UCLA Geffen part 01

[kalak24]

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Nevermind, it's about 100 people.

 

[CalBeE]

I received a form called "Statement of Intention to Register at UCLA"...now I feel like I'm about to sign my life away! 😛

 

[docmemi]

I received a form called "Statement of Intention to Register at UCLA"...now I feel like I'm about to sign my life away! 😛

oh yes, i heard thats coming. i need to check my po box. it better be there!

 

[Legend123]

I received a form called "Statement of Intention to Register at UCLA"...now I feel like I'm about to sign my life away! 😛

Does it mean we cannot accept another school's offer after we sign? Let say if we are on the waitlist of our dream school at this moment. I understand that once you register the other schools will not accept you even you are on the waitlist. I think I read somewhere.

 

[Arginine]

Originally Posted by docmemi

so what is a typical week like...
1. lecture everyday from 10-12. which i heard not everyone goes to.
2. doctoring once a wekk. i assume thats 1-2 hours.
3. pbl 4hours a week. i assume on monday and friday.
4. then lab a few times a wekk...another 6 hours? how are those...do you have to prepare, write papers for them, take tests...or are they pretty chill and just supplemental so you learn? i imagine these can be fun at times.
5. weekend quizzes and once a month preceptorship. how are those? are they graded? are they hard?

total/wk: something around 24 hours of class time...yea thats what they told us.

so for your pbl each week...are you only responsible for the 1-2 pages you are assigned then everyone else does there part. you get the notes and you have everything?? or is there more work??

and lastly, do you still have time for fun? how is your social life? how much do you and the others typically study per week??

Hey Docmemi,
In answer to your questions:
1. Lectures: so true, not everyone attends. We get an official packet of notes each week for lecture, but the quality really varies. Some profs write amazing notes, others just give a minimal outline. My class is so cooperative & supportive, though. We have one person who posts a digital recording of each lecture on our class website; and another person who takes notes during class on a laptop & posts everything on the class website. People also share the study guides they put together before finals.

2. Doctoring is 1:30-4:30, mostly meeting in our small groups. Occasionally we convene as a large group for a panel discussion by patients who have neurological disorders, renal failure, cancer, etc. Sometimes we have field trips to a clinic, the hospital chaplain, etc. The 1x/month preceptor visit takes place during doctoring time. No grades from the preceptor, just attendance verification. You get a written evaluation from your doctoring tutor at the end of each 8-week block (your strengths/weaknesses, general performance). It's all pass/fail.

3. PBL: Yes, it's Monday & Friday a.m's (except for one block where they had us meeting Friday afternoons). You are responsible only for your assigned learning issue; everyone posts their papers on the discussion board so you have access to everything. The only other thing you have to do is participate in the discussions and maybe read & discuss an occasional assigned journal article. For this you also get a written evaluation at the end of each block (pass/fail again).

4. Labs: mostly chill, sometimes very helpful in illustrating stuff we've learned in lecture, sometimes not. For one or two isolated sessions out of the entire year, you have to do some reading or write a short 1-2 page paper (we did this for genetics, and also for nutrition). But the rest of the labs, there are no grades, tests, papers. The content varies from running computer simulations of action potentials to learning how to draw blood on your classmates (yikes! actually it wasn't so bad).

5. Weekend self-assessment quizzes must be done on the computer & submitted before 8 am Mondays. You get your "score" immediately, but it's not recorded by admin. It's a good way to figure out the level of detail you're expected to understand. If you consistently get very low scores (<70), they may contact you to offer tutoring, etc. The final exams at the end of each 8-week block are pass/fail (passing is usually set at 70%, although they will adjust it if the test turns out to be harder than they expected). The difficulty of the weekend quizzes vary with each block, depending on who's writing the questions.

6. Social life: great! My classmates are very social, and there's always something going on every weekend. There are also tons of student organizations you can join if you like. Most of my classmates feel they have more free time than they expected in med school. (although the upperclassmen tell us we'll have less free time as we move up) I'm not much of a gunner, and I probably study around 2 hours/night during the week. Maybe a little more on the weekends. It's hard to really gauge because I tend to get distracted easily (the sun! the beach!)

 

[jlee9531]

Does it mean we cannot accept another school's offer after we sign? Let say if we are on the waitlist of our dream school at this moment. I understand that once you register the other schools will not accept you even you are on the waitlist. I think I read somewhere.

no..its like holding a spot in the class. nothing to worry about.

 

[docmemi]

Does it mean we cannot accept another school's offer after we sign? Let say if we are on the waitlist of our dream school at this moment. I understand that once you register the other schools will not accept you even you are on the waitlist. I think I read somewhere.

legend, did you get it as well? i didnt get it yet 🙁 😕

calbee, what else came in the envelope? thanks.

