UCLA or UCSF???

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Red823

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Ok first off please don't flame me...I'm not trying to be arrogant for posting this or anything since I know there's quite a handful of people also in the same position or will be in the same position soon...

Now both schools are presitigious in their own rights. Tuition-wise, of course it is a lot cheaper than most others but comparatively to the new price tag increase it's not that far off from a few private schools. The question is...which of the two should one choose? Of course it comes down to each person's own personal preference but anyone (alumni, or current/prospective students) has any more insight about the school?

I know UCSF has recently implemented a new curriculum (p/np)...how's that going? I got a good idea from the interview/tour when I was there but I'd like to hear more opinion if possible.

Thanks for all who will input.

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I heard the P/NP is great. My friend goes there. He says the people are a lot more friendly now. I think UCSF has better clinical too.
 
i'd go for UCLA
 
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I've heard from multiple people that UCLA is lacking in the patient pool. I think that in itself is a pretty important factor to consider...what do you guys think? Those already at UCLA, do you feel that there is such a stretch for patients?

PS: xxdakinexx: and justletmein...Thanks for your input !
 
Hmm, maybe we would get more replies by asking people on the dental forum?
(Note: +/- are subjectively graded...obviously :oops: )

+ UCSF: I wouldn't be surprised if UCSF was clinically better than UCLA. I talked to a large handful of UCLA dental students and they all professed their frustration over the lack of patients. But, they did say that there are other ways to "make it up."

Also, if you're into research, UCSF is definitely a place to go as it is number 1 in NIH funding (check out the NIH-CRISP database if you have a topic in mind).

I've been to more great restaurants in the UCSF area (definitely try CrepeVine on Irving). There is a more hippy, earthy, political vibe.

UCLA is suitable if you're into the rich and yuppy. You're pretty much sharing Westwood with BH and Brentwood residents. They also passed a new law that prohibits giving food to the homeless (A petty attempt to secure the yuppiness).

UCSF has green plants. LA is, literally, a desert. So you don't have the same lush vegetation. If you like to hike like me, SF is heaven.

+UCLA: Personally, I don't know any dental students from UCSF. But through hearsay, I heard the faculty is somewhat unapproachable. Of course, I'm kind of used to this considering I went to a public undergrad institution. Again, this is only hearsay.

Also, UCLA will have graduate housing available upon our matriculation. And it is a good price for Westwood; I'm pretty sure it is $800/month for a shared apt., including DSL, electricity, gas and water.

+/- UCLA: If you're pretty star-struck, UCLA is definitely the place to be. Luckily, you'll only have classes in the Medical Center so you don't have to re-route yourself to accomodate filming on campus. But driving in Westwood can be difficult during big movie premieres.

Both schools are awesome. Both schools have their flaws. It kind of balances out in the end. So it really just boils down to whether you want to spend 4+ years in LA or SF. Which is why I included some lifestyle tidbits above. Hopefully a dental student responds to this post because I'm just a silly, little pre-dent. :smuggrin:
 
Red823 said:
I've heard from multiple people that UCLA is lacking in the patient pool. I think that in itself is a pretty important factor to consider...what do you guys think? Those already at UCLA, do you feel that there is such a stretch for patients?

PS: xxdakinexx: and justletmein...Thanks for your input !

Also, I heard from 2 people who used to be on the admissions board for UCLA and USC that more UCLA students go into residency because, due to the lack of patients, they don't feel prepared to go into private practice.

Can anyone confirm this one?
 
Does anyone know what percentage of the class goes into a specialty program at UCLA and UCSF?
 
Red823 said:
I've heard from multiple people that UCLA is lacking in the patient pool. I think that in itself is a pretty important factor to consider...what do you guys think? Those already at UCLA, do you feel that there is such a stretch for patients?

PS: xxdakinexx: and justletmein...Thanks for your input !

The lack of patients can be a problem, doesn't necessarily mean it is a problem there. (I get my info from current UCLA students) There are some easy steps you can take to get around this if it does happen.

no problem and goodluck in your decision :)
 
Thanks Literati81 ! Your post is very informative in terms of lifestyle...

So have you decided personally where you will be going?

UMC27: I don't know the actual percentage of those going into specialization at either school right now but I'm sure I wrote it down in my interview notes...once I find them I'll let ya know. :p
 
justletmein said:
The lack of patients can be a problem, doesn't necessarily mean it is a problem there. (I get my info from current UCLA students) There are some easy steps you can take to get around this if it does happen.

no problem and goodluck in your decision :)


I have heard otherwise. I have heard from dental students that the patient pool at UCLA is very limited. Students who develop close relationships with proffessors or who know people in the program are at a great advantage over those who dont. If you are a student who doesnt know any of the faculty at UCLA or students at UCLA it becomes very difficult to get patients and fulfill your requirements. Also I heard that in many cases the specialty students take alot of the cases from dds students.
 
