Questions or advice about UCSF?

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I wish I could...I wish I could...<sigh>
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If your LOI includes a significant update, than going onto a second page should be okay. But have someone read it critically, and ask them if they can make specific suggestions about how to make it shorter. Than compare the two versions.

I had to write a 500 word essay (or maybe it was less, in any case, rediculously short) to Case when applying for a scholarship. In order to answer the questions they posed, I thought I'd either have to be extremely general, or skip some of them. So I wrote a 1500 word essay, and then worked really hard with two people helping edit, to get it down to 500 words. That's 1/3 the original legnth. And you know what? The shorter essay conveyed all the points, and did it with more punch and emphasis. So get creative, I bet you can get it onto a page (without playing with the margins or the font size).
 
By the way, they still haven't posted the 2003 match list online, but they said they would soon. As soon as they do, I'll put it up for whomever had wanted that info.
 
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Is April 15 the last batch of mass acceptances? Anybody else still waiting?


I think my UCSF application is like the estrous cycle. About a week before the 15, I start getting nervous, stressed, and irritable, and sometimes depressed and sometimes I eat many cookies. Kinda like the week before my period starts.

BananaSplit
 
Uh, thanks for the info...:p
 
Originally posted by BananaSplit
Is April 15 the last batch of mass acceptances? Anybody else still waiting?


I think my UCSF application is like the estrous cycle. About a week before the 15, I start getting nervous, stressed, and irritable, and sometimes depressed and sometimes I eat many cookies. Kinda like the week before my period starts.

BananaSplit
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*giggle*
 
interviewed early Feb, sent LOI in early March, and put on high priority on April 8. the wait is torture, but i guess there's still hope. fellow high-priority peeps, I feel your pain!
 
I'm right there with you, mkmk.

I guess we still have a good chance. I hope anyway...
 
My God, it seems like only yesterday that I went through this. Good luck folks!
 
Originally posted by mkmk
interviewed early Feb, sent LOI in early March, and put on high priority on April 8. the wait is torture, but i guess there's still hope. fellow high-priority peeps, I feel your pain!
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Hey, mk! I interviewed near the end of Feb and got one of those letters too today. Too bad we missed the April 15 train, but at least only 1 more month til we hear again.

Thanks for posting a notice @ it. This was the only piece of mail in my box today, and if I didn't have any idea, it would have been even more heart-pounding to see that little envelop w/ the UCSF logo!:eek:
Now, time for me to go back and re-read the last 30 pages of this thread. :D
 
Hey UCSF students... I know that it is totally early, but just wanted your thoughts on the text books that you found useful or a total waste of money. Do most students buy all the books? Also, what equipment do UCSF students normally buy? Thanks.
 
I don't know if most students buy all the required text books. I didn't buy them all for one, but I also bought titles that were not recommended by the school. They were recommended to me by either my classmates or the previous classes. I had personal reasons not to buy certain text and opted to wait. However, I believe that by the end of the year, I will have all the recommended text and more.

Buying text books is a personal choice. Our curriculum is syllabus driven. You could argue that almost everything you need to learn is in the syllabus for each course. Whether or not you can afford to buy all the text books at the start comes into play too. Like you said, it is early.

As far as equipment, everyone must have a stethoscope. You can get away with not having a sphygmomanometer, opthalmoscope, and otoscope. The choice depends on how much you want to learn about physical examination skill. Having those things at your disposal at all time makes learning easier.

Just out of curiosity, are you coming to UCSF for medical school next year, jtheater?

I hope my answer helps.

