2023-2024 UCLA (Geffen)

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Has anyone talked with the financial office to make sure that the Geffen scholarship is no longer offered? Did they bring a reason why this year suddenly things have changed?
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Premedappli said:
Has anyone talked with the financial office to make sure that the Geffen scholarship is no longer offered? Did they bring a reason why this year suddenly things have changed?
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UCLA has waitlist motion but not motion like this:
 

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Premedappli said:
Has anyone talked with the financial office to make sure that the Geffen scholarship is no longer offered? Did they bring a reason why this year suddenly things have changed?
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During second look they mentioned they’re not going to be as competitive this year because they’re low on funds. David Geffen’s last donation to continue the scholarship was in 2019 which was estimated to cover about 414 scholarships ending with the class of 2026.

www.latimes.com

More than 400 UCLA medical school students get a free education thanks to major donation

A $46-million donation from entertainment billionaire David Geffen means 414 medical school students are receiving full tuition merit scholarships
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com
 
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Debeney said:
During second look they mentioned they’re not going to be as competitive this year because they’re low on funds. David Geffen’s last donation to continue the scholarship was in 2019 which was estimated to cover about 414 scholarships ending with the class of 2026.

www.latimes.com

More than 400 UCLA medical school students get a free education thanks to major donation

A $46-million donation from entertainment billionaire David Geffen means 414 medical school students are receiving full tuition merit scholarships
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com
Click to expand...

Class of 2027 also did receive full rides and full tuition but you’re right, the funds have ran dry this year
 
Premedappli said:
Has anyone talked with the financial office to make sure that the Geffen scholarship is no longer offered? Did they bring a reason why this year suddenly things have changed?
Click to expand...
My sibling who was accepted here attended their Wednesday office hours recently and they said the Geffen Scholarship is no longer offered this year since the donation/funding from it finished.
 
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Anyone else on the WL receive the email about the final happy hour? Never received an email from them about these so I’m not sure why they sent one today🥲
 
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bluejay09 said:
Anyone else on the WL receive the email about the final happy hour? Never received an email from them about these so I’m not sure why they sent one today🥲
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I got it as well, but I’ve also gotten all the previous ones.

This one had a typo
 
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I know it says they don’t accept letters of intent, but is a letter of interest okay to send? Last year’s thread had a lot of WL A’s who said they sent nothing, but I’m not sure what to do lol
 
everythingis onfire said:
I know it says they don’t accept letters of intent, but is a letter of interest okay to send? Last year’s thread had a lot of WL A’s who said they sent nothing, but I’m not sure what to do lol
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I was also curious about this. I drafted one, but then ultimately didn't send worrying that it could hurt my prospects when it seems that they don't want or accept them.
 
I sent in an update letter/letter of interest. Since someone during office hours said it wouldn't hurt and to send it in ASAP if you had anything new. But that they couldn't promise that anything would be read
 
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Gives more "WL applicant desperate for admits to not go there" vibes to me. Faculty don't complain on SDN's pre-med forums lol. Some faculty probably have legitimate grievances with UCLA's 1-year preclinical, but they're not going to write their thoughts that poorly or use random examples of surgeons who vow to never talk to UCLA students. "use caution in coming to UCLA" lmao come on
 
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I have no stake in this (R at UCLA), but I would strongly suggest that current admits get a real sense of the situation by hearing directly from current students (preferably a broad sample, spanning multiple years - and getting real perspectives, i.e., not from students chosen as ambassadors/school representatives).

I won't go as far as saying the post by the supposed UCLA faculty is bunk, but I would take this cautionary note with a grain of salt and get this information confirmed or denied by current students (IMO, avoid confirming this through the admin - they are much more likely to be politician-esque about the situation and mislead you). Just some thoughts I wanted to pass along to the M0s as they consider this situation to make an informed decision. Good luck!!!
 
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DocSock said:
@Morningnight and any other current students, would very much appreciate your thoughts/input on this as well!
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It is probably true at any school that you need to be a good independent learner, but I think this is even more so the case at UCLA. There is no blueprint for when to take Step 1 or Step 2, so you need to be active in your studies and lean on your peers to plan together. I'll also emphasize the importance of using 3rd party resources instead of sticking to in-house material. The in-house material is good for training your clinical reasoning. Not so good for passing the national board exams.

I'll echo one of the comments in the Crisis thread that many of the concerns and worries about not being prepared come from the 1st class that went through the curriculum change. There has been a significant drop in failed shelf exams in my year, and most of my classmates on clerkship have been told that they are on par or above expectations for clerkship students. Happy to answer other specific questions y'all have.
 