Literati81 said:
UCSF has green plants. LA is, literally, a desert. So you don't have the same lush vegetation. If you like to hike like me, SF is heaven.


Hahaha, I found this quite ironic. I guess that's why the dental school's entrance is facing the botanic garden! If you dont mind doing a little bit of searching in this forum, me and other people post something like this a year ago. Well, I m at UCLA now. People are really friendly here. Dont get me wrong. The curriculum is tough. I have never studied so hard to pass. I would think UCSF has simillar standard. Just want to make sure that everybody agrees that both institutes are great. You really cant make any "wrong choice" going to either one. I would probably re-visit the school and perhaps sit in one or two classes and talk with people to find out your answer.
 
Let me add a little about patient pool.
I had the same concern.
But when you think about it, every year we have 100 student graduated (88 from 4 yrs program and 12 from int'l dentists). I am sure that UCLA wont have the highest number of patients, but we must have seen enough patients to acquire their skills, otherwise, UCLA wont let them out. And surprisingly, most dentists learn and speed up their skill after they graduate.

And my second concern is tuition hike. Let's face it. Tuition will only climb. However, at UCLA, you get your money worthy. Even with tuition hike, your money will bring you hours and hours of lecture and post-lecture studying. If you compare the school across town, they are paying so much money to teach themselves. UC is a steal. UOP didnt give me an interview, so I didnt have to make that choice. UCLA is pretty much year round too just like UOP. I never understand how they could cut out a whole year of stuff that we have to learn. If you want to be a GP, then UOP's 3 yrs program seems to be a good way to go.
 
ecdoesit said:
Let me add a little about patient pool.
I had the same concern.
But when you think about it, every year we have 100 student graduated (88 from 4 yrs program and 12 from int'l dentists). I am sure that UCLA wont have the highest number of patients, but we must have seen enough patients to acquire their skills, otherwise, UCLA wont let them out. And surprisingly, most dentists learn and speed up their skill after they graduate.

And my second concern is tuition hike. Let's face it. Tuition will only climb. However, at UCLA, you get your money worthy. Even with tuition hike, your money will bring you hours and hours of lecture and post-lecture studying. If you compare the school across town, they are paying so much money to teach themselves. UC is a steal. UOP didnt give me an interview, so I didnt have to make that choice. UCLA is pretty much year round too just like UOP. I never understand how they could cut out a whole year of stuff that we have to learn. If you want to be a GP, then UOP's 3 yrs program seems to be a good way to go.


Thanks for the input! I just did a search and found that thread you had posted earlier in the year with the same question about UCLA or UCSF. It was a very helpful post...thanks for the heads up.

Obviously you chose UCLA...any regrets? How's the rent situation at Westwood? How hard is it to find a place there?
 
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ecdoesit said:
Hahaha, I found this quite ironic. I guess that's why the dental school's entrance is facing the botanic garden!

Yeah, I guess you could hike in the botanical garden if you're up for a 10 minute (or however long it takes you to walk a block) walk. But I must say, it's pretty hard to simulate "roughing it" when there are labels with esoteric/latin names affixed to each plant.

I'm just playing. Academically and for personal reasons, I want to stay in LA. But my heart is in SF (corny as that sounds). Maybe it's because I always chose to vacation in NorCal so my experiences may be blinding me from reality. So, to answer Red's question, I have no clue where I will end up going. I mentally have a list of pros and cons and they equal out. I even did a pathetic coin flip and it came out 3/5 for UCSF. Don't get me wrong. I'm very thankful I actually have a choice. But at the same time, I'm feeling this weird sort of happy anxiety. Oh well, we have about 40 days left right? :idea:
 
Oh yeah, and that whole "literally a desert" comment, I was referring to the history of LA. Initially it was a inhabitable desert but was transformed into a large city after a flurry of engineers designed one of the longest aqueducts in the Western Hemisphere. Thereby bringing us water from the mountains.

You probably already knew that already but I just wanted to justify the whole "desert" thing. Yeah, no more History Channel for me... :love:
 
Hmm...well...since i'm only a D-1 at ucsf...i don't know how much my advice can weigh...but u guys can take from it whatever you want.

about the P/NP at ucsf: it's definitely a great thing. our class is really really supportive of each other and we all try to make sure that everyone does well. i'm so happy that it's p/np because otherwise i think we'd all be studying our butts off (not that we don't study hard now but we'd probably be studying even more) and being cutthroat. having p/np is also great because it allows you to do things that you are interested in like extra curriculars and research since you don't have to worry so much about getting that A. i can only assume that at ucla it's similar since both uc's are p/np.

as for the professors being unapproachable. that's false. the professors here are actually really nice and very approachable....at least IMO.

it's true that ucsf is number 1 in NIH funding. does that mean you have to do research...absolutely not. i know some classmates that are interested in it and some that aren't. the great thing is that if you are interested in it, there's plenty of opportunity to do it.

