UCSF questions with Mark

[Trench Mouth]

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Hey Mark, are you taking your boards early?

 

[UCSF info guy]

Hey Mark, are you taking your boards early?

Yeah....I made it through 2/3 of the anatomical science dental deck cards last week. I'll probably have to start all over with them next week because there's not going to be much studying done this week cosidering my wedding is on Friday. I go to Mexico for a week in July also (honeymoon) so after that I'm going to get down and dirty with this stuff. I've been pleasantly surprised that most of the stuff in the cards I already know, and it's mostly refreshing it in my mind. I look forward to getting this thing out of the way. How about you? R u gunna do this thing this Summer? Did the thing with Joihn go well? You guys are really cool to do that for him.....I'm sorry, but I just ran out of money so I couldn't donate to the gift and justify it with my honey......

 

[Trench Mouth]

I'm in the same boat. Todd and I are getting toward the end of the anatomy cards and realizing we know a lot of it. Congrats in advance for this Friday.

We're giving John his gifts/cards tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. No worries on not being able to donate. I couldn't either as I just moved, thus effectively paying $2300 in rent last month.

Good job sharing the info with all our classmates-to-be.

 

[twinklit]

Hi Mark & other UCSF SoD students,
Can anyone tell me if San Fran (specifically sunset/UCSF area) has Free Wi-Fi? I was reading about how google won a bid to blanket SF with free wireless internet. Is it true? Just trying to figure out my budget. Thanks!

 

[Trench Mouth]

Not officially, but if you live in an apartment anywhere near the school, you have like 12 neighbors wireless networks that you can use for free ;-) Also, there is free wireless all over the campus.

 

[Lilstar0024]

Hey Mark-
I was wondering what I had to do as far as getting loupes. Should I purchase them before classes start? Or should I wait to get more information about them? Where and what kind of loupe do you suggest? Thanks a lot

 

[tdkneo]

how's life down there in the bay area........

 

[nothen2do]

Hey Mark-
I was wondering what I had to do as far as getting loupes. Should I purchase them before classes start? Or should I wait to get more information about them? Where and what kind of loupe do you suggest? Thanks a lot

Don't buy them. The school has their own loop buying program.

 

[MentalDentalMan]

Anyone have a suggestion as to what laptop to buy? My financial aid is on hold until I purchase one I guess.... What do you guys own and what works for you?

 

[nothen2do]

Anyone have a suggestion as to what laptop to buy? My financial aid is on hold until I purchase one I guess.... What do you guys own and what works for you?

IBM thinkpad...only way to go. Trench Mouth will say dell, but he always eyes my thinkpad with lust and longing.

 

[UCSF info guy]

Hi Mark & other UCSF SoD students,
Can anyone tell me if San Fran (specifically sunset/UCSF area) has Free Wi-Fi? I was reading about how google won a bid to blanket SF with free wireless internet. Is it true? Just trying to figure out my budget. Thanks!

I don't think these companies are even going to be able to cover a city with wireless. With that many users it will crash a lot and there will be a lot of bugs. Some authors on the subject say these internet companies don't even know if city WIFI will work. I would plan on stealing the neighbors signal or buying you own.

 

[UCSF info guy]

Hey Mark-
I was wondering what I had to do as far as getting loupes. Should I purchase them before classes start? Or should I wait to get more information about them? Where and what kind of loupe do you suggest? Thanks a lot

WAIT TO BUY LOUPES AT SCHOOL.....YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THEM!!!!

 

[UCSF info guy]

Anyone have a suggestion as to what laptop to buy? My financial aid is on hold until I purchase one I guess.... What do you guys own and what works for you?

I absolutely hate computers.......but I had to buy one. Since I knew more about piloting the space shuttle than which to buy, I went to an online auction. I got a computer that has been awesome at Ubid.com for like $800. This thing may be a hunk of crap, but it did everything I needed for school, helped me pirate all my music, and is excellent at looking at girly movies. I couldn't be more pleased.

 

[UCSF info guy]

how's life down there in the bay area........

