Question about getting to UCSF

[UCLAstudent]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Would it be terribly inconvenient to fly into Oakland instead of San Francisco? Southwest (cheapest airfare) doesn't fly to San Francisco. Would there be a way to take the BART to UCSF? Thanks for any help.

 

[CH3CH2OH]

from: http://www.ucsf.edu/maps/direction.html

Take BART to the Civic Center station and take the N-Judah Muni Metro, or exit to Market Street and take the No. 6-Parnassus bus to the campus. The Muni bus line operates along Market Street with a stop in front of the campus on Parnassus Avenue.

the Muni and the Bart stations are at the same place (muni is one level above)
doesn't seem too inconvinient to me 🙂

 

[dxw]

I'm like a few blocks away from UCSF. Trust me, flying into SFO will be a lot easier. Oakland isn't right off the Bart. You have to take a shuttle from Oakland airport to the Bart station, which runs every 20-30 minutes. It is a pain. Flying into SFO is more expensive, but it is so much easier. Do a Deal Tracker with Orbitz. Monitor the flights. I have gotten really cheap flights into SFO through other airlines. Good luck!

Would it be terribly inconvenient to fly into Oakland instead of San Francisco? Southwest (cheapest airfare) doesn't fly to San Francisco. Would there be a way to take the BART to UCSF? Thanks for any help.

 

[edgardo]

I live in Oakland and I dont think its too much of an inconvenience. The shuttle from the oakland airport to bart is pretty on schedule, so you dont have to wait that long. And the oakland airport is smaller and with less passengers, so very easy to navigate.

I'd say it depends though. If you are trying to fly into the bay in the morning and are barting right to your interview, going to sfo probably is your best bet. If you'll be stickin around for a bit, it might be worth it to save the money and fly into oak.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Thanks for the tips. The plan is to fly into Oakland (or SF) the night before the interview, getting there at 5 or 6 PM. If I flew into Oakland, I would take the BART to SF and stay in a hotel close to the school for a night (or with a student host). Interview day ends at 5:00 and my flight would be at like 8:00 or 9:00. It isn't a long flight to Los Angeles, so I can leave whenever and be okay for school the next day.

 

[wxl31]

Thanks for the tips. The plan is to fly into Oakland (or SF) the night before the interview, getting there at 5 or 6 PM. If I flew into Oakland, I would take the BART to SF and stay in a hotel close to the school for a night (or with a student host). Interview day ends at 5:00 and my flight would be at like 8:00 or 9:00. It isn't a long flight to Los Angeles, so I can leave whenever and be okay for school the next day.

I don't know if there are hotels close to UCSF. There must be or else how would students manage in the past. When is your interview?

 

[UCLAstudent]

I don't know if there are hotels close to UCSF. There must be or else how would students manage in the past. When is your interview?

The interview is going to be in early November (exact date isn't confirmed yet). 😎

 

[Uegis]

Yea, there are no hotels close by UCSF. Its mostly residentail around there. The closest ones i can think of are on Van Ness, which is moderately far away. Maybe in japantown too. BART to SF isn't that bad. You get out of airport, walk across, get on the shuttle and then you are set. Pretty straightforward way to do it.

But southwest got some dirty planes, hahaha.

UCLAstudent, you must be so excited. UCSF is a beautiful school in a beautiful city. You truly kick a$$, with UCLA and UCSF interviews already. I'm so jealous 😛

 

[CalH22a]

Actually flying into SFO might be a hassle as well, since SFO is rather far away from UCSF. If you fly into Oakland, just take bart to like the Embarcadero muni station and then transfer to the N Judah that gets off right in front of UCSF. But it also depends on where you're planning to spend the night.

 

[jlee9531]

you rule.
ucsf rules.
not a hassle at all going from oakland to ucsf.
your student host can pick you up at a bart stop in sf or go to the oakland airport.

 

[dxw]

Being right by UCSF, it takes me about 20 minutes to pick someone up from SFO and 45-60 minutes to pick someone up from Oakland. As a host, I would hope you were flying into SFO.
If you don't mind waiting 15-20 minutes for the airport shuttle to Bart, wait 10 minutes to take the Bart, which will take 40 minutes or so to get into the UCSF area. It will easily take you an hour and a half to get to your hotel or host's house if you're doing public transportation. I've done it several times and hated every minute of it. I used to just get off of Bart in the Sunset, which took forever. Then I tried the N Judah, which takes just as long and is extremely crowded.

Some people on here mention that it's no big deal which is fine. I must have a low tolerance for constant waiting and transfers. It would just irritate me.

 

[Uegis]

It does take longer to commute from Oakland, but its much cheaper flying Southwest. If you are coming in the day before, then the longer commute shouldn't be a problem. But if a student host is picking you up, u might consider going to SFO then.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Being right by UCSF, it takes me about 20 minutes to pick someone up from SFO and 45-60 minutes to pick someone up from Oakland. As a host, I would hope you were flying into SFO.
If you don't mind waiting 15-20 minutes for the airport shuttle to Bart, wait 10 minutes to take the Bart, which will take 40 minutes or so to get into the UCSF area. It will easily take you an hour and a half to get to your hotel or host's house if you're doing public transportation. I've done it several times and hated every minute of it. I used to just get off of Bart in the Sunset, which took forever. Then I tried the N Judah, which takes just as long and is extremely crowded.

Some people on here mention that it's no big deal which is fine. I must have a low tolerance for constant waiting and transfers. It would just irritate me.

See, I didn't know that student hosts even pick up applicants at the airport. That seems like a huge burden! I thought that I would be responsible for getting myself to UCSF. (Can you tell that I haven't stayed with a student host before? Hahaha.) I would never expect my student host to pick me up in Oakland!

As an update, I am now more strongly considering flying into SF.

 

[erohde23]

FYI when considering the price difference in tix, the shuttle from Oakland airport to Bart is $2.00 and Bart is ~ $3-4 one way. Buses in S.F. are $1.25 w/ a transfer 🙂

 

[Bear1220]

Go to either airport; it doesn't really matter. It's not like you'll be doing any extra walking. SFO is south of San Francisco and Oakland is just across the bay so it's really not a big deal to BART from either place. Get out on any stop between Embarcadero and Civic Center. The hop on the N-Judah outbound Muni line and it'll drop you off right in front of UCSF's parking lot on 2nd Ave and Irving. Next, walk across the street, take the elevator up to Parnassus Ave (or walk up the steep 3rd Ave hill), and welcome to UCSF.
It's a really easy place to get to by public transportation. There's no need for a taxi.
Good luck to all the applicants!

 

[UCLAstudent]

Thanks, Bear. I've already booked my flight to Oakland. I don't care if it's more of a hassle ... you really can't beat 39 bucks for a flight! 🙂

 

[Bear1220]

Thanks, Bear. I've already booked my flight to Oakland. I don't care if it's more of a hassle ... you really can't beat 39 bucks for a flight! 🙂

Good luck!

The interviews are pretty chill. I don't know if you knew that the interviews here at UCSF are closed file so you can pretty much control the interview setting. They interview the top 8-9% so you should feel pretty comfortable at your interview; you've already crossed the big hurdles.

For those of you who want some insider info:
During the last interview season (when I applied), UCSF got over 1000 more applications than it did during the previous season. Although it's early now, Dr. Ralston (the Vice Dean of Admissions) mentioned that they are anticipating even 1000 more because they are already ahead of where they were last year. They will still only interview about the same amount...I think that's around 500-550...something like that.