regarding the patient pool. honestly, it's hard for both me and ecdoesit to say cuz we're both D-1's. i don't really get to work on patients until the beginning of 3rd year so until then, all i can say is that what i've heard is that ucsf is really up there in terms of clinical. when i say work on patients i mean me actually doing procedures on them. there are different programs that let you help out/assist with procedures throughout your four years and i've already done some of that so i guess technically i've already seen patients. all this being said, going along with ecdoesit, i've heard that most of your clinical experience is gained AFTER you graduate. dunno if it's true...just what i heard.

from what i can faintly remember the admissions board telling me last year, the percentage of people specializing after graduation is around 30-33%. i don't know if this includes GPRs. and i don't know the board scores either...but i can try to find out...

about the scene outside of school. haha, i was thinking the same as ecdoesit. i actually went to ucla for undergrad (lived in la all my life) and i thought la was more green. but then again, i don't really go hiking or to the park very often here in SF. honestly, i'm a spoiled socal guy so the weather will always be worse up here than in la. but so far, i've been able to cope. =) as for the restaurants, i definitely think there's more of a variety in SF. but it's different...there are more mom and pop stores or rather...non-chain stores here. i'm used to the chain stores in LA so i guess it's just a matter of preference. but it's all good...the non-chain store stuff is growing on me.

rent/parking: i think both are about equal. since i've lived in both westwood and SF i know. the best alternative i know for cheaper apts for ucla is to live in palms. but that can be a hassle since you have to pseudo-commute. luckily, i found a cheap apt near the SF campus. parking for both schools is horrendous. it's a tough call to say which is worse.

dang this was a long post...once again, i'm just a D-1 at ucsf just finishing up my 1st quarter so i can't say i know UCSF inside and out. i agree with ecdoesit and literati that both schools are great and i truly think that you can't go wrong with either one. if you have any questions feel free to PM me and i'll try my best to help you out.
 
Just to include, I think they said 82 people from UCLA's class there year were matched... I thought that was pretty impressive.

It seems to me that UCLA is probably a good choice, because if you decide you're going to specialize, you'd almost for sure going to get in, and if you decide not to, it sounds like you get a decent (but not awesome) clinical education.

Agree?
 
Red823 said:
Thanks for the input! I just did a search and found that thread you had posted earlier in the year with the same question about UCLA or UCSF. It was a very helpful post...thanks for the heads up.

Obviously you chose UCLA...any regrets? How's the rent situation at Westwood? How hard is it to find a place there?


Since finals are coming, I apologize for my short reply.
Regret. We have to see our future. Once we get out, we are dentists. So, everything is wonderful. I cant imagine whether it will be a signifacant difference between ucla and uscf. both places have terrible traffic.

you could apply for graduate housing at both places. weyburn at ucla is brand new. many of my classmates are living there. it costs about 900 a month. not bad for new housing. it is easy to find a nice/decent place to live here. and u save money from turning on ur heater :D


dont forget, u can hold the two spots once u sent in ur 200 bucks.
later on, u could ask for a refund be4 june or some time. sf sent me 190 back. but keep in mind that it aint nice to hold that spot for too long.
 
Allright, someone please refresh my memory. Which one is hybrid (w/ PBL)? UCLA or UCSF?
 
Literati81 said:
Allright, someone please refresh my memory. Which one is hybrid (w/ PBL)? UCLA or UCSF?

According to the info from the packet/folder, UCSF has the hybrid PBL system. I have no clue about UCLA cuz I didn't get any info about their curriculum at the interview...which reminds me I should either email Sarah to ask more info or go to the website and see what I can find out.
 
busdriver said:
Hmm...well...since i'm only a D-1 at ucsf...i don't know how much my advice can weigh...but u guys can take from it whatever you want.

about the P/NP at ucsf: it's definitely a great thing. our class is really really supportive of each other and we all try to make sure that everyone does well. i'm so happy that it's p/np because otherwise i think we'd all be studying our butts off (not that we don't study hard now but we'd probably be studying even more) and being cutthroat. having p/np is also great because it allows you to do things that you are interested in like extra curriculars and research since you don't have to worry so much about getting that A. i can only assume that at ucla it's similar since both uc's are p/np.

as for the professors being unapproachable. that's false. the professors here are actually really nice and very approachable....at least IMO.

it's true that ucsf is number 1 in NIH funding. does that mean you have to do research...absolutely not. i know some classmates that are interested in it and some that aren't. the great thing is that if you are interested in it, there's plenty of opportunity to do it.

regarding the patient pool. honestly, it's hard for both me and ecdoesit to say cuz we're both D-1's. i don't really get to work on patients until the beginning of 3rd year so until then, all i can say is that what i've heard is that ucsf is really up there in terms of clinical. when i say work on patients i mean me actually doing procedures on them. there are different programs that let you help out/assist with procedures throughout your four years and i've already done some of that so i guess technically i've already seen patients. all this being said, going along with ecdoesit, i've heard that most of your clinical experience is gained AFTER you graduate. dunno if it's true...just what i heard.

