Scripps class of 2009/2010

[Xueli]

Hi all,

Longtime lurker/sometime poster here. Has anybody here been accepted to Scripps yet? I just found out I got in today! I know I applied a bit early, and may be one of the first accepted. But if there are any other people out there, let me know! I can't wait to meet you all!

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[moneduloides]

Yes, I was accepted the week before Thanksgiving. I wouldn't count myself a member of the Scripps class of 09-10 just yet, however. I am currently waiting to hear back from another school.

 

[Xueli]

hehe, I guess I should have qualified my statement by asking who was accepted AND planning to attend scripps. I was waiting on a couple of other schools as well, but I once I found out about scripps--I was all for it. I like the program plus I have family in the LA area, so it's a good fit for me.

 

[moneduloides]

hehe, I guess I should have qualified my statement by asking who was accepted AND planning to attend scripps. I was waiting on a couple of other schools as well, but I once I found out about scripps--I was all for it. I like the program plus I have family in the LA area, so it's a good fit for me.

Well, I certainly haven't decided against it It is a fantastic program.

 

[sharona1121]

Congrats guys!

I'm supposed to interview with them in jan 09. How did you guys' interview go? Any tips on what I should expect and how I should prepare?

 

[Xueli]

sharona1121-

Your interview will probably be conducted by Jodi Olson and Dr. Steve Naftilan (though i've heard other people have conducted the interviews before). They will team up and ask you questions using the "good guy/bad guy" approach (at least they did so for me). So, make sure you can reasonably articulate that--despite all time and expense involved--you are truly ready to pursue a career in medicine.
That said, I thought I did horribly during my interview--I stuttered a bit and struggled to answer some of the questions in an articulate way. But for most part I just acted like myself (yeah I know thats a pretty cliched statement), I just drew from my life experiences when answering all of the questions--and that seemed to do the trick.

good luck!

 

[goldie2828]

I was accepted into Scripps, too. I interviewed at Goucher and Bryn Mawr, but Scripps was definitely the most challenging interview. But since it was my second post-bacc interview, I felt more prepared.

Steve and Jodi played the good cop/bad cop thing to perfection. Jodi was so flattering and complimentary it almost made me uncomfortable (but I'm of the self-deprecating variety). With her questions, I could anticipate what she was going to ask.

Steve asked very specific and probing questions. For instance, I volunteered in South Africa in two different hospitals and took an interest in infectious diseases. Steve asked me why I thought Uganda has tackled its AIDS problem more sucessfully than other countries have. It came out of nowhere, but I had read enough to know how to answer it.

So I would just be very prepared and don't say anything that you can't back up because Steve will probably ask a follow-up question to test the veracity of your statement. But in a way, I like that kind of questioning more than open-ended questioning like, "Tell me about yourself."

 

[Xueli]

goldie2828-

congrats on the acceptance!

are you planning on going to scripps? Or are you still holding out for your Goucher and Bryn Mawr results first?

 

[Xueli]

more on the interview-

Jodi and Steve also seem to like it if you've already taken calculus-since the physics class is calculus based. But I don't think this is set in stone since I apparently took the "wrong" kind of calculus for said physics course (I took a business/econ calculus class--which didn't have trigonometry component)--and I still got in.

Also, make sure you are able to explain any kinks in your academic record--because they might be brought up during the interview as well.

again-hope this helps!

 

[moneduloides]

Jodi and Steve tried "Good Cop/Bad Cop" during my interview as well (They explicitly stated it, actually), but it never really felt like it.

This being said, Dr. Naftilan (If he is your "bad cop;" other interviewers do exist) will certainly be the one to ask you the more hardball questions, but as long as you're completely honest you shouldn't have a problem.

Just stay calm, that's the only advice I can give.

 

[Xueli]

.

 

[goldie2828]

Thanks! I loved Scripps, but plan on staying on the East Coast. I've been accepted to Goucher, most likely will attend there.

goldie2828-

congrats on the acceptance!

are you planning on going to scripps? Or are you still holding out for your Goucher and Bryn Mawr results first?

 

[sharona1121]

Thanks for your responses, guys! I'm waiting to hear from Goucher and Bryn Mawr (for an interview that is... I hope I get one). I sent my app to them around a week ago. How long did it take for them to invite you for an interview and how did they contact you?

 

[betterlate]

Thanks for your responses, guys! I'm waiting to hear from Goucher and Bryn Mawr (for an interview that is... I hope I get one). I sent my app to them around a week ago. How long did it take for them to invite you for an interview and how did they contact you?

I think invites for an interview depend on the timing of admission committee meetings. It took a little over 2 weeks from the point Goucher acknowledged receipt of my application to when I received an invitation to interview. (Although they told me that it would be around that long before I heard back. I sent my application in August, which I knew was early.) Edited to add: They initially contacted me by phone to schedule the interview, with some follow up interaction via email.

