(((~:$$$ UC Irvine School of Medicine, Class of 2012 $$$:~)))

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Doublecortin

Doublecortin

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Let's share the love :love::love::love:

:hardy:
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Congrats to all those accepted. Irvine is an awesome place to be.

My first year of med school has been about as pleasant as a year of med school could be. They eased us into it (only 1 class to start, anatomy doesn't start til' Thanksgiving), lots of social activities, FABULOUS classmates, friendly admin, plenty of extracurricular opportunities. Class 8-12 most days - PLENTY of free time. Ocean 10 minutes away, plenty of shopping opportunities, a state park 10 minutes south of campus, close to LA and SD. No block exams - which can be good and bad. Means you have a test most weeks but no scary massive cramming. 3 months of summer before second year. A USMLE step I prep course right on campus at the end of 2nd year (apparently these are really rare). I honestly believe that it doesn't get any better than this (but I'm biased :)).

If you guys have any questions let me know, we are putting together a survival guide for you guys about classes, profs, places to live, places to eat, things to do, so you will have plenty of resources this summer. But if you have any burning questions just PM me or better yet, post here so others can see the answers, I'll check this thread from time to time.
 
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alwaysaangel said:
Congrats to all those accepted. Irvine is an awesome place to be.

My first year of med school has been about as pleasant as a year of med school could be. They eased us into it (only 1 class to start, anatomy doesn't start til' Thanksgiving), lots of social activities, FABULOUS classmates, friendly admin, plenty of extracurricular opportunities. Class 8-12 most days - PLENTY of free time. Ocean 10 minutes away, plenty of shopping opportunities, a state park 10 minutes south of campus, close to LA and SD. No block exams - which can be good and bad. Means you have a test most weeks but no scary massive cramming. 3 months of summer before second year. A USMLE step I prep course right on campus at the end of 2nd year (apparently these are really rare). I honestly believe that it doesn't get any better than this (but I'm biased :)).

If you guys have any questions let me know, we are putting together a survival guide for you guys about classes, profs, places to live, places to eat, things to do, so you will have plenty of resources this summer. But if you have any burning questions just PM me or better yet, post here so others can see the answers, I'll check this thread from time to time.
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hey, I saw the videos (3 parts) that 2nd years made for the incoming class. they kick as$$.

I can't want to meet you alwayssayangel :D
 
I was just debating between UC Irvine and Case Western Reserve when I found this thread. Alwaysaangel's post definitely tilted the balance. :)
Since UC Irvine doesn't have a second look weekend, when do students generally go down there to look for housing and prepare for the school? Also, financial aid is a huge factor in my choice of med school, when can we expect to see our financial aid package?

Thanks to all that's helping out with the survival guide, I'll definitely need it soon!

hope to see more :love:here!
 
readytostart said:
I was just debating between UC Irvine and Case Western Reserve when I found this thread. Alwaysaangel's post definitely tilted the balance. :)
Since UC Irvine doesn't have a second look weekend, when do students generally go down there to look for housing and prepare for the school? Also, financial aid is a huge factor in my choice of med school, when can we expect to see our financial aid package?

Thanks to all that's helping out with the survival guide, I'll definitely need it soon!

hope to see more :love:here!
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UCI ROCKS!!

We don't have a second look weekend? Are you sure about that? Last year they had one at the end of April...

As far as housing/preparing for school - most people last year got roomies over facebook and came down the month before to look for housing and moved in a week or so before. School really does start out slow so you have plenty of time to settle even if you moved in the day before orientation (like me).

However, this year they got you guys guaranteed to have at least 50 spots in on-campus housing. These are pretty nice apartments and are way cheaper than off campus. So a lot of you can just hope for that.

As far as financial aid - last year they were SUPER slow. I got my package 2 days before orientation. If you're worried you can probably call Luis and get an estimate. The nice thing for those of us who are poor (and lets face it one way or another you'll take out a ton of loans) is that since first year is long (Aug-June) you get more than the max stafford loans. So you can get through first year with no Grad PLUS loans - which saves you a lot of money.
 
Does anyone know if UCI has a second look weekend? If so, when is it? Thanks!
 
