Step 1 - Am I eligible to apply?

Citizenship

You must be a United States Citizen, or have Permanent Resident status, to be eligible to apply to the UCSD School of Medicine.

Coursework

You must complete the following lecture courses with a grade of "C" or better to be eligible to apply to the UCSD School of Medicine. Typically, each of these required courses must be completed at an accredited U.S. institution.

• One year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of college-level Biology (excluding botany & biochemistry).
• One year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of college-level General Chemistry (biochemistry is acceptable).
• One year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of college-level Organic Chemistry.
• One year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of college-level Physics.
• One year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of college-level Math (only calculus, statistics, or computer science will be considered).
• UCSD does not require any laboratory coursework.
• UCSD does not require English coursework, but competence in spoken and written English is required.

AP credit with a score of 4 or 5 can be used to satisfy some of the requirements:

• The full year of Math.
• One semester of Physics (meaning you would need to complete ONE semester or TWO quarters to complete the requirements).
• One semester of General Chemistry (meaning you would need to complete ONE semester or TWO quarters to complete the requirements).

AP credit can NOT be used to meet the Biology or Organic Chemistry requirements.

MCAT test date

You must have taken the MCAT within the 3 years prior to your planned matriculation date.  Applicants for the entering class of 2010 must have taken an MCAT exam in the years 2007-2009.  MCAT scores for exams taken in early 2010 will not be considered.  

Selection Criteria

The Admissions Committee selects applicants for matriculation who have demonstrated the personal qualities of intelligence, maturity, integrity, dedication to the ideal of service to society and who are best suited for meeting the educational goals of the school, whether in a field of primary care specialization or other discipline of medicine. The school desires students with diverse interests and backgrounds and is committed to expanding opportunities in medical education for individuals from socioeconomic and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Admissions Committee has no preference for an undergraduate major field of study, but does prefer students with evidence of broad training and in-depth achievement in a particular area of knowledge, whether in the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences.

Candidates for admission are evaluated on the basis of their undergraduate academic record, performance on the MCAT, nature and depth of scholarly and extracurricular activities undertaken, letters of recommendation from premedical committee or professors, personal interviews with members of the Admissions Committee, and other standards of comparison that may be established by the faculty. Personal interviews with members of the Admissions Committee are required of all qualified applicants. The interview evaluates the applicant's abilities and skills necessary to satisfy the nonacademic or technical standards established by the faculty and the personal and emotional characteristics that are necessary to become an effective physician.

Preference is necessarily afforded to California residents when all other selection factors are equal.

• Average overall GPA: 3.76
• Average science GPA: 3.74
• 33.1 Q Composite Avg. MCAT (VR: 10.1; PS 11.4; BS 11.6; Writing Q)
• 50.4% female / 49.6% male
• 90% Residents of California
• 67% Biology/Chemistry majors, remainder in physical and social sciences and humanities
• 45% of applicants receiving interviews offered admission

Step 2 - Primary Application (June 1 - November 1)

AMCAS

AMCAS will be available to applicants in June of the year prior to the year you want to enter medical school. Applications submitted to AMCAS by November 1 will be considered. Extensions to this deadline are not granted.

Possible Outcomes after the Admissions Committee reviews your AMCAS application

1. Invited to submit a "secondary application" (proceed to Step 3).
2. Placed "on hold" until late November. In late November, the admissions committee will re-evaluate all applications in our applicant pool and may invite many of the applicants that were "on hold" to submit a secondary application. Applicants not invited to submit a secondary application at this time will be notified by mail that they are no longer under consideration.

Step 3 - Secondary Application (mid-July through December)

After a review of the AMCAS applications, a small percentage of applicants are immediately invited to submit secondary application materials. In addition to this group of "immediate invites", we will invite many more applicants that were originally placed "on hold" to submit secondary application materials.   Invitations to submit secondary applications are sent by e-mail.  The deadline for submitting secondary application materials is one month after the invitation is sent (e.g. if you receive an e-mail from the Admissions Office on August 25, you must return the completed materials by September 25).   The one-month deadline is not a "postmark" deadline - the materials should be in the admissions office by the deadline date.

Materials that we will ask for in submitting the secondary application:

• $70 fee
• Biographical sketch (distinct from the personal comments on the AMCAS application)
• Statement regarding criminal conviction
• Personal background information
• Extracurricular activities
• Academic/work/research experience
• Publications, presentations, fellowship experiences
• Medical/clinical experiences
• Volunteer/community service experiences
• Letters of Recommendation
  UCSD will be participating in the AMCAS Letters Service for the 2009 - 2010 Application Year.  Please visit www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/amcaslettersfaq.htm for more details about this service.  A minimum of three letters are required from individuals who can provide a well considered evaluation of your qualifications for the medical profession. (Two of the three should be from faculty with a science background at a four-year undergraduate institution – course instructors, research mentors, clinical faculty are all acceptable. It is preferred that applicants submit at least one letter from a faculty member in humanities or social sciences.   If you are currently in a graduate program, the third letter may come from a graduate professor.)   A MAXIMUM OF FIVE LETTERS WILL BE ACCEPTED – the 4th and 5th “extra” letters may come from any source you choose (e.g. work supervisor, non-faculty practicing physician). Additional letters beyond the maximum of five will not be considered.
• Indication of potential interest in Dual Degree programs