I interviewed on a Friday and received the acceptance letter in the mail the following Thursday.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[joycers]

Congratulations! I've been accepted, too. My hunch is that I was the first interview, period, since they seemed a bit disorganized when I got there (I think I interviewed somewhere along the end of October).

I haven't made a decision as of yet, though. To be honest, I'm trying to decide if the $40K price tag is a major investment or just a drop in the bucket in Ultimate Med School Funds. I'm leaning towards "Sure, why not," I think.

The interview was nuts: I felt like a beauty pageant contestant fielding questions about my hopes and dreams. But, in the end, I felt confident about my answers, and I really, really enjoyed the conversation, especially with Steve. He's definitely someone I would get along quite well with.

Good luck to all those who applied! My advice to you would be, cheesy as it sounds, be natural. Nervousness makes me unusually talkative, so that actually worked to my advantage because I think Jodi and Steve really appreciated an actual conversation and not a quickfire question-answer scenario. So, try to make it a conversation if at all possible.

Oh, and a question for everyone!: are you planning on living in Claremont? I'm not too keen on the idea, as I've finally built a life in LA, but the commute might very well kill me. Pros? Cons?

 

[murfettie]

i see you live in weho.
eh.. i really suggest you not do that...road rage on the 10!

 

[joycers]

i see you live in weho.
eh.. i really suggest you not do that...road rage on the 10!

It took 30 minutes last time I tried it.

 

[Teal08]

Hey all,

I'm a little torn on how I feel about Scripps. I love the location (CA) but am wondering about other elements of the program. I was hoping to get everyone else's perspectives. What parts of the program attracted you? What sets the program apart compared to programs like Goucher or Bryn Mawr?

Thanks for your help.

 

[moneduloides]

Hey all,

I'm a little torn on how I feel about Scripps. I love the location (CA) but am wondering about other elements of the program. I was hoping to get everyone else's perspectives. What parts of the program attracted you? What sets the program apart compared to programs like Goucher or Bryn Mawr?

Thanks for your help.

The one element that sets them apart, above any other, seems to be the 'family' atmosphere. When I interviewed it appeared as if the current class was a very tight nit family; they all wanted each other to succeed, and because there are so few people (14, I think in this years class) they have the ability to truly mean it. This is not to say that a small class size is all that Scripps offers, it's just the element that stood out to me.

 

[Xueli]

Oh, and a question for everyone!: are you planning on living in Claremont? I'm not too keen on the idea, as I've finally built a life in LA, but the commute might very well kill me. Pros? Cons?

I'm also torn about living in claremont. My fiance is currently working on a phd at ucla, and i'd like to live with him (especially since he will be taking care of the rent while i'm at scripps ), but he's currently living in Sherman Oaks! We're thinking of moving closer to the metrolink train so I can easily hop on the train to get to claremont (I don't have nor do I want to buy a car). I'm thinking that I'll try the whole commuter train thing during the summer and see how that goes. If it doesn't go well, then I'll probably try to rent a room/find a roommate close to claremont.

 

[joycers]

I'm thinking that I'll try the whole commuter train thing during the summer and see how that goes. If it doesn't go well, then I'll probably try to rent a room/find a roommate close to claremont.

That's my plan, too, actually! I'm not going to give up very easily on the commuting plan; my best friend went to Scripps and transferred out one semester before graduation because she was so stifled by Claremont.

As for when the school year starts, my current plan is to cluster my classes on 3 or 4 days a week so I don't have to make the commute daily. I've checked out the class schedules, and it looks like that should be possible, at least for the first semester.

Administration is a bit dubious of commuters, I think, but one of the current students I talked to commutes, and she says it's completely worth it for her. Anyway, I'm planning on a volunteer position at Cedars-Sinai a couple days a week, so at least that's an excuse.

 

[murfettie]

pasadena about half way between claremont and ucla, maybe you guys would possibly consider getting a place there? the traffic is terrific coming to claremont direction because you are driving against traffic.
if you take the train from sherman oak, u need to get to union station and then get on the train to san bernardino direction. the time doesn't work out too great usually, i tried this a few times. it annoyed me. another thing with metro.
the train often have to wait 5-15 minutes for another train to pass, sometimes several times in one trip. it seems the preference is always given to the train flowing with the traffic. ex: going into union station in the morning, leaving union station in the afternoon. so, sometimes, my 40 minute metrolink trip to union state ends up being like 65 min.

 

[murfettie]

That's my plan, too, actually! I'm not going to give up very easily on the commuting plan; my best friend went to Scripps and transferred out one semester before graduation because she was so stifled by Claremont.

As for when the school year starts, my current plan is to cluster my classes on 3 or 4 days a week so I don't have to make the commute daily. I've checked out the class schedules, and it looks like that should be possible, at least for the first semester.