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Morningnight said:
It is probably true at any school that you need to be a good independent learner, but I think this is even more so the case at UCLA. There is no blueprint for when to take Step 1 or Step 2, so you need to be active in your studies and lean on your peers to plan together. I'll also emphasize the importance of using 3rd party resources instead of sticking to in-house material. The in-house material is good for training your clinical reasoning. Not so good for passing the national board exams.

I'll echo one of the comments in the Crisis thread that many of the concerns and worries about not being prepared come from the 1st class that went through the curriculum change. There has been a significant drop in failed shelf exams in my year, and most of my classmates on clerkship have been told that they are on par or above expectations for clerkship students. Happy to answer other specific questions y'all have.
Click to expand...

As a prospective student I think my main concern would be - by choosing to attend ucla rather than another institution am I going to receive an education that will be detrimental when it comes to being prepared for step 2 (especially for those considering competitive specialities) as well as being equipped for rotations and residency. Tbh, I don’t want to pay that much COA if that’s going to be the case. But, although the timeline may be different than other schools without a 1 year pre-clinical, if I’m equally as competent and as prepared as students from other top schools then I’m less concerned and see it more as a curriculum that may fit personal learning preferences instead.

Do you personally think these outcries are from students who don’t vibe well with the new curriculum but are not making adjustments to succeed it in it and therefore feel betrayed/deceived/not receiving a proper medical education? OR do you think ucla is truly not preparing their students to the level that all other top institutions are?
 
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Morningnight said:
It is probably true at any school that you need to be a good independent learner, but I think this is even more so the case at UCLA. There is no blueprint for when to take Step 1 or Step 2, so you need to be active in your studies and lean on your peers to plan together. I'll also emphasize the importance of using 3rd party resources instead of sticking to in-house material. The in-house material is good for training your clinical reasoning. Not so good for passing the national board exams.

I'll echo one of the comments in the Crisis thread that many of the concerns and worries about not being prepared come from the 1st class that went through the curriculum change. There has been a significant drop in failed shelf exams in my year, and most of my classmates on clerkship have been told that they are on par or above expectations for clerkship students. Happy to answer other specific questions y'all have.
Click to expand...

Totally agree!!!
 
BreadMan said:
As a prospective student I think my main concern would be - by choosing to attend ucla rather than another institution am I going to receive an education that will be detrimental when it comes to being prepared for step 2 (especially for those considering competitive specialities) as well as being equipped for rotations and residency. Tbh, I don’t want to pay that much COA if that’s going to be the case. But, although the timeline may be different than other schools without a 1 year pre-clinical, if I’m equally as competent and as prepared as students from other top schools then I’m less concerned and see it more as a curriculum that may fit personal learning preferences instead.

Do you personally think these outcries are from students who don’t vibe well with the new curriculum but are not making adjustments to succeed it in it and therefore feel betrayed/deceived/not receiving a proper medical education?
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Also a current applicant but I've been hearing a lot of "outcries" from MS1s at another school—they are the first batch experiencing a new curriculum. I think its almost always a mix of personal factors and the curriculum not being the most ideal, mature, and realistic one. Obviously, there will always be students who are more adaptive and may be a little less affected!
 
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Can any current student comments on this? Kind of worrying to hear as it seems to be a repeated issue.
Thread 'UCLA Medical School in Crisis'
UCLA Medical School in Crisis

Edit: I scrolled up and saw we are already discussing this lol
 
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xyz123! said:
LosFeliz posted a very comprehensive and even-handed response
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Agreed! LosFeliz has a great response.

I'll echo that I think the single biggest mistake that was made with the new curriculum change is the exam policy during MS1 year. The school bakes into your head that in-house material is all you need to do when the reality is that they're covering 50% (maybe even less) than the entirety of material covered on Step 1. Literally. It's shocking when you flip through First Aid Step 1 for the first time and you don't know half the disease entities in those pages. Students average 80-95% on exams throughout MS1 year, but this is largely because in-house exams are significantly easier than NBME style questions. If you failed an exam, you would "remediate" by going in to review your exam with faculty. That's it -- you didn't need to retake the test, no repeating the course, etc. I believe there is now a policy for retaking exams, but I'm not sure and hope that a current MS1 can speak to it.
 
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BreadMan said:
As a prospective student I think my main concern would be - by choosing to attend ucla rather than another institution am I going to receive an education that will be detrimental when it comes to being prepared for step 2 (especially for those considering competitive specialities) as well as being equipped for rotations and residency. Tbh, I don’t want to pay that much COA if that’s going to be the case. But, although the timeline may be different than other schools without a 1 year pre-clinical, if I’m equally as competent and as prepared as students from other top schools then I’m less concerned and see it more as a curriculum that may fit personal learning preferences instead.

