The Official UC Irvine Countdown Thread

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Kazzar

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I don't like to troll for congratulations, but I wanted to post this in case I can offer any information. I was called on Sunday at 11am by the dean of admissions telling me that they sent a letter of acceptance Friday.

Apparently, UCI is having some revisit-like thing next Sunday. The dean told me that she was sorry of the late notice, so I guess they must have accepted a lot of people, otherwise it would be a pretty sparse reception.

Oh yeah, I interviewed November 8, got the "on hold" letter January 15, and then the call April 28.

I am definately attending the school, is anybody else on here attending for sure?
 
Not for sure, but I'll see you at the reception. What other schools have you been considering, if you don't mind my asking.
 
I almost forgot... :clap: :clap: congratulations! 😀 :clap:
 
Hey,

If you guys go, I'll see you there. Congratulations on acceptance!
 
Kazaar,

How do you feel about UCI vs other UCs? UCI is the only UC I got into so far (and I definitely want to stay in-state), so I was happy about that acceptance, but I am still waiting for other UCs. Was UCI your first choice in comparison to other schools?
 
:clap: :clap: :clap:

Congrats, Kazzar! Did you know that the Swinging Door (in Tustin) received the dubious honor of being in the top 5 'best' dive bars in CA? I think it'd be a perfect place to raise a glass and celebrate!
 
I'll be at the second look. Kazzar, I believe I met you at the USC interview at the end of October (26th, maybe??). You were the only guy that day... Congrats on getting in 🙂 !!

Anteater: Here's my take on UCI: I'm not sure whether UCI is my ultimate destination yet, but it is definitely up there. I think the stress-free environment and the early clinical exposure are two VERY positive factors about UCI. UCI students do well on the boards and match well into residencies. I think the most important factor in choosing a medical school is whether or not you will be happy there. UCI seems to foster a happy, cooperative environment, and that is what is keeping UCI high on my list.

See you all on Sunday!!
-Dr Happy
 
how will we recognize each other? 😎
 
Dr. Happy,

Thanks for the reply. I too really liked almost everything I saw at UCI during my interview day (except for no windows in the anatomy lab and "honors/pass/fail" grading, I kinda like the idea of p/f). But I am really excited that you guys (my potential classmates) have good feelings about the school that we might be attending. When did you guys interview, maybe I already met you. I interviewed Jan 10th.
 
Congratulations Kazzar!

I interviewed the same day you did and got put on hold the same day as you too. So does that mean they are going through their pile of post-interview hold people early? The email said we wouldn't be reviewed again until June, and even then only for a spot on the alternate list. So if we all have a chance to get an outright acceptance now, that is pretty good news.
 
Hey all,
In terms of recognizing each other...maybe we can PM each other what we look like or we can write our SDN screen name on our nametags...any other ideas?? I interviewed Dec. 13. Anteater, you interviewed on my Bday - hehe 🙂 .
See you all soon.
 
Contratulations to all accepted!!!
were you all notified of your UCI acceptances by phone? were any of you notified by e mail?
I'm waitlisted, but UCI is my top choice...so i'm just wondering!
also, as anyone called Gayle? If so, was it helpful, or did she just tell you to wait?

Thanks!
 
Congratulations to you all! For those who've been accepted to UCI, do you mind telling me your Sci & Non-Sci GPA, MCAT score & what other schools you applied? Thanks.
 
Hi you guys!

I am really excited to join you all! I got the call sunday too! UCI is also on top of my choices, see you guys sunday!
🙂
 
I would like to say Congratulateions to everyone who has been accepted to UCI. I'm also interested in what your overall gpa and your mcat scores were at the time you applied. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
 
I would like to say Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted to UCI. I'm also interested in what your overall gpa and your mcat scores were at the time you applied. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
 
Meizy - were you put on post-interview hold too?
 
I was wondering if any of you who interviewed on 3-21 have heard anything from the school. Gayle said, the committee hasn't looked over the 3-21-02 interviewees' files yet. True?
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Jefe:
•Meizy - were you put on post-interview hold too?•••••Yeah..
I got e-mailed about being an alternate. Then an e-mail telling me to disregard it. And then an e-mail that I am an alternate. I got this exactly a month ago 3/28.
I interviewed 2/21

I am sure there is a lot of movement from now on...
 
