UCSD Class of 2008

[Alexander99]

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Were you the guy from UCLA with the beard that mentioned the late Davis interview?

I can't give you anymore clues I'm afraid. 😎

 

[Eraserhead]

LOL, alright dude. I really don't care who you are I'm just trying to be nice, JK 😀

Nah, I think I know who you were, just the name threw me.

 

[Jalby]

Alex is about a 5'11 Asain male, semi-athlethic. Hmm. How else do you describe people. I'm betting he's your class president next year.

 

[Alexander99]

Alex is about a 5'11 Asain male, semi-athlethic. Hmm. How else do you describe people. I'm betting he's your class president next year.

Haha. Where'd you get those stats? I dunno know why everyone assumes I'm asian!

 

[Jalby]

All this time I thought I had interviewed you at USC. I did, didn't I???

 

[Alexander99]

Then again, since practically everyone on here is asian or white, that wouldn't be a totally uneducated guess.

 

[Alexander99]

All this time I thought I had interviewed you at USC. I did, didn't I???

Are you the only one who does interviews and is on SDN?

 

[Jalby]

Yup. But the person I am thinking of is Asain. There is one to two other people who it might have once been on SDN and who currently interviews. I'm like 6'2", 200 pounds.

 

[Alexander99]

Yup. But the person I am thinking of is Asain. There is one to two other people who it might have once been on SDN and who currently interviews. I'm like 6'2", 200 pounds.

Hmm. Maybe it wasn't you afterall. Oh well. Better to leave it a mystery. I'm a mysterious guy by nature. 😎

BTW, did you just admit to checking out that asian guy? How'd you tell he was "semi-athletic" through his suit (I assume he was wearing one.) Haha.

 

[Jalby]

Hmm. Maybe it wasn't you afterall. Oh well. Better to leave it a mystery. I'm a mysterious guy by nature. 😎

BTW, did you just admit to checking out that asian guy? How'd you tell he was "semi-athletic" through his suit (I assume he was wearing one.) Haha.

Nope. I'm not that way (not that there is anything wrong with that) I think what sports he played came up in the conversation. In that case, that guy is going to be your class president.

 

[Eraserhead]

Nah, I think Alex was white. I can spot a neurotic SDNer... but his name wasn't Alex if I did meet him 🙂

 

[Eraserhead]

Oh yeah, for those waiting on UCSD aid packages, the woman who did the FA presentation yesterday said you can call to find out what need category you are in (there's a 1-5 range based on how much your parents can contribute), and to get a resulting rough estimate of how much you will receive in grants and UCSD loans. There's about a 5,000 difference from last year supposedly in the budget but nothing is certain yet. The funding to cover tuition though (even though it is more) will most likely decrease though due to budget cuts.

UCSD rocks if anyone wants to know about anything else that was convered yesterday ask away. The only new information I learned was the FA info for the most part though.

 

[Alexander99]

Oh yeah, for those waiting on UCSD aid packages, the woman who did the FA presentation yesterday said you can call to find out what need category you are in (there's a 1-5 range based on how much your parents can contribute), and to get a resulting rough estimate of how much you will receive in grants and UCSD loans. There's about a 5,000 difference from last year supposedly in the budget but nothing is certain yet. So, the inst. funding will hopefully increase proportionally to reflect the 5,000 increase for tuition.

UCSD rocks if anyone wants to know about anything else that was convered yesterday ask away. The only new information I learned was the FA info for the most part though.

That reminds me, I need to petition my new laptop as one of those necessary allowances to increase the amount of aid I get.

 

[Eraserhead]

Can you do that?

 

[Alexander99]

Yeah. Remember that financial aid lady mentioned there were certain things you could request additional aid for. Some girl then asked what could be included and she answered, "A computer, new glasses, etc." Another guy asked if travel expenses could be added and she answered that it couldn't.

Weren't you listening man? You better work on those listening skills if you wanna be a doc. 😀

 

[Eraserhead]

Yeah. Remember that financial aid lady mentioned there were certain things you could request additional aid for. Some girl then asked what could be included and she answered, "A computer, new glasses, etc." Another guy asked if travel expenses could be added and she answered that it couldn't.

Weren't you listening man? You better work on those listening skills if you wanna be a doc. 😀

Haha, no I heard I just read that you already had a new laptop when what I think you mean is that you are going to buy one. She said you had to buy things in a certain time period, like during the school year right?

