UC Davis c/o 2015

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Hi Guys,

Got my confirmation a while ago, and I was surprised to get one since a few of my transcripts were a little late.

Heard they were very strict about this stuff at Davis.

Think they've already axed me?

. . . sending good luck to everyone BTW.
 
HAWAIIVET2011 said:
Does anyone know when they start letting people know about interviews?
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I found out about my interview last year on Feb. 10. If I'm recalling correctly, I seemed to be one of the first to know compared to other SDN members, since the invites are emailed out over a few days.
 
Mine was sent last year on February 12, but I had applied to the VSTP (combined DVM/PhD) and that's when all the VSTP applicants who were denied from VSTP but considered for DVM interviews were sent.

I'm pretty sure that the bulk of the interview invites went out from Feb. 10 to Feb. 12, with a handful more being sent over the week following that.

Funny (or not so funny at the time!) story about the interview invitations though. Mine was actually sent at 9:00 am on the 12th originally, but never got to me. Not in spam, not in inbox, nowhere. So I was freaking out a little bit all day (a little bit...hah).

At the time I was working in a lab here at the vet school, and as I was pretty much just super anxious and not very productive, my PI took it upon herself to call the admissions office (without telling me) and ask them what was up. She came into the grad student office and told me to check my email again, and check my spam...nothing. She was on the phone with them and told them I didn't have anything, and then they forwarded the originally sent interview invitation to me at 3 pm and it was all good.

I do know others who didn't get the invites that were sent in that original batch too, and they did end up calling the ones who didn't contact them, so at least nobody got left out, but man did it make the wait horrible, especially since the 12th was a Friday and the following Monday was a campus holiday!

They actually sent my acceptance first out of everyone's in mid-March, I think mostly because they didn't want my PI to call them again. :laugh:
 
Jeez, Nyanko, that's a little scary. Thank goodness the schools do follow up on these things, so if your PI hadn't checked with them, it would've been cleared up anyway, but it still gives me the willies a little. :scared:
 
Nyan, that's funny you were one of the last to know about interview invites, but the first to know about the admissions results. I was the total opposite - people on SDN starting hearing back about admissions on Wednesday (I think), and I had to wait through the entire weekend until the following Monday (3/22). The suspense was almost too much to handle, especially because each time I saw someone had been accepted, I was happy for them but felt my odds were diminishing (although not true technically, I still couldn't help feeling that way)!
 
moosenanny said:
.... people on SDN starting hearing back about admissions on Wednesday (I think), and I had to wait through the entire weekend until the following Monday (3/22). The suspense was almost too much to handle, especially because each time I saw someone had been accepted, I was happy for them but felt my odds were diminishing (although not true technically, I still couldn't help feeling that way)!
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Ah, yes. The curse and the blessing that is SDN. 😛
 
Ah I am freaking out! I got my e-mail from UC Davis and they said my GRE scores were never received! I KNOW I sent them because I sent them literally right after I took the test! I called the school to make sure that I was resending them to the right place and the woman said that a lot of people's GRE scores weren't received and she thinks it's a problem with ETS. Did anybody else have this problem? I REALLY hope that this doesn't make them think I'm incompetent or hurt my chances of admission since I'm an OOSer to boot 🙁
 
I wouldn't worry too much, especially if other people's didn't get through to them for some reason. I'm sure the school won't penalize you for the mixup. OOSer here too, but went to undergrad in SoCal (not that it'll matter for the app). Would love to get some years up North too, especially in a bike town like Davis
 
I'm hoping and praying I have a shot. I know as an OOSer it's way harder, but my GPA is only a 3.0 and my GRE is only 1130. I did have some exceptional recommendations and what I've been told is a really great personal statement. I'm just afraid they won't get read because my stats are so bad. I got really sick in undergrad (got meningitis, skin cancer, and a back injury) and made sure to write that in my VMCAS "additional info" but I'm afraid my stats are just gonna keep me out. Any thoughts? I know nobody really seems to know, but I want to get as many people's input as possible. Thanks guys!
 
moosenanny said:
Nyan, that's funny you were one of the last to know about interview invites, but the first to know about the admissions results. I was the total opposite - people on SDN starting hearing back about admissions on Wednesday (I think), and I had to wait through the entire weekend until the following Monday (3/22). The suspense was almost too much to handle, especially because each time I saw someone had been accepted, I was happy for them but felt my odds were diminishing (although not true technically, I still couldn't help feeling that way)!
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Me, too! It was torture! I think I got my email that Monday around 4pm. There's got to be a better way to notify people... especially since message boards like this one exist, they've got to know that the info spreads like wildfire and we're all poised at the brink of insanity waiting to hear from them.
 