NO IDEA!!!

Just got back from sweating my butt off in Puerto Vallarta and it's one hundred and f-ing two degrees in Utah! I hate the bay area weather....it's my biggest dissappointment with SF (just ahead of the collective unattractiveness of the local women), I wish I could bring some of this heat with me back to school!!!! At least I'm bringing an absolutely gorgeous woman back with me!!!

 

[qtrubaduky]

I wore a tanktop during my first week of school, and almost everyday during the first year (I get too hot and sweat through everything I wear, plus you wear a lab coat or clinic gown sometimes so that covers me up).....BUT, I'm probably the worst dressed person in the class. Dress code requires pants in the clinic and pre-clinical lab (no jeans). I would wear shorts on any days where it was purely lecture in classrooms. When I start seeing patients, I will be wearing much more appropriate clothing. I dressed for comfort in lecture because it makes being in that classroom for hours on end more bearable. Only once I was told to wear pants to clinic....other than that, no one said anything. ABSOLUTELY, DRESS NICE IF LIKE TOO (they take your picture first day), but if you don't want to, it's ok.

So do I have this straight? I need some clarification on what to wear at UCSF.

* For clinic and pre-clinical lab, you should wear pants (no jeans).
* Any other time, you can pretty much wear whatever you want including jeans, yes?
* So I don't need to start shopping for more business casual type of clothing? 🙂

Thanks.

 

[UCSF info guy]

So do I have this straight? I need some clarification on what to wear at UCSF.

* For clinic and pre-clinical lab, you should wear pants (no jeans).
* Any other time, you can pretty much wear whatever you want including jeans, yes?
* So I don't need to start shopping for more business casual type of clothing? 🙂

Thanks.

What you have written above is true and you don't need new clothes, BUT if you can convince family or a loved one to buy you new clothes.....why wouldn't you do that 🙂

 

[UCSF info guy]

Here's a question I got through e-mail:

Hey Mark,

My birthday is September 21st. Intro to Dentistry at
UCSF begins on September 18th and ends on the 28th. I
was wondering if I need to be at UCSF 24/7 that entire
period. I would like to go home for the weekend of
September 23-24 to celebrate my birthday with friends
and family. Or maybe go home the night of my birthday
to have dinner with my parents (I'm from the Bay
Area.) Around what time do we start and end during
the Intro to Dentistry week?

I want to double check before I make any
arrangements. I hear there's a camping trip and if
there is, I definitely do not want to miss out on
that. Let me know. Thanks.

Here's my answer:

Intro to dentistry is M-F the first week and M-Th the second. It goes from 8 am to 5 pm each day (but sometimes it ends earlier in the day). You are free to do what you want on evenings and weekends. There is a camping trip the second weekend before school starts with some of the D2's who volunteered to go. I think the campout is a good time and you should try to go.

 

[Trench Mouth]

There might be some new policies in place for the incoming class. So....come wearing khakis or something casual, but nice for your first day and hear what the admin have to say about it. Don't change your wardrobe quite yet.

 

[twinklit]

I have a question regarding health insurance that UCSF "provides" even though I'm pretty sure it's part of the tuition fees. Does it cover optometry? It's been about 2 years since I last had my first pair of glasses and was wondering if I should purchase a new pair in my hometown or wait until i get to SF? THank you.

 

[busdriver]

wow it's been forever since i've checked this forum (i was basically trying to distract myself from studying for boards)....but just to clarify (i know it might sound minor but you never know), but u can wear jeans in PRE-CLINICAL lab but NOT in CLINIC. in lectures anything goes. most people (myself included) wear scrubs in clinic but there are some that wear more business style attire. i personally could never do that cuz i feel too restricted in movement when i wear nicer clothes. but yeah....you might not have to buy new clothes...just new scrubs =).

oh and for those that are interested about the boards, i've heard that you can take the boards as many times as you like. so basically if you get rocked the first time you can take it again and they wont average it but take your most recent score. of course you'll have to pay another 200 bucks to take it again AND u risk the chance of doing worse. but yeah...as many times as you want...