I have no idea if there's a second look, but I'd encourage you all to call the Admissions Office and ask Lynn (she usually answers the phone). If she doesn't know, she'll ask Gayle and they'll get back to you ASAP. The entire Admissions Office is as nice as it gets for med schools.

Along with alwaysaangel, I'm also an MS1 at UCI right now and would be happy to answer any questions about the school and making decisions... hopefully in as much of an unbiased way as possible.

Congrats!

:: zot zot ::
 
neuroneurd said:
I have no idea if there's a second look, but I'd encourage you all to call the Admissions Office and ask Lynn (she usually answers the phone). If she doesn't know, she'll ask Gayle and they'll get back to you ASAP. The entire Admissions Office is as nice as it gets for med schools.

Along with alwaysaangel, I'm also an MS1 at UCI right now and would be happy to answer any questions about the school and making decisions... hopefully in as much of an unbiased way as possible.

Congrats!

:: zot zot ::
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So I'd like to live in either Palo Verde (2bedroom/2 bathroom townhouse) next year or in VDC or VDC Norte. Anyone know if there are current MSs looking for a roommate next year. I'd much rather live with a fellow UCI MS than some random dude (or dudette :))
 
Hi Folks,

I will not be matriculating at UC Irvine COM but I am very familiar with the school being from southern California and having tons of friends who go/have gone there.

It's really an awesome school with a beautiful and spacious undergrad campus. Their student center was recently renovated and is very nice.

According to the Office of Admissions and Outreach, the Second Look Day is Saturday, April 26.

To those who have chosen UCI COM as their first choice, you guys will be very happy with your decision. The school really prepares you well for the boards (several years ago, their Step I scores were highest in CA- beating out UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, ...) and Orange County is a great place to live for the next four years. Good luck.:luck:

ps. Check out www.anteaterforum.com
 
Doublecortin said:
So I'd like to live in either Palo Verde (2bedroom/2 bathroom townhouse) next year or in VDC or VDC Norte. Anyone know if there are current MSs looking for a roommate next year. I'd much rather live with a fellow UCI MS than some random dude (or dudette :))
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay! Graduate housing is certainly a pain in the butt at UCI. It used to be guaranteed for Med Students but it no longer is. A good chunk of people got housing last year, but they got it the day before school started or even a month or so into school (i.e. they subletted a place in Irvine or just commuted from home, which was close by for them). A lot of us, including myself, just got housing off-campus since we didn't want to deal with that multiple moving situation.

You should certainly get on the waitlist for all these places to see what happens. When school starts in August you'll get emails from lots of people in the first few months saying they have an open space and would love a med student to move in as soon as possible. Problem is... by then you've already figured out your housing and signed a lease! When your facebook group is in its full glory over the summer, you can talk with your other classmates to see if anyone wants to get a house or apartment together.

As for current med students looking for roommates, I have no idea. I bet a lot of people that were off-campus are going to try and get on-campus now (like you guys! which might make spots even more limited... we were the first year to get screwed on this whole housing situation), so if anyone in our class sends out an email saying they have a spot I'm sure one of the MS1s will fill it fast.

I know all of that is frustrating... trust me, we all know how frustrating it is. That's all anyone talked about at orientation last year -- how frustrating housing suddenly became. Like alwyasaangel mentioned, there will be 50 guaranteed spots divied up between current MS1s and to-be MS1s. We're not sure how that's going to work, so keep your eyes peeled.

In summary: get on the waitlists for all these places. Start nagging them in June-July. I'm sure the Admissions office will send the incoming class some info about housing in the coming months since they're trying really hard to fix it so it's easier for you guys. Also start looking off campus whenever you can. Lots of people live in different apartment complexes in Irvine, but the Irvine Company monopolizes all of these so rent is pretty pricey. Others live in houses/apartments by the beach in Corona Del Mar or Newport Beach. Other people live in Orange (which will be convenient for them during 3rd-4th year for UCIMC). Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach are possibilities, but commute time is starting to get longer and longer here. Lastly, if I understand it right, the MS1 class might be developing some type of survival guide that talks about where we live, what our rent is, etc, so people that can't make it down to Irvine to hunt for housing have some info too.

Phew that was long. Hope it made sense. Let me know if you guys have more questions. Congrats again! zot zot.
 
