Preparing for the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Interview

To truly stand out for the medical school interview at UCLA, you'll want a deep understanding of California's healthcare landscape, current state and national policies, pressing social issues, and significant health-related events across California and the U.S. 

This guide provides in-depth insights to help you deliver exceptional responses, demonstrating your commitment to the medical profession and the broader communities you will serve.

1. The UCLA Med Interview: Structure, Themes, and Hidden Agendas

UCLA employs a hybrid interview model blending traditional one-on-ones with scenario-based assessments.

Key details:

• Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI): 6-8 stations probing ethics, cultural humility, and crisis response. Expect prompts like “How would you triage care during an LA heatwave with limited ER beds?” or role-playing a disagreement with a colleague over vaccine hesitancy in Compton.

• Faculty/Student Interviews: Conversational but laser-focused on mission alignment. Example: “How would you leverage UCLA’s REACH program to address homelessness in Westwood?”

• Themes: Health justice, innovation in public health, and intersectionality (e.g., how immigration status impacts access in LA County).

Insider Tip: UCLA’s adcoms prioritize narrative coherence. Every anecdote should loop back to why California, why UCLA, and how your lens aligns with their social accountability mission.

2. California’s Healthcare Policy: Progressive Lab Meets Inequity Fault Lines

California leads U.S. healthcare innovation, yet grapples with stark disparities.

Master these policies:

Medi-Cal Expansion (2023–2024)

California extended Medi-Cal to all undocumented immigrants in 2024, covering 700,000+ people. UCLA’s Venice Family Clinic—the nation’s largest free clinic—now partners with street medicine teams to enroll homeless populations in Skid Row.

1. Tip: Cite UCLA’s Health Equity for Immigrants Lab when discussing coverage gaps.

SB 525: Healthcare Worker Minimum Wage (2024)

2. This landmark law raises wages for 500,000+ workers, including support staff at safety-net hospitals like MLK Community Hospital in South LA. Discuss how fair wages impact retention in under-resourced clinics.

Proposition 1: Mental Health & Homelessness (2024)

3. Passed in March 2024, this $6.4B initiative funds behavioral health beds and housing. UCLA’s Homeless Healthcare Collaborative is piloting mobile MAT (medication-assisted treatment) units in encampments near campus.

CalAIM: Whole-Person Care (2021–present)

4. California’s Medicaid overhaul funds social determinants like housing and food. UCLA researchers found CalAIM reduced ER visits by 22% among LA’s chronically homeless—a stat worth dropping.

3. Current Events & Social Issues: The LA Lens

Local Flashpoints

• Kaiser Strike Fallout: 75,000 Kaiser workers (including LA nurses) struck in 2023 over understaffing. Connect this to UCLA’s nurse residency programs addressing burnout.

• DHS Safety-Net Crisis: LA County’s Department of Health Services faces a $1.3B deficit, threatening clinics in Watts and Willowbrook. UCLA med students volunteer at these sites—mention their Street Medicine Interest Group.

• Wildfire Health Impacts: The 2024 Sepulveda Basin Fire worsened asthma in Pacoima (40% pediatric ER visits). UCLA’s COPE Health Solutions trains community health workers to distribute air filters.

National Issues with CA Stakes

• Abortion Access: Post-Dobbs, CA became a sanctuary state. UCLA Health saw a 45% rise in out-of-state patients—note their telehealth partnerships with Texas clinics.

• Climate Medicine: UCLA’s Heat Resilient LA initiative maps “cool corridors” in heat-vulnerable Boyle Heights. Tie this to national climate-health frameworks.

4. The 5 Questions UCLA is most likely to ask during your medical school interview

1. “LA County has the nation’s largest homeless population. Design an intervention using UCLA’s resources.”

2. “How does SB 525 intersect with health equity in South LA?”

3. “A monolingual Mayan patient refuses a C-section. How do you respond?”

4. “Why UCLA over other CA schools?”

5. “How should UCLA address anti-Black bias in maternal mortality?”