*** The Official UCLA School of Dentistry Class of 2023 Interview/Acceptance Thread ***

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Yeah, I submitted mine June 23rd, and it was complete July 23.
3.89 GPA/28AA, CA resident, 450+ hours of research, etc. 🙁 So at this point my status has been "Received/Application Complete" for 3 months. UCLA was my #1 choice, but at this point maybe I should lower my hopes LOL
UCLA is a very competitive and random school. It was one of my top schools too, and I didn't hear a peep! Its okay!
 
congrats! If you don't mind me asking, when did you submit and what were your stats?
I have submitted my app in June 20th, UCLA got confirmed somewhere in mid July( I emailed to confirm actually). my Stats are 3.75 total gpa, 3.82 sgpa, 21AA 23TS, and have disadvantage status.
 
I just got an interview today as well! I'm not certain how far into November they interview but my interview dates were Oct 30 or Nov 2nd.

You’d think they want a couple weeks before December to go over students, but maybe they set a cutoff half way through November to where you’re now being considered post-dec decisions
 
  • What is the retention rate for all 4 years? Or what percentage of students graduate?
  • How approachable are professors in terms of getting research?
  • Current UCLA dental students, what do you like the most about the program?
  • What is the exam schedule like?

I'm not sure if you ever got responses to your questions, but here's my input:

Retention rate is incredibly high, though I do not know how it compares to other school. Every year is slightly different.
- On average, maybe 1-2 students will leave the program. Many of these are due to medical issues, and some of them are just from realizing dentistry was not for them

I would say almost all professors are enthusiastic about having dental students join their research labs. The faculty are very approachable, and if you express interest, I haven't heard of anyone getting turned down yet
- Just from personal experience, you can casually be chatting with one of them in the hall and they'd be like 'You should come do research with me! Come check out the lab any time'

What I like most about the program, there are many things I like (from my classmates, to building relationships with faculty, etc.), but the most valuable thing that I've come to appreciate is the knowledge you gain from this program
- This will not be apparent until you start your 3rd and 4th years when you begin to apply what you've learned clinically
- It will also be evident as you meet dental students from other schools your D3 and D4 year

Exam schedule: quarter system, so each quarter is about 10 weeks long with 11th week being the finals week
- Many classes will have midterms, so that'll fall around weeks 4-5
 
D3 checking in here. Feel free to tag us (D1-D3) and ask any questions you may have!

This could be in regards to:
- Campus culture
- Where the school is headed
- Class dynamic
- Interview day
- Application cycle in general
- Clinic
- Curriculum

Seriously, anything 🙂

Good luck everyone!
 
Does anybody know how many people are getting invited for a pre-December interview?
We interview twice a week and each interview batch ranges anywhere from 5-10 students (sometimes a little more)
 
I'm sorry if I missed this before, but what time do interviews end? The email said around 1:30pm. Is that about right? Working on flights.
 
Does anyone know how many students they interview, and how many of those students receive offers?
 
Does anyone know how many students they interview, and how many of those students receive offers?
Interview about 138 of 930 instate applicants, 115 offered admission.
-----------------> 16 of 769 out of state applicants, 15 offered admission.
 
Interview about 138 of 930 instate applicants, 115 offered admission.
-----------------> 16 of 769 out of state applicants, 15 offered admission.

That's a great interview to offer ratio! I have hope for December 🙂

I am struggling with where to attend assuming I will have multiple offers (i've interviewed at 7 schools). I'm heavily leaning towards UCLA due to it's amazing program and ranking but didn't get an amazing feeling from the students on the interview day. I've been cautioned that the interview day isn't necessarily a reflection of what it's like to be a student.

Current UCLA students: Did you get multiple offers? Any regrets on not attending a different school?

I figure I would kick myself for giving up an opportunity like attending UCLA if I go elsewhere.

Thanks for all your advice!
 
Current UCLA students: Did you get multiple offers? Any regrets on not attending a different school?
Yup I got into all 4 SoCal schools, as those were the only interviews I went to out of 8 :laugh: being able to drive to your interviews is sooo nice.

Anyways, no regrets. It was my cheapest option, my most prestigious option, and I love having a uniquely diverse class. It is hard here though- there's a lot going on at once, and having quarters is pretty big too. But everyone is super helpful, and our class is a really supportive group 🙂 The professors and faculty and staff are all crazy amazing and good too. But honestly, it all boils down to which school you feel like you fit best at. You're going to be there for four years, so you want it to be at a place you'll like. Think about what there is to do besides school, or how far/close it is to family...think about the weather! Family was important to me and that's why I didn't attend any OOS interviews.....but also take into account cost. You'll have to pay that all back.

As for specializing, you can do that from any school as long as you put in the work. The name of the school you went to doesn't necessarily matter- it's like people now, who are applying to DS- undergrad's name doesn't matter. Grades & DAT scores do. Same concept in 4 years when you're applying to residency programs. Keep that in mind!

