UCLA Interview help!

[RachelMann]

So...here's the deal. I finally got my much desired interview at UCLA, its pretty much my first choice for schools. But it comes at a very busy time....this week is Thanksgiving, next two weeks are finals and then a family vacation. Basically its starting to look like the next time i will be able to go there is in JANUARY! Is this awful? Am I screwing myself by waiting that long to interview? Should I just go during the last weeks of school in December and possibly miss school and compromise my finals? Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rachel

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[UCSBPre-Med]

Hey Rachel, I go to a UC and we have finals in two weeks too.

What I did for my Davis interview was schedule it the first couple days after Thanksgiving. Thats what I would do for UCLA if I were you too. These schools are on Rolling Admissions, and the Adcom will likely meet once or twice in that time from then until January.

Miss a day of school, go to the interview in December. Especially if its your first choice! Good luck.

P.S. What schoold do you go to?

 

[jot]

to the best of my knowledge ucla is rolling - so its best to go earlier. i would go to your interview in december and do well on your finals. remember that unless you do'nt know if you are going to get in this year - grades don't matter that much. most places don't ask for your mid year grades, adn you only furnish them if desired. it probably won't matter at all in the end whether you interview in dec or jan - i can't imagine that it will be a detrimental factor. furthermore, ucla probably won't be interviewing much in the intervening time between december and jan due to all the holidays, so even though the time looks like 4 weeks or something, its probably only a week or so of difference in terms of new applicants they are going to see. goodluck, its a beautiful shcool
-jot

 

[AussieNYC]

I think it's best to go as soon as you can. Classes fill up quickly so don't think twice and head to LA!! woohoo!! congrats.

 

[RachelMann]

UCSB PRe-med

I got to berkeley....Super senior about to graduate

 

[UCSBPre-Med]

Well congrats on the interview, and on graduating.

Berkeley huh? Good school. Too bad I didn't get in.

 

[mystic_b]

So even though UCLA states that they don't start accepting people until after Jan. 15, they are still rolling?

 

[Nefertari]

Rachel,

I was told that they still have interview slots in dec, but what will take long is waiting to schedule by snail mail--a bit anticlimactic. I received the notice in early Nov, but still waiting to receive mail back @ the date. I called today & was told that it'll probably be @ mid-Dec.

If you live in LA, it might be faster & easier to schedule an earlier date. Just wanted to let you know @ the 2-3 week lag time. If it works out, try to interview in Dec, b/c I think they send out the first batch of notices mid-Jan.

 

[Rapid Decomposition]

Originally posted by Nefertari
If you live in LA, it might be faster & easier to schedule an earlier date. Just wanted to let you know @ the 2-3 week lag time. If it works out, try to interview in Dec, b/c I think they send out the first batch of notices mid-Jan.

Lame! I can't believe you've been waiting that long for an interview date. You're right though - I live in LA, and I only had about a week and a half turnaround time from when I first got my notice to when I got the scheduled date in the mail. I really have no idea why they do the snail mail thing.

 

[Nefertari]

Originally posted by Rapid Decomposition
Lame! I can't believe you've been waiting that long for an interview date. You're right though - I live in LA, and I only had about a week and a half turnaround time from when I first got my notice to when I got the scheduled date in the mail. I really have no idea why they do the snail mail thing.

Yeah, quite weird. They seem to be getting buried, so they probably schedule by snail mail to prevent folks from even thinking @ rescheduling. (UCLA interviews over 600 apps, whereas the other UC's @ 500.) I'll be patient--as long as they don't rescind the offer!

mystic, UCLA's rolling--they send out the first notices mid-Jan, then @ the 15th of each month. So, I'm wondering if maybe applicants interviewing up to Dec will hear back in Jan?

 

[Nefertari]

Woops, a correction for UC interview #'s. SD & SF interview @ 500, but Davis & Irvine are closer to 400. The following thread has the UC #'s:

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51012

 

[ramz]

I took the aug 2002 mcat and i was wondering how long it takes to get an interview. What is the competition like at UCLA?

 

[Nefertari]

Originally posted by ramz
I took the aug 2002 mcat and i was wondering how long it takes to get an interview. What is the competition like at UCLA?

ramz, it depends on when you completed your 2ndary & maybe whether you have taken the mcat before (I took it in april & aug) & whether your previous scores got you past some threshold (not sure if mine did).

I submitted uc apps @ the same time (in July) & have found ucla to be the quickest in processing (my app complete @ mid-sept, interview request early nov). Of the UC 2ndaries, i finished theirs last (b/c of the painful 9 essays), but heard from them first. There is also a degree of randomness.