions office told me that sometimes they take 40% of people off the waitlist...

if you're choosing between UCLA and some higher ranked school or what-not...here's my advice---go to UCSF! go to Yale! go to Penn! Go Go Go!

🙂
miss dr.

 

[Dr. Dodger Dog]

I was at the second look as well. I didn't really talk to that many people. I came with a friend from USC so we basically hung together. I am one of the people choosing between UCSF and UCLA as well as USC. I had a really great experience at UCLA. I love their new facilities and would look forward to working in their new hospital. The faculty seemed very enthusiastic about the curriculum and the school in general. I feel like you can't go wrong with UCLA. One thing I came away with is that you only get to see 3-4 real patients in your first year while at USC, this number is much higher. I am not sure how this is at UCSF but patient contact is something that is very important to me. Nevertheless, UCLA's doctoring course seems well organized and helpful in preparing students for the wards.

I guess that's all I really have to add... really loved UCLA even though I am and will always be a Trojan at heart. I think my decision will come down to location, family, etc. If you guys have any more questions regarding second visit... post them here and I'll try to answer them.

 

[blackbird03]

aren't decisions mailed out today?

 

[mystic_b]

Originally posted by blackbird03
aren't decisions mailed out today?

What makes you say that? I've never heard of any specific deadline to mail out decisions, and I doubt UCLA is colluding with the IRS or anything...

 

[cipher]

Called the office today and was told that I'd likely hear back by the end of the month. I'm not sure what info she was looking at that made her say that, but at the end of the month it will have been about 8 weeks for me post-interview.

 

[Trix]

I was at the second look weekend as well. Had a really great experience, met some nice folk, but....

Then I came back to SF... and after a couple of days of soul searching, I sent in my withdrawal letter yesterday.

UCLA has always been my 1st choice, but for some reason I don't think it is the right place for me. I can't even put my finger on exactly why. Maybe I built the image of what I thought it was like, and then it was different when I actually got there. Maybe it is because I have wanted to move back to LA since the day I left, and my wishes were less about the school and more about the location. Regardless, I feel a little sad about mailing the letter. I stood by the mailbox for a minute when I dropped it in thinking what the f*#@ am I doing.

Anyway, it does feel good to have finally made a decision.

 

[Arginine]

Trix,

I really admire you for having the strength and resolve to make such a difficult decision before the pressure of deadlines. And hats off to you (from one "old lady" applicant to another--I'm 36) for being accepted to so many amazing med schools this year!! You will be a wonderful doctor no matter where you go to school, and UCSF is lucky to have you...

 

[Trix]

Thanks Arginine, That means a lot coming from another "old lady". 😀

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

damn it cmon...more news

 

[mystic_b]

Xenon, didn't you say you had a final letter sent awhile ago? What was the result?

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

it was a mistake...and yes i wasnt happy about not having any news yet🙄

 

[dirtybob]

anyone else still waiting for a reply post interview?

Still Waiting List (interview date)
dirtybob (1/31)
xenon-ramz (?)

 

[chibihamsta]

Still Waiting List (interview date)
dirtybob (1/31)
xenon-ramz (?)
chibihamsta (2/11)

🙄

 

[mystic_b]

Still Waiting List (interview date)
dirtybob (1/31)
xenon-ramz (?)
chibihamsta (2/11)
mystic_b (12/?)

 

[sorrento]

Hi all,
Apologies for busting in on your thread. I spent lots of quality time on SDN last year and understand what you're going through with decisions, waitlists, and just plain waiting. Hang in there.

So, I'm now a first (almost second!)-year at UCLA and I'm happy to answer any questions you have that may make your decision easier. Someone mentioned earlier their concern about patient contact at UCLA - the truth is, you end up seeing a LOT more than 3-4 patients. That's only the one-on-one interviews in Doctoring (and you actually actively participate in your classmates' interviews, as well, so really there's more there, too). For example, my experience with the (required) preceptorship at a general internist's office provided me with the opportunity to interview and examine probably 6-7 patients a visit X 7 visits = 40-50 patients. And if you volunteer at any of the student-run clinics and health fairs, you'll get even more experience. I have never heard anyone complain about not getting enough patient contact.

To those of you who've already chosen to go elsewhere - congratulations. To anyone who's still ambivalent, let me know if I can help clarify anything. I love it here, but I'll try to be objective. 🙂

Best of luck!

 

[mfleur]

Still Waiting List (interview date)
dirtybob (1/31)
xenon-ramz (?)
chibihamsta (2/11)
mystic_b (12/?)
mfleur (2/26)

I think that UCLA enjoys torturing all of us!!! I need to stop checking my status page so often.

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

Still Waiting List (interview date)
dirtybob (1/31)
xenon-ramz (1/28)
chibihamsta (2/11)
mystic_b (12/?)
mfleur (2/26)


this is my top choice right now...i hope it works out.

 

[fucita]

😀

Just got an acceptance letter to ucla! interviewed in December! it's my first choice; i'm psyched!

 

[Dr. Don]

Originally posted by fucita
😀

Just got an acceptance letter to ucla! interviewed in December! it's my first choice; i'm psyched!

wow first post, and an acceptance! congratulations. Do you mind telling us when your letter was sent and any info about yourself (GPA, MCAT, extra curriculars) that got you over the hump for an outright admissions to UCLA? thanks

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

i hope thats not bad news for the rest of us who r waiting on news

 

[iwannabeadoc]

Checked the application database today, and it said a letter was sent yesterday. I interviewed way back in January, so basically I'm hoping for the best, but not expecting the best.

 

[mystic_b]

Gosh, still nothing for me. I'm placing a bet on 5/16 as my day of reckoning, but who knows.

iwannabeadoc, please post as soon as you find out what they sent you!

 

[palm tree]

I also have a final decision letter mailed 4/30. I interviewed early December, so I'm not too confident about the news. Anyway, I'll post again when I receive the mail.

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

still no news for me. i am getting a feeling that 4/30=acceptances and the rest will be waitlisted. i hope i am wrong about the latter cuz its personal.

 

[Moskeeto]

damn, if you guys interviewd in dec and jan and still havent heard back, its going to be a looooooooong wait for me since I interviewed at the end of march. I wish they'd just let you know when its gonna be, even its gonna take 4 months, at least I have a date to look forward to.

 

[eunice]

I know I said I wouldn't post until I found out from UCLA..
BUT I had to share.... I've grown quite attached to this thread.. haha

After reading a few posts here.. i checked my status page.. i didn't think it would say anything b/c i checked it yesterday and it was blank.. (5/1).. but this morning, i almost jumped in my seat~!
it said "letter sent 4/30" i wonder if all the 4/30 letters are the same.. or a mix of acceptances, waitlists, and rejections.. ??

imagine.. all of nov, dec, jan, feb, mar, april.. blank status page and then all of a sudden "letter sent"! i think i've got butterflies in my tummy!

i wonder how long it will take for the UCLA hamster to get to NJ.. sigh..
i think i'll just about die if it's a waitlist... i'm all waited out... please just take me or reject me. sigh...

at least i know they made a decision! whew!
ok.. i'll post when i get the letter~!
to all of you still waiting... hang in there.... BUT hopefully none of you have to wait for 6 months like I did..

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

so why is mine still empty!!!!!+pissed

 

[mfleur]

I too have the 4/30 decision lettter sent. I will post as soon as the hamster post gets to my parent's house in central CA. Hope its good news but I'm thinking waitlist. UCLA is definitely my first choice.

Good luck all!!!