UCSF interview!!!!!

[lady in red]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Nobody wants me except UCSF and UCSF-Berkeley... (and i am not complaining!) this is the first interview invite I got and I have a feeling it will be the last (i got 4 rejections already). I can live in the Bay area for the rest of my life and die happy!!!!!!!!

 

[EpiII]

When is your interview? I am there on Tuesday - 12/04.

 

[Triangulation]

That's great Lady!!! We're all pullin' for ya!! I've teched in labs at Berkeley and UCSF and they're both excellent.

On an aside, I do know someone who managed to apply completely separately to the UCSF/UCB program, so it can actually be done. She was not a US citizen, perhaps that makes a difference.

 

[lady in red]

i have to schedule it. i am not picky, i would take either UCB or UCSF or both 🙂 i LOVE california and the bay area, and SF especially, and it would be a dream come true (for me) to go to med school here. Epi, how far in advance did you schedule your interview--two weeks, three weeks?
Triangulation, i've tried (unsuccessfully) to get a job at UCSF (15 job interviews, no offers!).
Why is being a non-citizen beneficial for the joint program? i thought it would just the opposite. i am not a citizen yet.

 

[brandonite]

Triangulation - I'd be interested in knowing how you do apply for that separately - I'm a Canadian, and I'm interested in the UCSF/UCB program...

Anyway, congrats 'lady in red'... Best of luck!

 

[BlackPuma]

hi lady in red,

do you mind sharing your stats 😀

 

[paisley1]

Congratulations lady in red! You must be ecstatic. I interviewed there last week and absolutely loved the school. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[BeckyG]

Congrats! Hopefully I'll see you when you come to interview - if you interview in Dec, try to interview before our break (Dec 14th-Jan 1). I'm not sure how far in advance they're scheduling interviews, but just give the office a call. Feel free to email if you have questions. Good luck!

-- Becky

 

[lady in red]

oh...you guys are so nice...thank you; i love the school, too. there so much energy there--you can feel it on campus. right now, i am rehearsing how to act mature and serious 😀 😀 , its not my personality, i like to laugh!!!!!!

 

[Vader]

Originally posted by lady in red:
•oh...you guys are so nice...thank you; i love the school, too. there so much energy there--you can feel it on campus. right now, i am rehearsing how to act mature and serious 😀 😀 , its not my personality, i like to laugh!!!!!!•••

Nothing wrong with a little laughter. 😀 Congrats on the interview and hope to see you there. When I see the lady in the red business suit, I'll know who it is... 😀

 

[FrankMD]

Congrats!!
You'll love UCB and UCSF!!
I love the bay area!!
I love Cal!!
I myself is dreaming to get an invitation for an interview to UCSF...but still no word yet.
Good luck on your interview!!

 

[007flint]

For those of you with UCSF interviews, when did you get your secondary? I haven't got a secondary or rejection letter. About a month ago UCSF sent me a postcard acknowledging receipt of my app, but nothing since. I sent the UC apps to both schools at the same time, and I got the UCLA 2ndary 2 months ago.

 

[EpiII]

Lady in Red:
I received my e-mail notification about an interview on Monday, 11/26 and I e-mailed them back after 5 pm that same day. The very nice interview coordinator called me at work Tuesday morning to tell me that my first choice interview day would work for them. I asked for the very next Tuesday (12/04) and she said that would be not problem.

She told me that UCSF tries to put the students first and so that try to accomodate the requests. She said that at times, she has to schedule an interview in 12 hours. A student might call up and say that they are going to be in SF the next day and would like to know if they can interview and she tries to do her best to schedule one. Anyway, that is the long way of saying that I scheduled my interview a week after I got the notification and others have scheduled theirs with even less lag time.

I received my UCSF secondary third in the succession of UCs (SD -a month before the next one it seemed like- and LA, then SF, Davis and Irvine last). I sent in my UC app to all at the same time. It probably was 1.5 to 2 months between the UC app and UCSF secondary although I can't be sure since my hard drive crashed and took my database with it.