 

[UCSF info guy]

I have a question regarding health insurance that UCSF "provides" even though I'm pretty sure it's part of the tuition fees. Does it cover optometry? It's been about 2 years since I last had my first pair of glasses and was wondering if I should purchase a new pair in my hometown or wait until i get to SF? THank you.

I'm pretty sure they have an optometry program with insurance and they talked about it during orientation week with us. It was something extra that you have to pay more for so I didn't pay attention. Call student health services and they can fill you in....their number is 415-476-1281. Regular insurance includes dental and is part of your tuition. It's way expensive for any family members you might want to put on it.

 

[DREDAY]

I'm quite sure I was pretty fair about what I said about Mission Bay. Again........ I'm only living here because the child care is closeby, I HAVE NO CHOICE. What MUST be mentioned about the above exodus of our class from Mission Bay is that once the idea that Mission Bay sucked came up, it gained A LOT of momentum, and a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon and decided that everything about the place sucked. At this point, some who left would tell you living in a chicken coop would be better than at Mission Bay. Now, I'm not trying to sell you on this place, but I have seen the apartments near campus and I don't really think much of them. If you like to be closer to school, absolutely live over there, but as for me, I like to leave school at school. Being 30 min. away suits me just fine. Additionally, there are upperclassmen who have moved here from out in town....and they like it just fine.

To those in our class who think the above is junk.....think about the loupes controversy. Wasn't Surgitel the devil when that thing gained steam? Mission Bay is the same way......a bandwagon that everyone jumped on.

I suppose I get blasted by everyone who left now......another trademark of UCSF dental school......

I think mark has been pretty unbiassed about his assessment with mission bay. I used to live there, and I would have continued living there if it werent for the long commute. I probably dont use my time as efficiently as Mark, so i need that extra 1 and a half hour a day.

 

[nothen2do]

I think mark has been pretty unbiassed about his assessment with mission bay. I used to live there, and I would have continued living there if it werent for the long commute. I probably dont use my time as efficiently as Mark, so i need that extra 1 and a half hour a day.

And your room smelled like fish at mission bay...weird. But I guess your bedroom in your new place also smells like fish..coincidence? I think not!

 

[UCSF info guy]

I think mark has been pretty unbiassed about his assessment with mission bay. I used to live there, and I would have continued living there if it werent for the long commute. I probably dont use my time as efficiently as Mark, so i need that extra 1 and a half hour a day.

I actually don't use my time very well.....I DO have a very effective method at cheating AND I give private dances for grades.....

Sorry to let you down.

😀

 

[EmanUT]

This question is actually for everyone. I just got the UCSF secondary and will complete it this weekend. For the questionnaire, did you answer the questions on the provided pages or did you type them out and print? Thanks guys!

 

[nothen2do]

This question is actually for everyone. I just got the UCSF secondary and will complete it this weekend. For the questionnaire, did you answer the questions on the provided pages or did you type them out and print? Thanks guys!

Typed it, cause I can't even read my own hand writing

 

[sgdorfl90]

This question is actually for everyone. I just got the UCSF secondary and will complete it this weekend. For the questionnaire, did you answer the questions on the provided pages or did you type them out and print? Thanks guys!

hey, how long are your answers going to be? I am expecting I am going to write like 5 lines, since they said to be concise. What do you think? Plus, there are 10 questions, past applicants can please chip into this and tell me what their lenght of response was. Thanks a lot.

 

[UCSF info guy]

This question is actually for everyone. I just got the UCSF secondary and will complete it this weekend. For the questionnaire, did you answer the questions on the provided pages or did you type them out and print? Thanks guys!

I wrote my answers on the copy they provided. I used block capital letters and that seemed to work just fine. I think if you could type it that would probably be the way to go.

 

[UCSF info guy]

hey, how long are your answers going to be? I am expecting I am going to write like 5 lines, since they said to be concise. What do you think? Plus, there are 10 questions, past applicants can please chip into this and tell me what their lenght of response was. Thanks a lot.