from what i can faintly remember the admissions board telling me last year, the percentage of people specializing after graduation is around 30-33%. i don't know if this includes GPRs. and i don't know the board scores either...but i can try to find out...

about the scene outside of school. haha, i was thinking the same as ecdoesit. i actually went to ucla for undergrad (lived in la all my life) and i thought la was more green. but then again, i don't really go hiking or to the park very often here in SF. honestly, i'm a spoiled socal guy so the weather will always be worse up here than in la. but so far, i've been able to cope. =) as for the restaurants, i definitely think there's more of a variety in SF. but it's different...there are more mom and pop stores or rather...non-chain stores here. i'm used to the chain stores in LA so i guess it's just a matter of preference. but it's all good...the non-chain store stuff is growing on me.

rent/parking: i think both are about equal. since i've lived in both westwood and SF i know. the best alternative i know for cheaper apts for ucla is to live in palms. but that can be a hassle since you have to pseudo-commute. luckily, i found a cheap apt near the SF campus. parking for both schools is horrendous. it's a tough call to say which is worse.

dang this was a long post...once again, i'm just a D-1 at ucsf just finishing up my 1st quarter so i can't say i know UCSF inside and out. i agree with ecdoesit and literati that both schools are great and i truly think that you can't go wrong with either one. if you have any questions feel free to PM me and i'll try my best to help you out.

Busdriver...Thanks for the long post! You said you found a cheap apt near UCSF, did you go on Craiglist to search for it ? How would you recommend searching for apts in SF?
 
ecdoesit said:
Since finals are coming, I apologize for my short reply.
Regret. We have to see our future. Once we get out, we are dentists. So, everything is wonderful. I cant imagine whether it will be a signifacant difference between ucla and uscf. both places have terrible traffic.

you could apply for graduate housing at both places. weyburn at ucla is brand new. many of my classmates are living there. it costs about 900 a month. not bad for new housing. it is easy to find a nice/decent place to live here. and u save money from turning on ur heater :D


dont forget, u can hold the two spots once u sent in ur 200 bucks.
later on, u could ask for a refund be4 june or some time. sf sent me 190 back. but keep in mind that it aint nice to hold that spot for too long.

Haha well it has been quite cold in So Cal these last few days...

Wow I didn't know you can get any refund back on the deposit... But definitely I want to choose soon so I don't hold up the spot.

How hard is it to get in Weyburn at UCLA? Do we have to do a lottery? What about parking permit? Can we get one ?

BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR FINALS !!!
 
Red823 said:
Haha well it has been quite cold in So Cal these last few days...

Wow I didn't know you can get any refund back on the deposit... But definitely I want to choose soon so I don't hold up the spot.

How hard is it to get in Weyburn at UCLA? Do we have to do a lottery? What about parking permit? Can we get one ?

BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR FINALS !!!

I think they rank your application and that is your priority for getting Weyburn. I would imagine that if you got an acceptance this early your chances are pretty good as they interview in some kind of ranked order. At the interview, we were told that around 20 D-students get spots at Weyburn and obviously not everyone offered takes it. A parking permit is entirely different (I think), though the details of that are on the UCLA website somewhere.

-P
 
I don't personally know much about the two d-schools, but heard good things about both of them from dentists I know (all UC's are great schools IMO ;) . But if you choose to attend UCLA, you'll make at least 3 more persons happy:) Congratulations!
 
Choose UCLA. The weather in NoCal sucks. You can't beat the LA winters.
 
Red823 said:
Busdriver...Thanks for the long post! You said you found a cheap apt near UCSF, did you go on Craiglist to search for it ? How would you recommend searching for apts in SF?

hey red823, yeah i was pretty lucky about finding my apt. basically, my roommate and i came up during june for a weekend and walked around the neighborhood looking for "for rent" signs and calling the managers whenever we saw one. we found a place on 7th and irving (10 min walk from campus) for $1335. it's a two bedroom 1 bath and parking included so it's a pretty sweet deal....IMO. we actually did look on craigslist too but none of those apts seemed good to us or they were too expensive. so i guess your best bet would be to just look around. there's actually an opening right now in our apt but it's a single and it's around 1100. but you can rent your parking spot like we did. we were renting ours out for $200 bux so we were basically paying $1135 for rent. crazy.

on campus housing isn't too bad either. they pay for all your utilities and it's rather close to campus. you should probably try to go for that even though you're thinking about living in non-campus housing just in case you can't find anything.
 
podil said:
I think they rank your application and that is your priority for getting Weyburn. I would imagine that if you got an acceptance this early your chances are pretty good as they interview in some kind of ranked order. At the interview, we were told that around 20 D-students get spots at Weyburn and obviously not everyone offered takes it. A parking permit is entirely different (I think), though the details of that are on the UCLA website somewhere.

