Where are my UCLA classmates (Class of 2009)?

[Literati81]

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So I've been pretty slothful the last 4 months and have delayed dispersing my formalin jars until yesterday. Just a tip--please pick up your jars. And if you don't need them, call the clinic and ask them to dispose of your jar.

One of the oral surgery clinics refused my jar since they've had a history of dental students "forgetting to pick up their jars." The other 2 clinics gave me a 2 minute speech on the same topic and I left the clinics feeling like a battered cod. 🙁

So yeah...pick up your teeth or give them a ring. That's all.

 

[podil]

It is by lottery.

I remember being told at my interview that they rank you your application and then offer spots at Weyburn starting from the top based on availability. Anyways, I think they have already allocated a number of spots.

Regarding cell phone service, Verizon is the best for me in overall coverage of the west side. Cingular is terrible. I have no idea about Sprint. But if Sprint works best in the D-school, I will probably switch to that.

 

[LSN]

Did any of you guys turn in any of the forms that were in your acceptance packet yet?

Also, I found the one big problem with Weyburn Terrace is that you don't get to meet your roomate until the day of move-in!

 

[Literati81]

I remember being told at my interview that they rank you your application and then offer spots at Weyburn starting from the top based on availability.

...and maybe it isn't by lottery (*shrug*)

Did any of you guys turn in any of the forms that were in your acceptance packet yet?

Also, I found the one big problem with Weyburn Terrace is that you don't get to meet your roomate until the day of move-in!

I turned in everything minus the health clearance. No worries though. It took me a month or two to get [almost] everything turned in; I'm pretty lazy about these things. 😳

As for the Weyburn Terrace-roomate situation, Sarah has a list of potential roommates. You can contact people from that list and meet them beforehand. That is, if you want another DS1 as your roommate.

 

[Eddie830]

Hey, is anyone interested in carpooling to the CDA event (in Anaheim) on Saturday?

 

[LSN]

Hey Eddie!
I'm going with my parents....but I'll see you there!

 

[atlanta478]

Hey, is anyone interested in carpooling to the CDA event (in Anaheim) on Saturday?

Eddie, Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, my personal situation won’t allow me to attend. Let us know how did go. 👍

 

[gatszu]

Hi guys! go USOD class of '09! 🙂

jon

 

[balance]

Hi guys! go USOD class of '09! 🙂

jon

what is USOD?

 

[gatszu]

lol, i meant to say ucla sod. hahaha.

 

[cool fillings]

Anyone go to the CDA convention this past weekend?

...I would've gone, but I had graduation yesterday and spent the days before it packing and saying my goodbyes.

Oh, and it looks like we have more people on here...that's awesome! Congrats to you all. Quite a few of us are on here are already in the L.A. area...anyone up for another get-together?

 

[LSN]

Hey coolfillings-
I would love to meet! I tried to set something up for last week with a few classmates, but I got caught up with a lot of stuff and I just couldn't do it. But I would love to meet with any classmates who are already in LA. PM me and let me know.

By the way, where will you be living?

 

[ljca]

FYI, Just got an email from Sarah- all the guaranteed housing positions are filled.

 

[jk5177]

FYI, Just got an email from Sarah- all the guaranteed housing positions are filled.

Great. Now what are my leftover options again?

 

[gatszu]

anyone know how the guaranteed weyburn positions are selected?

 

[jk5177]

anyone know how the guaranteed weyburn positions are selected?

You mean "were selected." My understanding is by lottery number; but none of it really matter now.

 

[ecdoesit]

Yo, what r u guys doing for the summer?
anyone going to any cool places?

 

[umc27]

Yo, what r u guys doing for the summer?
anyone going to any cool places?

I'm getting to see a lot of cool places all over the southeast while working for a moving company. I've started to wear work gloves on the job because I've become paranoid about my hands.

 

[jk5177]

Yo, what r u guys doing for the summer?
anyone going to any cool places?

I actually don't know what to do for the summer. Perhaps, I'll go hang out in a monastery in Ukiah (no kidding) and help out with the summer camp. Otherwise, my summer is quite blank. What a weird twist of fate! Anyone has any suggestions? Anything fun to do down in the South?