Drako
 
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Originally posted by jtheater
Hey UCSF students... I know that it is totally early, but just wanted your thoughts on the text books that you found useful or a total waste of money. Do most students buy all the books? Also, what equipment do UCSF students normally buy? Thanks.
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Drako gave you some really good insight. Our syllabi are very good for almost every topic lectured on, and our exams do not test anything that is not covered in the syllabus. I started off medical school with a syllabus and Netter's Atlas. As time went on I did buy more texts b/c I wanted to have some references. Wheater's Histology was pretty helpful for Prologue, but there are plenty of online resources that provide lots of good slides for looking at Histology (and offer good text as well). During Cardiovascular I bought Lange's Pathophysiology of Disease (written by physicians at UCSF) b/c it is extremely well oriented and provides cases at the end of the chapters (which are similar to some of our exams). This book was really helpful for Cardio, Pulm, and Renal. Also during Cardio I bought Lippincott's Pharmacology Review book, which is often used for boards. There are so many drugs thrown at you in cardio...I wanted a book that broke them all down in a simple manner. If Katsung heard this he might be pissed, but his textbook is WAY too detailed for me. It is a great book, but I was looking for something a little more quick and easy to follow. Midway through the renal block I bought Robbin's Pathologic Basis of Disease. This book is a must in my opinion. It is extremely well written, has a lot of path images, solid explanations of pathophysio, and even discusses epidemiology from time to time. It is like our syllabi, but with more detail. So, my incredibly long-winded answer is that I have bought 5 texts. If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought Netter's and Robbin's in the beginning of the school year. The Lange book is good, but Robbin's is enough in my opinion. I would also consider buying BRS path, physio, and pharm from the start. These are board review books that are in outline form. After browsing through some of them, I think they are really good study tools and also think that it wouldn't hurt during our blocks to flip through the relevant material and maybe jot done some things that are in the syllabus.

This may sound like a lot, but it isn't. I usually try to stay caught up with the syllabus reading and get a very good understanding of the material. Then, a few days before the exam, I'll read Robbin's casually. It just helps me to see it written in a different way.

Required (in my opinion)
1. Netter
2. Robbin's (could check it out of library and spend a couple hours reading the chapters relevant to the course you are).

Helpful
1. Wheater's
2. Lange's Pathophys
3. Pharm review book
 
This thread is great to read! Thanks to everyone for participating. I am on that "high priority" waiting list too.

I live in the North Bay and would like to come down and shadow a current M1 or M2 student on a Monday. Is there anyone willing to volunteer?

I am also on the Berkeley JMP "high priority" waiting list. Does anyone have information on how many people get off the wait list?
 
Hi Katshore,
I am very interested in applying to the JMP net year... I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts about the program, your interview experiences, and what you think the JMP is looking for in an applicant. Good luck hearing back from UCSF!
 
Hey UCSFers--

I had another question about High Priority (which I am on).

Does this mean that the class is already filled? Or are the people taken from this list the last people to fill the class?

Thanks a lot for the help guys. :D
 
I would also just chime in to reiterate souljah1's excellent suggestion of getting your hands on BRS Phys and Path early on. As I am sitting here reviewing for Step I (taking it this Friday), I keep thinking to myself how I wished I had at least skimmed this material beforehand. The Phys is explained in a very clear and concise fashion. Also, for Path there are a bunch of diseases and associations that are necessary to know for the boards, but that we did not cover in medical school classes. So it would have helped to have a head start.

Anyway, you'll get a better of idea of what textbooks and equipment you will need during orientation. My one suggestion here would be that since the blocks are only 8 weeks long (in general), they tend to fly by. Therefore, you definitely want to keep up with the material and not get too behind (it is amazing how much material is covered even in a single day).

Okay, enough diversion... back to studying. Happy happy, joy joy. :)
 
Originally posted by Vader
I would also just chime in to reiterate souljah1's excellent suggestion of getting your hands on BRS Phys and Path early on. As I am sitting here reviewing for Step I (taking it this Friday), I keep thinking to myself how I wished I had at least skimmed this material beforehand. The Phys is explained in a very clear and concise fashion. Also, for Path there are a bunch of diseases and associations that are necessary to know for the boards, but that we did not cover in medical school classes. So it would have helped to have a head start.

