UCLA -- anybody?

[stressedout]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone's received invites from UCLA recently. I submitted at the end of September and am anxiously waiting

IF so, could you post when your app was complete. thanx!

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[JonnieQuest]

I'm in your same boat...complete since late Sept and still waiting. so i called today and the secretary (as rude as always!) manages to say that "the process is slow around here."

"No ****, Sherlock!" I wanted to scream. but i kindly thanked her, got her name, and added one more name to my list of people I won't treat if they come into the ER when I'm a doctor.

 

[calebho501]

UCLA IS slow, but at least they don't send out the first acceptance until January or so, so if you interview before X'mas, you shouldn't be at a disadvantage.

For me, it took a month after I completed my app before I get an interview. They do everything by snail mail (Including the invitation, scheduling, and confirmation of interview date) so basically it's a lot of waiting

 

[Weeble]

hey guys,

i'm a 2nd year at UCLA, here to personally apologize for our atrocious, glacial, excruciating slowness. It took me sixteen weeks to hear a decision after my interview, and I'm not even the record holder in my class. Just know that the admissions office/process at UCLA is an anomaly, you are absolutely NOT treated like this as a student, quite the opposite in fact.

Feel free to ask me any questions about the school if you like, I'll try to answer as best I can (new curriculum for years one and two, I am the last of the old curriculum, a dying and obsolete breed ) and don't be too mad at me if it takes me a day or so to answer, I'm not up to the lightning quick pace of this board anymore!

 

[qwerty one]

My file was complete in early September...nothing yet.

 

[jlee9531]

yeah you late sept guys are gonna have to wait a while.

i was complete late august and still nothing.

i know my friend got an invite and i think they are taking superstars right now.

since i am not a superstar i am waiting my turn after they get through those applicants to see if i can get some love from them.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I'm not a superstar, nor an URM, and I just finished with my interview on 11/03. The interview went really well in fact. Was quite laid back. Very impressed with the breadth of opportunities available at DG UCLA MS (That's a loaded acronym). I can also echo that the admission's office personel were very accomodating and helpful. UCLA is great and is my first choice. I hope I can be part of next year's entering class. The new integrated curriculum should have most of the kinks worked out by the time next year's class gets to it. In addition, by the time next year's class starts clinicals, they will get to do rotations in the new state of the art medical center (ooohhhh.... it sends tingles up and down my spine... drool.............)

I wouldn't worry though if you haven't gotten an invite yet. They are doing it extremely slowly; taking there time with each interviewee--making sure that they really know the applicant on the other side of the amcas application. It's a good thing. Might consider sending a letter of intent??? Possibly saying what some of your reasons why UCLA might be your top pick. Couldn't hurt I suppose.

 

[calebho501]

I doubt only superstars are interviewed first. They probably have someone reviewing files with last name A-D, another person E-H, etc.

So the person reviewing last name with H's is probably a fast person, so I get interview early

 

[somekevinguy]

i was complete in late sept. and called today just to fig out approximately how long it would take......well...the lady said "give us another month"......sslllllooowwwww

 

[Lux Aeterna]

bump...anyone get any invites lately? (especially interested in out of state invites).... if so, when were you complete? (i'd love to get an invite....been complete since early october)

 

[calebho501]

Originally posted by Lux Aeterna
bump...anyone get any invites lately? (especially interested in out of state invites).... if so, when were you complete? (i'd love to get an invite....been complete since early october)

I'm actually out of state although I'm a UCLA Undergrad. Technically, I'm out of country, because I'm applying as an international student...As I said before, UCLA is slow (One of my friends caught the admission people reading newspaper/magazines instead of applications, when he dropped by the med school admission office to ask something )

Interview invite can come as early as within a month of completion.

 

[SUPERSTARZ]

Wow. I had no idea they were so slow. I guess I won't be holding my breath on this school. I've been complete since late September and nothing. . . hhmm. . . .well, chins up! There is always the spring!