DVMhopeful2015 said:
I'm hoping and praying I have a shot. I know as an OOSer it's way harder, but my GPA is only a 3.0 and my GRE is only 1130. I did have some exceptional recommendations and what I've been told is a really great personal statement. I'm just afraid they won't get read because my stats are so bad. I got really sick in undergrad (got meningitis, skin cancer, and a back injury) and made sure to write that in my VMCAS "additional info" but I'm afraid my stats are just gonna keep me out. Any thoughts? I know nobody really seems to know, but I want to get as many people's input as possible. Thanks guys!
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Yes. it is really tough to predict admissions for Davis. I can tell you that grades and test scores are one of the FIRST things they look at. According to Yasmin Williams (director of admissions), They will first look at the top tier of academic students and considering those in lower tiers for interviews if they have unique experience, interests, etc. I can tell you that when I applied last year as an ISer I had a 3.7-3.8 GPA with and 1190 GRE score with decent experience (about 1500 hours) and I was not invited for an interview. That said, if your letters of rec are not only exceptional but the recommenders themselves are exceptional people, that will also give your app a boost. Also, your experience and interests might appeal to the admissions board...so all is not lost!

I'm sure they will factor in your explanation section as well. Did you fill out the supplemental that Davis has as an option? I thought it was kind of an additional explanation section, but I never filled it out so I personally don't know. Goodluck! :luck::luck::luck:
 
Hi guys. I just asked a doc I used to work with about his reasons for always doggin' on Davis (he doesn't think its a very good school), and this is his reply:

Davis has terrible communication with referring doctors, and patient care suffers from it. I'll get cases back where the owner doesn't know what's wrong and we're supposed to fill meds, etc., but never get a call from a doctor (or student), and get a letter a week or two later. I don't like the vibe, or the know it all attitude of some of the students I've communicated with. I don't think a lot of students realize the cases they learn from come from rDVM's.

I don't know if any of you 2014'ers would have any input on this but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on it, maybe some of you with experience at the teaching hospital?
 
I have experience as both a client and an employee of the VMTH, and now will be coming through as a student as well. I can't really comment too much on attitudes of students - I think that's something that is highly individualized and differs not only from class to class but from student to student.

I do know that prior to vet school when my cat was seen by the emergency service at the VMTH, the follow-up call to me was made by my regular vet (aka the rDVM) within a couple of days, so obviously there is some communication going on there. As my classmate above mentioned, they do make it a point to log in anytime the rDVM is contacted, and it's really important to the specialty services to maintain a good relationship with rDVMs - it's something that's pretty emphasized from what I can see. For example, my last visit, for a cat abscess drain, was admitted Friday, 5/7/2010 at 8:30 pm (discharged around 11 pm) and the records are listed as faxed to rDVM on Sunday, 5/9/2010.

FWIW, as far as I know rDVMs that are in the system can have accounts on VMACS where they can view some types of records belonging to patients where they're listed as rDVM - maybe your vet's clients aren't very good about putting their vet down on the paperwork, or they don't remember who it is? Link: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/vet_info/webaccess.cfm
 
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Cool, thanks guys. Honestly he's the only vet that I've ever heard complain about Davis, so I know maybe his opinion doesn't match that of many others and I need to take what he says with a grain of salt.
 
squibby said:
Hi guys. I just asked a doc I used to work with about his reasons for always doggin' on Davis (he doesn't think its a very good school), and this is his reply:

Davis has terrible communication with referring doctors, and patient care suffers from it. I'll get cases back where the owner doesn't know what's wrong and we're supposed to fill meds, etc., but never get a call from a doctor (or student), and get a letter a week or two later. I don't like the vibe, or the know it all attitude of some of the students I've communicated with. I don't think a lot of students realize the cases they learn from come from rDVM's.