 

[babybribs]

What does it take to get into UCSD med school?

 

[Eraserhead]

Hey Brian,

You sound like a great candidate, but you have to realize that admissions is always unpredictable. No one needs clinical research experience at all... its nice if you do have it but in your case you obviously know a great deal about the research process and if anything your application is lacking people contact which is maybe what you should focus on. Whether is medically related or not, leadership experience and showing that you are a compassionate/devoted person would help you I think. It doesn't take any certain MCAT or GPA... I had a 30S and 3.6 with a strong upward trend to 4.0 at the end. As far as question number 3 goes, sadly yes... people get turned down everywhere and its not predictable. IN your case, I'd apply to at the very least 10-15 schools depending on your MCAT maybe and probably more if you are sure you need to start next year. I was 200% sure that I needed to start this Fall, and I applied to about 35 schools only really getting accepted to a few that I really wanted to go to (in CA and east coast).

Good luck you can PM me with more questions.

Hi all, i am new to this forum. I am from San Diego and really want to go to UCSD. I am currently in my last quarter at UCLA where i am a Computer Science and Engineering major. I took the MCAT this past saturday and i felt like it went ok. I have a GPA of 3.64 and a Science GPA of 3.84 (with 4.0 in the last year or so). I have plenty of research through my enginnering background (intel, NASA) as well as a current project in bioinformatics (sort of a cross between computer science and biochem.) Since i have only been commited to going to med school since this past year (ive taken full loads to get the pre-med req) i unfortunately lack any clinical experience. I have volunteer work at rest homes, but that was just playing the piano for them.

1. Do i need to have clinical research before i apply or will having some at the time of an interview suffice?

2. Since all of you were so lucky to gain admission, i was curious what GPA and MCAT it takes to get in. (if you guys dont mind sharing what your stats were, that would be helpful)

3. As a followup to the last question, did a lot of your qualified friends get turned down with good applications?

I appreciate if you guys can help me out, because coming back to my hometown would be better than ideal

Brian

 

[Jalby]

Start working on your autobiography and how much you would like to return to your hometown of San Diego.

 

[Eraserhead]

Start working on your autobiography and how much you would like to return to your hometown of San Diego.

I used my autobiography to expand on the parts of my PS that were brief and vague due to space limitations. I'm not sure what they look for but committment to living in SD for family reasons would probably help you, who knows.

 

[Alexander99]

Haha, no I heard I just read that you already had a new laptop when what I think you mean is that you are going to buy one. She said you had to buy things in a certain time period, like during the school year right?

I don't think you have to wait for the school year to start. Why would you have to wait until the school year started to buy a laptop you'll need starting day 1? I'm not sure though. I hope I can get more grants as a result.

 

[Alexander99]

Hi all, i am new to this forum. I am from San Diego and really want to go to UCSD. I am currently in my last quarter at UCLA where i am a Computer Science and Engineering major. I took the MCAT this past saturday and i felt like it went ok. I have a GPA of 3.64 and a Science GPA of 3.84 (with 4.0 in the last year or so). I have plenty of research through my enginnering background (intel, NASA) as well as a current project in bioinformatics (sort of a cross between computer science and biochem.) Since i have only been commited to going to med school since this past year (ive taken full loads to get the pre-med req) i unfortunately lack any clinical experience. I have volunteer work at rest homes, but that was just playing the piano for them.

1. Do i need to have clinical research before i apply or will having some at the time of an interview suffice?

2. Since all of you were so lucky to gain admission, i was curious what GPA and MCAT it takes to get in. (if you guys dont mind sharing what your stats were, that would be helpful)

3. As a followup to the last question, did a lot of your qualified friends get turned down with good applications?

I appreciate if you guys can help me out, because coming back to my hometown would be better than ideal

Brian

What's up Brian, fellow San Diegan? UCSD is a really great school and I'm glad you're interested. Let me try to answer some of your questions.

1. I think clinical experiences are the most important aspect of anyone's application right next to GPA/MCAT. It's important enough where even if you have great numbers (3.7+/33+), you won't get into a school like UCSD if you have very limited or no clinical experiences.

2. I think the average GPA/MCAT is somewhere near a 3.7/33 for the previous entering class. UCSD is somewhat of a numbers oriented school in that sense.