 

[snowbear]

Originally posted by Weeble
hey guys,

Feel free to ask me any questions about the school if you like, I'll try to answer as best I can (new curriculum for years one and two, I am the last of the old curriculum, a dying and obsolete breed ) and don't be too mad at me if it takes me a day or so to answer, I'm not up to the lightning quick pace of this board anymore!

Weeble,

I went to UCLA undergrad and I heard a HORRIBLE rumor that UCLA med does not like taking UCLA undergrads. Do you know if this is true? I know some UCLA medstudents that went to UCLA undergrad, but they all got in off the waitlist very late in the game.

Everyone else too,

Have any of you guys that hadn't heard back before, received invites? I was complete in late Sep and nothing. I would really like to go there, do you think I should communicate this to them? Anyone with any updates about UCLA, let me know.

Thanks, Nissa

 

[Weeble]

hey Nissa,

I think that impression might come from the fact that there are so many premeds at UCLA that it comes to seem like no one gets in. In fact, there are more people who went to UCLA undergrad in my class than anywhere else (about 40).

Hang in there!

 

[usmaple]

Originally posted by Lux Aeterna
bump...anyone get any invites lately? (especially interested in out of state invites).... if so, when were you complete? (i'd love to get an invite....been complete since early october)

Just got mine in the mail today. According to their status page I was complete on 10/1, and I'm out-of-state, so yours should be coming up soon if you were complete in early October.

I'm beyond broke, though - anyone want to sponsor me? You'll get a great postcard....

 

[Weeble]

hey Nissa,

I think that impression might come from the fact that there are so many premeds at UCLA that it comes to seem like no one gets in. In fact, there are more people who went to UCLA undergrad in my class than anywhere else (about 40).

Hang in there!

 

[Dr. Xavier]

I agree w/weeble on the so many ucla premed thing that it seems like no one gets in from undergrad. But in my class the largest group of student came from ucla undergrad as well (about 30). And if you have questions about the new curriculum, just ask and I'll see what I can answer.

 

[somekevinguy]

any updates as far as interview invites? all this waiting is no fun at all...blech..been complete since september and i think my app is fairly strong.....call?

 

[stressedout]

nuthin here...been complete since late sept too....sniff,sniff

 

[jlee9531]

complete since late august....

damn i gotta email or something soon....

 

[stressedout]

hey, just to let you know, don't even try emailing. i know, from first hand experience, that they never respond. just call. i tried last week and the lady told me to just look up my status on the website. but, maybe you can get someone more helpful on the line!

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by stressedout
hey, just to let you know, don't even try emailing. i know, from first hand experience, that they never respond. just call. i tried last week and the lady told me to just look up my status on the website. but, maybe you can get someone more helpful on the line!

haha typical answers from the ad office....thanks for the heads up man...

 

[stressedout]

so, i just called. the woman basically said we'd hear back in the couple of weeks and at the latest the 1st of Jan...let's see if this comes true! p.s. i'm a girl he he.

 

[calebho501]

Yea I doubt the admission office will tell you anything. They do everything by online status check and snailmail. You can't even schedule your interview date by phone or by dropping by the office in person (That's just annoying btw)

 

[ehd327]

Hey Weeble,

I completed my app mid-august and no reply for an interview yet. However, on my app I had not published any scientific papers. Recently, I published a paper in a well respected journal. Should I inform the UCLA adcom of this in a letter of intent? (FYI: UCLA is my top choice)

Thanks,
ehd327

 

[Weeble]

Hey ehd327,

Absolutely! Legitimate new information (publications, awards, etc. etc.) can never hurt you and same goes for letting a school know they're your top choice. Call first and see if there's anyone you can put in an ATTN: line on the envelope to make things go a little faster.

