It looks like UCSD is beginning to Interview...

I got the same email last week..

 

Don't take it so personally! Did you really expect to get immediate interview invites from every school? I would take it at face value. They're telling you they may or may not interview you later and giving you some perspective on the odds. That's better than schools that don't say anything until you either get an interview invite or a rejection letter.

 

I wouldn't get too worked up just yet. First off, I actually don't consider the email to be all that rude -- at least they are bothering to update you on your status, which many schools don't do -- instead they leave you hanging for 4 or 5 months. Secondly, I knew several people who interviewed at UCSD within a few weeks of receiving this same notification (including a few who interviewed with me last fall). If you are truly interested in UCSD, send them an update letter if anything has changed on your application, awards, work, publications, etc., and let them know you are interested in the school. Good luck.

 

So much misinformation, so little time.

Whether or not you interview at SD has absolutely no bearing on interviewing at SF or LA, so chill out. Like you said, you just got an invite from Penn, so you know you're competitive for the top schools. Be happy with what you have and don't stress over what hasn't even happened yet.

Secondly, I only know of ONE person last year who interviewed at every single UC campus -- they are all pretty different schools and are looking for different things in their applicants. From my experience, UCSD definitely places more emphasis on research experience and interest in academic medicine, while UCSF is definitely more on the touchy-feely side of things and likes people that have done something either very unusual or very outstanding with their lives -- for whatever reason they LOVE teachers -- if you taught for any amount of time, you will get an interview at UCSF.

Anyways, my take-home point is that there is not a lot of rhyme or reason to this process. A lot of it comes down to intangibles like whether schools even have a "niche" for you -- for instance, a basketball team won't recruit all 15 of the best point guards in the nation, because they don't want a team full of point guards. The make-up of a med school class is somewhat analogous.

Relax, and enjoy the opportunities you've recieved so far.