3. UCSD, although they care about numbers, tend to turn down a lot of highly qualified applicants (3.7+/33+) for one reason or another. You can check out mdapplicants.com and do a search for people that applied to UCSD. Don't get intimiated by everyone's big numbers on there though cause it seems only people who got into a lot of places (and have large numbers as a result) are willing to make a profile on that site.

Good luck to you.

 

[Eraserhead]

What's up Brian, fellow San Diegan? UCSD is a really great school and I'm glad you're interested. Let me try to answer some of your questions.

1. I think clinical experiences are the most important aspect of anyone's application right next to GPA/MCAT. It's important enough where even if you have great numbers (3.7+/33+), you won't get into a school like UCSD if you have very limited or no clinical experiences.

2. I think the average GPA/MCAT is somewhere near a 3.7/33 for the previous entering class. UCSD is somewhat of a numbers oriented school in that sense.

3. UCSD, although they care about numbers, tend to turn down a lot of highly qualified applicants (3.7+/33+) for one reason or another. You can check out mdapplicants.com and do a search for people that applied to UCSD. Don't get intimiated by everyone's big numbers on there though cause it seems only people who got into a lot of places (and have large numbers as a result) are willing to make a profile on that site.

Good luck to you.

Clinical experience yes, clinical research is certainly not a must... Alex you are at SD now? OK now I really don't know who you are...

 

[late inthe game]

Hey Brian,

Good luck, it really sounds like you have a fantastic application already.

My advice is DEFINITELY tell UCSD exactly why and how much you want to be in San Diego. Be absolutely unequivocal about perfect you are for the school, the area, the county, how many fabulous friends, relatives and mentors you have to support you there, etc..

I was a little fatigued with writing secondaries by the time I got to UCSD's autobiography, and so I just wrote down every single reason why I was connected to San Diego. I thought for sure it was over the top, and at the very least my interviewers would give me a hard time for being heavy handed.

For whatever reason, they loved it, and accepted me no questions asked.

Good Luck!

Hi all, i am new to this forum. I am from San Diego and really want to go to UCSD. I am currently in my last quarter at UCLA where i am a Computer Science and Engineering major. I took the MCAT this past saturday and i felt like it went ok. I have a GPA of 3.64 and a Science GPA of 3.84 (with 4.0 in the last year or so). I have plenty of research through my enginnering background (intel, NASA) as well as a current project in bioinformatics (sort of a cross between computer science and biochem.) Since i have only been commited to going to med school since this past year (ive taken full loads to get the pre-med req) i unfortunately lack any clinical experience. I have volunteer work at rest homes, but that was just playing the piano for them.

1. Do i need to have clinical research before i apply or will having some at the time of an interview suffice?

2. Since all of you were so lucky to gain admission, i was curious what GPA and MCAT it takes to get in. (if you guys dont mind sharing what your stats were, that would be helpful)

3. As a followup to the last question, did a lot of your qualified friends get turned down with good applications?

I appreciate if you guys can help me out, because coming back to my hometown would be better than ideal

Brian

 

[Alexander99]

Clinical experience yes, clinical research is certainly not a must... Alex you are at SD now? OK now I really don't know who you are...

When did I mention anything about clinical research? 🙂

 

[Eraserhead]

When did I mention anything about clinical research? 🙂

The OP's question did... so when you put the number 1 I thought you were responding to his question. 😎

 

[Alexander99]

The OP's question did... so when you put the number 1 I thought you were responding to his question. 😎

Yeah. I guess that was a bit confusing. To clarify, for the OP, clinical research or even research is not as crucial as clinical experience. Clinical experience proves that you've actually explored the field and have some rudimentary knowledge of the profession you're getting into. Research is just good experience to have but not necessarily required (I barely had any research experience.)

 

[stressedout]

just bumpin this up!

 

[Eraserhead]

just bumpin this up!

stressed, have you decided to join us? 😀

 

[stressedout]

yup! i got a better "gut" feeling at sd, so I'm goin with it!

(unless I get off the ucla waitlist list he he).

 

[Eraserhead]

yup! i got a better "gut" feeling at sd, so I'm goin with it!

(unless I get off the ucla waitlist list he he).

😀 😀 😀 cool!

 

[Eraserhead]

Has anyone received anything official in the mail from the FA office??