Hang in there!

ps. Weeble's official tip for making the holidays a little easier is as follows. If you (or a parent) has email addresses for any family and friends you might be seeing over the break, send 'em all a mass email with a med school update (and maybe even a gag rule on the subject). Hopefully they'll talk amongst themselves and you won't get flogged with questions you can't answer and don't want to think about.

 

[WuzUpDoc]

ok, so i called ucla this morning, and once again, the unfairness and randomness of this whole process was made abundantly apparent......

i have been complete at ucla since 8/29/03... the nice lady on the phone informed me that i did not go to committee until early november, when i was put on hold for a month. isince it has been a month since then, my file is in the hands of the reviewer as we speak, and they are not given a deadline for returning it... so most likely i will not hear back until january she said, when i will get a letter informing me of my status (interview, hold, reject...).

so i asked her if it was normal to be complete so long before actually being reviewed and she said the screening process was completely RANDOM. they have around 5500 apps this year and RANDOMLY pick applications to review. this pisses me off cuz i was complete pretty early! the only thing that can make me feel even a tiny bit better is that she said that timing doesn't really matter until after january when the admissions process becomes rolling.

i also asked if i should send more letters or updates or whatever, and she said that since my file was physically out of the office, there really wouldn't be a point until january when it is expected to come back.... so my next point is... what if the dude/dudette who has my file loses it or forgets about it---how can they let the reviewers keep them for so long?!?! argh!!! this process sucks soooooo hard!!!!

 

[kwanny]

Originally posted by WuzUpDoc
ok, so i called ucla this morning, and once again, the unfairness and randomness of this whole process was made abundantly apparent......

i have been complete at ucla since 8/29/03... the nice lady on the phone informed me that i did not go to committee until early november, when i was put on hold for a month. isince it has been a month since then, my file is in the hands of the reviewer as we speak, and they are not given a deadline for returning it... so most likely i will not hear back until january she said, when i will get a letter informing me of my status (interview, hold, reject...).

so i asked her if it was normal to be complete so long before actually being reviewed and she said the screening process was completely RANDOM. they have around 5500 apps this year and RANDOMLY pick applications to review. this pisses me off cuz i was complete pretty early! the only thing that can make me feel even a tiny bit better is that she said that timing doesn't really matter until after january when the admissions process becomes rolling.

i also asked if i should send more letters or updates or whatever, and she said that since my file was physically out of the office, there really wouldn't be a point until january when it is expected to come back.... so my next point is... what if the dude/dudette who has my file loses it or forgets about it---how can they let the reviewers keep them for so long?!?! argh!!! this process sucks soooooo hard!!!!

What the... That's seriously messed up.

 

[ehd327]

Wow, I hope all the UC's are not like that. On a positive note: WuzUpDoc, I think you are the only one to get through to some adcom and actually get a complete answer about their process and status of your app. I wish all adcom reps would tell the truth instead of jerking you around with lines like "were are reviewing your file...thank you...bye bye."

Randomness--the pre-med's worst enemy.

 

[Legend123]

We have created a big monster

We need 10 more UC med schools in Calif. Hang in there dude.

 

[calebho501]

It's worth the wait. UCLA is a good school, although I dislike L.A. the city itself sometimes (Public transportation: Weak. Weather: Hot like hell in summer)

 

[Lux Aeterna]

Yeah, this is gonna be quite awhile. I called the admissions office today... I've been complete since October...my file has not even gone out for screening yet!

I would love an interview though, so I guess I just have to suck it up and wait!

 

[jlee9531]

damn what was the damn point in filling out that crap so early if theoretically someone that just sent it in a couple weeks ago can get reviewed before me???

especially for a rolling ad school.....

thats just whatevs....