I don't know if any of you 2014'ers would have any input on this but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on it, maybe some of you with experience at the teaching hospital?
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The docs I worked with in Socal also had a low opinion of UCDavis' ability to prepare their students for clinical work relative to students at other schools they had seen. Also they felt that many students had a "know-it-all" attitude that was not deserved.

I was really never sure what to make of that criticism. Personally I figured most newly minted DVMs are not fully ready for clinical work until they do it, and since these docs saw more recent Davis grads in the area (being in CA) they attributed the problems to the school and not the experience level.

As for the know-it-all attitude, I chose Penn where that reputation is even worse so it was not something I was too concerned with.

Still, i get the sense that it is not uncommon for people in the industry to think schools like Penn and Davis are great for research and not as good at producing clinicians.
 
StartingoverVet said:
The docs I worked with in Socal also had a low opinion of UCDavis' ability to prepare their students for clinical work relative to students at other schools they had seen. Also they felt that many students had a "know-it-all" attitude that was not deserved.

I was really never sure what to make of that criticism. Personally I figured most newly minted DVMs are not fully ready for clinical work until they do it, and since these docs saw more recent Davis grads in the area (being in CA) they attributed the problems to the school and not the experience level.

As for the know-it-all attitude, I chose Penn where that reputation is even worse so it was not something I was too concerned with.

Still, i get the sense that it is not uncommon for people in the industry to think schools like Penn and Davis are great for research and not as good at producing clinicians.
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Good to know. My friend (a Davis grad) at her residency at The Ohio thinks that Davis grads have an advantage over students at other schools in that they have a better knowledge base. This is based on her experience teaching Ohio students and the opinion of some friends in residencies elsewhere. Who knows, could be just another cocky Davis person. 😉. That doesn't necessarily translate to good clinician skills.

And who knows what the upcoming curriculum changes will produce.
 
Heh, I have a friend who did her residency at Davis (equine internal medicine) who thought that, as far as equine knowledge and procedures were concerned, UCD grads were MUCH better prepared than my friend was coming out of VA Tech. Just shows you can't win. 😛

I haven't posted on SDN in a long while, but I had some health problems prevented me from finishing fall quarter, so I will be joining the 2015'ers in the new curriculum. 🙂
 
eventualeventer said:
I haven't posted on SDN in a long while, but I had some health problems prevented me from finishing fall quarter, so I will be joining the 2015'ers in the new curriculum. 🙂
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🙁 I'm sorry to hear this! I hope you're feeling better now. Goodluck, EE!
 
eventualeventer said:
I haven't posted on SDN in a long while, but I had some health problems prevented me from finishing fall quarter, so I will be joining the 2015'ers in the new curriculum. 🙂
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I hope everything is OK.

Your perspective on the new curriculum will be interesting, having experienced the old...kinda cool.
 
Howister said:
Hey so I am hoping that a current Davis vet student could look at my grades/experience and let me know if I have a shot in getting in/what I could do to improve...thanks!
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I'd be happy to give you some pointers, although nobody can tell you anything definitive, of course!
 
Would someone mind explaining what the new curriculum entails? I cannot find much info - just general overviews.
 
gracietiger said:
Would someone mind explaining what the new curriculum entails? I cannot find much info - just general overviews.
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Nyan knows more about this than I do, but I've tried keeping up with the changes . . . I'll just go ahead and list them as a blob here 😛

Incoming students will be on the semester system, and we'll still be on the quarter system. It will be kind of weird having two academic calendars going on at once as they phase out the quarter system, but I don't think this will affect students as much as it will professors. Rather than taking a bunch of classes all at once, students will be in blocks (that vary in length from ~2 weeks to 8+ weeks). The blocks will be integrated and on various topics. For example, there will be a musculoskeletal block, during which various professors will lecture on histo, anatomy, neurology, pathology, immunology, embryology, etc., all pertaining to the musculoskeletal system. Then at the end of the block there will be a large, comprehensive exam (so no constant stress of exams like we have, but instead infrequent, bigger exams). Right now we do "normal" anatomy/histo/etc. first year, and "abnormal" second year. I've heard this entails having to relearn things a bit. For you guys it will all be integrated into the block (you'll learn both normal and abnormal at once). They won't have the tracking system anymore, and students won't be able to take electives ("elective blocks") until their third year. There will be more PBL and group work incorporated into the curriculum. They've indicated there will be less class and lab time (I think capped at 20 hours per week), and more independent studying.

