What does it take to get into a UC?

[camstah]

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or, for that matter, USC....let's just say, a california school....
what's the lowest numbers/less than stellar EC's that anyone has heard of? i mean, i was hoping i'd at least be looked at by a UC, but i've gotten the snub from all of them....and i don't understand why!!! so, my question is, what does it take to get into a UC?
this is a thread born of frustration......

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I understand some of your frustration. I read some of your posts in the pending review UCI thread. All I can say is that for every one spot in a UC school there are approximately 30 qualified (grades and mcats are okay) applicants. So, what does this mean? It means that the whole process is subjective, and that it all comes down to showing motivation in your personal statement, supplemental essays, and having stellar letter writers.

I once heard a story from Dr. Peterson (Asst. Dean of UCI College of Medicine Admissions) that a person was being sent a rejection, and at that very same time, that person sent a letter of intent. A month later the AdComs retracted the rejection and offered that person an acceptance.

Motivation, intent, and whether or not you fit a particular personality (not to be confused with ethnicity; read demeanor) profile the school is looking for that year.

In the end, crossing your fingers probably helps to some degree, I'm sure. Good Luck, hope all goes well.🙂

 

[camstah]

🙂 thanks.....that actually made me feel better.....

 

[docmemi]

it seems sad that numbers play a big role. i have a feeling that without the numbers, they wont even look at your personality and background. is that fair? well, no doubt that they have a right to look at numbers, but sometimes those with lower numbers (mcat/gpa) or one hi and one low are also very good and they get missed.
its also the competition. there are many people they might interview, maybe on the same day, that match your profile pretty closely. but there is only a limited number of spots. i wonder how they choose then?

 

[Jalby]

I'm not sure about other schools, but your ability to show how well you know a school and how likely you are to attend said school does help a lot.

 

[jlee9531]

gotta make yourself standout.

tho at uci i hear that if you get an interview just stay away from red flag/controversial topics and have good conversational skills you should be good for an acceptance.

i have relatively low numbers and have gotten next to no love from cali other than davis (they rule by the way 😉)

but we have a few more months. i gotta have something to hope for till april right?

good luck to you tho camstah...

 

[UCLAstudent]

An act of God. 😉

 

[Eraserhead]

i'm in at two so far, 3.6 and 30S

 

[supereagles]

Originally posted by DoctorKevin
i'm in at two so far, 3.6 and 30S

Men, it seems like you applied to a s**tload of schools. At least i am not the only one that contributed to some school's scholarship fund.😎

 

[camstah]

doctorkevin, did you do a lot of research/volunteering?

 

[ixitixl]

I was talking to one of my friends from WA state who was complaining about the apparent plight of CA residents trying to get into medical school. Apparently California has 34 Million residents and 8 medical schools (private and public)
UCD, UCSF, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, Stanford, Loma Linda and USC.

WA residents are competing for 1 in-state medical school that services a population of 10 million (WWAMI region). But for some reason, WA residents don't really complain as much. Am I missing something here? WA residents don't seem think it requires an act of God to get into their state school where as Californians do.

 

[Jalby]

Because we have a lot better colleges and applicants than the people in the WAMMI States, so therefor we produce a lot more premeds. Look at the number of applicants per state compared to the number of spots per state.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

I think I heard that the number of in-state applicants to California medical schools is in a ratio of 3 applicants : 1 spot, which is obviously higher than the national ratio of about 2 applicants : 1 spot. I can't think of another state with this high of a ratio.

 

[Insert]

Originally posted by ixitixl
Apparently California has 34 Million residents and 8 medical schools (private and public)
UCD, UCSF, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, Stanford, Loma Linda and USC.

Correction. There are 10 medical schools in CA including all of the above and COMP and TUCOM.

 

[CalBeE]

See unless your family strongly prefer you to stay in California, I don't think it's a bad idea to go and explore another state during med school. Just a thought.

 

[ixitixl]

Originally posted by JPaikman
I think I heard that the number of in-state applicants to California medical schools is in a ratio of 3 applicants : 1 spot, which is obviously higher than the national ratio of about 2 applicants : 1 spot. I can't think of another state with this high of a ratio.