I don't really remember....I filled that thing out almost two years ago. I'm not the type to write a ton....so I think 5 lines might be like what I did. Just make sure you can give the complete answer you want them to see. Don't short a passionate answer for space, but don't give the long answer for every question.

 

[Chandaa]

hey, how long are your answers going to be? I am expecting I am going to write like 5 lines, since they said to be concise. What do you think? Plus, there are 10 questions, past applicants can please chip into this and tell me what their lenght of response was. Thanks a lot.

I did not limit it to any pre-set length. I answered each question fully, completely, and definitelly tried to be concise knowing full well no one has time to read hundreds of dissertation long submissions. But I also looked at it this way; hopefully, the more they knew about me, the more they would like me.. otherwise it was not the right place for me. Yes, I admit that this philosophy of 'take me as I am and who I am' gave me some trouble at some interviews but once I learned to express myself properly the problem went away.

To concisely answer: A bare minumum, if you have something to write to answer a question, is at least a solid 10 sentence paragraph.

 

[Mach band]

I changed the header space so that I could print my answers onto the original documents. I too think it's a good idea to convey as much as possible, since more likely this will be read more carefully than your PS due to its length. However, you should answer directly to the questions. Don't make them into long paragraphs. I remembered asking the admin people the same question, they said similar things. Most of my paragraphs are 3-5 line long. One or two answers were in bulletin format. Good luck! You should definitely put in some time answering the questions. Most likely they will ask similar questions on the interview even if interviews are closed files.

 

[Mrxle3]

I hand wrote my UCSF secondary, and I didn't pay any attention at all to length. The size does not matter...all that matters is the content. If you can say your life story in 2 sentences, then say it in 2 sentences. Don't add the fillers in between just to drag it out to fit the empty white spaces. For some of the questions, such as how I served the community/less fortunate (which I think was one of the questions on the secondary for UCSF) I wrote a lengthy answer since I had extensive experience in that particular area. On other questions, I wrote just a few sentences because that's all it took to fully answer the question.

 

[EmanUT]

Thanks for all of your replies! I think I am going with around 5 sentences per answer and hope to get it done in the next week 👍

 

[gony0213]

I'm working on the supplementary application and have a few questions. In the "Proposed Course Schedule", what do the "Units" mean? I'm guessing it's different from "credit" we earn from taking classes.
Can anyone help me out?
Thank you!

 

[Trench Mouth]

Treat units as the same as credits. I remember having the same question. Also, don't put down anything you aren't sure that you're going to take, because once you've put it on the secondary, if they accept you, you can't change it without them having to re-evaluate your application.

 

[icecoast]

Here's a question I got through e-mail:


Here's my answer:

Intro to dentistry is M-F the first week and M-Th the second. It goes from 8 am to 5 pm each day (but sometimes it ends earlier in the day). You are free to do what you want on evenings and weekends. There is a camping trip the second weekend before school starts with some of the D2's who volunteered to go. I think the campout is a good time and you should try to go.

hi Mark or other students,

This may sound silly, but is there homework/studying to do durinig Intro. to Dent.? I understand that there is a group presentation on a topic, but in addition to this, is there other studying/work?

 

[icecoast]

hey, how long are your answers going to be? I am expecting I am going to write like 5 lines, since they said to be concise. What do you think? Plus, there are 10 questions, past applicants can please chip into this and tell me what their lenght of response was. Thanks a lot.

Hi

longer responses are not better responses. i made sure, i was concise yet thorough.

 

[anee1984]

Hey Mark,

I'm an incoming student. I have two questions. How late is too late to be looking for housing? Do most people start off living in apartments or campus owned housing? Thanks.

Alex

 

[food4thots]

i would start looking soon.. go to craigslist.org. most postings have the move in date posted.

call student housing, check to see if the 145 Irving Unit is still available.

 

[UCSF info guy]

hi Mark or other students,

This may sound silly, but is there homework/studying to do durinig Intro. to Dent.? I understand that there is a group presentation on a topic, but in addition to this, is there other studying/work?