 

[Alexander99]

Has anyone received anything official in the mail from the FA office??

It's gonna be a while (maybe another month or two) considering they don't know what the fees will be (only an estimate ~ $20k for tuition.) You can always call the financial aid lady and see what need category you fall under which will give you a rough idea of what you'll be getting.

 

[Jalby]

bump and then some more characters to get it over 10

 

[Alexander99]

bump and then some more characters to get it over 10

Wow. Are you actually helping out your competition? 😀

 

[Jalby]

Wow. Are you actually helping out your competition? 😀

Competition?? I donno. The USC waitlist thread has ~700 posts and the official USC page has almost 300. I think we will win this year.

 

[Alexander99]

Competition?? I donno. The USC waitlist thread has ~700 posts and the official USC page has almost 300. I think we will win this year.

UCSD students have always been fourth quarter players. Don't count your chickens before they hatch! 😀

 

[Jalby]

Please. You and DocKevin will run out of steam.

 

[Alexander99]

Please. You and DocKevin will run out of steam.

We'll see about that. Unlike real sports, I think these threads can be won by one or two men teams. 👍

 

[Jalby]

Except for the fact Eraserhead has more posts on the USC threads than this one. And I'm done with this conversation. Can't be helping the enemy.

 

[Alexander99]

Except for the fact Eraserhead has more posts on the USC threads than this one. And I'm done with this conversation. Can't be helping the enemy.

Yeah, that damned traitor!

 

[lolli]

Hey UCSD folks,
Do any of you know when things should start moving for those of us in the acceptable pool for UCSD? Ms. Coleman said something about the beginning of May - is this when they make a ranked waiting-list? I saw that UCSD has a reputation for having a lot of movement from the acceptable pool, and for a lot of people eventually getting in. Do any of you have thoughts about this? And estimates about when we should hear? Do you think this year will be any different from last year?
I wanna go to UCSD so badly!! Just let me in already!

 

[Eraserhead]

Yeah, that damned traitor!

Hahaha, nah I'm totally loyal to UCSD... I was just making sure I made the right choice... and stuff...

 

[Eraserhead]

UCSD students have always been fourth quarter players. Don't count your chickens before they hatch! 😀

I'm totally a fourth quarter player... 😎 😎 except for the fact that I've never played a single sport in my lifetime... I'd fully consider myself to be a fourth quarter player in terms of academic stuff at least 😎

 

[Eraserhead]

Hey UCSD folks,
Do any of you know when things should start moving for those of us in the acceptable pool for UCSD? Ms. Coleman said something about the beginning of May - is this when they make a ranked waiting-list? I saw that UCSD has a reputation for having a lot of movement from the acceptable pool, and for a lot of people eventually getting in. Do any of you have thoughts about this? And estimates about when we should hear? Do you think this year will be any different from last year?
I wanna go to UCSD so badly!! Just let me in already!

As far as I know, it is already ranked... I don't know the specifics of this year, but many people tend to get in later... almost everyone I met at second look had more than one acceptance and many of these acceptances were at equally prestigious or more prestigious schools... but I would think that all the movement will happen after May 15th regardless of the situation.

You might want to call and find out if you are in the upper half or the lower half though... at some point.

 

[Jalby]

That's three strait posts by Eraserhead. That should only count as one post.

 

[Eraserhead]

That's three strait posts by Eraserhead. That should only count as one post.

Haha, I'm begging for chances to post as I'm just a few tiny steps away from 2K posts. 😀

 

[lolli]

As far as I know, it is already ranked... I don't know the specifics of this year, but many people tend to get in later... almost everyone I met at second look had more than one acceptance and many of these acceptances were at equally prestigious or more prestigious schools... but I would think that all the movement will happen after May 15th regardless of the situation.

You might want to call and find out if you are in the upper half or the lower half though... at some point.

Hey, are any of you waiting to hear from other schools? Or are you all SD all the way, baby?

 

[Eraserhead]

Hey, are any of you waiting to hear from other schools? Or are you all SD all the way, baby?

I'm waitlisted at 3 other schools that I'm waiting for through the first day of classes...

 

[lolli]

I'm waitlisted at 3 other schools that I'm waiting for through the first day of classes...

Dude, you are messing with me, right? You are like, the BIGGEST purveyor of SD. I've read your posts. I know what you are all about. Or is it all talk? Can you walk it too?