Washington state = 6 applicants : 1 spot
according to State Board of Education

5.85:1 according to AAMC.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by CalBeE
See unless your family strongly prefer you to stay in California, I don't think it's a bad idea to go and explore another state during med school. Just a thought.

ive done enough of living around in other states. i have to admit that i like california the best and would love to stay here. finances also play a big part but not bigger than just the desire to stay here and establish permanent roots here.

 

[ixitixl]

Originally posted by jlee9531
ive done enough of living around in other states. i have to admit that i like california the best and would love to stay here. finances also play a big part but not bigger than just the desire to stay here and establish permanent roots here.

Tell me about it. There's no better place to live.

 

[Prophecy]

Originally posted by ixitixl
Tell me about it. There's no better place to live.

Are you serious? You've got to be kidding me!!

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

What does it take to get into a CA med school? First off....you'll need a 4.0 overall GPA with a 4.0 BCPM. Anything less..and sorry, you're getting a rejection letter. You also better have a 38+ MCAT to match that...sorry...37s and 36s won't cut it. You'll also need a T+ on the writing sample. All applicants who don't meet these basic criteria get rejected.

For ECs...you'll need to be the president/founder of at least 2 clubs/organizations. For research...you NEED to have at least 3 years of research experience in biomedical research labs. You need to have done one of the following: a) designed a vaccine for a prominent infectious disease (like SARs) or b) assist another biomedical researcher on designing said vaccine for a prominent infectious disease. You'll also need to have spent at least 2 years volunteering in a 3rd world country....and sorry...Mexico doesn't cut it. You need to have worked in Africa...preferably...Zimbabwe, Zaire, Mozambique, or the Congo...UC adcoms specifically recommend vaccinating children and working on public education projects for HIV/AIDS in these African countries. If you accidentally volunteered in South America instead of Africa...sorry...**throws application in trash and spits on it**

P.S.: Rumor has it that all UC adcoms want the applicants invited for the interview to bring a pair of kneepads and some mouthwash with them. Word on the street is that they LOVE applicants who don't have a gag reflex...so if you get rid of that...it should help. Word to your mothers...

 

[jtn]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
What does it take to get into a CA med school? First off....you'll need a 4.0 overall GPA with a 4.0 BCPM. Anything less..and sorry, you're getting a rejection letter. You also better have a 38+ MCAT to match that...sorry...37s and 36s won't cut it. You'll also need a T+ on the writing sample. All applicants who don't meet these basic criteria get rejected.

For ECs...you'll need to be the president/founder of at least 2 clubs/organizations. For research...you NEED to have at least 3 years of research experience in biomedical research labs. You need to have done one of the following: a) designed a vaccine for a prominent infectious disease (like SARs) or b) assist another biomedical researcher on designing said vaccine for a prominent infectious disease. You'll also need to have spent at least 2 years volunteering in a 3rd world country....and sorry...Mexico doesn't cut it. You need to have worked in Africa...preferably...Zimbabwe, Zaire, Mozambique, or the Congo...UC adcoms specifically recommend vaccinating children and working on public education projects for HIV/AIDS in these African countries. If you accidentally volunteered in South America instead of Africa...sorry...**throws application in trash and spits on it**

P.S.: Rumor has it that all UC adcoms want the applicants invited for the interview to bring a pair of kneepads and some mouthwash with them. Word on the street is that they LOVE applicants who don't have a gag reflex...so if you get rid of that...it should help. Word to your mothers...

BerkeleyPremed, if this is your strategy to get into a UC med school...then be my guest.

However, I have a suggestion that will make your life much easier and enjoying...why don't you just explore medicine (clinical, teaching, or research setting or whatever). Then decide if medicine is the right profession for you and why.

If you follow this path, then you'll have no problem during interviews and you won't have to bring kneepads or mouthwash because you will be able give your interviewer a convincing and genuine reason why you want to become a doctor.

If you have thought a lot about becoming a physician, then you should be able to give an honest and convincing answer on the spot. This is what you'll be doing for the next 50+ years. You should know why you want to jump into this stressful sh*thole, but extremely rewarding...probably the most rewarding profession there is. There's no other profession I can think of that can be more exciting everyday than medicine. Trust me, when you walk out that room, your interviewer will say "man, this motherf****r knows what he's doing. I want him."