Do you personally think these outcries are from students who don’t vibe well with the new curriculum but are not making adjustments to succeed it in it and therefore feel betrayed/deceived/not receiving a proper medical education? OR do you think ucla is truly not preparing their students to the level that all other top institutions are?
Click to expand...
Completely valid concerns. I think one thing that needs to be accepted if you choose to commit to DGSOM is that our curriculum is a work in progress. It's now gone through 3 iterations and is much, much improved from what it originally was. If you're a person that is more comfortable with something that is tried and true, sure maybe DGSOM isn't the best place for you right now. I'll also emphasize that the large majority of the core clinical team are the most passionate and caring educators I have ever met. They also recognize that something is wrong with the curriculum and are actively working to fix it.

Personally, I don't think this should be a major deterrent for students who have other things to gain from being here. I.e. family, location, networking and connections. My only piece of advice is don't drink the Koolaid that you're fine only doing in-house material. Use third party resources. Study for Step 1 all throughout MS1 year and take it before clerkships (even though that's not what the school advertises). Albeit I don't see much of other schools, but the large majority of my classmates are the hardest-working and most competent folks that I know.
 
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Morningnight said:
Agreed! LosFeliz has a great response.

I'll echo that I think the single biggest mistake that was made with the new curriculum change is the exam policy during MS1 year. The school bakes into your head that in-house material is all you need to do when the reality is that they're covering 50% (maybe even less) than the entirety of material covered on Step 1. Literally. It's shocking when you flip through First Aid Step 1 for the first time and you don't know half the disease entities in those pages. Students average 80-95% on exams throughout MS1 year, but this is largely because in-house exams are significantly easier than NBME style questions. If you failed an exam, you would "remediate" by going in to review your exam with faculty. That's it -- you didn't need to retake the test, no repeating the course, etc. I believe there is now a policy for retaking exams, but I'm not sure and hope that a current MS1 can speak to it.
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If you failed an exam, you would still have to retake it. Current MS2s and MS3s were able to review with faculty without retaking it, but the school changed the policy this year.
 
Morningnight said:
Completely valid concerns. I think one thing that needs to be accepted if you choose to commit to DGSOM is that our curriculum is a work in progress. It's now gone through 3 iterations and is much, much improved from what it originally was. If you're a person that is more comfortable with something that is tried and true, sure maybe DGSOM isn't the best place for you right now. I'll also emphasize that the large majority of the core clinical team are the most passionate and caring educators I have ever met. They also recognize that something is wrong with the curriculum and are actively working to fix it.

Personally, I don't think this should be a major deterrent for students who have other things to gain from being here. I.e. family, location, networking and connections. My only piece of advice is don't drink the Koolaid that you're fine only doing in-house material. Use third party resources. Study for Step 1 all throughout MS1 year and take it before clerkships (even though that's not what the school advertises). Albeit I don't see much of other schools, but the large majority of my classmates are the hardest-working and most competent folks that I know.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the thoughtful response! I think my last question then would be if you make the proper effort for self-directed study for step 1, by the end of rotations and with the discovery year, do you think students are set up well for step 2? My thought process would be yes because you’ve presumably passed step 1, gone through rotations, and have your discovery year to prep for step 2 but maybe I am incorrect in thinking that way
 
BreadMan said:
Thank you for the thoughtful response! I think my last question then would be if you make the proper effort for self-directed study for step 1, by the end of rotations and with the discovery year, do you think students are set up well for step 2? My thought process would be yes because you’ve presumably passed step 1, gone through rotations, and have your discovery year to prep for step 2 but maybe I am incorrect in thinking that way
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Yes, currently im studying for in house (performing above 90 with every exam thus far) while supplementing with 3rd party (uworld and bootcamp). Doing the extra work will help you with getting through step 1 sooner rather than later
 
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BreadMan said:
Thank you for the thoughtful response! I think my last question then would be if you make the proper effort for self-directed study for step 1, by the end of rotations and with the discovery year, do you think students are set up well for step 2? My thought process would be yes because you’ve presumably passed step 1, gone through rotations, and have your discovery year to prep for step 2 but maybe I am incorrect in thinking that way
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Yes. At the end of the day regardless of what school you go to, all of us know what we need to know to succeed. Your effort is probably the #1 determinant for success. With discovery year, there is lots of flexibility for how you want to prepare for Step 1 or 2.
 