 

[CalBeE]

The packet has:
"Statement of Legal Residence" -- For the purpose of tuition I guess
"Statement of Intention to Register" -- Nowhere on it says we need to withdraw from Waitlists in order to hold the spot. But I'm gonna call the office anyway
"Admission and Registration Info" -- Your student ID and the PIN number for accessing URSA (University Record Secure Access??). My Student ID is the same as my undergrad one and I'm like super familiar with URSA by now.

 

[Legend123]

No, I have not rec'd the package yet.

 

[docmemi]

thanks legend. now i dont feel as lonely.

anyone know if the ucla students are competitive with one another? it seems like with the pbl curriculum, everyone has to help eachother.

 

[CalBeE]

I heard from multiple source that UCLA students are very cooperative.

Anyways, I called the School of Medicine today, and they confirm that by signing the "Statement of Intention to Register", you DON'T have to withdraw from the waitlists you're on. However, as we all know, you'll have to withdraw from all your acceptances except UCLA.

So after all, I'm not signing my life away....yet 😀

 

[Legend123]

Thanks for the info CalBeE

 

[supereagles]

I heard from multiple source that UCLA students are very cooperative.

Anyways, I called the School of Medicine today, and they confirm that by signing the "Statement of Intention to Register", you DON'T have to withdraw from the waitlists you're on. However, as we all know, you'll have to withdraw from all your acceptances except UCLA.

So after all, I'm not signing my life away....yet 😀

Men, I signed a similar Intention to register at another UC school and filled out the Residency form. I am guessing that I am screwed now 🙁

 

[CalBeE]

Men, I signed a similar Intention to register at another UC school and filled out the Residency form. I am guessing that I am screwed now 🙁

Wait, so you already mailed in that form? Wow that may create a problem if you actually wanna come to UCLA.

 

[igbophysician]

Hey all,
I know that UCLA is one of those schools students like to hold on to, but how many of you are planning to withdraw before May15th?

 

[docmemi]

I was talking to a lot of UCLA students on a conference this past week, and it seems like thier new curriculum is pretty close to USC's, so I would expect them to do a lot better on the boards than past UCLA Classes, where the teaching was horrible.
Josh

jalbs,
it is very similar to usc's (including early clinical), except that i would say ucla is much more pbl and independent group work based than usc is. combining that with the fact that the exams after each block are usmle step 1 style, means ucla is prolly now really preping the students for the boards.

what do you guys think?

-memi

 

[docmemi]

AOA at UCLA:
im so bored these days that i randomly call student affairs and ask questions. so yesterday i called and asked about aoa and this guy said- "while typically 20% of the class gets aoa, it varies each year. 2 students will be told at the end of their 3rd year if they are aoa. the rest are told later on during 4th year sometime in the middle of residency applications. all students (ucla and drew, riverside?) are part of the same candidate pool for aoa. the students who find out in the 4th year about aoa will still benefit since the residency app cycle will not be over"

just wanted to share what he said. but that kind of concerns me. it must be close to impossible to get aoa. so my question is, is it worth working your butt off to get aoa, or is it better to just chill, try to pass as best as you can (yes, you still want to be ranked high), and study hard for step I?? some of you might find my question stupid/silly...im not sure if you will understand what im trying to say, but whatever....

 

[Jalby]

I didn't say anything about the early clinical contact. I donno anything about that. But as far as the classes and the way they are set up, it's pretty shocking how close the curriculums are.



As for the AOA thing, no more than 16.6% of a class can get AOA. That is by rule what AOA is. The thing you are reffering to is Jr AOA. That is 5% of the class, and they are the first people to get selected which normally happens at the end of junior year. the other 11.6% of the people who get AOA are Sr. AOA.

 

[Jalby]

I didn't say anything about the early clinical contact. I donno anything about that. But as far as the classes and the way they are set up, it's pretty shocking how close the curriculums are.



As for the AOA thing, no more than 16.6% of a class can get AOA. That is by rule what AOA is. The thing you are reffering to is Jr AOA. That is 5% of the class, and they are the first people to get selected which normally happens at the end of junior year. the other 11.6% of the people who get AOA are Sr. AOA.

 

[docmemi]

you gotta check out manhatten beach (near LAX airport). was there today, so beautiful!