Anyway, you'll get a better of idea of what textbooks and equipment you will need during orientation. My one suggestion here would be that since the blocks are only 8 weeks long (in general), they tend to fly by. Therefore, you definitely want to keep up with the material and not get too behind (it is amazing how much material is covered even in a single day).

Okay, enough diversion... back to studying. Happy happy, joy joy. :)
Click to expand...

Vader,

Good luck on Step 1! We first years have full faith in you guys. I'd love to pick your brain sometime about study habits, review materials, etc. However, I will leave you alone until your exam is over. Again, kick some ass!
 
Originally posted by UCSBPre-Med1
Hey UCSFers--

I had another question about High Priority (which I am on).

Does this mean that the class is already filled? Or are the people taken from this list the last people to fill the class?

Thanks a lot for the help guys. :D
Click to expand...


UCSBPre-med1,

I asked a similar question to yours on page 10 of this thread:

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54221&perpage=20&pagenumber=10

Please read it and Souljah's and UCSFgirl's response to it.
Good luck to those on high priority!
 
Hi all,
Here are some questions to add to the pot. (Please let me know if they have already been asked)
1. Can you tell me what the call schedule is like for clinical rotations? Some schools have a set time for student to leave on call nights, like 10 or 11 p.m. Does UCSF have a set schedule?

2. Good luck to all the UCSFers preparing for the boards. When do you think we will be able to learn of their impressions?

Thanks,
Sdnsdn
 
Hey jabroni--

Thanks, but that didn't really answer all my questions.

Are we on a waitlist?, meaning, has the class been filled already, or are we going to be the last few to fill the class?

Thanks in advance for answering UCSFers.
 
Originally posted by UCSBPre-Med1
Hey jabroni--

Thanks, but that didn't really answer all my questions.

Are we on a waitlist?, meaning, has the class been filled already, or are we going to be the last few to fill the class?

Thanks in advance for answering UCSFers.
Click to expand...

Essentially, yes you are on a waitlist. They have sent out enough acceptances (or will shortly) to fill the class. However, acceptances will be turned down, and when the amount of acceptances given that are accepted becomes less than 141, then they'll start pulling people off the waitlist. On May 15th, our adcom will have a much better idea about how many people who were given acceptances held on to them.

Let me give you an example that should clear things up.

We interview somewhere around 500
We accept somewhere around 190
We grant high priority to around 100

Let's say only 110 of the applicants offerred acceptances decide to choose UCSF. When May 15th rolls around the adcom will see that out of the 190 acceptances granted, only 110 accepted. So, they will pull 31 people off their waitlist (or grant acceptances to people that they might not have decided on yet). The details are not known, but this is the general idea. They accept more than the seats available, knowing that some students decide to go elsewhere. They fill the void with the high priority list. I do know that the top half of the high priority has a very very good chance of an acceptance, but they have to sometimes wait until the end of May, June, July, or even August.

I hope that clears things up a bit.

Best of luck!! You still have a great chance!
 
Originally posted by souljah1
We interview somewhere around 500
We accept somewhere around 190
We grant high priority to around 100

Let's say only 110 of the applicants offerred acceptances decide to choose UCSF. When May 15th rolls around the adcom will see that out of the 190 acceptances granted, only 110 accepted. So, they will pull 31 people off their waitlist (or grant acceptances to people that they might not have decided on yet).
Click to expand...
Hi souljah,

I faintly remember that the total # of acceptances last year for UCSF posted in U.S. News was around 260 (almost twice the class size). Is this number too high? From the scenario you described, the total accepted would be much less, around 220 or so.
 
Hi, I just had a question about the High Priority group. Once we're on it after May 15th, should we call the Admissions Office every so often to inquire about our status to show our interest? Or do you think it would be nagging them?

Thanks,

James
 
Hello! Another question ...

i went to a private undergrad college and feel that I've gotten really great support and pre-med/professional advising while here. I'm a little nervous about making the switch to a public institution, even though I know that UCSF is small and friendly. :) I'd be curious to hear whether you UCSFers who went to private colleges feel that the support and advising at UCSF is adequate (in terms of career/residency advising, academics, life in general ... ). And, do you think that the level of support/advising at UCSF is comparable to top private med schools, like at Harvard?