 

[jk5177]

18% of the Class of 2009 has made posts on SDN.

 

[ecdoesit]

This is a sad week.
The CA govt is likely to increase our student fee for another 2K in addition to the original 6K!!!
Still want to come to UC?

 

[jk5177]

This is a sad week.
The CA govt is likely to increase our student fee for another 2K in addition to the original 6K!!!
Still want to come to UC?

Can you provide more details? Or is there a website that discuss this matter?

 

[Literati81]

This is a sad week.
The CA govt is likely to increase our student fee for another 2K in addition to the original 6K!!!
Still want to come to UC?

Speaking of $$...

Has anyone received their financial aid breakdown?

 

[ecdoesit]

of cos not. i m just purely complaining out of nowhere because i m planning to change my login name to bitterdoesit.

jk, here it is.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=33563

well, they stall the hike. we will see when will they meet again.

Can you provide more details? Or is there a website that discuss this matter?

 

[jk5177]

Speaking of $$...

Has anyone received their financial aid breakdown?

I haven't heard anything about financial aid either.

 

[CalRunner04]

of cos not. i m just purely complaining out of nowhere because i m planning to change my login name to bitterdoesit.

jk, here it is.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=33563

well, they stall the hike. we will see when will they meet again.

Hey, it's the UC system - you can't expect too much!! (They're gonna weasel more money from us in any way they can!) And it still beats whatever ludicrous amount of money the USC kids are paying!!!

p.s. When are most of the 2009-ers moving to L.A.? I'm thinking of moving in around the 1st of September, but I'm curious what other people's plans are.

Go Bruins!!

 

[ecdoesit]

Couple news, we only have 1 more wk till we move on to 2nd year. While hearing the 2nd yr will be tougher than 1st yr since day 1, I guess we are in for a treat.

Changes to our curriculum. Just want to share what I have learned. We have 9 written finals and 3 practical exams spaming the whole week. Most tests are multiple choice, but then, they actually changed our testing system a little bit. We have an essay in histology, short response to dental morphology, and possibly an essay for radiology. The trend may continue for you guys. So get ready.

Another thing is I and my 1st yr got appointed to ASDA subcommittee chair. I will be responsible for fundraising. So, we will need your help next year. During the summer, we will be giving you guys more info about what exactly ASDA is and all the things we do. Just for now, you will get tons of free lunches from ASDA lunch and learn. As for fundraising, we are trying to get a freshmen welcoming kit. We will have tons of cool stuff to prep for westwood.

Just a quick check, have u turned in your big sib application yet? o and of cos, have u turned in ur asda membership application yet? and ur bol account. you should complete these along with housing application as soon as possible.

 

[ziptree]

Stop worrying then and get your Ethics paper done!...and start studying too, man!

 

[jk5177]

ethics paper? That sounds boring.

 

[ecdoesit]

i would rather to write that 10 page paper than taking the fixed practical.

i m studying. cant u tell?

 

[cool fillings]

During the summer, we will be giving you guys more info about what exactly ASDA is and all the things we do. Just for now, you will get tons of free lunches from ASDA lunch and learn. As for fundraising, we are trying to get a freshmen welcoming kit. We will have tons of cool stuff to prep for westwood.

Just a quick check, have u turned in your big sib application yet? o and of cos, have u turned in ur asda membership application yet? and ur bol account. you should complete these along with housing application as soon as possible.

I have a question about summer paperwork. I am working at a camp for the summer and am leaving tomorrow. I'll be back August 14th. What kind of paperwork did you 2008ers receive last year? Is there going to be some things that will require me going to get stuff done (I think I'm pretty much tied to the camp for the whole time because it's sleepover). I've already got the physical done, am working on the teeth thing, and I'll sign up for a CPR course for mid-late August. Thank goodness I'll be able to get on the internet from time-to-time to check my email (and perhaps SDN).

 

[LSN]

What should we do about the CPR course? Do we just sign up on our own? When would be the best time to take it?