 

[brandonite]

As a Canadian, I have almost no shot at an interview at UCSF, but I'm curious nonetheless... What did you guys think of the campus? It almost seems like (as far as I can tell from the website) that there really isn't much of a campus there!

I am interested in UCSF mainly because of the JMP. What else attracted you to UCSF? Why does everyone talk about UCSF so highly? I've never even been to the Bay Area, so maybe I'm a bit out of the loop...

Sorry for the general questions - I'm just curious...

 

[lady in red]

the medical center is one of the best in the country;(you see people with suitcases/airport luggage all the time), the research, people, patient population, great students, location in SF--you name it, everything makes it a great school. i dunno what else, maybe Becky and Vader know, they are probably getting tired of it 😀 😀 i would choose this school or Berkeley over harvard and hopkins if i were lucky enough to have such choice.

 

[brandonite]

Well, that helps! I just applied to UCSF more as an afterthought than anything else... I was interested in the JMP, so I just sent the application in more for that than anything. I knew that it ranked highly in the US News rankings, but beyond that...

The school out there that I was mainly interested in was Stanford... I've always heard a lot of great comments about Stanford Medical Centre, and the research, etc... But you people seem to be suggesting that UCSF is the best medical school in the bay area? At least in your opinion?

 

[Vader]

Originally posted by brandonite:
•As a Canadian, I have almost no shot at an interview at UCSF, but I'm curious nonetheless... What did you guys think of the campus? It almost seems like (as far as I can tell from the website) that there really isn't much of a campus there!

I am interested in UCSF mainly because of the JMP. What else attracted you to UCSF? Why does everyone talk about UCSF so highly? I've never even been to the Bay Area, so maybe I'm a bit out of the loop...

Sorry for the general questions - I'm just curious...•••

UCSF has several different campuses located throughout the city of San Francisco. The main one is the Parnassus campus, where the medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy, and graduate schools are located, along with Moffit-Long (UC) Hospital, the Ambulatory Care Center, Langley-Porter Psychiatric Institute, and others. Other campuses located throughout the city are: Mount Zion Medical Center, Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, Gladstone Institute, Laurel Heights, and the new Mission Bay campus that will open in 2003. You can also do clinical clerkships at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), Fresno, and San Francisco community clinics. Shuttles run continuously between different sites.

UCSF is generally regarded as one of the best medical schools in the country. It is known throughout the medical and scientific communities as a leader in both patient care and the health sciences. Unique to UCSF is the collegiality that contributes to the collaborative atmosphere among faculty, students, and administrators. UCSF is also highly committed to serving the San Francisco/Bay Area community and has many outreach efforts.

If you apply to the JMP, you'll be spending most of your time over at Berkeley the first few years. Then you'll be all around San Francisco (and maybe even Fresno) for your clinical clerkships during the last two years.

Hope this helps... if you want more information, feel free to ask and you also might want to explore the website a bit more.

Question for you: What interests you specifically about the JMP?

 

[lady in red]

Vader, for me, the smallness of the JMP program, the group study thing, the attention of faculy, and the thesis topics seem interesting but, i think if i were to choose a research topic, it would probably be a lab-based thing, not a public health issue. also, i always wanted to do thesis work, but my undergrad school was not into that, so an extra year to do thesis work sounds good to me!

 

[brandonite]

Well, that's basically my opinion on the JMP. I've read through the lists of thesis topics, and them seem interesting. There seems to be a variety of lab based and a broader public health issue topics, so I would probably choose a more lab based thesis. At any rate, I think that it takes an interesting perspective on the whole MD training. A bit of a broader perspective on health care.

At any rate, UCSF has only taken one international student over the past six years, so I'm not holding out a lot of hope... 😉

 

[lady in red]

well, you just might be that lucky next one for the next six years, who knows??

 

[none]

But...just getting an interview there bodes quite well for the future, right? Anyone here get totally rejected last year after getting an interview at UCSF?

