Is UC Irvine really so bad of a school?

[Procrastinator]

All I seem to hear on this board and from friends is how bad UCI sucks. I was just looking for some added insight as to whether or not I should attend an upcoming interview there. It seems like the only positive things I've heard about it is that it is somewhat near the beach. Is that all it has going for it? Also, my impression is somewhat soured by their extremely rude office staff and their horribly uninformative website. So, what's the deal with UCI?

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[Jalby]

They (effectively) rejected me. How good could it be?

 

[kitty-kitty]

according to somebody who attended/graduated uci medschool a few years ago, she was absolutely miserable there. she said that students were very competitive. also, from a doctor who used to work at uci med center in orange, he said that if you really want to practice medicine, you don't want to end up working there. i didn't ask him too much more b/c i wasn't too interested, so i can't say much more than that.
perk is that yes, it's by the beach and weather is great.
apartments in irvine are expensive however.

 

[California]

I do not think UC Irvine College of Medicine is bad. I think the school is really the place to be if you are interested in primary care. Also, despite not being ranked in the top 50 (according to US News), there are really a lot of research opportunities.

I think a lot of people regard UC Irvine as bad because many on SDN have interviewed there or been accepted. Since UC Irvine is in California, it draws very good applicants. So, those who are accepted at UC Irvine are often times accepted at top 20 medical schools outside the state of California. Thus, they have a tendency to compare UC Irvine to these schools. However, in my opinion, UC Irvine is under-rated. The students are very supportive of one another and the faculty is very good at teaching! I like to think of UC Irvine as a lot like UC San Diego in terms of the location and research opportunites. UC Irvine, though, is not nearly as "cut-throat" as UC San Diego. In fact, UC Irvine is laid back. I'm sure, however, many on SDN will argue that UC San Diego is not "cut-throat" and nothing like UC Irvine. This is just my two cents. I hope it is helpful.

 

[Cambrian]

I was an undergrad at UCI and I am currently working at a research facility in the UCI Medical School. UCI SOM is that bad of a school. I think the reason UCI has a bad rep is because of a few recent scandals regarding mishandling of cadavers. But that was an administrative screw-up and does not reflect the education at UCI SOM. UCI is a new kid on the block in terms of medical school. So, it has not established notoriety or a name for itself. Additionally, it is the only UC medical school that is not ranked in USNews under any category. I have a few friends who go to the medical schools, and they say they love it there. The first 2-year curriculum is similar to other UC's and the class hours are light; students generally finish lectures for the day by noon(except for UCSD, I don't even wanna talk about UCSD's insane class hours). Many exams are from old USMLE's. A good percentage of students do well on the boards. Students also have lots of opportunities to do independent research. The only drawback to UCI is that the medical center is far away (15-20 minute drive, if traffic permits). You should go to the interview if it is convenient. But don't pass UCI up because of its lack of "name".

 

[slj]

I really hope it's not as bad as some say! (it's the only school i've been accepted to so far...) my impression when i went to interview there was that it's a bunch of pretty level, california kids who for the most part didn't get into other uc's. they were enthusiastic about their school--about its laid back-ness, the responsiveness of the faculty and the flexibiilty of the curriculum. watching the first-years hang out after taking a test, they seemed to enjoy each other and be fairly relaxed. i must say that i definately keep reminding myself of the allure of the beach, and i'm a bit worried about being a nor-cal transplant in truman show style suburbia, but at this point i think i'd pick it over any non UC, (eg Michigan, where I'm waitlisted) because most people I've talked to, including several physicians, have said they themselves would definately pick irvine in the context of the prestige/debt load trade off. so there you have it. i think if i were you i'd check out the interview. is anyone out there excited about the possibility of going to this school?

 

[Yogi Bear]

I did research at UCI for a summer in the SOM section of the irvine campus and I thought the area was really nice. buildings are new. there's a huge science library next to the non-hospital SOM area, and also a student lounge. didn't get a chance to speak to any med students to get feedback about the first two years of med school at uci, but i really liked the area (maybe cuz i'm from OC)..hehe. they're currently doing a lot of renovations/building new buildings so gaining access to the parking lots may be troublesome on some days.

 

[nray]

I have two friends that go to Irvine, never have I heard it is a bad school. When I interviewed there, I was impressed with the students, the faculty and the area. The person that said it was cutthroat I think couldn't be more wrong based on all the input I have gotten. They seem to foster a real supportive atmosphere that is really laid back. I happened to have my interview on match day, and apparently the students matched very well based on the residencies they were announcing. UCI might not be as highly ranked as some of the other schools out there, but I definitely think its on the way up and not a bad school.