 

[ecdoesit]

financial aid package(at least start them and have a good idea and fill ACCESS application knowing that u cant modify it after u pay them) there will be a large grp of people confused about fin aid anyway, so just join the crowd. eventually money will be delievered.

i dont really remember what else should be included.
they dont stress on the shots cos u can complete while in ur 1st yr.

the bruin card is another thing that is quite important.
parking permit. pm me if u r applying for one

as for CPR, like i said many times be4, take it as late as possible. cos we need that license in order to work in the clinic. taking it later could get u out of taking the cpr class during studying for ur board at the same time. make sure there is a class and u can sign up for that though

another interesting thing.
the 2nd and 3rd yrs students had a meeting with school officials to discuss the sch's plan to have students to do their own lab work. the school's view is that we will be able to know what's a better restoration. the students' view is these extra lab work will take away another 10plus hrs in our busy schedule. it is quite obvious that Arnold has cut way too deep on us. in order to maintain the high quality of education, students will face additional costs(both money and time, and perhaps our sanity). as you could tell, my morale is at historic low right now. i only hope that class of 2009 has a strong class so that we can work together to have a strong voice to get our govt and our school to treat us better.

all in all, one more weeks.

I have a question about summer paperwork. I am working at a camp for the summer and am leaving tomorrow. I'll be back August 14th. What kind of paperwork did you 2008ers receive last year? Is there going to be some things that will require me going to get stuff done (I think I'm pretty much tied to the camp for the whole time because it's sleepover). I've already got the physical done, am working on the teeth thing, and I'll sign up for a CPR course for mid-late August. Thank goodness I'll be able to get on the internet from time-to-time to check my email (and perhaps SDN).

 

[jk5177]

Gooooo Bruins!

 

[ziptree]

jk5177-

In your motto, "I don't look busy cause' I did it right the first time"...you better hope to hell you did it right the first time. But guess what?

It rarely happens, even to people with the best handskills. You'll see people in lab until midnight, 1am, 2am...3am.

Good luck.

 

[ecdoesit]

Come on Ziptree,
We have that mean securityguard to kick us out around 9.

jk5177
You will soon know that you dont shoot for perfection, but to avoid any critical errors. It doesnt matter if it looks bad, as long as u dont have critical errors, u dont have to start over. no matter how pretty ur prep is, one tiny critical errors=do it over. seriously, i think "do it over" is a better fit to ur motto cos i heard professors say that more often.

ya, at first, i would just work on knowing our works sucks. once u know that, then u r ready to move on. this is my philosophy. without knowing where to improve, how do u improve? without failing miserably, how do u pass?

it would be interesting to see how you handle ur first wk, first quarter, and first year. remember, first yr is better than 2nd yr. apparently, with all the lab work in 3rd and 4th yrs, 2nd yr may not be the toughest yr of all.

jk5177-

In your motto, "I don't look busy cause' I did it right the first time"...you better hope to hell you did it right the first time. But guess what?

It rarely happens, even to people with the best handskills. You'll see people in lab until midnight, 1am, 2am...3am.

Good luck.

 

[drhobie7]

Hey there soon-to-be 2nd years and soon-to-be 1st years. Yeah, 2nd year is tougher than 1st year. But I still had a good time. Not all the time of course, but I had a great year. As long as you pass dentures you'll be just fine. 🙂

Seriously, don't stress. Remember, you're going to be a dentist! Life is going to be awesome!

You know what will help you? Try to spread good vibes around your class. Be positive, even when things suck. Make a joke, be a dork, do whatever to make someone smile. It makes the day so much better.

p.s. Don't worry about clinic. There is no shortage of patients. There are some industrious 3rd years that have nearly finished all their requirements.

 

[jk5177]

You know what will help you? Try to spread good vibes around your class. Be positive, even when things suck. Make a joke, be a dork, do whatever to make someone smile. It makes the day so much better.

True that.

 

[ecdoesit]

Thanks, Drhobie, btw, 2nd yrs are very cool. Thanks for helping the 1st yr out in the lab and stuff. Life would be a lot worse without ur help.

talking about denture, how many people pass again? i mean pass pass, not marginal pass? It is a well known fact that the denture course is designed to fail(well, MP) people. I am expected to live in the lab and work on denture all day long for the whole year.

nobody complains about number of patients, but having them to come back so that we could finish the requirement is a big challenge for small group of people. the $7 parking fee each visit and the 3 hrs visit are significant concerns for patients though.