Many of my classmates think the new curriculum sounds better than our current one. I see pros and cons to each, but I think I'm happy with the way things are now. I like didactic teaching because it is how we are trained to learn from an early age, and I'd rather have the constant stress of studying for frequent exams rather than the acute stress of studying for a huge exam. To each his own. I do know that a TON of time and development has been put into the new curriculum, and that Davis wouldn't implement it if they weren't confident the changes are positive. I'm actually a student member of the musculoskeletal block, which meets next week to discuss logistics, planning, etc.

I hope this helps, and is at least mostly accurate 😛
 
That is so helpful - thank you! The changes definitely sound really good, from what I hear. I am curious about the group work - I haven't read anywhere that it is PBL and I read somewhere on here from nyanko that it is not "true" PBL. Perhaps she was referring to the fact that there is still didactic learning, but hopefully she will clarify. Do you know if the group work is typical of PBL - students research and present findings for a discussion on specific cases?
 
gracietiger said:
That is so helpful - thank you! The changes definitely sound really good, from what I hear. I am curious about the group work - I haven't read anywhere that it is PBL and I read somewhere on here from nyanko that it is not "true" PBL. Perhaps she was referring to the fact that there is still didactic learning, but hopefully she will clarify. Do you know if the group work is typical of PBL - students research and present findings for a discussion on specific cases?
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Ah yes, I don't think it is true PBL, but rather more group work in general. There will still be plenty of traditional lecturing, but I think since there is less class time, professors will expect students to take more initiative into their own learning.

Hopefully Nyanko will comment since this is the area I've heard the least about . . .
 
it's weird to see moose, nyan, and others post here then see them at school.

lol.

good luck yall.
 
nevermind, didn't want to offend anyone
 
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Are people starting to hear already?? I saw something on the rejections thread today (sorry🙁)
I wasn't expecting anything until Feb., I am so nervous!!:xf:
 
It's ok, I wasn't expecting anything (although I was surprised to hear so early too - maybe they reeeeeally didn't like me?) It means one more chance for you guys though, good luck everyone!!!
 
moosenanny said:
Rather than taking a bunch of classes all at once, students will be in blocks (that vary in length from ~2 weeks to 8+ weeks). The blocks will be integrated and on various topics. For example, there will be a musculoskeletal block, during which various professors will lecture on histo, anatomy, neurology, pathology, immunology, embryology, etc., all pertaining to the musculoskeletal system. Then at the end of the block there will be a large, comprehensive exam
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I'm insanely jealous. This sounds like the exact thing I recommended to Penn Vet's Dean. Should be great for Davis c/o 2015!
 
A bit more on the new curriculum:

In addition to the blocks in the new curriculum students next year will be getting a lot more clinic time and will be limited to something like 20 "contact hours" hours in school each week:

"Direct contact includes lectures, laboratories, discussion sessions and small group discussions involving one or more faculty members and should not exceed 20 hours per week. This total does not include Tuesday and Thursday afternoon hours.

Directed self learning is the time allocated for students to learn through reading, problem-solving, and working in small groups on projects, assignments, case-based material, presentations and such without faculty pressence. A minimum of 12 hours per week should be allocated to directed self learning. "

I had a pretty long chat with one of our GI professors last week about the new curriculum, it sounds pretty great. I am really jealous of the additional clinic time, block integrated scheduling and what sounds like a tad more time to take care of yourself.

There should also be a speaker on the new curriculum at the upcoming interview orientation to give a bit of an outline and answer questions 🙂. Interview orientation will be on February 19th. This means that the invitations will be coming out sometime between now and then. Good Luck Guys!!!!:xf:
 
Hey, thanks for all of the info on the curriculum. It is super helpful.