-P

Thanks for the heads up about Weyburn! I heard about the new graduate housing but didn't nkow what it was called nor the fact that there is a quota for d-students.
 
luder98 said:
I don't personally know much about the two d-schools, but heard good things about both of them from dentists I know (all UC's are great schools IMO ;) . But if you choose to attend UCLA, you'll make at least 3 more persons happy:) Congratulations!


I'm guessing your first choice is UCSF? :p
 
busdriver said:
hey red823, yeah i was pretty lucky about finding my apt. basically, my roommate and i came up during june for a weekend and walked around the neighborhood looking for "for rent" signs and calling the managers whenever we saw one. we found a place on 7th and irving (10 min walk from campus) for $1335. it's a two bedroom 1 bath and parking included so it's a pretty sweet deal....IMO. we actually did look on craigslist too but none of those apts seemed good to us or they were too expensive. so i guess your best bet would be to just look around. there's actually an opening right now in our apt but it's a single and it's around 1100. but you can rent your parking spot like we did. we were renting ours out for $200 bux so we were basically paying $1135 for rent. crazy.

on campus housing isn't too bad either. they pay for all your utilities and it's rather close to campus. you should probably try to go for that even though you're thinking about living in non-campus housing just in case you can't find anything.

Two bedrooms for 1335 that's really good!! Is it a single person per bedroom or 2/bedroom? Who's renting your parking space? I've never heard of that but hey whatever works right? :D

When you're talking about on campus housing is it that Mission Bay thing or is there another place closer to the school?

Thanks Busdriver!

PS: you obviously chose SF over LA...what weighed heavily on that decision?
 
More information about UCLA graduate housing:
I'm currently living in Weyburn Terrace as a D-1. I know the school of dentistry has a certain number of allocated spots that they can guarantee housing for its students and the rest is determined by a lottery among all the other graduate students. I don't know if its because this place is new and is still opening up, but I didn't hear about my housing until July. In other words, I don't think they give out all their guaranteed housing to the people who applied first. But, this is all speculation, so I'd ask the admin here for more info. Also, some of my classmates are continuing to move into the other buildings that are opening up, and I think they went through the lottery.

Also for your decision on UCLA vs. UCSF, check out www.dentaltown.com. They have opinions from people who've graduated from either school.
 
The dentist at the clinic I volunteer for said the students that come out of UCLA are very inexperienced most of the time because the lack of patients to practice on and have minimum exposure. She met one girl who had only done one extraction prior to graduation. UCSF for sure. I told her I got into UOP and told me to go there unless I get accepted to UCSF. She said don't even bother with UCLA. Not like I will get an interview anyways. Hope that helps. I know this is all opinion, but definitely consider the clinical aspect.
 
xxdakinexx said:
The dentist at the clinic I volunteer for said the students that come out of UCLA are very inexperienced most of the time because the lack of patients to practice on and have minimum exposure. She met one girl who had only done one extraction prior to graduation. UCSF for sure. I told her I got into UOP and told me to go there unless I get accepted to UCSF. She said don't even bother with UCLA. Not like I will get an interview anyways. Hope that helps. I know this is all opinion, but definitely consider the clinical aspect.

On my interview at UCSF, my interviewer told me to plan on doing some type of residency if I attend UCSF because in her opinion the students lacked speed and confidence after their four years at the school. If you're not planning on doing a residency, seems like the UCs might not be the way to go.
 
...Red, have you come to a decision yet? Because I haven't. The thought of calling Cleo, the psychic lady on the tele, sounds much more appealing at the moment. Sigh...
 
Literati81 said:
...Red, have you come to a decision yet? Because I haven't. The thought of calling Cleo, the psychic lady on the tele, sounds much more appealing at the moment. Sigh...

LOL :laugh:

Maybe we can get a discount if we call together?

I've been looking at housing options for both schools and my head's beginning to spin !

Literati81, have you received any additional info from Carmen as that initial letter of acceptance said we will in a couple of days? Maybe I'm being paranoid but I would think to get something by now...unless mine is lost in the mail or it was all just one big dream :eek:
 
EightDaysAWeek said:
More information about UCLA graduate housing:
I'm currently living in Weyburn Terrace as a D-1. I know the school of dentistry has a certain number of allocated spots that they can guarantee housing for its students and the rest is determined by a lottery among all the other graduate students. I don't know if its because this place is new and is still opening up, but I didn't hear about my housing until July. In other words, I don't think they give out all their guaranteed housing to the people who applied first. But, this is all speculation, so I'd ask the admin here for more info. Also, some of my classmates are continuing to move into the other buildings that are opening up, and I think they went through the lottery.

Also for your decision on UCLA vs. UCSF, check out www.dentaltown.com. They have opinions from people who've graduated from either school.