Hey there soon-to-be 2nd years and soon-to-be 1st years. Yeah, 2nd year is tougher than 1st year. But I still had a good time. Not all the time of course, but I had a great year. As long as you pass dentures you'll be just fine. 🙂

Seriously, don't stress. Remember, you're going to be a dentist! Life is going to be awesome!

You know what will help you? Try to spread good vibes around your class. Be positive, even when things suck. Make a joke, be a dork, do whatever to make someone smile. It makes the day so much better.

p.s. Don't worry about clinic. There is no shortage of patients. There are some industrious 3rd years that have nearly finished all their requirements.

 

[drhobie7]

There may be a change in the parking fee in the near future. I think we're looking at validating parking fully or partially. So patients might pay $3/day by the time you guys are in clinic. I think the clinic will work better when you guys are 3rd years. We're trying to improve the scheduling system with a little pilot program this summer.

As for dentures, here are the keys:
1. Be at every class on time so you don't miss the quiz (if you miss the quiz you basically weren't there for the class. it's a dual purpose quiz/attendance sheet). I do believe quizzes are a significant part of your grade so study for them.
2. Don't sleep in class. A couple of people got caught doing this and it wasn't pretty.
3. Be at every lab session even if you are ahead of the game. If you are caught up in lab do a setup, because attendance is mandatory here too.
4. Try your hardest to pass the first setup (fall midterm). It will alleviate so much stress. Obviously setups take a long time (3-4hrs), but try to do 5 before the midterm.
5. Look at each other's setups and critique them. Help each other out. By teaching your classmates you actually learn the principles better.

Remember that dentures is really important for learning the fundamentals of occlusion and aesthetics. I think 7 people from my class will be retaking the course with your class. I don't know about MPs. Although I'm sure anyone who got an NP would have killed to get an MP.

Have a great weekend.

 

[jk5177]

Curious, does anyone give incentives to patients for returning? Such as free parking, and etc?

 

[drhobie7]

The only incentive is the cost and quality (provided you do good work). I don't think there's much of a problem with patients not coming back, unless the student fails to manage them properly.

 

[ecdoesit]

Well, I would say 3-4 out of 88 will experience that(for denture). It is probably normal. But it is that experience that links into your amygdala which enhance that emotion and memory that makes it stands out. It is what they talk about when we talk with them. I also hear things like they did an ideal restoration and stuff, but they are more emotional with patients not coming back.

cost is being a less and less factor. Sunlight is a good reason. no doubt about quality and the preparation to specialty. if u work thru the pain and finish the curriculum, it is hard to see people not getting into a specialty.

the quality depends on how they utilitize their budget. u will see projectors or microphones that broke down and eventually get fixed. no papertowels in the 4th floor lab cos we use too much. they basically cut on everything(including planning to make us to do our lab work), so that they could increase graduation requirement thus the quality of education. a long of things good on paper, but in reality, i still donno how will i finish them in time. (there are quite a few 4th yrs rushing to finish their requirement now) at least you are almost certain going to graduate, if you dont cheat or give up on ur own)

we need to know why we are going thru this. have a purpose, and follow that goal. then you will have motivation to do that extra 10%.

another important aspect of our curriculum is that we could explain our physiological experience. now i know why i want to know about SCN, ACTH, accommodation, pain, suffering, Quiet Sleep, Rapid EyeMovt sleep, all the goodies finally make sense. it is nice to have this conversation.

The only incentive is the cost and quality (provided you do good work). I don't think there's much of a problem with patients not coming back, unless the student fails to manage them properly.

 

[ecdoesit]

if u r willing to pay for them, i dont see why not.

the problem is more to the main campus, particularly the parking department. since we dominate Lot 2, i think they are trying to get a half day pass or something. to split the fee in half. (normally $7 full day, but our patients only stay half a day, ideally). we will see how it goes.

next yr, i think our student health insurance will cover dental. so we may see some undergrad. not necessarily a good thing cos i heard youth cant sit still for 3 long hrs. and they have the highest chance not to come back. so make lots of undergrad friends now, so they might come to u.