 

[brandonite]

Thanks lady in red! Something tells me I'm not that lucky! 😉

I'll keep on pushing it, though. Even if I get an interview at Stanford or UCSF and don't get accepted, it'll give me a good excuse to go down and see San Francisco. 😀

 

[lady in red]

somewhere i read that UCSF tells you that if you get their interview, you will get accepted somewhere. I don't think this will be true in my case, b/c I am not your typical "star" applicant like some people here, but i think i fit the 'unusual' type that UCSF seems to like. They seem to reject really qualified people, like Andrew (kutastha) from USC, who would probably easily get into Yale/Hopkins and such, and I already got rejections (no interview, no secondary) from what some people here would consider "po-dunk" schools. So, there is no answer to whether a UCSF interview is a real predictor of an acceptance elsewhere, or it just means they are the only school who thinks my application is unique.
brandonite, you sound like an ideal Stanford candidate (i am not an expert, i just work there, but i encountered people with a background similar to yours). maybe the bottom line is--every school has their own conception of what they want to see in a future doctor. we just have to play the game and hope for the best... 🙂

 

[brandonite]

Well, I'm a pretty traditional applicant, with nothing really special going for me (just good MCATS...), so perhaps I shouldn't get my hopes up for UCSF. 😉

I'd be thrilled just with an interview. And I'd be shocked if I actually got one... 😛

But, best of luck to you with your interview! If it's your top choice, then you don't really need to be all that concerned with the other schools! 😉 If I do get an interview at Stanford, maybe I'll see you around campus! I'm probably a better fit there anyway. I haev a big research background in spectroscopy, which seems to fit with Stanford more than UCSF.

 

[coop]

I got a SF invite a couple days ago. The interesting part is that last week I called UCSF and told them that I would be the bay area Dec 20 and 21 (my gf was interviewing on the 20th and i'd be home (in LA) at the time anyways, so I was going to go up with her). The woman (debbie or valerie, both very nice) looked up my file and told me they were waiting on one of my letters. I told them to just process my app without it. About 5 days later I got a "File Incomplete" postcard saying they'd process without the letter, the next day I got a "File Complete" postcard, and the day after that I got an email inviting me to interview. I called them up and they said "would you like to interview the 20th like you said before?" So basically my file went from me not knowing it was incomplete to interview invitation in less than a week. This speaks not only to how accomodating UCSF is, but also how if you haven't heard anything from a school in a while it might be to your benefit to give them a call, just to kick things in the butt a little bit.

Anyways, if anyone else is interviewing the 20th I look forward to meeting you. It'll suck a little bit that classes aren't in session, but even that can't bring me down, cause I just got an invite from the school that's been on the top of my list since I decided to do this whole medicine thing. 🙂 I'm REALLY looking forward to it.

 

[paisley1]

When I got my UCSF interview notification, I was floating on cloud 9. At that time, I was just honored and shocked to have gotten to that stage and I didn't really think beyond that (getting accepted, etc.). Then, I actually saw the school. I have my heart set on going there now. I think I may be setting myself up for a big disappointment but I'm hoping and praying for the best!

 

[lady in red]

Paisley, where are you in CA? I know, this campus is like a magnet. There is something about it that just draws me there--I can't explain it. I've been closely affiliated with two other med schools (research) for some length of time, but never felt that way; I feel like I am in love with it or something...call me crazy 😀

 

[paisley1]

Lady in red, I am in Berkeley--not to far from you.

 

[none]

I'm in love with it and I've never seen it. Not too hard to love a school in the top 10 regarding research and clinical care...and with cheap, cheap tuition!

 

[lady in red]

Hey, we can start a "UCSF-fan club" for wanna-be UCSF med students. 🙂
I am sort of behind everybody on the interview issues; i don't even know what a business suit (for females) looks like; never wore one...can't identify one in the store... 🙁
what do you wear under the suit?

 

[paisley1]

I wore a charcoal gray suit with a mauve shell underneath--just to spice things up a bit. 😛 I found that JCPenney had a lot of suits that were fairly inexpensive. You might also try Casual Corner--I've heard good things about it.

I noticed on my interviews that most ladies wore a neutral (white, cream) shell/short-sleeved dress shirt underneath a black suit. Everyone looked EXACTELY the same. What's even funnier is that during my UCSF interview, whenever the 10 of us who were interviewing that day were walking down a hallway together, we would form two single-file lines (unintentionally) and literally walk in-step. We looked like CIA agents on the march!