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staygoldenpony said:
Can any current student comments on this? Kind of worrying to hear as it seems to be a repeated issue.
Thread 'UCLA Medical School in Crisis'
UCLA Medical School in Crisis

Edit: I scrolled up and saw we are already discussing this lol
Click to expand...
Two points that bother me the most are :

1." This information is getting out to the residency programs and one of the local residency programs who used to take the less competitive UCLA students has stopped interviewing our students because they have had negative experiences with the poor performance of some of the UCLA graduates recently who matched into their program. This is becoming a problem for even our top students because since UCLA is a pass fail school the top students can’t distinguish themselves from the many students who are struggling, so residency programs just have to assume every UCLA student is struggling."

2. "It hurts me greatly when I meet with a UCLA student and I have to tell them they will never match into my specialty. When they came to UCLA they were told it was a top school and it would open doors for them, usually by the time they figure it out that it is not true, it is too late."

How true are these statements? The person made it sound like I will never match into any competitive specialties if I choose to attend UCLA
 
MambaDoc said:
Two points that bother me the most are :

1." This information is getting out to the residency programs and one of the local residency programs who used to take the less competitive UCLA students has stopped interviewing our students because they have had negative experiences with the poor performance of some of the UCLA graduates recently who matched into their program. This is becoming a problem for even our top students because since UCLA is a pass fail school the top students can’t distinguish themselves from the many students who are struggling, so residency programs just have to assume every UCLA student is struggling."

2. "It hurts me greatly when I meet with a UCLA student and I have to tell them they will never match into my specialty. When they came to UCLA they were told it was a top school and it would open doors for them, usually by the time they figure it out that it is not true, it is too late."

How true are these statements? The person made it sound like I will never match into any competitive specialties if I choose to attend UCLA
Click to expand...

This was covered before but it’s obviously fallacious but simply put:
1. The students from the new curriculum hasn’t apply to the match yet, so there is no data on this
2. If the Op is referring to the students from the old curriculum, that’s simply wrong because you can just look at the 2024 match list.
 
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Is it true that UCLA’s students are truly unranked? No hidden rank system or anything of that sort?
 
MambaDoc said:
Two points that bother me the most are :

1." This information is getting out to the residency programs and one of the local residency programs who used to take the less competitive UCLA students has stopped interviewing our students because they have had negative experiences with the poor performance of some of the UCLA graduates recently who matched into their program. This is becoming a problem for even our top students because since UCLA is a pass fail school the top students can’t distinguish themselves from the many students who are struggling, so residency programs just have to assume every UCLA student is struggling."

2. "It hurts me greatly when I meet with a UCLA student and I have to tell them they will never match into my specialty. When they came to UCLA they were told it was a top school and it would open doors for them, usually by the time they figure it out that it is not true, it is too late."

How true are these statements? The person made it sound like I will never match into any competitive specialties if I choose to attend UCLA
Click to expand...
That person is exaggerating. Look at UCLA's match list and tell me how true that person's statement is lol
 
Did anyone else on the WL get an email about switching their AMCAS from combined degree to regular MD? The emails says if you don’t switch it by the 30th, then you get taken off the WL.
When I try to switch it, there’s a message that says “you have selected a program that is no longer available”. Anyone find a way to successfully switch to regular MD?
IMG_5760.jpg
 
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jefe_piglet said:
Did anyone else on the WL get an email about switching their AMCAS from combined degree to regular MD? The emails says if you don’t switch it by the 30th, then you get taken off the WL.
When I try to switch it, there’s a message that says “you have selected a program that is no longer available”. Anyone find a way to successfully switch to regular MD?View attachment 386001
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yes, I am encountering the same thing!!
 
jefe_piglet said:
Did anyone else on the WL get an email about switching their AMCAS from combined degree to regular MD? The emails says if you don’t switch it by the 30th, then you get taken off the WL.
When I try to switch it, there’s a message that says “you have selected a program that is no longer available”. Anyone find a way to successfully switch to regular MD?View attachment 386001
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HMM, I didn't get that email. Do you mind posting what the email looked like? I am WL for trad with high on-list distinction and now I'm paranoid I am no longer on the list :"")
 
6'0 OGFLYERCI said:
Does ucla start may 1st or may 2nd? For some reason I keep on thinking may 2nd lol
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I believe May 1st. They may have done May 2nd last year bc April 30th (PTE deadline) was on Sunday last year, so it gets moved to the following weekday (May 1st). Then, they released the first big wave of WL decisions on May 2nd. But I believe (and hope) that they start on May 1st this year.
 
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dope.uh.mean said:
I believe May 1st. They may have done May 2nd last year bc April 30th (PTE deadline) was on Sunday last year, so it gets moved to the following weekday (May 1st). Then, they released the first big wave of WL decisions on May 2nd. But I believe (and hope) that they start on May 1st this year.
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Time to see if all that rizz paid off Phewww
 
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Just got A off WL!! Does anyone know if we have to plan to enroll tonight? Will it show up in CYMS by then?
 
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