Hey Meizy, I interviewed on feb 21, too! I wonder if we talked during the day? Congratulations on your acceptance...i'm sooo jelous! I thought my interviews went really well, so i'm still hoping...i'm thinking of writing a letter of intent, but i'm torn as to whether it's a good idea or not.
Have fun on Sunday! :wink:
 
I spoke to Gayle today, she told me that people who interviewed on 3/21 (such as myself) will be reviewed this week. She said to call next week to see what my status is. Hope this helps.
 
Yeah I am going to the reception, I'll see you guys there. I'll be the tall (6'2") white guy with a goatee and side-burns.

Hawkeyes, I am on the waitlist at USC and WashU, but I am definately going to UCI. It's my top choice and I got it, God/allah/buddah/Joe Pesci be praised.

Anteater, yeah I wanted to go to UCI above other UCs. They have an outstanding neuroscience program (they have a huge building devoted to neuroscience, which attracts leaders in the field) and I want to do either neurology, psychiatry, or brain imaging (radiology/nuclear) some day. I know lots of people here so thats a plus. I actually know the neuroanatomy professor and he's hillarious too. The location is great, they have 100% board pass rates, and I have a certain loyalty to the school since I went to undergrad, researched, and work there.

Ianna, I never heard of the Swinging Door! I just turned 21 last December so I really need to find some cool bars to dive into. Do you ever go there? Are you going to the 2nd look weekend? If so, I think we should round up some people and get wasted (with a designated driver of course). I went to some great bars in St. Louis with other applicants when I interviewed at Washington University. Jantje recollects, "Those were some found memories."

Dr Happy, who were you? Well, what is your name? Everybody at that USC interview was cool. It sucked thinking that such great people would not all get in, but hey, free lunch.

Jefe, I believe they are going through all the applications again so you could be getting a call anyday now.

Aria111, I was notified by a phonecall by the dean on Sunday morning. She said they mailed an acceptance the preceeding Friday. I would definately write a letter of intent, it cannot hurt. I heard that they go by the book at UCI when it comes to admissions, but a little nice note can go a long way in swaying people's opinions.

For those who are curious, my MCAT was 34R (10V 11PS 13BS), 3.85 GPA, 3.9 Sci GPA. However, I had >no< volunteer nor leadship activities. I only did clinical research. I really had no hosipital experience other than that. I think if I had lower grades with those experiences, I would have a slurpee's chance in hell in getting in.
 
I think there was another post with this info, but I can't find it, so....
is there a difference between being a UCI "alternate" or being "on hold"? It seems like many of us got slightly different e mails and i'm wondering if they actually mean something different or not...hmmm.
 
I believe there is a difference b/w being on hold and being an alternate (at least from what I was told in Feb).
Alternate=another name for waitlist
On hold=no decision yet, can still be accepted or placed on the waitlist or maybe even rejected.

I was on hold for about a week in Feb, and then they "released my hold"

When I called the office b/4 I got an acceptance, it was really hard to get the information out of them. Hell, it was hard to get a live person on the phone...so I totally feel you guys...Good luck! Hope this helps a little bit
 
Ok I had this excellence in research presentation today and the dean of admissions ran into me (or found me) and I was chatting it up with her. I found out some juicy - and ACCURATE - information about UCI admissions:

1) You are given a secondary based on number cutoffs and if you have something "special" in any way about your application. I think the cutoffs are rather low cause I have a friend at UCI med school who had a 25 on her MCAT. However, I don't know anybody at UCI who had lower than 3.5 GPA.

2) There are 3 scales in which you are graded to get an interview. You are scored on your MCAT/GPA, extracurricular activities, and individuality, which are rated 1 to 5. 2 faculty review your file, score you, then the admission staff decides if you make the cutoff, score-wise.

3) THEN, if you get an interview, there are 5 scales (not sure what they are) but they are taken as a whole, and you are not really given an exact overall score. I think this is cause some scales are more important than or can compensate for others. If you have good grades, a weak personal statement, but then you rocked your interview, then they know you are a good person with just crappy writting skills.

I also was talking to another friend of mine who said that I was lucky to get an acceptance so soon because they have just started to go through the "on hold" pile (they found this out from the director of admissions, Gayle Pierce). Exceptional students got admitted right away, but now they are going through the rest of us schmucks. So I think I am the first of the many normal applicants to get in.

Good luck to everyone! I hope to see you at UCI!
 
Hi Aria!
I am not sure if we talked either.. there were a lot of people there. Well I talked about re-dec/renovating my parent's home. If u remember what/how you introduced yourself that might trigger a memory..
G-luck to you. Write a letter of intent if you are SURE you want to attend UCI above all else.