Thanks for the link ! And for more info on Weyburn...though it seems that you can find better places for cheaper off-campus?
 
cool fillings said:
On my interview at UCSF, my interviewer told me to plan on doing some type of residency if I attend UCSF because in her opinion the students lacked speed and confidence after their four years at the school. If you're not planning on doing a residency, seems like the UCs might not be the way to go.

I think I heard something similar to that. Based on what I've heard from different dent alumni from different schools, most of their experience is gained when they actually go out and work as an associate. Granted to get the confidence to do so requires you to be well practiced at a dental school, but i've also heard that your number of patients really depends on luck. first, if you're in a good group with a good group leader you will get more or perhaps more compliant patients. Second, even if the school has plenty of patients but none of your patients show up to the appointments then well tough luck. Of course the larger the patient pool the better your chances of getting good patients...

Gee sounds like i jumped back to square one again....
 
Red823 said:
LOL :laugh:

Maybe we can get a discount if we call together?

I've been looking at housing options for both schools and my head's beginning to spin !

Literati81, have you received any additional info from Carmen as that initial letter of acceptance said we will in a couple of days? Maybe I'm being paranoid but I would think to get something by now...unless mine is lost in the mail or it was all just one big dream :eek:

Nope, I haven't received anything from Carmen. That's another thing. Have you noticed it is awfully hard to get in contact with Carmen or any other counselor-ish person at UCSF? Is this a warning of things to come? Or maybe I'm just biased because I work at UCLA and its easier for me to personally drive them insane with my physical presence and whiny personality.

Housing options shouldn't be a big deal. I live a hop, skip, a bus ride, skip, hop another 10 meters away from UCLA (It's a 2 bedroom for $1250). Oh yeah, and if you want your security deposit back, let me know if you end up getting an apt on Gayley. There are some shady shady managers...

As for the psychic idea, I will only go to one that knows where Bin Laden is hiding. When I find one, I'll ask if she/he gives 2 for 1 discounts. I'll keep ya updated. ;)

In the meantime, here's the status of my coin flipping strategy 3/5 for UCSF (Day 1), 3/5 for UCLA (Day 2), 3/5 for UCLA (Day 3), 3/5 for UCSF (Day 4) and 3/5 for UCSF (Day 5). Even probabilities are working against me.
 
Literati81 said:
Nope, I haven't received anything from Carmen. That's another thing. Have you noticed it is awfully hard to get in contact with Carmen or any other counselor-ish person at UCSF? Is this a warning of things to come? Or maybe I'm just biased because I work at UCLA and its easier for me to personally drive them insane with my physical presence and whiny personality.

Housing options shouldn't be a big deal. I live a hop, skip, a bus ride, skip, hop another 10 meters away from UCLA (It's a 2 bedroom for $1250). Oh yeah, and if you want your security deposit back, let me know if you end up getting an apt on Gayley. There are some shady shady managers...

As for the psychic idea, I will only go to one that knows where Bin Laden is hiding. When I find one, I'll ask if she/he gives 2 for 1 discounts. I'll keep ya updated. ;)

In the meantime, here's the status of my coin flipping strategy 3/5 for UCSF (Day 1), 3/5 for UCLA (Day 2), 3/5 for UCLA (Day 3), 3/5 for UCSF (Day 4) and 3/5 for UCSF (Day 5). Even probabilities are working against me.

:laugh: I think you should try something other than flipping coin. I've tried my magic 8 ball but it's been giving me ambiguous answers ( UCLA? - "Pick again; UCSF?-"Better luck next time")

I've been emailing this one 4th yr UCSF dent student that was also my student interviewer and he promises to shed some light into some issues I have about UCSF. I"ll be sure to ask him about the helpfulness of the admissions staff at SF in the next email and let you know.

I've been to Westwood a few times and yea i definitely know where gayley is. So if let's just say UCLA is the choice for me then where would you recommend renting?

Are you planning to put down the deposit for both schools to give more time to decide? I probably will considering I'm planning a revisit to both schools sometime in the near future.
 
man this whole thread still shocks me in terms of how much living costs. I'm pretty seriously considering UCLA as my choice, but MAN is living expensive. I pay 1300 for an entire of semester of living up here, with elect/internet/cable. Crazy how much it costs to live in LA :)
 
Red823 said:
Literati81, have you received any additional info from Carmen as that initial letter of acceptance said we will in a couple of days? Maybe I'm being paranoid but I would think to get something by now...unless mine is lost in the mail or it was all just one big dream :eek:

I called Dr. Alexander on Monday because I wasnt home when he called me on Friday....He told me that I should have already received more information from him in the mail.....but I havent received anything yet! Wonder what happened.......
 
Red823 said:
Are you planning to put down the deposit for both schools to give more time to decide? I probably will considering I'm planning a revisit to both schools sometime in the near future.

Oh man, if many of you UCSF/UCLA applicants decide to do this, those of us that didn't get in on the first round (like myself) will end up having to wait FOREVER.