I know that UCSFgirl commented on this awhile ago, but any other comments would be appreciated! thanks!
 
Hey thanks, souljah1!

A waitlist huh? I thought my chances were a little better than that...

So basically I'm waiting for others to turn down acceptances? Why don't they just tell us that we're on a "waitlist," I think its a little less deceiving... :(

I was excited about High Priority until you just said that. I guess I'm just on a waitlist, again...
 
Originally posted by goldenbears18
Hello! Another question ...

i went to a private undergrad college and feel that I've gotten really great support and pre-med/professional advising while here. I'm a little nervous about making the switch to a public institution, even though I know that UCSF is small and friendly. :) I'd be curious to hear whether you UCSFers who went to private colleges feel that the support and advising at UCSF is adequate (in terms of career/residency advising, academics, life in general ... ). And, do you think that the level of support/advising at UCSF is comparable to top private med schools, like at Harvard?

I know that UCSFgirl commented on this awhile ago, but any other comments would be appreciated! thanks!
Click to expand...

Do you know of a medical school where first-year med students work along side the school's Deans to improve the curriculum? I can answer in the affirmative for UCSF because I have personal experience. In fact, I am going to be working with one of my Deans again to improve a certain segment of our awesome curriculum. You can talk to any of the Deans at any time you want. They love to have you drop by and say hi.

We have a system where the class is divided into Colleges with one Advisor per College. The Advisor is one of the many individuals that you could talk to about anything. From personal experience, I absolutely love my Advisor. Dr. Hughes rules!

There is also the Student Well-Being Program, whose staff is accessible to you at all time if you need help, personal or academic. The staff consists of professionals who are trained to help you with issues related to your personal life, academia, etc. They are only one phone call away or a two-minute walk across the street.

Each department has Career Advisor(s). They are faculty members who volunteer their time to answer, guide, and direct you on your path to finding a career that suits you. I have talked to quite a few.

What specialty do you like? Internal Med? Surgery? OB/GYN? There are many seminars, presentations, discussion groups that are organized by students and residents. They have one common goal; to give you the best damn information and advice that will help you to make the best darn decision you can make about your career choice. As a bonus, they give you free lunch/dinner for attending. What more can you ask for???

Guess what else? The faculty is full of people who are eager to hear from you, have you come to their labs, drag you on rounds, talk to you, etc. They love it! I emailed one guy and got a reply back the same day. We scheduled an appointment to meet. Two days later, I was doing rounds, scrubbing in, and assisting with surgery. Awesome or what?

All in all, everyone of us is happy here! We have it made! We got SF the City and we got UCSF SOM. Did I tell you that the weather is gorgeous outside? And you know what? We have our classmates. They are our support too!

By the way, the things I listed are the obvious. They don't make up the complete list because the list is too long.

Now I get back to studying! Exam in five days! argh!

Cheers,

Drako
 
Originally posted by sdnsdn
Hi all,
Here are some questions to add to the pot. (Please let me know if they have already been asked)
1. Can you tell me what the call schedule is like for clinical rotations? Some schools have a set time for student to leave on call nights, like 10 or 11 p.m. Does UCSF have a set schedule?

2. Good luck to all the UCSFers preparing for the boards. When do you think we will be able to learn of their impressions?

Thanks,
Sdnsdn
Click to expand...

Ok, I couldn't stay away from SDN that long... (breaktime between neuroanatomy and neuropathology studying).

1. The call schedule depends on the particular rotation and location. Some gross oversimplifications: In general, Moffitt and SFGH have the most intense call schedule with longest hours. VA is generally a little lighter and CPMC lighter still. However, it really depends on what rotation you are talking about. In general, medicine, surgery, and ob/gyn are longer hours, while FCM is shorter. Neuro/psych and peds usually fall somewhere in between. I am not sure as to the "official" policy on time students are supposed to be let go (or even if an official policy exists), but I have seen that it largely depends on how much effort you put in, how fast you can write up charts, and often how anal your team is.