If you have ave stats (30 and 3.7), a couple (less is better than a lot) of committed (long rather than shorterm) e.c., a couple of excellent recommendation letters (this should be really easy since they are coming from your longterm e.c.), and an excellent essay telling others why you want to be a doctor, then you will have plently of interviews and acceptances to choose from. Hey...I can't complain with my results. jtn.

 

[Goober]

Originally posted by camstah
or, for that matter, USC....let's just say, a california school....
what's the lowest numbers/less than stellar EC's that anyone has heard of? i mean, i was hoping i'd at least be looked at by a UC, but i've gotten the snub from all of them....and i don't understand why!!! so, my question is, what does it take to get into a UC?
this is a thread born of frustration......

Well I really don't think that it's a numbers driven game at the UCs. When I applied I had zero interviews at the Calis schools. Stats: 3.9 gpa, 32 mcat and a cali resident. Outside of Cali I had 11 interviews which resulted in 10 acceptences and one waitlist, so I know it wasn't because my application was overall weak. I was bitter about it at the time especially since I know many people with lower stats getting interviews and acceptences.

Basically if you really want to be in Cali and can't get in, do what a ton of other people do, go to some out of state med school and come back for residency. 👍

 

[DO it right]

All UC-medical schools use a computer application to cut-off the number of qualified applicants based on GPA and MCAT scores. (the cutt off is most likely 3.5, 30) If you pass the initial screening, your application is then reviewed by the deans (i.e. personal statement, activities, etc). If they like you, you should recieve your secondary soon (and I mean soon) after! If not, then your application is piled up in a file of "unofficial" waitlisted (if you call them, they'll tell you they're processing your applications, while your friends who may even have applied later than you, are already completing their secondaries). After you submit your secondary, then you're in control, from now on. You just have to prove to them that you're the "one". If you're are the one, then you'll be suprised how much they will compete with each other to get your ass in their school. (i.e. financial packages, full ride to the interview, a personal letter from dean.) Good job, if you make it through all this, for the rest of us, there are others who will be more than happy to take us!

 

[jlee9531]

dont think that cutoff is true by the way. i dont meet the gpa cutoff and ive gotten interviews at davis and la.

there are some schools that might focus more on numbers than other schools but i do believe the UCs tries to give everyone a decently fair chance when giving out secondaries or else i wouldnt understand how i got any secondaries...let alone interviews.

 

[DrWorkNeverDone]

Considering UCD is mostly a haven for pre meds there is a lot of nail biting in CA when it comes to applying.....Another thing is CA schools are big on having a variety of doctors from different cultures and it plays a big role in who gets accepted. UCD is one of the few schools though that stands on only taking CA residents. Plus there is that thing that Northern Cal is different from Southern Cal...I know that I am real nervous about applying to a Southern UC......Now UCD is really good about reading the whole application, at least that is what I was told be Ed Dudang, and Stanford really looks at the distance that you have traveled, and of course a good GPA....UCSF would be the only one I would be nervous applying for especially with a low GPA.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by DrWorkNeverDone
UCD is one of the few schools though that stands on only taking CA residents.

UCI is also 100% and UCSD only considers out of staters for the MD/PHD.

 

[lola]

Originally posted by Jalby
UCI is also 100% and UCSD only considers out of staters for the MD/PHD.

hmm... someone on sdn last year was an out of stater and got into ucsd's md program. i think it's rare, but i'm not sure it's only md/phd out of staters that they accept.

as for numbers cutoffs -- i really doubt they have them cause i got secondaries from all uc's last year except ucla and interviews at 2 uc's with a pretty stinky mcat score. the uc's were way less numbers oreinted than i expected.

what does it take to get into a uc? i'd guess that it takes stellar stats or something extraordinary on your app as far as ec's/lor's go. it also takes luck!

 

[Spitting Camel]

Lola:

I sent in my LOI to UCI and it should have gotten there by now. Do you think it's a good idea to go see Gayle in person and talk to her about my next step? You interview until April, I think, but I would feel better if I got an interview earlier on...