(mentally preparing to wait even longer than January 15th and put down a deposit on Nova...yikes).
 
I agree!!! :(


cool fillings said:
Oh man, if many of you UCSF/UCLA applicants decide to do this, those of us that didn't get in on the first round (like myself) will end up having to wait FOREVER.

(mentally preparing to wait even longer than January 15th and put down a deposit on Nova...yikes).
 
cool fillings said:
Oh man, if many of you UCSF/UCLA applicants decide to do this, those of us that didn't get in on the first round (like myself) will end up having to wait FOREVER.

(mentally preparing to wait even longer than January 15th and put down a deposit on Nova...yikes).

The decision you make could change the rest of your life. Take your time Red. $200 not a big investment to make sure that you are comfortable with your choice. IF you received invitations from UCLA and UCSF, you are in title to take as much time as needed – you worked very hard to be in this “tough” :thumbup: situation. Good luck.
 
atlanta478 said:
The decision you make could change the rest of your life. Take your time Red. $200 not a big investment to make sure that you are comfortable with your choice. IF you received invitations from UCLA and UCSF, you are in title to take as much time as needed – you worked very hard to be in this “tough” :thumbup: situation. Good luck.



It's true, you do deserve credit for your accomplishments. At the same time, you have an entire month to decide (which is plenty to visit the schools again) and by putting down 2 deposits, you take away from other peoples chances of getting in to these schools. UCSF is my number one choice and I would go in a heart beat if accepted. So this whole UCLA or UCSF conversation is annoying for all those waiting to hear from these two schools. In applying to these schools, I assume you did some research anyway. I just hope that there aren't to many people putting down deposits at both schools (which is low for the reason of being affordable before you arer eligible for financial aid and not as an incentive to place deposits elsewhere), because I know that others, including myself would be very disappointed if denied a spot due to this kind of crap.
 
No worries to those who are waiting for the next wave. Since Christmas/Channukah/Kwanzaa/Pagan Winter Break is coming up, I doubt many can afford to put down multiple deposits. I know I can't.

Here's another factor that troubles me. So we all know both schools are good yet have many faults as well. But it all really boils down to your class. You could be at an awesome school with stellar faculty, but if your class is ultra-competitive/snobby, your next 4 years will be somewhat miserable.

But I have a thought. It is pretty obvious UCLA puts more weight on GPA and DAT scores. UCSF tends to interview more "well-rounded" people who have either had some sort of disadvantage or had large amounts of community-service and/or research. Not to say UCLA selects bookworms. I'm just going by the trend; I know a few applicants who have perfect GPAs and inhuman DAT scores who haven't received a interview invite from UCSF (Note they have minimal extra-curriculars and research).

And before I post without backing up any of my claims, I do admit that my fellow interviewees at UCSF were very cordial, well-rounded, seemingly empathetic and laid-back. At UCLA, I definitely felt a more, shall I say, stoic vibe? I'm sure it was nerves. And I should probably note that we were not provided name tags (which made things a wee more difficult).

Based on this, I know I'm making a hasty prediction on the qualities of my future class. Or am I? Hopefully this makes sense. In short, I was just wondering if anyone from UCSF or UCLA has any complaints about their class or any other year.

Thx.
 
Literati81 said:
No worries to those who are waiting for the next wave. Since Christmas/Channukah/Kwanzaa/Pagan Winter Break is coming up, I doubt many can afford to put down multiple deposits. I know I can't.

Here's another factor that troubles me. So we all know both schools are good yet have many faults as well. But it all really boils down to your class. You could be at an awesome school with stellar faculty, but if your class is ultra-competitive/snobby, your next 4 years will be somewhat miserable.

But I have a thought. It is pretty obvious UCLA puts more weight on GPA and DAT scores. UCSF tends to interview more "well-rounded" people who have either had some sort of disadvantage or had large amounts of community-service and/or research. Not to say UCLA selects bookworms. I'm just going by the trend; I know a few applicants who have perfect GPAs and inhuman DAT scores who haven't received a interview invite from UCSF (Note they have minimal extra-curriculars and research).

And before I post without backing up any of my claims, I do admit that my fellow interviewees at UCSF were very cordial, well-rounded, seemingly empathetic and laid-back. At UCLA, I definitely felt a more, shall I say, stoic vibe? I'm sure it was nerves. And I should probably note that we were not provided name tags (which made things a wee more difficult).

Based on this, I know I'm making a hasty prediction on the qualities of my future class. Or am I? Hopefully this makes sense. In short, I was just wondering if anyone from UCSF or UCLA has any complaints about their class or any other year.

Thx.