I want to join this UCSF fan club of yours. It sounds perfect for me. Maybe we can collectively bargain for acceptance? 😉

 

[isa]

Quote:
I want to join this UCSF fan club of yours. It sounds perfect for me. Maybe we can collectively bargain for acceptance?


I just saw this thread. Is it too late to join the fan club? Lady and paisley, I'm totally in love with UCSF too but don't know if I interviewed well. (My interviewers weren't all that warm.) It would be my greatest dream come true to go there, so I understand how you guys feel. I'll root for you guys (and me too). Lady, good luck on your interview. Paisley, any thoughts on how to check up on the status of our apps?

 

[none]

Has anyone been accepted to UCSF? Or, on a sadder note, how long does it take them to reject/waitlist you following an interview?

 

[Rumit]

Originally posted by none:
•Has anyone been accepted to UCSF? Or, on a sadder note, how long does it take them to reject/waitlist you following an interview?•••

Acceptances go out the 15th of every month, starting in December, and rejections/waitlists go out the 1st of every month starting in January. Of course those dates are shifted to accomadate holidays and weekends. That's what they told us during the interview day.

Good luck,

Adam

 

[lady in red]

Hey, you are all welcome to the 2002 UCSF-2B-Md-WannaB Club (what a name, ha!) I have a question for you "isa": what makes you think you did not interview well? Did you get a faculty or a student or just faculty? Were they female/male? Were they really cold or just seemed distracted? They might be just busy and this interview--has to be accomodated somehow into their schedule, so they might be somewhat irritated with it? I am interviewing right before Christmas. Do you think its a disadvantage if I don't get a student interviewer?? Just paranoid...Paisley--thats funny--CIA agents.
I had A LOT of job interviews where the interviewers asked me why I want to be a doctor, so on. All were with older male professors, I never interviewed with a female or younger males and sort of scared to death how I would relate to them.

 

[brandonite]

Usually people find it easier to relate to younger students than old male profs! Or am I reading something wrong.

I'll join your club! I can be some kind of junior member or something, because I would be shocked to get to even get an interview. Maybe I could be secretary or something...

Best of luck at UCSF!

 

[lady in red]

brandon, you can be a treasurer or accountant since you are a math wiz. Don't mean to start competition here, but the one who gets in first can be the president and advise all other poor souls... 🙂

 

[brandonite]

Sure. I can be treasurer. That's always a lot of work with little reward job, and as a junior member, I have to be prepared to put in my dues. 😉

I'll leave the important jobs to peple that have an actual shot at acceptance. Plus, then when I get rejected, I can embezzle the money from our bank account in revenge... 😛

 

[Bengal Tiger]

A question for lady in red. When did your complete your secondary for UCSF? If you wouldnt mind sharing, it would help me understand how long they are taking to send out interview requests. Currently, I am working at the UCSF Orthopedic Surgery Dept. and waiting eagerly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[nitemagi]

Y'know, I've been waiting patiently. And from every other school I've applied to, I've either gotten a secondary or a rejection. But from UCSF? Nothing. No secondary, no "we've received your verified application," no nothing.

😡 😕 😡 😕 🙁

 

[MAPKinkster]

It doesn't hurt to call and check...

A friend of mine applied to UCSF and hadn't heard anything (no cards) after he turned in his secondary. He called them up and found out that they made some sort of mistake with his file. The admissions office also told him that they were going to start BURNING incomplete applications soon!

 

[lady in red]

Oh my God--burning? I turned in the secondary November 25 or so. Nitemagi--you are working there, right? why don't you just go there and ask them or is it too bold? The ladies on the phone (Valerie) was super nice. I have not heard from Irvine--nothing at all. I am still doing secondaries for other UCs who just got around to sending them. Good luck!

 

[lady in red]

Oops, I apologize, it was OCTOBER 25, not november!!

 

[nitemagi]

Lady- I did actually go there. And they didn't tell me anything. I sent an e-mail, but no word yet from that either.

I'm trying not to take it personally 😉