 

[docmemi]

arginine and other sdn'ers,
i have a question about a post that was written in another thread about drew. im sure some people are curious to know what ucla students think of drew students. do they look at them as equal, lower, higher, or dont care? if anything, i personally look up to the drew students...its very hard to get into and these are students with amazing backgrounds and a special mission. oh and im not sure if youll know, but how do the drew students do in class and on the boards (traditionally)?
some stereotypes and misconceptions people have out there are kinda bothering me, so thats why im asking you. gotta clear this crap up already. thanks for helping!

 

[CalBeE]

arginine and other sdn'ers,
i have a question about a post that was written in another thread about drew. im sure some people are curious to know what ucla students think of drew students. do they look at them as equal, lower, higher, or dont care? if anything, i personally look up to the drew students...its very hard to get into and these are students with amazing backgrounds and a special mission. oh and im not sure if youll know, but how do the drew students do in class and on the boards (traditionally)?
some stereotypes and misconceptions people have out there are kinda bothering me, so thats why im asking you. gotta clear this crap up already. thanks for helping!

To be honest, I don't think UCLA Med students themselve care too much about the differences between Geffen and Drew. You don't even have to tell anyone which program you're in.

It seems like the discrimination comes mostly from doctors and students outside California, and those not familiar with the program.

 

[supereagles]

For all you accepted to UCLA. Have y'all received any financial aid info or possible scholarships/grants. Would it be inappropriate to call their office and ask for an estimate..f**k it, I am going to call anyway. 😕

 

[docmemi]

For all you accepted to UCLA. Have y'all received any financial aid info or possible scholarships/grants. Would it be inappropriate to call their office and ask for an estimate..f**k it, I am going to call anyway. 😕

all i got was a small envelope that gave a list of things i had to do. but that can just be found on the fin aid website. go to http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu and click on fin aid on the left column/toolbar.

if you call, please let us know what they say. thanks.

 

[BananaSplit]

Is the status website being updated? I can't get into the login page right now. Anyone else with this problem?

I don't even know why I am posting this...if it is being updated, I will know soon enough, and if it's not, then who cares? I guess I am just fond of aggravating my OCD of checking status websites.

 

[Smile'n'Wink MD]

Would any of my fellow UCLA SDN'ers like to read my LOI and give me any feedback? I've been neurotic over it b/c I'm really hoping UCLA comes through.

I'd be eternally greateful! 😍

 

[CalBeE]

The applicant status page is working for me just now...

I didn't get any financial aid/scholarship info, but then I'm an int'l student, and am not qualified for virtually any loan/grants/scholarships anyway.

And Smile and Wink...I can read your letter. However, my laptop's hard disk is actually weird, like half of the time it'll be unreadable, so I have to send it in for repair like sometime this week.

 

[supereagles]

all i got was a small envelope that gave a list of things i had to do. but that can just be found on the fin aid website. go to http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu and click on fin aid on the left column/toolbar.

if you call, please let us know what they say. thanks.

I called today to request for an estimate, the lady I spoke to asked me to e.mail her with my request and she would get back to me before the 15th. hopefully by then it would not be too late. I am hoping they make me an offer i can't refuse 😀 .......i have always wanted to say that. Hope that helps

 

[docmemi]

I called today to request for an estimate, the lady I spoke to asked me to e.mail her with my request and she would get back to me before the 15th. hopefully by then it would not be too late. I am hoping they make me an offer i can't refuse 😀 .......i have always wanted to say that. Hope that helps

super, thanks. did you get the package that calbee got with the intent to register form? i havent got it yet. also, are you in the drew program...just curious? are you emailing them asking them about how much they will give you?

thanks again.

 

[supereagles]

super, thanks. did you get the package that calbee got with the intent to register form? i havent got it yet. also, are you in the drew program...just curious? are you emailing them asking them about how much they will give you?

thanks again.

Yep, i got the package with the intent to register form and I almost made the mistake of filling it out without understanding the implications. Thanks my fellow SDNers for giving me the heads up. No I am not in the Drew program.....at this point I would add the usual cliche and state that I think it is a great program with lots of problems. I already e.mailed the office. I doubt the outcome though-UCLA does not appear to be that generous when it comes to handing out grants/scholarships.

 

[JimDiGriz]

Is the status website being updated? I can't get into the login page right now. Anyone else with this problem?

I don't even know why I am posting this...if it is being updated, I will know soon enough, and if it's not, then who cares? I guess I am just fond of aggravating my OCD of checking status websites.

I think the secure application site (https) is down, this link should work:
http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/applications/appstat/appforms/status04.htm

 

[Arginine]

arginine and other sdn'ers,
i have a question about a post that was written in another thread about drew. im sure some people are curious to know what ucla students think of drew students. do they look at them as equal, lower, higher, or dont care? if anything, i personally look up to the drew students...its very hard to get into and these are students with amazing backgrounds and a special mission. oh and im not sure if youll know, but how do the drew students do in class and on the boards (traditionally)?
some stereotypes and misconceptions people have out there are kinda bothering me, so thats why im asking you. gotta clear this crap up already. thanks for helping!