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neuroneurd said:
Sorry for the delay! Graduate housing is certainly a pain in the butt at UCI. It used to be guaranteed for Med Students but it no longer is. A good chunk of people got housing last year, but they got it the day before school started or even a month or so into school (i.e. they subletted a place in Irvine or just commuted from home, which was close by for them). A lot of us, including myself, just got housing off-campus since we didn't want to deal with that multiple moving situation.

You should certainly get on the waitlist for all these places to see what happens. When school starts in August you'll get emails from lots of people in the first few months saying they have an open space and would love a med student to move in as soon as possible. Problem is... by then you've already figured out your housing and signed a lease! When your facebook group is in its full glory over the summer, you can talk with your other classmates to see if anyone wants to get a house or apartment together.

As for current med students looking for roommates, I have no idea. I bet a lot of people that were off-campus are going to try and get on-campus now (like you guys! which might make spots even more limited... we were the first year to get screwed on this whole housing situation), so if anyone in our class sends out an email saying they have a spot I'm sure one of the MS1s will fill it fast.

I know all of that is frustrating... trust me, we all know how frustrating it is. That's all anyone talked about at orientation last year -- how frustrating housing suddenly became. Like alwyasaangel mentioned, there will be 50 guaranteed spots divied up between current MS1s and to-be MS1s. We're not sure how that's going to work, so keep your eyes peeled.

In summary: get on the waitlists for all these places. Start nagging them in June-July. I'm sure the Admissions office will send the incoming class some info about housing in the coming months since they're trying really hard to fix it so it's easier for you guys. Also start looking off campus whenever you can. Lots of people live in different apartment complexes in Irvine, but the Irvine Company monopolizes all of these so rent is pretty pricey. Others live in houses/apartments by the beach in Corona Del Mar or Newport Beach. Other people live in Orange (which will be convenient for them during 3rd-4th year for UCIMC). Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach are possibilities, but commute time is starting to get longer and longer here. Lastly, if I understand it right, the MS1 class might be developing some type of survival guide that talks about where we live, what our rent is, etc, so people that can't make it down to Irvine to hunt for housing have some info too.

Phew that was long. Hope it made sense. Let me know if you guys have more questions. Congrats again! zot zot.
Click to expand...

I am actually living right now in Verano, but I really dislike it there. Yes, it's dirt cheap, but you get what you pay for. It's really old, worn down, and full with families with kids and stuff:(, not exactly a university environment. Plus, English is rarely spoken there . . . since it's filled with foreign graduate students

I got on the wait list at Vista Del Campo and VDC Norte, and Palo Verde. I am willing to pay a little extra to be happy, have my personal space, and to like where I live. I think it will affect my med school performance in the long run. . .

So if any current or incoming MSs looking for a roommate in PV, VDC or VDC N, PM me!

Cheers:D
So
 
anyone?:eek:

c'om people, I know you are out there! all 104 happy anteaters
 
Hi! Im new to posting on SDN and sorry for the delay doublecortin. Im most likely heading out to UCI this upcoming fall so youre officially not alone on this thread. Hopefully more people come into this thread. :hardy:
 
Phlax64 said:
Hi! Im new to posting on SDN and sorry for the delay doublecortin. Im most likely heading out to UCI this upcoming fall so youre officially not alone on this thread. Hopefully more people come into this thread. :hardy:
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sweet! :), so we are just waiting for the other 102 lucky a$$holes to post on here :D
 
Hey doublecortin are you heading out to second look day on the 26th of April? And alwaysanangel, should we expect to hear back from housing more towards August then July?
 
Phlax64 said:
Hey doublecortin are you heading out to second look day on the 26th of April? And alwaysanangel, should we expect to hear back from housing more towards August then July?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about housing this year - last year it was SUPER late. But this year you guys are going to have 50 slots split between us and you. So you should have no problem getting in.

I would call housing and ask. And if you can't get a straight answer keep calling.
 
Phlax64 said:
Hey doublecortin are you heading out to second look day on the 26th of April? And alwaysanangel, should we expect to hear back from housing more towards August then July?
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you bet!:)
 
I'm an Anteater too!!!! but I am from the class of 2013 since I will be in the PRIME program but still...can't wait to meet you guys :D
 
WednesdaysArmy said:
I'm an Anteater too!!!! but I am from the class of 2013 since I will be in the PRIME program but still...can't wait to meet you guys :D
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sweet dude/dudette!!! :D

are you coming to 2nd look weekend?!

