In planning for college, you need to consider such factors as tuition costs, housing costs, college rankings, university acceptance rates, etc. If you intend to attend ucsf school of medicine, what is the acceptance rate?
Read on for the latest information on ucsf school of medicine acceptance rate, ucsf medical school requirements, ucsf medical school tuition, ucsf acceptance rate 2020, and ucsf dental school acceptance rate. You will also find related posts on ucsf school of medicine acceptance rate on koboguide.
Part 2: UCSF Medical School programs
UCSF MD programs
USCF offers several tracks of study through which its students can earn their MD:
- The traditional four-year MD program
- MD/Masters in Advanced Studies in Clinical Research (MD/MAS)
- Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)
- UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program (joint MD/MS in the Health and Medical Sciences with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health)
- MD/Master of Public Health (joint MD/MPH with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health)
- Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved—PRIME-US (five-year track focusing on urban underserved populations)
- UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education—SJV PRIME (five-year track focusing on underserved populations in the San Joaquin Valley)
- MD/PhD in History of Health Sciences
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Medical School)
UCSF tuition and scholarships
UCSF’s currenttuition and fees is $42,791 for California residents and$55,036 for non-residents. Though UCSF’s tuition costs remain on the lower end of most top-tier programs, it’s important to remember that living in San Francisco is far from cheap. The city’s cost of living is the highest in the nation, largely due to scarcity in the rental/housing market, so the overall cost of spending four years as a UCSF medical student might end up being more expensive than other top programs with higher tuition rates.
UCSF notes thatincreasing scholarship support is their highest priority, and that the number of scholarships awarded to its students have gone up by more that 50% in the last decade.
If you’re an out-of-state applicant, it’s possible tobecome a California resident after 366 days of living in the state, so long as you meet the following criteria:
- Demonstrate intent to permanently reside in California
- Established a primary domicile in California
- Relinquished all ties to your past place(s) of residence
To check off these criteria, you’ll need to register to vote in CA, designate CA as your permanent address on all personal records, and pay California income tax. Once these metrics have been in effect for over one year (366 days), you can be considered “in-state” for UCSF’s tuition purposes.
(Suggested reading: Medical Schools in California: How to Get In)
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Part 3: How hard is it to get into UCSF Medical School?
UCSF Medical School acceptance rate
For the class of 2024, UCSF Medical School received 7,345 applicants, invited 507 to interview (6.9 percent), and ultimately enrolled 161 students. Their acceptance rate was 3.8 percent. These stats make UCSF a highly selective program.
UCSF Medical School accepted students statistics
- Average GPA: 3.8
- Average science GPA: 3.8
- Average MCAT score percentile: 93rd (approximately 516)
(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements)
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Part 4: UCSF secondary essays (examples included)
Compared with other top medical schools, UCSF’s secondary application is slim. With only two essays totaling under 1,000 words, it might seem impossible to distinguish yourself from the thousands of other applicants vying for your spot in this elite program. To help you knock these prompts out of the park, we’ve broken down each response into the necessary marks you should aim to hit and advised a structure that will allow you to shine even with such limited space allowed.
Before we dive into the individual prompts, it’s worth noting that there is no secret formula or special strategy to blow the UCSF admissions committee’s socks off. It’s no accident that this secondary is so light. Much of what UCSF is looking for will be covered in your primary application’s personal statement and activities list, plus your MCAT score, GPA, letters of recommendation, and so forth. The best way to answer a straightforward secondary application prompt is to be straightforward—be clear, get to your point, and argue it persuasively and with conviction.
(Suggested reading: Medical School Secondary Essay Prompts)
UCSF secondary essay prompts
After submitting your AMCAS application, UCSF typically sends out secondary applications within 3-10 weeks. They’ll consider these applications on a first-come basis.
As in the case of all medical school admissions, it’s advisable to submit your AMCAS primary as soon as possible after the system opens!
Question 1: If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below. (500 words)
Between your medical school personal statement and your AMCAS Work and Activities section, you may feel as though you’ve already completed this prompt. You’re not wrong; you have. But here they get another chance to see what makes you tick. Though this prompt may seem optional (“if you wish to…”), it’s not.
This is your chance to cover a passion that you haven’t yet demonstrated in your primary application. Review your personal statement and activities list and consider what other personal attribute will best round out the application. Remember the qualities medical schools look for when making their admissions decisions and try to isolate which of these (leadership, collaboration, service, cultural competency) you still need to refer to in order to present as the most well-rounded applicant you can be.