They will present you with testable material the second week of intro....the test on it isn't until mid-october...

The REAL answer to this question as always is: There's always something to study....AND you get to do tons of it first year, so you may as well start as soon as possible. Or don't....people can cram their way through the academics here, but that's very stressful. (I procrastinate heavily and pay for it with extra stress)

 

[UCSF info guy]

Hey Mark,

I'm an incoming student. I have two questions. How late is too late to be looking for housing? Do most people start off living in apartments or campus owned housing? Thanks.

Alex

All I know is Mission Bay has no more studios or 1-bdr rooms. I assume this means more people will be off-campus apts. It was about 60/40 last year for our class with 60 % in off-campus housing. A lot of people moved out of school housing for this coming year so now it's more like 80/20.

 

[ffield]

hellos,
When should I expect to recieve information about unsubsidized stafford loans? All I recieved from UCSF about fin. aid was about attending the orientation during the first week of school. Shouldn't I take care of all of my loan stuff before I start school? =/

Thankyou.

 

[UCSF info guy]

hellos,
When should I expect to recieve information about unsubsidized stafford loans? All I recieved from UCSF about fin. aid was about attending the orientation during the first week of school. Shouldn't I take care of all of my loan stuff before I start school? =/

Thankyou.

You should be getting your award letter right about now....you have to sign to accept your loans. ABSOLUTELY call financial aid and make sure your file is complete....you want to get checks the first week of orientation so you can pay any fees you may still owe. Last year I talked to Ron 415-502-7877...he is the one who will speak to you during orientation and is super helpful. The # for financial aid is 415-476-4181. I would call them immediately...

 

[twinklit]

Hi Mark & other UCSF students:
How do I go about registration? the first day to register for our course work is coming up on Aug 14 I believe, but I have no clue as to where to start. Could you provide some information (where to register, how to register (i'm assuming it's online), what to register for, any fee due?)
thanks in advance!

 

[Trench Mouth]

You register for your classes using the website: saawww.ucsf.edu/signon The school compiles the classes you will be taking for you, you just have to confirm your intent to register. Registration doesn't close until after intro to dentistry begins, so don't stress if the classes are listed yet.

 

[Lucass]

I'm working on the supplementary application and have a few questions. In the "Proposed Course Schedule", what do the "Units" mean? I'm guessing it's different from "credit" we earn from taking classes.
Can anyone help me out?
Thank you!

It didn't seem like there was enough room on the "Proposed Course Schedule" section. Do they just want to see when you're taking the prerequisite classes they require or do you think they wanna see all of your proposed classes for next year.

 

[Mach band]

It didn't seem like there was enough room on the "Proposed Course Schedule" section. Do they just want to see when you're taking the prerequisite classes they require or do you think they wanna see all of your proposed classes for next year.

I think the more they know about your plan, the better. If you plan to take any courses that will benefit d-school, I'd say list them. I listed some courses on a separate sheet. Good luck!

 

[Lucass]

I think the more they know about your plan, the better. If you plan to take any courses that will benefit d-school, I'd say list them. I listed some courses on a separate sheet. Good luck!

Hey, thanks for the reply. Another possibly dumb question. UCSF asks for an "official transcript from every college or university attended." I'm assuming the ones sent to AADSAS don't count? I've got to submit another transcript directly to them?

 

[shinji]

I'm assuming the ones sent to AADSAS don't count? I've got to submit another transcript directly to them?

Yes, indeed.

 

[twinklit]

You register for your classes using the website: saawww.ucsf.edu/signon The school compiles the classes you will be taking for you, you just have to confirm your intent to register. Registration doesn't close until after intro to dentistry begins, so don't stress if the classes are listed yet.

So just to confirm, all we have to do is update our enrollment plans on student portal to "intend to register" for the upcoming FA06 WI07 and SP07 quarter and that is all that's required for registration? If so, it looks like I'm already capable of changing my enrollment plans accordingly. Thank you!