 

[WuzUpDoc]

this whole process sucks big-fat-hairy-mother kind... esp since ucla is my top choice! everyone always says "APPLY EARLY." well, i did! now i feel like i am getting lapped by everyone. grrrrrrrrr

 

[WuzUpDoc]

o ya, and what ever happened to being reviewed in the order it was received??? the lady made me think that only applied AFTER january... now what's with that???

but i still secretly think they reviewed everyone once when the file was first completed then put them in two piles: NOW and LATER. the lucky bastards in the "now" file must have been reviewed (but randomly) and granted interviews early on... now, since they are getting close to accepting from their "now" pool, they have also begun reviewing (albeit randomly again) the "later" pool.... does this make sense? i may be talking out of my poop chute, but that's what hours of boredom at work will do to you

 

[Violinrose]

I am still stuck on the 5,500 people applying conundrum. It use to be a max of 3,400 for a UC (at least a couple of years ago). I know that the rising numbers have to do with factors such as the economy and job opportunity but my my what an increase

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Violinrose
I am still stuck on the 5,500 people applying conundrum. It use to be a max of 3,400 for a UC (at least a couple of years ago). I know that the rising numbers have to do with factors such as the economy and job opportunity but my my what an increase

yeah we picked a bad year to apply....but what can we do?
wait another year? nah...

but that is quite an increase...

 

[Arginine]

Hey everyone,
I was in your position last year and I know how incredibly frustrating it can be--I did not get an invitation for a secondary from UCLA until 5 months after they received my AMCAS!!! My interview was not scheduled until the first week of April, so I totally missed their second-look weekend. Both my interviewers said they were perplexed as to why I did not get interviewed earlier in the process. It was a nail-biting, hair-pulling ride with UCLA (slower than any of the other UC's), but they redeemed themselves by offering me an acceptance 2 weeks after my interview. Bottom line: hang in there--you never know what will happen. And I promise you, they treat med students much much much more nicely...please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the new curriculum.

 

[Lux Aeterna]

bump

i realize we may have a long wait, but any good news RE: interview for anyone lately?

 

[ehd327]

Bump, Bump, Bump!

Any news?

 

[snowbear]

Okay, so I looked on their website early this morning right when I got to work, and nothing Normally, I will only allow myself to look once a day, but I had some downtime at work and I said what the hell and looked again...

They want to interview me!!! Hooray! I was so happy to get that I just started dancing by my desk at work. If u want a glimpse at how crazy I was, check out my posting on the big interview list. Anywho, after a long wait (complete since end of Sep.), I am stoked! Maybe this means good luck for others too!

Too bad I just got back from USC yesterday

I think I am going to be fired from my job for these interviews but oh well!

 

[Lux Aeterna]

Yeah snowbear!!! good stuff
of course, I have to know when your file was complete ... do tell! (unless you said it already somewhere and i missed it--woops! )

rock those interviews!!

eta- ok i just read this thread again and you said it right above my post. thank goodness it is friday, my brain is fried

 

[ice_23]

I was just wondering; did you guys have to submit an extra transcript to the office, or only after the interview?

A friend of mine submitted a while ago, but hasn't even received a complete email yet (he submitted on 9/24)...should he have sent in another transcript? He seems to think so because there is a blank space for the "date received" next to the transcript box on his status page...


-Ice

 

[fakeplaztiktree]

If they request an interview, UCLA will request a transcript be sent to them.

 

[sinnah83]

UCLA is really slow in updating the status. I sent my transcript in early october and it didn't show on the site until 11/10.
They ask for the transcript when you interiew but you don't have to send it in right away.

 

[snowbear]

Okay, I need some help from UCLA med students and people who have already interviewed. I found out this morning I am interviewing there tomorrow because of a cancellation.

I need to find out a lot about David Geffen School of Medicine in a short time. Curriculum? Anything anyone wants to share, please help me.

Thanks SDNers

 

[jlee9531]

3.5 months and they still havent even reviewed my file yet...

 

[Lux Aeterna]

Woohoo, I called and I'm finally being reviewed by the committee. They said they would have a decision by the 1st of the year.

** pleeeeeease decide to interview me UCLA!!! **

I also think the first notice of post- secondary rejections are supposed to go out mid to the end of January.