2017-2018 University of Southern California (Keck)

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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TheBiologist said:
idk who said this but I don't think it's true......

here is the stats & data from last year:

MCAT (Accepted): 515
MCAT (Matriculated): 512

Matriculated Race Distribution:
White/Asian: 134
Black, Native American, Hawaiian, "other": 57

MSAR says that 7 of these applicants are duplicate races, and that there are only 184 total matriculants

so the average MCATwas a 512 with 134/184 (~73%) people being ORM
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I think their matriculated stats would probably be higher if the COA wasn't so dang high. Every year we see several accepted students post that they have decided to go elsewhere because of the insanely high price tag for Keck.
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Toutie said:
I think their matriculated stats would probably be higher if the COA wasn't so dang high. Every year we see several accepted students post that they have decided to go elsewhere because of the insanely high price tag for Keck.
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yes, that's what I thought myself. Although it still shows that there is probably not a "hard" cutoff at 33/514 for ORM
 
TheBiologist said:
yes, that's what I thought myself. Although it still shows that there is probably not a "hard" cutoff at 33/514 for ORM
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the cutoff is by no means "hard." However, I was made aware that scores below 513 (33) for non-URMs have a more difficult time getting in.

This information makes perfect sense with what another poster explained, which is that apps are sorted according to MCAT. Each reviewer, with their own pile of MCAT scores, obviously has higher/lower standards for reviewing the non-MCAT aspects of your application. For instance, I'm guessing that an MCAT reviewer of 517s may overlook a low GPA, average LORs, or low shadowing hours for a great story, extracurriculars, or research...... where as a reviewer of the 512 pile might only interview applicants that have the full package -- terrific GPAs, Extracurriculars, LORs, lots of volunteer hours, and has clinical experience.

Those speculating that a low GPA / High MCAT might hurt you, because you are only compared with others of the same MCAT score, couldn't be further from the truth.......If you are in the 517 or 518 pile, a great secondary or a strong personal statement/story might be all it takes to warrant an interview.

**** again, I am only speculating here, but based on the info I was given + the "sorting apps by MCAT" this would make sense. ****
 
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For those with II's: Is the student host program still a thing? I was looking through the Keck SDN interview feedback and a lot of posters mentioned it, but I don't remember a student host program being mentioned in any emails regarding the interview.
 
Just submitted my app (although based on what I'm reading, expecting a rejection soon with my 510)
 
pramsotingz said:
For those with II's: Is the student host program still a thing? I was looking through the Keck SDN interview feedback and a lot of posters mentioned it, but I don't remember a student host program being mentioned in any emails regarding the interview.
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Look on the interview tab of the portal, it gives you the phone number to call so that you may request the accommodation.
 
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TheBiologist said:
yes, that's what I thought myself. Although it still shows that there is probably not a "hard" cutoff at 33/514 for ORM
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Yes, what I meant by an unofficial cutoff isn't a hard cutoff but a soft one. From last year's thread, those non-URMs with a lower MCAT needed other significant experiences to carry them through (non-trad, disadvantaged, unique life story, veteran, etc)
 
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liquidcrawler said:
The MSAR reports their median MCAT as 515. You are telling me half of the people they accept are URM? I don't think so.
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Accepted is 515 sure, but matriculants is only a 512 median. Which of course strengthens your argument. Also about a third of the class is URM, so the "unofficial cutoff" is probably ~512 if you account for 1/3 URM and some amount of nepotism.
 
Anyone know if any IIs have gone out for HTE applicants?
 
USCtrojan28 said:
the cutoff is by no means "hard." However, I was made aware that scores below 513 (33) for non-URMs have a more difficult time getting in.


Those speculating that a low GPA / High MCAT might hurt you, because you are only compared with others of the same MCAT score, couldn't be further from the truth.......If you are in the 517 or 518 pile, a great secondary or a strong personal statement/story might be all it takes to warrant an interview.
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I hope you're right bro
 
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Would it be inappropriate for the "tell us about something you thought you deserved" essay to write about how my girlfriend and I tried making beef wellington (which is a lot of work) and failed so bad we ended up getting takeout? My current draft is humorous (hopefully).
 