2. Some have already taken Step I by now, others (like me) have it coming up soon (i.e. at the end of this week). By around April 22nd, nearly all of my class should have taken the exam because rotations start shortly after that (and we are henceforth no longer 2nd years!). Although my brain will likely be in a state of disrepair, I will post my impressions after I take the exam as soon as I can get to a computer! :)
 
I just found out that I am high priority at UCSF which is both fantastic and kinda suckie at the same time...its good cuz i thought i had the worst interview ever there and thought i would def be rejected...its bad cuz the waiting game continues...besides a letter of intent and an update letter (there is really nothing to update them about) what else can i do to help myself out...i would give anything to go to this school...which i know a lot of ppl would but hey its the truth....so any advice would rock my world
 
Originally posted by UCSBPre-Med1
Hey thanks, souljah1!

A waitlist huh? I thought my chances were a little better than that...

So basically I'm waiting for others to turn down acceptances? Why don't they just tell us that we're on a "waitlist," I think its a little less deceiving... :(

I was excited about High Priority until you just said that. I guess I'm just on a waitlist, again...
Click to expand...

to ucsbpremed and complexpuzzle:

when did you guys interview and when exactly did you receive notifications of high priority (post-mark date and date of receipt?)

i interviewed mid february and am expecting to hear soon... nervously waiting...
 
Interviewed: 1/15
High Prioritied: 3/27
 
i'm on the low priority group.. i'm assuming that's bad

on the letter they wrote:

"There is a better chance of walking spoons, whatever the **** that means. Basically, you are not getting in. But- if the rest of the applicants happen to fall prey to lethal diahrrea (or something of those sorts) you might have some feather of a chance. Don't hold your breath."

I'm excited. I plan to call early next week!

Yay!! :)
 
UCSBPre-Med1, I wish you the best of luck in getting into UCSF. I have two friends who are 3rd year med students at UCSF. They were both placed on the high priority list and both had gotten acceptances to UCSF about two months or so (in June before their school year had started). So I wanted to let you know that people do get in off the high priority list and I hope the same happens for you. Good luck and stay positive.
 
Hey thanks a lot for the kind words, uclamendoza.

I hope I get in, and I'm going to "try" to stay positive. :D
 
No problem UCSBPre-Med1. I hope that it works out for you in terms of UCSF and/or UC Davis. As for me, I am awaiting word from Drew/UCLA, which is my first choice. Any advice or helpful tips? Let me know if you can. Again, good luck!
 
scifi-
thought I might add my info for ya.

interviewed 2/6
high priority postmarked 4/8
received 4/10

and thanks to everyone in general for being so damn positive and helpful!
 
I just want to wish all those on the high priority list and those still waiting to hear good luck. Just to let you guys know, I actually sent them a Letter of Intent about two weeks after I interviewed and was ultimately accepted. I feel priviliged and honored to join the ranks of the rest of the UCSF students out there (both current and future). Thanks for all the help on this thread, by the way. To my future classmates out there, I just want to say, WHAAAAAAAAAAT UP. Can't wait to tear that place up (in a good way, of course):laugh:
 
thanks for the info, ucsbpremed and mkmk and congrats on high priority! :clap:

anyone else heard anything lately??
 
scifi
i interviewed 2/26 or something like that
got letter 4/12 postmarked 4/8 hope that helps
 
thanks, dude;)
 
One *last* question about high priority!

After May 15, how will we know our ranking? Will they tell us, or will they not? Also, about how long do you guys think it will be after the 15th that we will find out anything?

