Application Cycle One: 06/26/2014

• Undergraduate college: UC Davis
• Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology

• Total MCAT SCORE: 514
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 129, CARS 126   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.80
• Science GPA: 3.86

Summary of Application Experience

UC Davis School of Medicine Medical Education Program

Pros: Great student-run clinic system, opportunities for research, atmosphere is verrrry supportive (students, faculty, staff)

Cons: Hot Weather, do not emphasize research as much I'd like them to

Interview Day:
Check-in
Meet Francis Sousa, MD & Roy Rai (Run admissions and MMI)
Group Interview w/ dean of admissions (Dr. Henderson)
- Name. where you are from, undergraduate school, specialty of choice and what led you there
Tour of hospital w/ a MS4
Lunch/presentation w/ med students
MMI
Conclusion

Will notify you of a decision 2 weeks after interview (However, 10/15 is the earliest you can find out)



Charles R. Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program

Interview Day:

There is free parking provided by the school in the school parking lot/structure. The day was scheduled to begin at 9am. However, I checked in earlier (around 8:20-8:30). Once I walked in, I received a clipboard with the schedule for the day. After receiving this, I was led to the lobby where already many applicants were sitting at a table. Until 9am, the applicants conversed with each other, which was interesting and intimidating.

The day began when Joseph Corrao, Director of Student Affairs and Admissions, introduced himself and spoke to us about what was planned for the day. He was warm and welcoming. His humor was also quite enjoyable and eased my nerves. You definitely get the feeling that the school is trying really hard to get to know you. This interview is low-stress and Mr. Corrao emphasized that during his introduction.

The interview day consists of a few different parts. There is group exercise with 7 applicants. 20 min writing exercise. An overview of what the program has to offer. Lastly, a MMI section.

As far as the program is concerned, it has many amazing components. Firstly, it is a sweet deal. Not only do you get to utilize the resources Drew has to offer, but you also get to use the resources UCLA has in place. The 3rd year clerkships are offered all over Los Angeles and allow the Drew student to get experience in many different communities. There is a mandatory research thesis which can be almost anything. During the pre-clerkship years, you have opportunities to do preceptorships and work at some clinics.

All in all, Drew is a great school to attend.

However, where the school is located is very run-down (It is after all located in an underserved community). Also, MLK Hospital, although reopening very soon, will not be accessible for teaching until MAYBE 2016 or 2017.



UCSF School of Medicine

Interview Day:

The day spans from 8am to 5om--very long day. I was unfortunate to have little sleep the night before and I paid the price midday.

The day begins by the applicants meeting in a room (8 of us that day). In that room we had about 20-30 minutes to speak with each other and a MS4. This was not part of the interview process, but it was interesting to see where everyone was from. Finally, the MS4 left and the dean of admissions came into the room.

The Dean of admissions is hands down the best dean of admissions I have met so far. He is kind and welcoming. He spent his hour with us detailing how the admissions process works at UCSF and how it contrasts with other schools. Essentially, if you have landed a UCSF interview you are very likely to attend a top medical school. Anyways, this ego boost made the process much less frightening. Moreover, he explained that the interview is not the final frontier to admissions at UCSF. Although many of us see the interview as the last thing we as an applicant need to get through in order to obtain admission, UCSF sees it as a part of the application that is meant to augment the application. When an admissions decision is made, it will not focus on the interview alone, but it will gauge the entire application as a whole. Which makes sense since the rest of the application took the applicant 4 years to compile, while the interview is 2 hours on a stressful day.

After this, we sat in on a lecture/PBL for an hour. (pretty cool) Next, we had lunch with 2 MS4s. (Lunch at UCSF is amazing). The rest of the day (12pm-5pm), we had two 45 min interviews. One was with an MS2/MS4 and the other with a faculty member. Both interviews were closed file and were about getting to know you.

The school is amazing and I would love to attend here.