My friend at UCSF loves his classmates. Says people are friendly and there are pretty good looking girls. Hope that helps. UCLA just has a good name IMO. They might have a good didactic program, but everyone has told me their clinical is bad.
 
xxdakinexx said:
My friend at UCSF loves his classmates. Says people are friendly and there are pretty good looking girls. Hope that helps. UCLA just has a good name IMO. They might have a good didactic program, but everyone has told me their clinical is bad.

hahah...i would have to agree on the "good looking girls" part. but what about us guys?!!?!? :p j/k. but i must agree that i love my classmates. i'm not sure if it's just our year or not but we're all very supportive of each other and help each other a lot...it's awesome! i think a lot of it has to do with the new Pass/No Pass system because we just want everyone to pass. hey xxdakinexx...is your friend a 1st year?
 
Red823 said:
When you're talking about on campus housing is it that Mission Bay thing or is there another place closer to the school?

PS: you obviously chose SF over LA...what weighed heavily on that decision?

unfortunately for new students, i heard they're taking down Turk and single-bedroom-Aldea housing i guess to remodel so that means that everyone has to move out and either find a place closer to campus or go to mission bay housing. a lot of people don't want mission bay housing because of the distance but i'm sure it'll be somewhat nice and there will be ample transportation...at least i hope. i wouldn't live there though cuz i like staying close to campus. there's actually on-campus housing that's close to campus so hopefully you can find out about those. when i say close i mean like the dental school is literally your backyard. that kind of housing is usually lottery-based...i THINK...so make sure you get in on that pretty quick if that's what you want. i think they range from shared rooms to single rooms..but all in a multiple bedroom apartment like complex with one kitchen and living room and such.

as for me choosing SF over LA. that choice was easy for me. i didn't get into LA. :D well technically i was on the waitlist but i was already accepted into SF and i didn't want to wait. plus, i've been in LA all my life (went to UCLA for undergrad too) and i was always able to go home if i had to so I felt like i needed to get away and experience something different and grow up a little more. so far my experience has been awesome (aside from the weather...but that's whatevers). i'm definitely extremely happy with my choice for coming here. if i went to UCLA i'm sure i'd be happy there too but i definitely needed to get away from LA. hope this helps.
 
nothen2do said:
It's true, you do deserve credit for your accomplishments. At the same time, you have an entire month to decide (which is plenty to visit the schools again) and by putting down 2 deposits, you take away from other peoples chances of getting in to these schools. UCSF is my number one choice and I would go in a heart beat if accepted. So this whole UCLA or UCSF conversation is annoying for all those waiting to hear from these two schools. In applying to these schools, I assume you did some research anyway. I just hope that there aren't to many people putting down deposits at both schools (which is low for the reason of being affordable before you arer eligible for financial aid and not as an incentive to place deposits elsewhere), because I know that others, including myself would be very disappointed if denied a spot due to this kind of crap.

hey it's not like i want to prolong this decision process any longer than necessary. That's why I've already sent in my decline of acceptances to the other schools I know I'm not going to. I understand the frustration of waiting to hear from the schools too but it's a big decision to make. Going into the interviews I liked both schools so now I need to really take the time to narrow down the pros and cons. It's true I do have a month left but with the holiday season, family stuff and all I can't afford the time nor money to revisit the school until late in January. Obviously that will be passed the Jan 15th deadline and so that's why i'm prepared to lay down the deposits for both schools. I have work too so it's not like I can just get up and leave without prior notice. Considering I've already left work quite a few times for interviews in the past few months I gotta be conscientious.
 
busdriver said:
unfortunately for new students, i heard they're taking down Turk and single-bedroom-Aldea housing i guess to remodel so that means that everyone has to move out and either find a place closer to campus or go to mission bay housing. a lot of people don't want mission bay housing because of the distance but i'm sure it'll be somewhat nice and there will be ample transportation...at least i hope. i wouldn't live there though cuz i like staying close to campus. there's actually on-campus housing that's close to campus so hopefully you can find out about those. when i say close i mean like the dental school is literally your backyard. that kind of housing is usually lottery-based...i THINK...so make sure you get in on that pretty quick if that's what you want. i think they range from shared rooms to single rooms..but all in a multiple bedroom apartment like complex with one kitchen and living room and such.

as for me choosing SF over LA. that choice was easy for me. i didn't get into LA. :D well technically i was on the waitlist but i was already accepted into SF and i didn't want to wait. plus, i've been in LA all my life (went to UCLA for undergrad too) and i was always able to go home if i had to so I felt like i needed to get away and experience something different and grow up a little more. so far my experience has been awesome (aside from the weather...but that's whatevers). i'm definitely extremely happy with my choice for coming here. if i went to UCLA i'm sure i'd be happy there too but i definitely needed to get away from LA. hope this helps.


I guess it's a bit premature to start calling the schools about housing when I have yet to decide where to go. Also, i"m still waiting for Carmen to send additional info but thanks for heads up about that housing option right next to UCSF dent school. That definitely would be something I'd prefer if I do end up deciding SF. From the looks of it the place sure sounds convenient !
 
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