Drew students take their basic science years with UCLA students, and I have never heard of anyone (internally) differentiating the two programs in the first two years of med school. I don't keep track of which classmates are Drew vs. UCLA and we think of everyone as part of one class. I don't have any stats on the board exams, but my sense is that all my classmates (whether Drew or UCLA) are highly motivated and most do pretty well in class.

 

[docmemi]

called today. my registration forms may be lost in the mail cause they keep sending stuff to my old address. i hope i get it cause they dont want my id number and pin to get out to someone else.

my point: dont hesitate to call ever if you want. if i hadnt called this wouldnt of got cleared up.

 

[CalBeE]

Just thought that I should periodically bring this thread back to life... 🙂

By the way, Weyburn Terrace (New Graduate Student Apartment) seems to be far from completion...I wonder how they're gonna finish it in time for us??

 

[masalachica]

Just thought that I should periodically bring this thread back to life... 🙂

By the way, Weyburn Terrace (New Graduate Student Apartment) seems to be far from completion...I wonder how they're gonna finish it in time for us??

If you call this number (310) 794-6823, I think you can find out the status of the Weyburn Terrace. I tried calling during my lunch hour today and I got the machine, prob b/c they were on lunch break too.

 

[uclalee]

Just thought that I should periodically bring this thread back to life... 🙂

By the way, Weyburn Terrace (New Graduate Student Apartment) seems to be far from completion...I wonder how they're gonna finish it in time for us??

They aren't.

 

[GTea]

Weyburn Terrace construction is actually ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed sometime in June/July.

 

[uclalee]

Weyburn Terrace construction is actually ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed sometime in June/July.

Have you seen it lately? It's still just wood..... there's no way it'll be done. Sorry to all you optimistic people. 👎

 

[GTea]

Have you seen it lately? It's still just wood..... there's no way it'll be done. Sorry to all you optimistic people. 👎

I know, I know. But that was what I was told when called.

 

[docmemi]

i called today....IT WILL BE READY IN TIME FOR FALL FOR MED STUDENTS. YAY.

 

[Emeri Onwunwa]

Has anyone heard anything after the letters dated 4/22? Anymore acceptances, waitlists, rejections handed out? Just curious.

 

[masalachica]

i called today....IT WILL BE READY IN TIME FOR FALL FOR MED STUDENTS. YAY.

Did you call that number I posted? If you did, then I won't bother calling.

Thanks!

 

[docmemi]

Did you call that number I posted? If you did, then I won't bother calling.

Thanks!

yea. thats the number to community relations. the lady there told me its planned to be done by then. check out this website... http://www.housing.ucla.edu/housing_site/apartments/weyburn-terrace.htm

hope that helps.

 

[docmemi]

bizuuummpppp. where is everyone?

 

[CalBeE]

I have been spending most of my time doing nothing--I'm done with classes already. 😉

 

[docmemi]

I have been spending most of my time doing nothing--I'm done with classes already. 😉

wow. i cant belive you are on. i thought i was the only one coming on sdn so late instead of sleeping. anyway, ive been up to nothing too.

 

[CalBeE]

wow. i cant belive you are on. i thought i was the only one coming on sdn so late instead of sleeping. anyway, ive been up to nothing too.

I have been having Insomnia, but ended up napping during the afternoons...I'm sure more people will post as we come closer to the beginning of the school year.

 

[BananaSplit]

Has anyone heard anything after the letters dated 4/22? Anymore acceptances, waitlists, rejections handed out? Just curious.

No news here. The six week mark for me is today.

 

[zeephro]

Has anyone heard anything after the letters dated 4/22? Anymore acceptances, waitlists, rejections handed out? Just curious.

Hey guys, . . . this is my first post, but I just checked my status page and it says that final decision letter was sent out on 5/6! I interviewed around mar. 15? mar. 17? Somewhere around there. I'm so nervous, but I'm hoping for the best.

 

[tritonpower]

Hey guys, . . . this is my first post, but I just checked my status page and it says that final decision letter was sent out on 5/6! I interviewed around mar. 15? mar. 17? Somewhere around there. I'm so nervous, but I'm hoping for the best.

My first post as well. I interviewed on the 23 of march and got a final decision letter sent out on may 6. Checking mail every waking moment. Tried to coax the admissions office to tell me my results but they refused. Scared as hell.....good luck to you all.