 

[jmejia1]

The only think I know about UCI regards thier admission practice of reviewing and offering interviews to applicants with the highest GPAs and working down. They start with the 4.0s and work downward. This came straight from the admissions office twice early in the process when I called them.

Kinda makes you wonder about the school if they value GPA so much more than other important things like ECs. That's at least the way it seems.

 

[none]

Why isn't the school ranked? I don't get that. Is it the only MSTP school that is unranked? What stat is keeping it from being ranked?

 

[Diogenes]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by jmejia1:
•The only think I know about UCI regards thier admission practice of reviewing and offering interviews to applicants with the highest GPAs and working down. They start with the 4.0s and work downward. This came straight from the admissions office twice early in the process when I called them.

Kinda makes you wonder about the school if they value GPA so much more than other important things like ECs. That's at least the way it seems.•••••It could be that they get so many applications that they don't feel the need to interview people with low GPAs because there are enough people with high GPAs that will have the ECs and other stuff. Sucks for people with low GPAs, but it doesn't mean that they aren't taking people with ECs.

 

[Darwin]

I have slightly under a 3.6 and was offered an interview early in Jan...don't know how true that is (gpa order of interviews), especially since they were so late with everything. I also know a few people who applied there with much better gpa's and were offered interviews later or haven't even received the offer yet. In fact, Jessica has a much better gpa than mine and a higher MCAT and got her interview offer after mine...I wonder why they would tell you that?

 

[waiting123]

I agree with Darwin. They don't necessarily go by GPA because mine is pretty high and my mcats are pretty good and I was never offered an interview. In fact, right now I am on hold for interview so if I don't get one by april 1st I will probably be rejected. Add this to fact that I got interviews at UCLA and UCSD and I am really confused as to why I never got one. This is too bad because I really wanted to go there since it is pretty close to my home and I love the location. Also, UCI is pretty weird cause I know a lot of people with great stats and EC's that don't get into any UC's including Irvine while at the same time Irvine accepts people with lower numbers. I think that if they wanted to, they could accept a class with very high numbers who are desperate to go to a UC school.

 

[jmejia1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Darwin:
•I have slightly under a 3.6 and was offered an interview early in Jan...don't know how true that is (gpa order of interviews), especially since they were so late with everything. I also know a few people who applied there with much better gpa's and were offered interviews later or haven't even received the offer yet. In fact, Jessica has a much better gpa than mine and a higher MCAT and got her interview offer after mine...I wonder why they would tell you that?•••••Well that's exactly what I was told. If I remember correctly, Jessica took the MCAT in August so that may explain why she eventually got her interview invite later in the game. I wouldn't lie about it, the office lady told me as clear as mud that they review people with the highest GPAs first. That isn't necessarily bad since people with really high GPAs can also have great ECs, but people with less than great GPAs can also have wonderful attributes.

I think all schools in California are great schools though. So I'm really not taking much away from UCI. I just thought that that school working down from 4.0s was kinda weak.

 

[Kazzar]

I think the person who said that the UCI works from the 4.0 down is either full of **** or the person that said that is making it up. I work in the UCI College of Medicine (but on hold/waitlisted funny enough) and I talked to this neuropsychologist who was on the admissions committee 1 or 2 years ago. She said the process goes like this. They have 3 scores: GPA/MCAT, extracurriculars, and personality/specialness. Each score is rated 1 to 7 and I believe averaged across a few raters. UCI is rolling so the accept people with high scores outright (+20), but need to see what the overall applicant population looks like before they set a cutoff point. Basically the accept everybody above and make tough decisions on the border line. I hope this clears some things up about a great school!

Also, I think the school is great - great board pass rates, non-competative, light class loads, and of course the beautiful campus and surrounding areas.

 

[matthew0126]

ugh. dragged into another uci thread!

man, you guys that are flaming on uci are a. on crack, b. listening to people on crack, c. listening to people that like to make up stuff

anyways, after working at the med center over a summer, i've seen nothing but positives about the school. there is one substantial bad thing about the school -- that it's not ranked. otherwise, if you can get past that, uci is terrific

in regards to that post about how the med center is not the place to be, i totally disagree with that doctor. all the doctors i worked with were super-upbeat, working on great research, and loving the friendly atmosphere. and it is a very competitive place to get residency at; the med center is a very desirable spot

another example of how great uci is, is how many people reject east coast privates and even ivy's sometimes to go to uci.