Curious, does anyone give incentives to patients for returning? Such as free parking, and etc?

 

[Eddie830]

next yr, i think our student health insurance will cover dental. so we may see some undergrad. not necessarily a good thing cos i heard youth cant sit still for 3 long hrs. and they have the highest chance not to come back. so make lots of undergrad friends now, so they might come to u.

That's awesome! I was thinking a while back why this hasn't been done yet. I'm really glad to hear that the undergrad's SHIP will cover our school's services. Back when I was volunteering at the dental school, I saw a handful of undergrad students walk into the clinic trying to get dental care using SHIP and they had to be denied care. Eric, do you know if this also applies to graduate students at UCLA?

 

[jk5177]

Have you guys collected your teeth yet? If so, how did you go about collecting the teeth? Do you just go to the dental office and ask them? Do you specifically seek oral surgeons, or endodontist? Or do you just ask and dentist? Are they usually receptive to your request, considering how busy they can be.

 

[drhobie7]

So yes, UCLA grad students have great dental insurance (Metlife PPO) as far as our clinic is concerned. Basically they pay half of our fees --> $212 for a crown, $10 for an amalgam or something like that. It's ridiculously low. Undergrad students have a dental HMO however, which doesn't select UCLA as a provider. Until that changes, they're out.

Regarding the labwork, here's a funny story. Our restorative director met with us because we all heard we were going to have to do our own labwork, and of course we didn't want to. He told us we would not have to do it. We all cheered. He then said every class below us would have to, meaning 2008-on. We laughed, thinking to ourselves how we dodged a bullet. He then goes on to say, "But, if some dentist calls me saying he has resumes from classes of 2007 and 2008 grads on his desk and wants to know who he should hire, you know what I'm going to tell him? 2008. In a heartbeat. No question about it." We all stopped laughing. I thought to myself, "Wait a sec. I don't want to be second rate." So I decided I'm doing all my labwork even though I don't have to. A lot of other people in 2007 and 2006 are doing the same. I believe it will improve the quality of our work dramatically. It might even decrease the number of appointments required to do a crown. Just think, if you've got to do the pour up and wax up you're going to be sure that impression is perfect before you send the Pt. home, rather than just give the lab the impression and get it returned to you with a note that it's unacceptable.
Our restorative director also made another good point. He said he was talking to a new graduate from a "second rate dental school" and this guy did 50 crowns over 2 years, AND DID ALL THE LABWORK! That's pretty amazing. We only have to do 10, I think.
The only people I think who will suffer are those who are dead set on specializing. In that case, yeah it's kind of a bummer.
I think we've got an extremely difficult pre-doctoral program, and it just got a bit tougher. However, there's something to be said for pushing yourself really hard and succeeding. Aside from the personal benefits you get, it's really impressive, it builds confidence, and commands respect from your peers. It's good to remember that we have a great opportunity to utilize resources while we're here. Resources that will cost us many, many thousands of dollars upon graduation. It's kinda hard to think about doing extracurricular learning when we have so much required material, but the best time to do it is now. Damn this went on way too long and I gotta study for the afternoon final. Later...

 

[ecdoesit]

Even though we would be otherwise completely clueless, i still dont understand why 2008 aint invited to the meeting.

well, that resident definitely earned his way into ucla by doing so many lab work. it should still be optional rather than mandatory. i only hope i wont compensate the lab work time with other areas of study. like now, i dont have time to practice how to make a temporary and doomed in fixed final tom(but it is ok, I will go to the party afterward). just so that i could have time to study for neuro and fixed written since the operative test is very tough.

i dont think test time is the best reflection of my view at the school. maybe we should continue this conversation next wk.

So yes, UCLA grad students have great dental insurance (Metlife PPO) as far as our clinic is concerned. Basically they pay half of our fees --> $212 for a crown, $10 for an amalgam or something like that. It's ridiculously low. Undergrad students have a dental HMO however, which doesn't select UCLA as a provider. Until that changes, they're out.

