Positively
2 out of 10
7 out of 10
9 out of 10
50 minutes
At the school
2
One-on-one
Open file
"What do you for fun?" Report Response | I was asked this question too
"The interviews were not so much Q&A as conversational; but I felt any baloney I might have tried to slip in would have been instantly sniffed out. " Report Response | I was asked this question too
"In some fields of medicine it is very hard to do a good job no matter how much you work and effort you put into it. What motivates people--what motivates you--to try to do it anyway?" Report Response | I was asked this question too
"One of my interviewers asked questions with an almost unnerving subtlety and acumen: he zeroed in on my motivations, on what I felt was the balancing act between sympathy and science, and on how critical I can be of physicians!" Report Response | I was asked this question too
"This site, school website, AMSA reviews, Barron's reviews, kept up with the news." Report Response
"Both interviews (an M.D. and a Ph.D.) felt unscripted, informal, but were quite serious and intense. I dropped in on a first-year small-group class about "being a doctor," and watched two instructors ask students "What do you expect to cause you the most frustration as a physician?" and pushing the students (gently) for honest answers. Nearly all the students seemed cut from the University of California cloth, and were racially and ethnically all over the map. A VA hospital is right next to the teaching buildings. The weather, of course, was postcard-perfect. The fees were in line with my expectations. I liked how the Dean briefed us about the nitty-gritty of the USMLE, the residency match, the housing situation, and the class schedules, year by year. I also liked how we were taken to the tutorial center to meet one of the tutors. The students who gave us the tour liked their school (and "The San Diego factor") but were honest about the workload and the stress we would have to deal with. " Report Response
"The gross anatomy room (that we were unfortunately not shown) is underground and so has no windows; that could make for depressing dissections. I wish we could have seen a lecture. The buildings are a kooky mix of bungalows and high-tech stainless steel, and indeed the program also feels a little kooky: stem cell research, fellowships for future physicians wishing to learn more about the deaf, cancer, robotic surgery, primary care, trauma--a crazy mix (but that could be a good thing). I wish I could have seen Hillcrest, where much of the clinical teaching takes place. I sense that UCSD is a mix of structured lectures and do-it-yourself individualism: you have to come here ready both to submit to a tough class regimen and yet blaze your own trail. Although the medical center is on the UCSD campus, it feels removed from it. The campus is not adjoined by any true neighborhood, so eating and drinking near school is limited to a few places: that may mean lots of driving or lots of shuttles, though a few live close enough to walk or bike to classes. " Report Response
"I wish I had known that the tour of the student-run Free Clinic would be given the night before the interview. (We were only told about this tour the day before the interview!)" Report Response
"UCSD may be, like, too Californian, y'know, for some, but, dude, it's awesome, and UCSD as a university ranked number 13 (in the world) on the Shanghai Report, which means you can get an M.D., do research in flip-flops and beach shorts, not wig out, and still score a California neurosurgery residency (as one of their students did last year). =) " Report Response
Student
Enthusiastic
9 out of 10
In state
0-1 hour
Airplane
SAN
With students at the school
9 out of 10
yes
Browse all Questions & Responses