most every1 is happy off their ass @ uci, the area is wonderful/beautiful, it's by the beach, the weather is off the hook, irvine is a shortdrive to l.a., the students are friendly, the curriculum is very laid-back. basically, irvine kicks butt. i'll be going to one of the other uc's, but i wouldn't mind going to irvine at all.

btw, cambrian, check that ucsd class hours thing. it's a myth. ucsd hours (lower than the nat'l average) are comparable to ucla's, slightly higher than ucsf/irvine's, and lower than stanford/davis's

 

[medicine2006]

UCI bad? That is rediculous. Those who say it is a bad school are a bunch of spoiled brats typical of the anal, agressive, and arogant, immature pre-meds in California. They've gone straight tru high school to a great undergrad to a great med school with very few adversities.

They should know of all the people who would give up a kidney for an opportunity to go to any cali school especially any UC.

 

[johnM]

I personally hate UCI because I was treated like crap by their office. I called to check on my app and got this horrible attitude... over a speakerphone! I was so pissed, but I would still love to go there! haha

 

[qualified]

I was accepted to UCI and probably will be going there over a very highly ranked out-of-state medical school. I am picking UCI for many reasons, including its location and excellent tuition. I, too, was not that impressed by their webpage, but was very impressed with the school during my interview. The students were very happy, and relaxed. UCI eases you into the notoriously difficult medical education: anatomy is not until the second quarter. Also, the school and the dean are very responsive to the students' needs, and changes are made as needed. The dean personally knows all of the med students, which I found very encouraging. What I also really liked about UCI were the smaller amounts of class hours, and the way the school prepares its students for the boards. They do very well on the boards!! The students get early clinical exposure, and get to learn how the basics of a patient exam on mock patients, taking away some of the stress of learning on real patients. Also, the class size is small - 93 students, I believe. This allows the professors to better get to know each of the students. Basically, I loved the atmosphere of the the school, and I think it is more important to be happy than to be at a school that is extremely highly ranked. I believe that UCI is deserving of a great ranking, and I am sure that they soon will be ranked amongst the other UCs.

I would urge you NOT to judge a school on the way the admissions office treats you on the phone. They in no way reflect the quality of the school, and just imagine how frusterating it would be to answer hundreds of calls from anal pre-meds all
day long.

I think those people who like to bash UCI need to learn all the facts about UCI before coming to conclusions. There is so much more to a med school than its ranking, and I think UCI is an excellent example!!!

 

[2002applicant]

I really liked UCI when I went for my interview and I was really excited to get accepted there. One thing which really impressed me during the interview was how nice everybody was and how happy the students seemed. I would really be surprised if it turns out to be cut-throat. I hope that's wrong, since there is a good chance that I'll end up going there. I haven't been using this site too much, but all of you potential UCI class of 2006 classmates, keep in touch...

 

[California]

UC IRVINE is not "cut-throat." I think the word "cut-throat" accidentally got associated with UC Irvine because of my prior post, which was comparing UC Irvine and UC San Diego. UC San Diego can be "cut-throat" at times, which I'm sure is a statement many will disagree with on SDN. UC Irvine is not.

I just want to make clear that all prior posts about UC Irvine being laid back ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. The class is very supportive of one another. Perhaps, the best aspect of the school are the students who attend. They are very kind and friendly.

I hope this clears up any confusion my prior post may have caused. Thanks.

 

[EpiII]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by medicine2006:
•UCI bad? That is rediculous. Those who say it is a bad school are a bunch of spoiled brats typical of the anal, agressive, and arogant, immature pre-meds in California. They've gone straight tru high school to a great undergrad to a great med school with very few adversities.

They should know of all the people who would give up a kidney for an opportunity to go to any cali school especially any UC.•••••I generally agree with this sentiment. I think UCI is probably unranked because they are perceived to be the 7th best school in CA out of 8 med schools. Even with large number of the CA applicants, UCI does not get many of the top applicants since they have such stiff competition. The rankings put weight on the entering student's grades, MCATs, etc.

Another reason UCI will never or probably will never be ranked is that the ranking are also based on other medical school's opinions. Do you think the nation's med schools are going to rank all 8 of CA's med schools in the top 50? They rank SF and LA high and after that, they say, screw CA.

Also, the admissions office certainly has done nothing to help the school's perceived quality with their horrible service on the phone.

That being said, UCI is a wonderful school to be educated at and all its grads have the same opportunity as everyone else to be tremendous medical doctors. I loved my interview there. I thought it was my second best interview day (out of 5). I thought the students were laid back, nice, etc.