Regarding the labwork, here's a funny story. Our restorative director met with us because we all heard we were going to have to do our own labwork, and of course we didn't want to. He told us we would not have to do it. We all cheered. He then said every class below us would have to, meaning 2008-on. We laughed, thinking to ourselves how we dodged a bullet. He then goes on to say, "But, if some dentist calls me saying he has resumes from classes of 2007 and 2008 grads on his desk and wants to know who he should hire, you know what I'm going to tell him? 2008. In a heartbeat. No question about it." We all stopped laughing. I thought to myself, "Wait a sec. I don't want to be second rate." So I decided I'm doing all my labwork even though I don't have to. A lot of other people in 2007 and 2006 are doing the same. I believe it will improve the quality of our work dramatically. It might even decrease the number of appointments required to do a crown. Just think, if you've got to do the pour up and wax up you're going to be sure that impression is perfect before you send the Pt. home, rather than just give the lab the impression and get it returned to you with a note that it's unacceptable.
Our restorative director also made another good point. He said he was talking to a new graduate from a "second rate dental school" and this guy did 50 crowns over 2 years, AND DID ALL THE LABWORK! That's pretty amazing. We only have to do 10, I think.
The only people I think who will suffer are those who are dead set on specializing. In that case, yeah it's kind of a bummer.
I think we've got an extremely difficult pre-doctoral program, and it just got a bit tougher. However, there's something to be said for pushing yourself really hard and succeeding. Aside from the personal benefits you get, it's really impressive, it builds confidence, and commands respect from your peers. It's good to remember that we have a great opportunity to utilize resources while we're here. Resources that will cost us many, many thousands of dollars upon graduation. It's kinda hard to think about doing extracurricular learning when we have so much required material, but the best time to do it is now. Damn this went on way too long and I gotta study for the afternoon final. Later...

 

[caliMDkid]

Hi all.

Please help me out. I am currently a UCLA med student (class of 08) and my fiance is applying to UCLA Dental this next season (for fall 06).

We are a bit curious about her chances.

She is a bio major at at UC school. Her overall gpa is a 3.36, but this is not very reflective, because she did not do so well her first two years. She has been on the Dean's List (gpa >3.5 for the past 6 straight quarters). Which we are hoping they will take into consideration (do they???).

Her DAT is 20 AA, 19 TS, 20 PAT

She has done a couple years of dental research, earning a 3rd author paper, and an international award at a dental research conference. She was president of her dental club and a couple other extracurriculars (standard dental volunteering etc.). She spent a summer doing dental research at ucsf and will be returning there this summer for their dental summer program. She has letters from the two dental researchers (who are both dds/phd's), two science profs, and a volunteer letter.

Please give me input all! Especially if you found yourself in this situation, mostly, the gpa part, which has us worried (do they look at the trend???).

Thanks, feel free to PM me if this is more appropriate.

Thanks!

 

[drhobie7]

I thinks it's really hard to predict who gets in. I've seen surprising results in both the dental and med schools at UCLA. And if it doesn't work out with UCLA, there's always USC, which is still in LA. Maybe even Loma Linda? That's pretty dang far. Although we have a woman in our class who commutes from Huntington every day.

Hi all.

Please help me out. I am currently a UCLA med student (class of 08) and my fiance is applying to UCLA Dental this next season (for fall 06).

We are a bit curious about her chances.

She is a bio major at at UC school. Her overall gpa is a 3.36, but this is not very reflective, because she did not do so well her first two years. She has been on the Dean's List (gpa >3.5 for the past 6 straight quarters). Which we are hoping they will take into consideration (do they???).

Her DAT is 20 AA, 19 TS, 20 PAT

She has done a couple years of dental research, earning a 3rd author paper, and an international award at a dental research conference. She was president of her dental club and a couple other extracurriculars (standard dental volunteering etc.). She spent a summer doing dental research at ucsf and will be returning there this summer for their dental summer program. She has letters from the two dental researchers (who are both dds/phd's), two science profs, and a volunteer letter.

Please give me input all! Especially if you found yourself in this situation, mostly, the gpa part, which has us worried (do they look at the trend???).

Thanks, feel free to PM me if this is more appropriate.

Thanks!