It's :hardy: time, baby!
 
cHocoBo 118 said:
Hey doublecortin. I'm currently a MS2, going into my clinical years FINALLY. Like alwaysangel says, UCI rocks. I just finished my last final on monday for the year... which means I have now til summer to study nonstop for the boards. Anyways PM me if you have any questions.
And if you're looking to move, I'm looking to sublet my place at VDC norte (awesome place), from june til sept. Let me know if youre interested. (i'm guessing youre a guy)
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yeah, I am a guy, I am actually living in Verano right now, and I can stay there with a friend pretty much for as along as I want, but I don't like it that much. I would like to move to either PV, VDC or VDCNorte in the Fall.

:luck::luck::luck: on the boards! I've heard UCI does really good! Are you taking the famed Kaplan course?

:luck: Again!
 
Hey guys, I interviewed a while back but I am still on the waitlist. I would give anything to get off the list and join you guys!!!!

I went to UCI for undergrad and I loved it. The OC is great. Best housing is in Vista Del Campo, a bit pricey but its like living in a resort.

Anyone know if waitlisters can go to the second look day? I never got any emails about the second look, so I dont know. Maybe I should call and ask.

Anyways, wish me luck...being an alternate is stressing me out.
 
amoheban said:
Hey guys, I interviewed a while back but I am still on the waitlist. I would give anything to get off the list and join you guys!!!!

I went to UCI for undergrad and I loved it. The OC is great. Best housing is in Vista Del Campo, a bit pricey but its like living in a resort.

Anyone know if waitlisters can go to the second look day? I never got any emails about the second look, so I dont know. Maybe I should call and ask.

Anyways, wish me luck...being an alternate is stressing me out.
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bump

:cry: anyone out there :(:scared:
 
Welcome fellow Anteaters!

If you guys are on Facebook, search and find the group, UC IRVINE School of Medicine Class of 2012. You will find more classmates there!

Hopefully I'll see most of you guys on Revisit Day!
 
For those accepted, do you know what the first day of class/orientation is?
 
Hey everyone...I can't make second look this weekend. Let me know how it goes and any highlights! Thanks
 
Phlax64 said:
Hey everyone...I can't make second look this weekend. Let me know how it goes and any highlights! Thanks
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you got it! did you join our facebook?! :)
 
I most likely will be matriculating at UCI SOM this fall. Couldn't go to the revisit weekend though...
 
:) so revisit weekend is over! what did everyone think?? after being bummed about my formidable resume of waitlists, i feel so much better about uci the second time around. during my interview day i found it slightly bizarre that everyoneseemed so happy, but seeing it reinforced again really makes me feel confident in uci. the new hospital looks awesome. was kind of disappointed to find out that they don't have a county hospital system (goes to show what priorities the surrounding community has) and that uci free clinic is at a standstill right now, but i guess that might give us more of an opportunity to get involved in building it. :D

yay for uci!
 
i thought revisit weekend was great. loved the hardhat tour. faculty and current students were super nice too.

i was pretty sold - i am probably going to matriculate to uci..
 
go lakers said:
i thought revisit weekend was great. loved the hardhat tour. faculty and current students were super nice too.

i was pretty sold - i am probably going to matriculate to uci..
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hey go lakers;)

lakers are kicking, butt, hah?! :D Do you think they'll go all the way?

btw, who were you, may be I met you?
 
phomp said:
was kind of disappointed to find out that they don't have a county hospital system (goes to show what priorities the surrounding community has)
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This is kind of an odd quirk of Orange county. Basically, UCIMC used to be the county hospital - but when it went private there was no longer a county hospital. So there is a "spread out" system called MSI (medical services for the indigent). Its like a county wide medical system - all the private hospitals in the area take money for taking a certain number of uninsured patients. No its not a great system but they do have SOMETHING. Also, oddly we do have county psych, just not county med or surgery. So there are psych hospitals available for the uninsured.

and that uci free clinic is at a standstill right now, but i guess that might give us more of an opportunity to get involved in building it. :D
Click to expand...
Don't know who told you this but its not true.