Oh, and UCI accepts WICHE applicants (as per the MSAR)

 

[lola]

hey alreadyindebt,
that's great you sent in your letter. hopefully it will help you out! i really don't have any suggestions about what to do next. i wrote a letter last year and then waited. you could try talking to gayle. personally i would back off after sending the letter, at least for a few weeks. i don't have any inside knowledge of the best way to proceed if that is what you are looking for...
you still have plenty of time, so don't start worrying too much yet! i received an interview invite sometime in late february last year (i think).
🙂
-lola

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by DrWorkNeverDone
UCD is one of the few schools though that stands on only taking CA residents.

Out of all the UC's, UCLA is most receptive about international applicants. Either UCSF or UCLA is most receptive about out-of-staters in general.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by AlreadyInDebt
Do you think it's a good idea to go see Gayle in person and talk to her about my next step?

If you do talk to Gayle, be sure to phrase it in a mannerof "What can I do to improve my aplication in order to get into UCI" And also know VERY WELL why UCI is the best school for you, and UCI's cost or location isn't good enough, b/c anybody can say that..

 

[LoneCoyote]

Originally posted by DrWorkNeverDone
Plus there is that thing that Northern Cal is different from Southern Cal...I know that I am real nervous about applying to a Southern UC......

I wouldn't sweat the whole SoCal UC thing too much. I know I was really worried about too that a lot cuz I am a Nor Cal person all the way. But I REALLY liked UCI. And yeah the culture is very different in L.A./OC but I really got the vibe I could be very happy there. So definitely do not let that hold you back from applying to any of the SoCal schools.

 

[MErc44]

an act of god

 

[UCSBMed1]

Originally posted by azpremed
I wouldn't sweat the whole SoCal UC thing too much. I know I was really worried about too that a lot cuz I am a Nor Cal person all the way. But I REALLY liked UCI. And yeah the culture is very different in L.A./OC but I really got the vibe I could be very happy there. So definitely do not let that hold you back from applying to any of the SoCal schools.

I still wouldn't want to live or go to school there (again). 😉

 

[hypersting]

It's amazing what you can find in search engines. I am not a CA resident, nor did I apply to any UCs, but I stumbled across this link and it should be informative, albeit a bit dated.

Here's the main link:

http://www.ucop.edu/healthaffairs/reports/testimony/

and the one that was particularly instructive:

http://www.ucop.edu/healthaffairs/reports/testimony/attach5.pdf

One more this one is from 2000, the previous ones are from 1994:

http://www.ucop.edu/healthaffairs/reports/diversity/meded.pdf

Hope it helps.

 

[Brickhouse]

pucker up, butter cup!

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by UCSBPre-Med1
I still wouldn't want to live or go to school there (again). 😉

Yeah SoCal is such a horrible place and I would never say you should choose a med school because of location 😉 (totally kidding)

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Originally posted by ixitixl
I was talking to one of my friends from WA state who was complaining about the apparent plight of CA residents trying to get into medical school. Apparently California has 34 Million residents and 8 medical schools (private and public)
UCD, UCSF, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, Stanford, Loma Linda and USC.

WA residents are competing for 1 in-state medical school that services a population of 10 million (WWAMI region). But for some reason, WA residents don't really complain as much. Am I missing something here? WA residents don't seem think it requires an act of God to get into their state school where as Californians do.

From what I understand, these Cali schools don't give residents any preference.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by ixitixl
I was talking to one of my friends from WA state who was complaining about the apparent plight of CA residents trying to get into medical school. Apparently California has 34 Million residents and 8 medical schools (private and public)
UCD, UCSF, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, Stanford, Loma Linda and USC.

WA residents are competing for 1 in-state medical school that services a population of 10 million (WWAMI region). But for some reason, WA residents don't really complain as much. Am I missing something here? WA residents don't seem think it requires an act of God to get into their state school where as Californians do.

I got annoyed when I saw this post quoted again so I did some research.
% of aplicants accepted:

Alaska: 61%
Idaho: 54%
Montana: 49.5%
Washington: 59.7%
Wyoming: 59.3%

And California, with a lto higher sampling: 51.8%

Roughly one in 20 applicants would get into medical school if they had lived in a WAMMI state than if they lived in California. That's why it is so much harder to be a California resident and get into medical school.