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liquidcrawler said:
Would it be inappropriate for the "tell us about something you thought you deserved" essay to write about how my girlfriend and I tried making beef wellington (which is a lot of work) and failed so bad we ended up getting takeout? My current draft is humorous (hopefully).
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I think given how playful their prompts are, this could definitely be a good one. I laughed reading it. Personally, I approached this one seriously (I also had some low hanging fruit in terms of my life experiences, so it was easy), but went more playful with the other ones. I would just be mindful to take some of the prompts more seriously/introspectively. Received an interview here last week, btw.
 
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liquidcrawler said:
Would it be inappropriate for the "tell us about something you thought you deserved" essay to write about how my girlfriend and I tried making beef wellington (which is a lot of work) and failed so bad we ended up getting takeout? My current draft is humorous (hopefully).
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I feel like it could fit depending on how you write it. To me, the prompt is implying something you put substantial time and effort into making a reality but it didn't turn out the way you wanted - being deserving of a proper beef wellington seems sort of weird to put into words. But I think if you focus on how many different things you tried to make it but how all of them failed and talk about what you learned from the process, it could fit with what they're asking!
 
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For the most fun prompt I wrote about how I got stranded at an Icelandic Costco hahaha so definitely had some humorous stuff in the prompt
 
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UnassumingToad said:
I think given how playful their prompts are, this could definitely be a good one. I laughed reading it. Personally, I approached this one seriously (I also had some low hanging fruit in terms of my life experiences, so it was easy), but went more playful with the other ones. I would just be mindful to take some of the prompts more seriously/introspectively. Received an interview here last week, btw.
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congrats on the invite, and thanks for the advice. I have been putting off USC for a while and its my last one, though I'm kicking myself for waiting too long. I'm taking the "charitable giving" essay in a more serious tone.

sss1219 said:
I feel like it could fit depending on how you write it. To me, the prompt is implying something you put substantial time and effort into making a reality but it didn't turn out the way you wanted - being deserving of a proper beef wellington seems sort of weird to put into words. But I think if you focus on how many different things you tried to make it but how all of them failed and talk about what you learned from the process, it could fit with what they're asking!
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I think you're right, all the answers for this prompt boil down to putting in what you thought was the required effort and coming up short. Its also hard to include a "what you learned" with the sentence limit.
 
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liquidcrawler said:
Its also hard to include a "what you learned" with the sentence limit.
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Personally, I feel like explaining how you grew from the situation is the most important aspect of these failure/challenge/didn't get what you deserved type of prompts, so try your best to fit a sentence in if you can!
 
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sss1219 said:
Personally, I feel like explaining how you grew from the situation is the most important aspect of these failure/challenge/didn't get what you deserved type of prompts, so try your best to fit a sentence in if you can!
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I would agree - this question seemed (to me) to beg for a "Yes, I am resilient" type of answer.

My concern about Beef Wellington is - ok, you (OP) were creative and persistent in your efforts, but were the stakes really that high? Versus something like, "I worked for 18 months on a research project that was my idea, then my PI decided to give someone else first authorship." (This is not what I used; I have no research! lol)

Not saying that Beef Wellington couldn't serve as a metaphor for something more important, or reveal characteristics that are important for a physician, or be told in a humorous and engaging way that makes the adcoms want to meet and interview you. Just something to keep in mind in the context of your secondary overall, so that overall, you are painting the picture of someone well-suited to be a USC med student.
 
I bet the adcoms that are reading this forum are waiting to see what the hype about Beef Wellington is all about :laugh:
 
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Have they only given one batch of II? Does anyone know the breakdown of how many days were available how many people are interviewing each day?
 
OldSavage said:
niceeee. complete date? and now we know that II's can go out on weekends....guess I can never take a break from looking at emails :/
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I believe I was complete 8/9! Lizzy M 73-75, URM
 
As of now, there are two interview dates listed for late September. There appears to be two sessions per day, 9am-3pm and 8am-2pm.

Sorry, scheduled my interview right away and didn't look at October dates. But the September dates were a Tuesday and Wednesday. USC apparently also has a student host program that they inform you of once you get an interview, in case anyone is interested :)
 
Do you think if we submitted like 8/7 and haven't heard they haven't looked at it yet or do you think we're declined
 
II today! Complete 7/21. MCAT 517, GPA 3.72 URM. CA resident
 
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Come on CA show me some love too!
 
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yeah I agree, but as scientists it is in our nature to be skeptical
 
II today!! so crazy my first one
 
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