photo courtesy of UCSF
For starters, their secondary was one of the longest application I had to fill out (I think UCLA and UCSF were almost equally long--maybe UCLA was longer, I can't remember). The secondary application was approximately 14 pages long--correct me if I'm wrong. It was filled with essay questions that assumed one has been involved in the community and has taken on the responsibility of some sort of leadership role (or at least that was how I remembered approaching all my answers).
Day of interview:
Students that came for the interview were waiting with the dental patients in the lobby of the dental clinic until we were brought upstairs. Meanwhile, we took the time to get to know the other students around us. When we were brought upstairs, we were greeted by a humorous and inviting host of the day, the Director of Admissions, Mr. James Betbeze. He instantly made the interview process less stressful and actually fun. We got food and beverages for breakfast such as bagels, muffins, and orange juice. Each person got their picture taken for the admissions' record. At the table we all got a nice UCSF ring key chain. Dean Featherstone came in to talk to us about how great the city of SF is and various speakers informing about financial aid, acceptance process, etc. During lunch we got to choose from a selection of sandwich bags containing various types of sandwiches along with with cookies, chips, and a pasta salad. During lunch, we talked to dental students and asked them any questions we had--the dental students all seemed laid back, very nice, & eager to help out. During the tour, we were shown the library that had an exquisite view. We all stood there for awhile, soaking in the view, probably looking strange to the students studying at the library. We were then shown around the clinics and pre-clinic labs. The interview itself felt very relaxed and not too formal. I had one with a D3 student and a faculty. The student made sure I was comfortable by talking about himself first before I had to talk. For both interviewers, they were not trying to grill me with questions nor stump me. They really just wanted to get to know me and that was all. I was thinking faster than I could verbally process eloquently, yet the interviewer kindly told me not to worry and to not be nervous. Both interviewers had a sheet they had to fill out and comment about the interviewee. People were called at various times throughout the allocated time frame for interviews. For those waiting, they had a chance to talk to James about food and places to frolic in the city. The interview took place anywhere, mine were both in the clinic, for around 30 minutes each. I heard someone had his interview after hiking up sets of stairs! Afterwards, we had to write a timed essay. The prompt was a quote and we had to write about it--it was very open ended.
Of all the interviews I went to, UCSF was one of the more relaxing and enjoyable interview process.
I am utterly excited to go explore one of the nation's greatest and photogenic city!
-Olivia xox
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