Administration is a bit dubious of commuters, I think, but one of the current students I talked to commutes, and she says it's completely worth it for her. Anyway, I'm planning on a volunteer position at Cedars-Sinai a couple days a week, so at least that's an excuse.

o man, i'm not defending this patch of towns on the eastern san gabriel valley. it's pretty boring. i used to race shopping carts on walmart parking lots with my friends for fun when we were in high school.claremont police actaully issue jay walking tickets....
that being said, i had to commute to ucla for about 2 weeks before my apartment lease was signed during undergrad. i was SO exhausted!!! if you want to commute, you should try it, but i just have a personal hatred for commuting. it's only a year. your friend felt stifled by year 3, you only need to tolerate 12 months.

 

[Xueli]

o man, i'm not defending this patch of towns on the eastern san gabriel valley. it's pretty boring. i used to race shopping carts on walmart parking lots with my friends for fun when we were in high school.claremont police actaully issue jay walking tickets....
that being said, i had to commute to ucla for about 2 weeks before my apartment lease was signed during undergrad. i was SO exhausted!!! if you want to commute, you should try it, but i just have a personal hatred for commuting. it's only a year. your friend felt stifled by year 3, you only need to tolerate 12 months.

hehe, it might actually be a good thing that there isn't much going on in claremont---then there will be fewer distractions while we spend hours and hours studying for physics, O chem and biology.

Joycers- where did you find the class schedules? I tried looking for them on the joint science dept website and I couldn't find them.

Teal08-
The things that attracted me were of course the location (I could be with my fiance) and the small post bacc class size (as moneduloides stated). I'm coming from a ginormous public university--I knew if I stayed there I'd have to take my premed classes with 300 hundred students...and all the premed advisors at my school seem rather over worked. I kinda like the idea of having 12 months of personalized attention..and then a shot at a linkage (I've looked at the pre-allopathic boards...and I'm not sure I want to go through the whole glide year ordeal of applying to 20 plus schools and going through all those anxiety-inducing interviews). though you'd definitely get personalized attention and a linkage at bryn mawr and goucher as well...so I guess ultimately the biggest thing for me was location.

speaking of linking, is anybody thing about doing it?

 

[sharona1121]

Do you guys know if the classes are curved with under grads? What is the grading system like for the post bac students? Also, how much do you guys think housing is around claremont? (maybe for a studio?)

 

[joycers]

Xueli, you can find the Schedule of Classes here (click on the "5-College Schedule of Classes" link on the right side of the page): https://mycampus.scrippscollege.edu/ics

Also, here's the course catalog so you know what you're looking at: http://www.scrippscollege.edu/academics/catalog/courses-study.php

Sharona, as far as I know, classes are not curved. The grading system is exactly the same for post-baccs as it is for undergrads. And housing tends to be anywhere from $200-400+ less than LA. Check craigslist to get a better idea. I would estimate a studio to be at just around $1000/mo.

 

[sharona1121]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys who gave me tips on interviews and such. I decided to withdraw my apps from Goucher and Scripps. Good luck to everyone in the year ahead!!

 

[Tiare208]

Former Scripps post-bacc here currently in the application cycle. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Mang]

congrats to all of u accepted.
if u don't mind me asking, what were your gpa's?
and what is the admission based on besides gpa?

 

[murfettie]

so, how long after the interview did you guys hear back.
i'm twiddling my thumbs and the anxiety is KILLING ME!

 

[murfettie]

congrats to all of u accepted.
if u don't mind me asking, what were your gpa's?
and what is the admission based on besides gpa?

I think you need decent stats to get an interview to begin with,
once you get that, it's all you.
i think it's like prelims in the olympics, you just need to qualify.

I think 1300+ SAT/GRE, 3.5GPA is a good # to aim for.
However, it seem a lot of people have cum laude, summa cum laude, magna cum laude, etc.
which usually falls between 3.7+ to 3.9 range. i'm sure it's not every one though.
personally, i'm cum laude, 1500+ gre from a brand name uni.
however, i haven't heard back after interview yet, so who knows.
last thing i want to say is that standarized testing's ass is meant to be kicked. i am really disadvantaged in the testing realm, so if i can do 1500+ on the gre, then anyone can.

 

[ryuelise]

Hey SCRIPPS guys/gals!

I was just wondering what your undergrad stats were. I wanna apply to Scripps for the next year. My gpa is gonna be around 3.8, majoring in Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley. Could I possibly get in?

Thanks!

 

[Xueli]

Ryuelise-

Statswise-you seem to be well within the range of students who get interviewed (see murfettie's informative post above). Now just start working on a good statement of purpose. I myself worked on my SOP off an on for about a year (as I was originally going to apply a year earlier but then had to postpone it)--so I was able to revise it until I was happy with it.

 

[Teal08]

Yay! I got in! I interviewed last Friday and heard back from Jodi yesterday. I was impressed by the quick turnaround. I'm trying to decide btw Scripps and another school and I keep flip flopping on which one I like better. I guess it's time to start making comparison lists =P

 

[Tiare208]

Congrats! Make sure you have Jodi send you the email contact list of all the other acceptees. I got in later and didn't remind her, so I had no idea that the others were making plans to share apartments, etc. It would have been nice to know.

 

[Teal08]

Thanks Tiare208. I'll be sure to ask for that.