The most important advice we can give on this prompt is to avoid rehashing a resume. This essay provides an opportunity for you to craft an argument about why you, rather than a thousand other hopefuls, will make the best physician in the future and how your particular drives and passions will be best suited for UCSF.
Take a look at our advised structure below, followed by a sample essay drawn from composites of our successful students.
Thesis: begin your essay with an argument. This argument should be your overarching claim for what you care about as a future doctor. It should argue your passion.
- For example, if you have demonstrated an extensive commitment to service or volunteer work and want to expand upon that work here, your thesis statement would be the argument that you have a commitment to serving the underserved, and that you’ve demonstrated that commitment through the activities you’ll write about here.
Evidence: use three to five activities from your past that support the argument you make in your thesis.
- Important note: you shouldn’t think of this as “listing” examples. Instead, structure an argument that builds to your thesis by showing the trajectory that’s led you to the place you are now. Start small and build to your largest commitments, showing how one step led to the next.
Why UCSF?
- You don’t get the chance to discuss why UCSF is your top-choice program elsewhere in your application, so use this prompt to do so, particularly as it relates to your argument above.
- Do your research. What opportunities are available to you at UCSF or in San Francisco that relate to your past activities? How will your passion for these activities allow you to contribute to UCSF?
Conclusion: remind the admissions committee about the passion you’re arguing, and how you’ll carry that passion forward into medical school and beyond.
Here’s an example:
Providing equal access to healthcare to otherwise underserved communities is my greatest goal for my future in medicine. I’ve known this since my undergrad days, when my biggest commitment outside my coursework took place outside of the campus’s walls. I remember learning in a sophomore seminar that despite the dozens of top universities in Boston, the city’s public schools in lower-income neighborhoods were short on volunteers to run extracurricular activities such as pre-professional clubs like HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America.) As president of my high school’s HOSA chapter growing up in Texas, I got to meet doctors and nurses who showed me science wasn’t an abstract discipline but a tool to save lives. That knowledge helped me delve deeper into my science education in order to turn those options into a reality. I hoped introducing young high school students to future career possibilities, especially in communities with low graduation rates, might go a long way in inspiring them to complete their education.
I first canvassed freshman biology courses at Dorchester High to garner interest in a student-led HOSA chapter. Once I recruited over a dozen students, I worked as their sponsor to help register their club with the national organization and structure their vision for what they wanted to learn and achieve as a group. From there, I drew on my university peers and educational network to organize guest lectures, a CPR course, and other activities the HOSA chapter wanted. My service to these kids was rewarding as was seeing how my service propagated more service work as the HOSA chapter began volunteering at the local hospital, assisting with the Boston Marathon, and even joining the efforts of other HOSA chapters to increase numbers in support of their volunteer projects.
Seeing how I could lead by example—how through one service initiative, numerous others came about—I came to understand a core aspect of why medicine as a profession is so important: in providing health and well-being to one person through medical care, you’re also able to positively impact all the people that person touches and the community those people serve. Though this network of service, a doctor can have an astounding impact, and this is exactly the kind of work I hope to continue should I be fortunate enough to train at UCSF.
At UCSF, I’ll join the “San Francisco Cares” initiative already underway with the program’s Public Health Club, in which I’ll utilize my background working with underprivileged teens in Boston to provide health education to the city’s homeless youth population. I also hope to volunteer with UCSF’s “Wellness and Community” program to help educate SF’s homeless youth on STD testing, needle exchange programs, and other initiatives to improve their quality of living and empower them lead healthy, happy lives. UCSF’s commitment to community service is just one of the many reasons the program is my top choice.
Why does it work?
- This applicant uses his essay to demonstrate a passion for service, an ability to take initiative and collaborate, and a savvy for leadership. All medical schools want you to be excited about patient care; top medical schools often expect you to couple that interest in patient care with an understanding of how healthcare fits into society, intersects with inequality, and can have a multiplier effect.
- This student used his personal statement to talk about a family history, which meant that focusing primarily on service here rounded out his application. Note how he ties in how his commitment to service will contribute to UCSF’s culture and how being in San Francisco provides unique opportunities to work toward his long-term goal of increasing access to healthcare for all.