Thanks!
 
question about the high priority as well...i read earlier in the thread that there was a separate in-state and out-of-state high priority list. if this is so is it 100 people per list or is 100 just the total number for anyone considered high priority... if it is just 100 total for people considered high priority does anyone know in general about how many out-of-state high priorities compared to in-state there are...i imagine that this out-of-state group would be much smaller...but just trying to figure out how movement would occur if in fact two different lists do exist
 
As far as I know, there is only one high priority list, and if you should get a letter saying whether you are in the top half of the list (good chance of eventual acceptance) or the bottom half (bad chance of acceptance). You won't be told anything beyond top half or bottom half in terms of ranking. I got my top half notice last year in May I believe. I haven't heard of a separate list for out of staters, and the comments I got when I was waiting last summer make me believe that there is just one list.

Complex puzzle: If you don't have a real update, don't send one. Just send a letter of continued interest every few weeks. They know if you are stretching to create an update.

Goldenbears18: Is there some sort of advising you are specifically concerned about? I feel that we are very well supported, and because there isn't a big undergrad population, we get pretty much undivided attention from the faculty. But maybe there's something specific you are seeking?

Books:

Just proof that everyone studies differently, here's my opinions on books. I bought all the required books but the genetics one at the beginning of the year. I also have used books I got as an undergrad or that seemed useful to supplement the courses. I've used all of them, but the most useful for me have been:

Netter's anatomy atlas
*Martini's Human Anatomy (more text, I found it useful but not necessary)
*Kapit & Elson's The Anatomy Coloring Book
Levy's Physiology (this was indispensible to me in the Cardio block)
Wheater's Histology
Mosby's Physical Exam (so useful, and often underrated by my busy classmates)
*American Heritage version of Stedman's Medical Dictionary (it's alphabetical rather than catagorical)
*Lippincott's Hematologic Pathophysiology (I really like hematology, and the syllabus wasn't enough, plus I wanted pictures)

Less useful:

Katzung's Pharmacology (I really enjoyed being able to read and understand the why's of pharmaconetics in Prologue, but haven't opened it much sense. It's less useful for learning about specific drugs than the physiologic properties of drug families.)
Robbin's Pathologic Basis for Disease

Not useful:

Lange Pathophysiology. It's all covered in the other books, which I liked better stylistically.

* Not required/recommended by UCSF.

I might be interested in selling some of the books I liked less or am done with to incoming students, so if you are planning to buy everything, PM me.
 
Thanks for the info you guys! You all are so helpful. Everyone on high priority...keep your head up! I know I'm trying hard to. Guess it's time to write those letters...:oops: ;)
 
Yeah I wrote mine and sent it in last week. I *really* hope it helps me get into the top half of that list!
 
Hi guys!
This forum and I just don't get along anymore b/c I'm never informed when there's postings! if you'd like to pm me, please just email me [email protected]

Erin is totally right from what I've heard about getting informed about one's status after may 15, you should be getting a letter that's postmarked may 15th or a few days later.

However, from what I've heard, there's two waitlists, one for in state, one for outstate. I don't know the porportion that get off of each list, but I'm guessing it's about equal. I would try to not obsess over it, however, because being ranked high on either list is probalby more important than which list your on so send in those updates!!

Good luck!!! and hope to see you at accepted students weekend! remember to stay for the sunday event!! (my thing =) shameless plug!!

Bien:love:
 
Well, it's April 16, the last round of mass acceptances *should* have gone out yesterday.

Does anybody have any good news yet? Today, I came home to an anemic mailbox with just one peice of mail telling me to renew my subscription to the Wall Street Journal (vestige of Princeton Review days).

Yesterday, I actually stood near my mailbox waiting for my mailman to sort the mail. I live in an apt building with about 150 other people. I know, it's kinda pathetic, but oh well. Good luck to everyone hoping to hear this week and those on high priority!


BananaSplit
 
hey, i'm stalking my mailman, too. only i am more covert about it and just watch from my window. only got a bank statement today.... :confused:

nervously waiting...
 
So has anyone heard back from UCSF recently about an acceptance, waitlist, or rejection? This is the last school that I'm waiting to hear back from, and the anticipation is killing me.
 
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