Just wanted to share my then-and-now experience in hopes of putting more information out there. I'm a little late to the party as I just read Jackie B's last post from last week, but here goes.
Last year my two school choices came down to USC and Western; while there were a few others, those were the two at the top of my list. I liked different things about school and still think you can't go wrong with either school. I felt both schools, from the students, faculty, and atmosphere, were both very friendly and inviting. My impression of Western was that it was a really laid back and relaxed atmosphere, and I really liked that. It's a different vibe at USC, but not in a bad way or anything. But I had the notion that going into pharmacy school, I was going to get an education (ie, go to class, study hard, intern somewhere, rinse and repeat for four years) and be done with it. That's why Western worked for me. I can't say I had the same impression of USC that Jackie B might have had in terms of faculty and students, but I ultimately went with what my gut told me, which was USC. From the location, education, prestige, and most of all the people, it just felt right.
As a current student, I feel I can more adequately comment on my experience and compare that to the experience others may have perceived. For one, my initial impression of the students, the faculty, and the administration is largely unchanged. They are, for the most part, extremely nice, helpful, and encouraging people. That's not to say there aren't exceptions, but so far so good for me. We are proud of our school, no doubt - but I've never had and still haven't gotten any kind of pompous or ego-inflated attitude from anyone. On another note, USC is big on training future leaders. They actively encourage you to be involved - whether it be organizations, fraternities, clinics - whatever makes you happy. While I'm sure this happens everywhere, I feel USC especially so. A lot of what I expected coming in was not to be found, but in a good way!
I also thought I'd comment on some other points I may tend to disagree with more than others. I don't agree with the statement that USC prefers "freshly-minted 22 yr old "UCXX" students living with mommy and daddy"; I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion, but it doesn't seem that way at least. The average age of the incoming class was 25, and that's with the good number of TAP students we have that tend to be around 21 years of age. And they, as well as most people I've met, aren't immature at all.
Regardless, I'm not here to blindly defend USC or stir any controversy, but just wanted to chime in with my experience. I'll be the first to admit that no school is perfect, USC included (well, I guess I can't speak for Western personally, but...). You just have to go with what you feel is right and where you think you'll be able to get the most out of your education and the next four years. I'm definitely enjoying my time here, as busy as it (always) is!
P.S. I will admit I do really like Western's hexagonal (I think it's hexagonal anyway) classroom setup with the screens all around and outlets at every seat. That's pretty sweet 🙂 And yes USC's lectures hall are older than dirt and could use a major overhaul. But I hope that's not a major selling point for people, haha.
And good luck to everyone interviewing this upcoming Saturday!