For those who wanted to know:
MCAT: 34R (11V, 11P, 12B)
GPA: 3.77
volunteer (non-clinical)/research experience(neuro/auditory physiology). Neuroscience at UCI is also a reason that I am really putting it on top of choices. and the location too!
 
Hey all-
I just talked to gayle and asked her about the "alternate," "on hold," "waitlist" business. Anteater, you were right. Alternate is synonymous with waitlist. On hold is limbo land.
Bad news:
Gayle said their class is full as of today, and that the rest of the alternate list will be looked at only after may 15 and is, therefore, still unranked. She mentioned that a few people had already been taken off the alternate list, but that these people were the exception and that since that class is full, there was not going to be anymore movement for a while- probably not until mid/late May and June.
Guess i just have to sit tight and hope for the best!
I forgot to ask her, but do you guys know if Irvine usually has a lot of movement off the list or not?
 
hey Meizy! :clap:
I remember you talking about redecorating your parents' home, but i can't quite place what you look like, or if we spoke...I talked about dancing/teaching salsa. 😀 Does that spark anything?
 
Aria, what do your comments mean to those who interviewed on April 25, 2002, and were told a final decision would be made on May 6, 2002? With the class now "full," are all those who have not heard yet going to be put on the alternate list and/or "hold" category? Please let me know.
 
i don't know, california. maybe gayle was lying to me? maybe she just wanted to get me off the phone and didn't feel like going into details? you should call and ask. she was very friendly and didn't mind discussing it at all. it is strange that she said the class is already full, though...
best of luck!
 
I will visit Gayle Pierce and talk to her personally as I drop off an update letter. I don't think Gayle would "lie" to an applicant. Instead, I think she was just pointing out that no one from the hold/alternate list categories would receive an acceptance for the next couple of weeks because there are other applicants to consider and the class is nearly full, which makes sense. With the May 15, 2002 deadline approaching, many *accepted students* will turn down the UCI College of Medicine in favor of other schools. This process will take time.

Ninety-two, by the way, IS THE SIZE OF THE UCI COLLEGE OF MEDICINE entering class. To fill this intimately sized class, approximately two hundred twenty acceptances must be given out.
 
Hi aria--
I think I do remember U! Do you have short hair, brown pant suite? I think there is a lot of movement at UCI...
 
Thanks California for clearing the "92" up! I didn't realize that was the actual class size.
G-luck to U!
 
Hi,

for those admitted, when did u interview and when did u get an acceptance to uci? i'll be applying for 2003 and uci/ucsd will be my two top schools. i'm not a uci student, but i spent last summer doing research in the neurobio dept at uci so i hope that'd give me an edge.
 
Thank you everyone for all of the helpful information. It is nice to know that if I'm accepted at the UC Irvine College of Medicine--but not my first choice, which is just seventy miles south---I will be happy and surrounded by kind individuials like all of you.

Good luck to everyone else who is still waiting to hear a final decision. This thread, by the way, should be renamed, "THE OFFICIAL UC IRVINE COUNTDOWN THREAD." Again, good luck!
 
Congratulations to all!!
 
Just like California said, thanks to all for their input. It really helps! Congrats to those in and good luck to all waiting.

🙂
 
I renamed the thread... Has anybody who has been accepted receive any financial aid info yet? I heard UCI gives out quite a few full tuition scholarships. I was wondering if that only went to the first few acceptance offers, or if anyone could get one. I would think that such a low-cost school wouldn't have much in the institution-based aid, but you never know.

I'm pretty excited about the 2nd look weekend. I didn't know it was going to be a buffet cruise around Newport Harbor. I thought it was just gonna be just some lame talk about how great the school was and maybe some sandwiches. Is anybody going to the before-party on Saturday that the students are throwing? We need to decide who is gonna buy the jello shots and who is gonna buy the whisky! 😀
 
aria111 and everybody else still waiting,

Don't worry too much about what Gayle said...when I spoke to her back in Feb, she told me that I probably won't hear anything til June and I got in three days later...I think she's just preparing eveybody for a worst case scenario.

Everybody going to the second look Sat/Sun,
Are you guys going to the party on Sat? Maybe we can all just go out the night before and celebrate on our own, it will be really fun, since it seems that everybody on this thread was really excited about the UCI acceptance.
 