Llama Slug said:
Interview orientation will be on February 19th. This means that the invitations will be coming out sometime between now and then. Good Luck Guys!!!!:xf:
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I forget how it went last year. Aren't there interviews starting the next day after the orientation? Do they span the next week?
 
Interviews (at least the past like 4-5 years that I've seen) start on the Monday after the interview orientation and span about three weeks. When you get an invitation (around early-mid Feb) it'll have the number to call to schedule the interview within that time period.
 
The interview panel is apparently all put together now so we should be getting notifications about interview/ rejections soon.
 
Mollyj said:
The interview panel is apparently all put together now so we should be getting notifications about interview/ rejections soon.
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I wouldn't start frantically refreshing your email inbox this soon -- I got my invite last year on Feb. 10. The panel isn't all put together just yet; the Class of 2015 liaisons from my class sent out a survey a few days ago asking for participants, and it's due tomorrow . . .

The Interview Workshop will be on Feb. 19, with the first interviews the Tuesday after (Monday is a holiday) 🙂 It is coming up, so get excited everyone 😀
 
Mollyj said:
The interview panel is apparently all put together now so we should be getting notifications about interview/ rejections soon.
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Gaaaaaaaaaaah nerves! :scared: Whether it's now or two weeks from now, boy am I nervous about this one. UCDavis is my dream school!
 
moosenanny said:
I wouldn't start frantically refreshing your email inbox this soon -- I got my invite last year on Feb. 10.
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Feb. 10th is close enough for me especially considering we've had to wait since October. Are you going to be one of the liaisons/participants moosenanny? 😀
 
Mollyj said:
Are you going to be one of the liaisons/participants moosenanny? 😀
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I want to be one really badly!!! I don't know how many people are volunteering, or how they'll pick if there are more volunteers than spots (I think they just need 10 people on the panel). If I do get picked, I'll probably mention my undying love for moose in my introductory comments to self-identify, lol 😀
 
moosenanny said:
I'll probably mention my undying love for moose in my introductory comments to self-identify, lol 😀
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But how will we ever be able to pick you out of a crowd? I mean come on everyone knows moose are the favored ungulate in the Davis-Sac area. I believe red elk win near Vacaville though. 😛
 
moosenanny said:
I want to be one really badly!!! I don't know how many people are volunteering, or how they'll pick if there are more volunteers than spots (I think they just need 10 people on the panel). If I do get picked, I'll probably mention my undying love for moose in my introductory comments to self-identify, lol 😀
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hahahaha!!! awesome!
 
Mollyj said:
But how will we ever be able to pick you out of a crowd? I mean come on everyone knows moose are the favored ungulate in the Davis-Sac area. I believe red elk win near Vacaville though. 😛
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My 😍 for them is so strong that this is probably true - I outweigh all other votes 😉
 
moosenanny said:
The Interview Workshop will be on Feb. 19...
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Crap, this is making my plan to arrive a day early to my Illinois interview on the 21st a bit difficult.
Any idea what time the workshop ends?
 
squibby said:
Crap, this is making my plan to arrive a day early to my Illinois interview on the 21st a bit difficult.
Any idea what time the workshop ends?
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Here is what I know:

Interviews for the class of 2015 will be held from February 22nd to March 14th this year.

The first year class hosts an interview workshop and interview orientation the weekend prior to the first interviews (over President's weekend). Included in this workshop is a panel of first year students who take part in an open forum question-and-answer session regarding what to expect in interviews, vet school, and the application process as a whole.

This year's interview orientation will be on Saturday, February 19th from 10am to 5pm.

Personally last year I couldn't go to this workshop day because I was in Missouri finishing up my senior year of undergrad. The workshop is by no means mandatory or necessary - obviously plenty of people get accepted without having attended (myself included).

Last year I found a link online with a video recording of the student panel that was a couple of years old (they may have included it in the interview invite, even). This way I felt like I got some "inside info" and wasn't out of the loop.

In the email asking for student volunteers to be on the panel for this year, they asked if we agreed to be filmed. So they'll probably upload this updated recording to the internet. Not sure if/when they'll announce the link to it, but hopefully you'll get to watch it regardless of attending in person . . .

Hope this helps 🙂
 
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