Don't despair if you haven't heard anything yet-- there are still post-Dec dates. Lots of my classmates got in post-Dec, there's hope 🙂
 
on the first page of this thread, it mentions UCLA starts clinic fall of D2 year. What exactly do you do? Is it just prophy cleanings? Also, is the curriculum systems based?
@artist2022 @californiway21 @changtw
Yeah, fall of D2 you can do cleanings and SRP. In order to do indirect and direct procedures in clinic beginning winter quarter of D2 you have to pass your practicals in the fall quarter of D2.
 
Does UCLA have an essay section in their interview? I have gone to a few other interviews but have never had to do an essay.
 
Is there an advantage to filling out the fafsa early? Can you wait until you find out from schools to fill it out?
 
Patient availability or shortage at UCLA? I posted the following in the regular pre-dental section, but I was advised to post here for more responses. Please weigh in if you have recent experience.

Reading over older ULCA threads, I see mention of dental students having trouble finding patients and meeting graduation requirements. Newer threads indicate that the requirements have changed and that the patient pool issue is not as challenging as it used to be.

I am not clear on what changed, and whether or not current students are having issues meeting graduation requirements. Are students responsible for finding their own patients... how does the process work?

Can any current students or recent graduates weigh in? Thank you!
 
Is there an advantage to filling out the fafsa early? Can you wait until you find out from schools to fill it out?
It doesn't seem like there is because the financial aid office doesn't follow any particular order from year to year (in our experience so far).

Some years they do the upperclassmen first, other years they get to the first years first.

However, just because it's variable, I'd just submit the FAFSA as soon as you can to get it out of the way.
 
Patient availability or shortage at UCLA? I posted the following in the regular pre-dental section, but I was advised to post here for more responses. Please weigh in if you have recent experience.

Reading over older ULCA threads, I see mention of dental students having trouble finding patients and meeting graduation requirements. Newer threads indicate that the requirements have changed and that the patient pool issue is not as challenging as it used to be.

I am not clear on what changed, and whether or not current students are having issues meeting graduation requirements. Are students responsible for finding their own patients... how does the process work?

Can any current students or recent graduates weigh in? Thank you!
The students that I have seen hang around for the summer quarter (I think there were ~2-3 students from the c/o 2018) struggled with finishing their prosths requirements (dentures). When you see students from the graduating class hanging around in clinic, everyone starts to get a little frantic wondering what held them back. But, if you start talking to other students in their graduating class, you begin to understand why. These were often the students who were not proactive with their clinic time.

This means that while their classmates were scheduling in patients, they were rarely seen in clinic.

Most of the 4th years I've talked to about this didn't struggle to finish their requirements. It will vary from team to team. Some teams are lacking in crowns and abundant in dentures, other teams are abundant in dentures and lacking in crowns. The good thing is, if you communicate regularly with your group director ('GPD'), they will typically go out of their way to keep an eye out for these cases and push them your way.

The requirements do seem to have changed a bit in the last few years. I believe in the prosths department to lighten the load. There will probably also be changes in the upcoming 1-2 years because of the incorporation of CBCE (community based clinical education).

CBCE will take students out of clinic and into community clinics for 8 weeks out of the year, so the school is in the midst of figuring out how to make adjustments to account for that. The good thing is, this will expose students to dentistry that is more in line with what they will see after graduation.
 
Interview about 138 of 930 instate applicants, 115 offered admission.
-----------------> 16 of 769 out of state applicants, 15 offered admission.

Do you or any current UCLA student know if OOS applicants have ridiculous stats? UCLA was always a dream school but it's a long reach coming from NY.

GPA: 3.69
sGPA:3.65
AA:22
very strong extracurricular
 
Do you or any current UCLA student know if OOS applicants have ridiculous stats? UCLA was always a dream school but it's a long reach coming from NY.

GPA: 3.69
sGPA:3.65
AA:22
very strong extracurricular
I think you have a pretty good chance as long as you apply early/have applied early. I don't know the stats of our OOS students, but I would think they're between 21-26 (probably). Your stats are really good, but what matters more is just exactly what you have on your app. Doesn't hurt to give it a shot!
 
does anyone know the max scholarship money the dean's scholarship gives? if i remember correctly, does it cap at around 52k?
 
What do your last names start with (if you don’t mind me asking)?


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Congrats guys!! If you haven't heard back yet, don't worry. Last year, I got the call at 11:48, right before lunch. And if you don't get it by then, there's always after lunch lol! And there are still interviews going on until about March of next year, so there's still hope!

Anyways, who will I see next year?! :clap:
 
Congrats guys!! If you haven't heard back yet, don't worry. Last year, I got the call at 11:48, right before lunch. And if you don't get it by then, there's always after lunch lol! And there are still interviews going on until about March of next year, so there's still hope!

Anyways, who will I see next year?! :clap:
THANK YOU!!! I"LL BE THERE!!! :highfive:
 
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