I've been to 4 different meetings this week for free clinic. We are in the process of looking at a new site - are visiting next week and are still planning to be open by the time MSIs start in the fall (we can't open in the summer because us current first years aren't enrolled in the summer and wouldn't be covered legally). We will probably be having some run-throughs with fake patients in the summer though.

So definitely not a stand-still. Sure we had a bunch of set backs and some definite disapointments along the way but our current state is nothing I would call a stand-still and by the time you guys start there will be a strong, legal, well established clinic here at UCI.
 
alwaysaangel said:
This is kind of an odd quirk of Orange county. Basically, UCIMC used to be the county hospital - but when it went private there was no longer a county hospital. So there is a "spread out" system called MSI (medical services for the indigent). Its like a county wide medical system - all the private hospitals in the area take money for taking a certain number of uninsured patients. No its not a great system but they do have SOMETHING. Also, oddly we do have county psych, just not county med or surgery. So there are psych hospitals available for the uninsured.


Don't know who told you this but its not true.

I've been to 4 different meetings this week for free clinic. We are in the process of looking at a new site - are visiting next week and are still planning to be open by the time MSIs start in the fall (we can't open in the summer because us current first years aren't enrolled in the summer and wouldn't be covered legally). We will probably be having some run-throughs with fake patients in the summer though.

So definitely not a stand-still. Sure we had a bunch of set backs and some definite disapointments along the way but our current state is nothing I would call a stand-still and by the time you guys start there will be a strong, legal, well established clinic here at UCI.
Click to expand...

alwaysangel, are you referring to Clinica Carino? Do you know of any plans to make it available over the summer?

Thanks
 
mbk21 said:
alwaysangel, are you referring to Clinica Carino? Do you know of any plans to make it available over the summer?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Clinica carino is pretty much gone - its being expanded into a UCI student-run free clinic. We stopped Clinica back in Dec when we thought the clinic was going to open in January.

So no, as of now there will be no free clinic to work in over the summer - and even if there were incoming first years wouldn't be allowed to work in it for legal reasons.
 
thanks always angel. what i meant was that there had been setbacks not really at a standstill (sometimes i'm a drama queen...:p)

i knew through a friend of mine that they are looking at a new site and that they are hopeful to open soon. i worked with one of the current ms1s at uci to build a free clinic where we are from and know that at this point in the game, while activity is constant, there are many roadblocks that could still arise.

are you involved in the project as well?
 
phomp said:
thanks always angel. what i meant was that there had been setbacks not really at a standstill (sometimes i'm a drama queen...:p)

i knew through a friend of mine that they are looking at a new site and that they are hopeful to open soon. i worked with one of the current ms1s at uci to build a free clinic where we are from and know that at this point in the game, while activity is constant, there are many roadblocks that could still arise.

are you involved in the project as well?
Click to expand...

I'm one of the committee heads.
 
Hello All,

I'm brand new to these forums and just got accepted to UCI SOM this Monday! I was wondering if anyone could steer me to any groups I could join or any helpful links for an ill-informed first year student-to-be. I'm incredibly excited to come join you guys, cannot wait until August!

Also, anyone know the date of the white coat ceremony? Thanks!
 
Does anyone know when we'll find out about on-campus housing? I received my financial aid award and at the top it says that based on current information I am "Living on campus (Verano Place)." Does this mean that I have received housing at Verano or does everyone's say this because they calculated my housing costs based on the cheapest housing available? Thanks for your help!
 
hmm...i got a call from the housing office a couple of weeks ago and was instructed to fill out a guaranteed graduate housing application. did you fill one of these out? this is a different application than the one we filled out on interview day.

that said i haven't gotten my financial aid packet yet so i'm not sure how that is related. it says on my financial aid status page that my planned housing is "on campus (verano)" as well, though. you have the option of changing that under "report my changes" :confused:
 
detectiveman said:
Hello All,

I'm brand new to these forums and just got accepted to UCI SOM this Monday! I was wondering if anyone could steer me to any groups I could join or any helpful links for an ill-informed first year student-to-be. I'm incredibly excited to come join you guys, cannot wait until August!

Also, anyone know the date of the white coat ceremony? Thanks!
Click to expand...
join our facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10902597761

there are a lot of networking opportunities with the incoming ms1s and current ms1s
 
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