Hey I like that idea to throw our own party. Maybe we can go to the normal (possibly lame) party thrown by the UCI students, then go an hit up a bar or go to somebody's house. Anybody else up for some late night debauchery?
 
The words of "Anteater," an obvious UC Irvine faithful, are very encouraging. Thank you.

I was just wondering if anyone has any insight to offer on the Admissions Process for the UC Irvine College of Medicine. I interviewed on April 25, 2002, and I was told a decision would be made on May 6, 2002. Would it be a good idea to submit a "letter of interest"?
 
I haven't been on SDN for a while, because I just finished exams and had to party a lot.

I hope my story will be helpful to those of you still waiting.

I interviewed on feb 21, and got placed on the alternate list around the end of march. Then to my complete surprise, an acceptance packet arrived in the mail on monday. Several large envelopes. But no call from the dean 😛 .

So they have taken people off the wl already from the feb interview cohort.

I'm not sure if i will go to the revisit thing, but i will think about it...

For those of you who care my mcat was 37N (12,13,12) sci-GPA 3.9 at a top eastern school,

I didn't have much clinical experience, although i did have some good research in a basic science lab. As the guy above said, i think its my numbers that got me in, more so than ECs, plus my interview went quite well.

Good luck to you who are waiting, I will decide soon so i can vacate my spot if necesary!
 
california, the letter of intent cant hurt. I know they dont accept status updates (I asked), but maybe letter of intents are alright. Maybe you can skip past the normal bureaucracy and go right to the admissions dean. Her number and email are on the UCI webpage, but to save you time I'll post them here:

Ellena Peterson, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, [email protected] (949) 824-8356

You could email her saying how much you like UCI and if you could write a formal letter of intent. That way, you'll let her know how much you like the school, she hears your name, which always gives you an edge. She is wonderful person, so she'll be pretty responsive, even if she can't do anything on your behalf.

Don't even consider calling the Director of Admissions, Gayle Pierce. She is swamped with calls and letters, so I bet she can't help you out very much. She must get pretty sick of pre-meds at this point.
 
Hi fellow prospective anteaters! (*zot zot*) Aria, McEntyre, and Meizy.. I interviewed on 2/21 as well! I do remember someone talking about home remodeling, but I can't put the face to it. I'm excited to see everyone again Sat night. I'm planning on going to the Saturday night party also... then *perhaps* an afterparty?! Sounds fun! I think Kazzar said that he didn't know anyone who was at UCI/got in with a less than 3.5 GPA... TAKE HOPE... I did :clap: ! I have had lots of healthcare experiences though, and so it seemed to me that UCI is attentive to other factors that contribute to one's education. My acceptance came 4/3 after my 2/21 interview. I don't know if I was on hold or not becuase I didn't call in that time period to find out. For those waiting, definately write the letter of intent if you really mean that UCI is #1 for you and that you will for sure go.
As far as recognizing each other, I'm not sure that describing myself will help much. I'm average all around 😎 ! I will have an University of Iowa keychain on my set of keys, though.
 
Kazzar, thank you for your advice. I will definitely e-mail Dr. Peterson and explain my specific interest in the UC Irvine College of Medicine. By the way, I don't know why the Admissions Staff told you they do not accept update letters. I saw Gayle Pierce DIRECTLY AND WITH MY OWN EYES place an update letter I wrote in my file. She didn't even hesitate.

So, this leaves me with a second question. Since I already submitted an update letter, which contained a great deal of new information and my specific interest in the UC Irvine College of Medicine, should I even bother with a letter of intent? I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I just have to hurry since my application is going to be reviewed next Monday.

Thank you in advance for your time and help.
 
Well, it could be a little redundant in thought, but I dont think there is any shame or negative effect in showing your enthusiam for the school. This student interviewer at USC told me he'd stop by the admissions office everyday to update his file and let them know he was still very interested. I don't know if his advice is applicable to UCI's admission process, but if the admissions staff knows you by name, and its not in a negative light, its bound to be good for you.

You know I heard about not being to update my file from the staff at UCI and USC, but then recently I heard from people on this forum like california that you can. I think I just got crappy admissions staff when I called them.... I don't mean to give out false info. I think maybe the stuff you add doesn't change your scores, cause I know they score like your extracurricular activites, personal qualities, etc. Maybe the stuff you add only contributes to your overall file but doesn't affect your scale scores.
 
California,

You may have done this already, but after my interview, I sent updated transcripts to UCI. So if you are still in school, and did well last semester, I would certainly send the transcripts.
 
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