Possible Outcomes after the Admissions Committee Reviews your Secondary Application

1. Invited to interview at UCSD (proceed to Step 4).
2. Placed "on hold" for an interview. Throughout the application season, candidates that were originally placed "on hold" may be invited to interview at UCSD.  Interview scheduling typically runs through the end of March each year.
3. Applicants who are not invited to interview will be notified by mail that they are no longer under consideration. This notification will typically occur in mid-March.

Step 4 - Interview

Our interview season runs from late September through the end of March.

We will try to accommodate your schedule by allowing you to "black out" some dates.

Prior to the interview, you'll be given information regarding:

• How to contact current medical students who have volunteered to serve as overnight housing "hosts".
• How to sign up for a tour of one of our three Student-Run Free Clinic sites. The tour is optional and can occur the evening before, or the day of, your interview.

The interview day itself takes approximately 6 hours (8:00 am - 2:00 pm):

• 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.   Orientation with the Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs. The presentation will provide an overview of the school's educational programs, career counseling and advisory systems, as well as financial aid and student housing.
• 9:00 - 12:00 p.m.   Each applicant will have two interviews with individual members of the Recruitment and Admissions Committee.
• 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.   As a group, the applicants will have a tour of the campus and lunch with medical students.
• 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.   Meeting with the Director of Student Life, wrap-up with Director of Admissions, view Free Clinic video.

Possible Outcomes after the Interview

Offers of acceptance will not be made until after October 15. Approximately 4 weeks after their interview date, applicants will be contacted by mail regarding one of two possible outcomes:

1. An offer of acceptance
2. A notification that they've been placed in the "Acceptable Pool". The Acceptable Pool is an unranked waiting list. For further details, see Step 5.

Step 5 - The Waiting Game

Accepted applicants

 Accepted applicants will receive an "Intent to Matriculate" form in the envelope with their offer letter. Per AAMC "traffic rules" applicants may hold acceptances at more than one school until May 15, so if you are undecided between two or more offers, you can actually say yes to all schools until you are comfortable making a final decision. As a courtesy to other applicants, it is recommended that you contact any school as soon as you are certain you will not be going there.  (Proceed to Step 6.)

Acceptable pool

UCSD will typically offer between 40 - 80 acceptances to students who are initially placed in the "acceptable pool". Most of these offers of acceptance will be extended after May 15 each year.

Step 6 - Congratulations!

Welcome to the UCSD School of Medicine!

Accepted applicants will have a lot of things to take care of prior to matriculation.

Financial Aid

After we receive your signed Intent to Matriculate form, the Admissions Status Check page will allow you to download our Financial Aid Application. You can access the general Financial Aid website at: http://meded.ucsd.edu/asa/financial_aid/ to view a brochure, sample budgets, and other useful information.

Student Affairs/Orientation

The Office of Admissions will now pass you along to our Office of Student Affairs (OSA). The OSA will be in touch with each of you regarding health clearance, personal information, and Orientation week. Please keep your contact information current with us, and check your e-mail often.

Summer Program

The UCSD SOM Tutorial Program offers an eight-week Summer Program (SOMI 220) focusing on the basic science areas most challenging for first-year medical students at UCSD. The Summer Program acquaints entering students with elements of the fall and winter quarter medical school curriculum, with a strong emphasis on developing the study and time-management skills needed to adapt to the rigors of medical school.

The summer course is available to all students accepted into the UCSD School of Medicine (or other U.S. medical school) by July 1, with particular encouragement offered to students with educationally diverse backgrounds. A significant number of students accepted into the UCSD School of Medicine have majors outside of the biological sciences or chemistry, and/or many have been away from full-time study for a year or more. The Summer Program can ease the transition into the intense basic sciences curriculum of the first year for these and any other students who wish to strengthen their background in the basic biomedical sciences.

More information on the Summer Program can be found at: http://meded.ucsd.edu/ugme/oess/summer_program/

Housing/roommate matching

Incoming students are generally expected to find their own housing, whether it be on campus or off campus. But, understanding the financial benefits and study partner benefits that go along with having a roommate who is also in medical school, we will give incoming applicants access to the UCSD School of Medicine housing forum. Early in the summer, we will contact all incoming applicants with a temporary username and password to access the on-line forum.

UCSD apartments are one of the least expensive options for UCSD students who want to live close to campus.   Because of this, there is almost always a waiting list to get into these apartments.   The School of Medicine does have a limited number of apartments reserved for our students, but not enough room for all. It is recommended that you put yourself on the waiting list as soon as you have received an acceptance offer from UCSD.   More details about housing can be found at: http://hds.ucsd.edu/housing/